- Princess of Castille
- Queen consort of France
- 2x Regent of France
Blanca of Castile was born 4 March 1188 in Palencia, Spain to Alfonso VIII, King of Castile (1155-1214) and Eleanor of England (1162-1214) and died 26 October 1252 Paris, France of unspecified causes. She married Louis VIII Capet (1187-1226) 23 May 1200 JL in Port-Mort, France.
Biography
Blanche of Castile was Queen of France by marriage to Louis VIII Capet (1187-1226). She acted as regent twice during the reign of her son, Louis IX Capet (1214-1270): during his minority from 1226 until 1234, and during his absence from 1248 until 1252. She was born in Palencia, Spain, in 1188, the third daughter of Alfonso VIII, King of Castile (1155-1214), and Queen Eleanor of England (1162-1214), sister of King Richard I of England and King John of England of the House of Normandy.
Early life
In her youth, she visited the Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas, founded by her parents,[1] several times.[2] In consequence of the Treaty of Le Goulet between Philip Augustus and John of England, Blanche's sister, Urraca, was betrothed to Philip's son, Louis. After meeting the two sisters, their grandmother Eleanor of Aquitaine (who had been a queen consort of France herself) judged that Blanche's personality was more fit to fulfil the role. In the spring of 1200, Eleanor crossed the Pyrenees with her and brought her to France instead.[2]
Appearance
Eleanor of Aquitaine judged that Urraca, Blanche's sister, was more beautiful than Blanche, although Catherine Hanley states we have no knowledge about what Blanche looked like.[3]
Regency
Philip died in July 1223, and Louis VIII and Blanche were crowned on 6 August.[4] Upon Louis' death in November 1226 from dysentery,[5] he left Blanche, by then 38, regent and guardian of his children. Of her twelve or thirteen children, six had died, and Louis, the heir – afterwards the sainted Louis IX – was but twelve years old.[6] She had him crowned within a month of his father's death in Reims and forced reluctant barons to swear allegiance to him. The situation was critical, since Louis VIII had died without having completely subdued his southern nobles. The king's minority made the Capetian domains even more vulnerable. To gain support, she released Ferdinand, Count of Flanders, who had been in captivity since the Battle of Bouvines. She ceded land and castles to Philip I, Count of Boulogne, son of King Philip II of France and his controversial wife, Agnes of Merania.[7]
Several key barons, led by Peter Mauclerc, refused to recognize the coronation of the young king. Shortly after the coronation, Blanche and Louis were traveling south of Paris and nearly captured. Blanche appealed to the people of Paris to protect their king. The citizens lined the roads and protected him as he returned.
Second regency and death
In 1248, Blanche again became regent during Louis IX's absence on the Crusade, a project which she had strongly opposed. In the disasters which followed, she maintained peace while draining the land of men and money to aid her son in the East. She fell ill at Melun in November 1252 and was taken to Paris, but lived only a few days.[6] She was buried at Maubuisson Abbey, which she had founded herself.[8] Louis heard of her death in the following spring and reportedly did not speak to anyone for two days afterwards.[9]
Marriage and Children
On 22 May 1200, the marriage treaty was finally signed. King John ceded, along with his niece Blanche, the fiefs of Issoudun and Graçay, together with those that André de Chauvigny, lord of Châteauroux, held in Berry, of the English crown. The marriage was celebrated the next day at Port-Mort on the right bank of the Seine, in John's domains, as those of Philip lay under an interdict.[6] Blanche was twelve years of age, and Louis was only a year older, so the marriage had to wait to be consummated a few years later. Blanche bore her first child in 1205.[2]
During the English barons' rebellion of 1215–16 against King John, it was Blanche's English ancestry as granddaughter to Henry II that led to Louis being offered the throne of England as Louis I. However, with the death of John in October 1216, the barons changed their allegiance to John's son, the nine-year-old Henry.
Marriage and issue
On 23 May 1200, Louis married Blanca of Castile (1188-1252). They had:
- Blanche Capet (1205-1206), died shortly after birth).
- Agnes Capet (1207-1207) - died young
- Philippe Capet (1209-1218), betrothed in July 1215 to Agnes of Donzy, who later wed Guy II of Saint-Pol.
- Alphonse Capet (1213-1213), died shortly after birth), twin of John.
- John Capet (1213-1213) died shortly after birth), twin of Alphonse.
- Louis IX Capet (1214-1270),[10] King of France as successor to his father.
- Robert Capet (1216-1250), killed in battle, Mansoura, Egypt), Count of Artois[10]
- Philippe Capet (1218-1220)[10]
- John Tristan Capet (1219-1232),[10] Count of Anjou and Maine, betrothed in March 1227 to Yolande of Brittany.
