Individual

Go to List of Family Names Go to List of People    < Previous Next >

Birth:          13 Oct 1162 Domfront, Normandy
Death:          25 Oct 1214 Las Huelgas, Burgos, Spain
Burial:         Monasterio De Las Huelgas, Burgos, Spain

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_of_England,_Queen_of_Castile
Eleanor of England (Spanish: Leonor; 13 October 1161[1] – 31 October 1214[2]), or 
Eleanor Plantaganet,[3] was Queen of Castile and Toledo[4] as wife of Alfonso VIII of 
Castile.[5][6] She was the sixth child and second daughter of Henry II, King of 
England, and Eleanor of Aquitaine.[7][8]
Early life and family[edit]

Eleanor was born in the castle at Domfront, Normandy on 13 October 1162,[9] as the 
second daughter of Henry II, King of England and his wife Eleanor, Duchess of 
Aquitaine,[3] and was baptised by Henry of Marcy. Her half-siblings were Marie and 
Alix of France, and her full siblings were Henry the Young, Duchess Matilda, King 
Richard, Duke Geoffrey, Queen Joan and King John.

Queenship[edit]
In 1174, when she was 12 years old, Eleanor married King Alfonso VIII of Castile in 
Burgos.[10][11] The couple had been betrothed in 1170, but due to the bride's youth 
as well as the uproar in Europe regarding her father's suspected involvement in the 
murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket, the wedding was delayed. Her parents' purpose 
in arranging the marriage was to secure Aquitaine’s Pyrenean border, while Alfonso 
was seeking an ally in his struggles with his uncle, Sancho VI of Navarre. In 1177, 
this led to Henry overseeing arbitration of the border dispute.[12]

Around the year 1200, Alfonso began to claim that the duchy of Gascony was part of 
Eleanor's dowry, but there is no documented foundation for that claim. It is highly 
unlikely that Henry II would have parted with so significant a portion of his domains. 
At most, Gascony may have been pledged as security for the full payment of his 
daughter’s dowry. Her husband went so far on this claim as to invade Gascony in her 
name in 1205. In 1206, her brother John, King of England granted her safe passage to 
visit him, perhaps to try opening peace negotiations. In 1208, Alfonso yielded on the 
claim.[13] Decades later, their great-grandson Alfonso X of Castile would claim the 
duchy on the grounds that her dowry had never been fully paid.

Of all Eleanor of Aquitaine’s daughters, her namesake was the only one who was 
enabled, by political circumstances, to wield the kind of influence her mother had 
exercised.[14] In her own marriage treaty, and in the first marriage treaty for her 
daughter Berengaria, Eleanor was given direct control of many lands, towns, and 
castles throughout the kingdom.[15] She was almost as powerful as Alfonso, who 
specified in his will in 1204 that she was to rule alongside their son in the event of his 
death, including taking responsibility for paying his debts and executing his will.[16] It 
was she who persuaded him to marry their daughter Berengaria to Alfonso IX of León. 
Troubadours and sages were regularly present in Alfonso VIII’s court due to Eleanor’s 
patronage.[17]

Eleanor took particular interest in supporting religious institutions. In 1179, she took 
responsibility to support and maintain a shrine to St. Thomas Becket in the cathedral 
of Toledo. She also created and supported the Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las 
Huelgas, which served as a refuge and tomb for her family for generations, and its 
affiliated hospital.[18]

When Alfonso died, Eleanor was reportedly so devastated with grief that she was 
unable to preside over the burial. Their eldest daughter Berengaria instead performed 
these honours. Eleanor then took sick and died only twenty-eight days after her 
husband, and was buried at Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas.[19]
Later Depictions[edit]

Eleanor was praised for her beauty and regal nature by the poet Ramón Vidal de 
Besalú after her death.[31] Her great-grandson Alfonso X referred to her as "noble and 
much loved".[32]

Eleanor was played by Ida Norden in the silent film The Jewess of Toledo.[33]

Parents
PLANTAGENET Henry II "Curt Mantel" (5 Mar 1133 - 6 Jul 1189)
D'AQUITAINE ET POITOU Eleonore (ABT 1121 - 31 Mar 1204)

Siblings
PLANTAGENET Maud (Matilda) (BEF Jul 1156 - 28 Jun 1189)
____ Eleanor (13 Oct 1162 - 25 Oct 1214)
PLANTAGENET John "Lackland" (24 Dec 1166 - 19 Oct 1216)

Marriage To SANCHEZ Alfonso VIII "the Noble" (11 Nov 1155 - 5 Oct 1214)
    m. 1170 

Notes
contract marriage. Note date of children's births

Parents
ALFONSEZ Sancho III "the Desired" (1134 - 31 Aug 1158)
OF NAVARRE Blanche (Blanca) (ABT 1134 - 12 Aug 1156)

Children by SANCHEZ Alfonso VIII "the Noble" 11 Nov 1155 - 5 Oct 1214
OF CASTILE Bernegaria (Berenguela) (Jun 1180 - 8 Nov 1246)
DE CASTILE Urraca (ABT 1185 - 3 Nov 1220)
DE CASTILE Blanche (Blanca) Alphonsa (BEF 4 Mar 1188 - 27 Nov 1252)

Produced by Fzip 1.7 6/20/2017