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OF BURGUNDY Constance
Birth: 8 May 1046 of Dijon, France
Death: 1093
Notes
d Jan/Feb 1093
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constance_of_Burgundy
Constance of Burgundy (8 May 1046 – 1093) was the daughter of Duke Robert I of
Burgundy and Helie de Semur-en-Brionnais. She was Queen consort of Castile and
León by her marriage to Alfonso VI of León and Castile. She was the granddaughter of
King Robert II of France, the second monarch of the French Capetian dynasty. She
was the mother of Urraca of León, who succeeded her father in both Castile and
León.
Life[edit]
In 1065, Constance married her first husband, Hugh II, Count of Chalon. They were
married for fourteen years until Hughes' death in 1079, they had no children.[1]
In late 1079, Constance remarried to Alfonso VI of León and Castile. The marriage
appears to have been orchestrated via the Cluniac connections at Alfonso's court. He
had previously been married to Agnes of Aquitaine, whom he had either divorced or
had been widowed by. The marriage of Constance and Alfonso initially faced papal
opposition, apparently due to a kinship between Constance and Agnes.
Constance was instrumental in having the Roman Rite replace the Visigothic rite in the
churches of Castile.[2]
Constance and Alfonso had several children but only one of these lived to adulthood:
[3]
Urraca (b. April 1079 – March 8, 1126) Queen of Castile and León in her own right.
Married firstly to Raymond of Burgundy, had issue. Married secondly to Alfonso the
Battler, no issue.
Constance died in 1093 leaving her fourteen-year-old daughter and her husband a
widower. He went on to marry three further wives after her death, but only had a son
by his Muslim mistress, Zaida of Seville.
Burial[edit]
After her death, the corpse of Constance was taken to the town of Sahagún and was
buried in the Monastery of St. Facundo and Primitivo, where her husband, King
Alfonso VI would be buried along with all his wives.[4]
The grave that contained the remains of Alfonso VI was destroyed in 1810 during a
fire in the Monastery. The remains of the king and several of his wives, including
those of Constance, were collected and kept in the abbot's chamber until 1821. When
the religious were expelled from the monastery, they were then deposited by Abbot
Ramon Joys in a box that was placed on the south wall of the chapel of the Crucifix,
until, in January 1835, the remains were collected and placed in another box, being
brought to the archive. The purpose was to place all remaining interests in a new
sanctuary that was being built then.[5] However, when the monastery of San Benito
was disentailed in 1835, the monks gave the two boxes containing the actual remains
to the relative of a priest, who hid them until 1902 were found by the professor Zamora
Rodrigo Fernández Núñez.[5]
Today, the remains of Alfonso VI are buried in the Royal Monastery of San Benito in
Sahagún, at the foot of the temple, in a stone chest covered with smooth, modern
marble and in a tomb near equally plain, lie the remains of several of the king's wives,
including those of Constance.[4]
Parents
____ Robert I "the Old" (ABT 1011 - 21 Mar 1076)
DE SEMUR Helie (Edwige) (Ella) (Ermengarde) (1016 - 22 Apr 1055)
Siblings
OF BURGUNDY Henry (ABT 1035 - 27 Jan 1074)
OF BURGUNDY Constance (8 May 1046 - 1093)
Marriage To ____ Alfonso VI "The Valiant" (BEF Jun 1040 - 1 Jul 1109)
m. 1079
Notes
his 2d
Parents
____ Fernando I "the Great" (ABT 1016 - 27 Dec 1065)
OF LEON Sancha (ABT 1016 - 27 Nov 1067)
Children by ____ Alfonso VI "The Valiant" BEF Jun 1040 - 1 Jul 1109
ALFONSEZ OF CASTILE AND LEON Urraca (ABT 1082 - 8 Mar 1126)
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