- Alphonse Capet (1220-1271), Count of Poitou and Auvergne, and by marriage, of Toulouse[10]
- Philippe Dagobert Capet (1222-1232)[10]
- Isabel Capet (1225-1269)[10] Devoutly religious, turned down multiple marriage offers to become founder of Abbey of Longchamp in 1256.
- Stephen Capet (1225-1227)[10]
- Charles Capet (1226-1285) (born posthumously 21 March 1227 – 7 January 1285), Count of Anjou and Maine, by marriage Count of Provence and Forcalquier[10]
Children
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Berenguela of Castile (1180-1246) | 1180 Segovia, Spain | 8 November 1246 Burgos, Spain | Alfonso IX, King of León (1171-1230) |
| Sancho of Castile (1181-1181) | |||
| Sancha of Castile (1182-1184) | |||
| Henry of Castile (1184-1184) | |||
| Urraca of Castile (1186-1220) | 1186 | 3 November 1220 | Afonso II of Portugal (1185-1223) |
| Blanca of Castile (1188-1252) | 4 March 1188 Palencia, Spain | 26 October 1252 Paris, France | Louis VIII Capet (1187-1226) |
| Fernando of Castile (1189-1211) | |||
| Mafalda of Castile (1191-1204) | |||
| Constance of Castile (1195-1198) | |||
| Eleanor of Castile (1202-1244) | 1202 | 1244 | Jaime I de Aragón (1208-1276) |
| Constanza of Castile (1203-1243) | 1202 | 1243 Las Huelgas, Spain | |
| Henry I of Castile (1204-1217) | 14 April 1204 Valladolid, Spain | 6 June 1217 Palencia, Spain | Mafalda of Portugal (c1195-1256) |
See Also
- Charlemagne Family Ancestry
- Capetian dynasty
- House of Normandy - pretender to the English throne thru his wife.
- wikipedia:en:Blanche of Castile
- Blanca de Castilla at thePeerage
- Blanche of Castile, Regent of France 1226-1236 at Genealogics
- Blanca on ivrea6 at genealogy.euweb.cz
- Abulafia, David (1999). The New Cambridge Medieval History: c. 1198-c. 1300. ISBN 978-0521362917.
- Bradbury, Jim (2007). The Capetians: Kings of France, 987-1328. Continuum Books. ISBN 9780826424914.
- Gies, Frances; Gies, Joseph (1978). Women in the Middle Ages. Harper & Row. ISBN 978-0064640374. https://archive.org/details/womeninmiddleag000gies.
- Grant, Lindy (2017). Blanche of Castile, Queen of France. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300219265.
- Hanley, Catherine (2016). Louis The French Prince Who Invaded England. Yale University Press.
- Jackson, Guida M. (1999). Women rulers throughout the ages: an illustrated guide. ABC-CLIO, Inc. ISBN 978-1576070918. https://archive.org/details/isbn_9791576070917.
- Klaniczay, Gábor (2002). Holy rulers and blessed princesses: dynastic cults in medieval central Europe. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521420181.
- Labarge, Margaret W. (1997). A medieval miscellany. Canada: Carleton University Press. ISBN 978-0886292904.
- Nolan, Kathleen D. (2003). Capetian Women. ISBN 978-0312294489.
- Putnam, Bill; Wood, John Edwin (2005). The Treasure of Rennes-le-Château: A Mystery Solved. Sutton Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7509-4216-4.
- Richard, Jean (1992). Saint Louis, Crusader King of France. Cambridge University Press.
- Shadis, Miriam (2010). Berenguela of Castile (1180–1246) and Political Women in the High Middle Ages. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-23473-7.
- Weiler; Burton; Schofield; Stöber (2007). Thirteenth century England: Proceedings of the Gregynog Conference. The Boydell Press. ISBN 9781846157707.
- Wheeler, B.; Parsons, J. (2002). Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Wright, Hannah (16 October 2008). "French rugby fans blanche at multi-coloured shirt". The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-union/club-rugby/french-rugby-fans-blanche-at-multicoloured-shirt-963709.html.
References
- ^ Shadis 2010, p. 40-41.
- ^ a b c Wheeler & Parsons 2002, p. 192-193.
- ^ Hanley 2016, p. 27.
- ^ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedepistolae - ^ Gies & Gies 1978, p. 103.
- ^ a b c Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedEB1911 - ^ Weiler et al. 2007, p. 53.
- ^ Klaniczay 2002, p. 236.
- ^ Bradbury 2007, p. 213.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Richard 1992, p. xxiv.
Blanca of Castile (1188-1252) Castilian House of Ivrea Cadet branch of the House of Ivrea Born: 4 March 1188 Died: 27 November 1252
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French royalty
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| Preceded by Ingeborg of Denmark |
Queen consort of France 1223–1226 |
Succeeded by Margaret of Provence |
Footnotes (including sources)
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