Saint Ferdinand III of Castile

Notes:

Wikipedia
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=31143832

He was King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230 as well as King of Galicia from 1231. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguela of Castile. Ferdinand III was one of the most successful kings of Castile, securing not only the permanent union of the crowns of Castile and León, but also masterminding the most expansive campaign of the Reconquest of Spain from the Moors.

By military and diplomatic efforts, Ferdinand greatly expanded the dominions of Castile into southern Spain, annexing many of the great old cities of al-Andalus, including the old Andalusian capitals of Córdoba and Seville, and establishing the boundaries of the Castilian state for the next two centuries.

Ferdinand was canonized in 1671 by Pope Clement X and, in Spanish, he is known as Fernando el Santo, San Fernando or San Fernando Rey. Places such as San Fernando, Pampanga, and the San Fernando de Dilao Church in Paco, Manila in the Philippines, and in California, San Fernando City and the San Fernando Valley, were named for him.

The exact date of Ferdinand's birth is unclear. It has been proposed to have been as early as 1199 or even 1198, although more recent researchers commonly date Ferdinand's birth in the Summer of 1201. Ferdinand was born at the Monastery of Valparaíso (Peleas de Arriba, in what is now the Province of Zamora).

The marriage of Ferdinand's parents was annulled by order of Pope Innocent III in 1204, due to consanguinity. Berengaria then took their children, including Ferdinand, to the court of her father, King Alfonso VIII of Castile. In 1217, her younger brother, Henry I, died and she succeeded him to the Castilian throne and Ferdinand as her heir, but she quickly surrendered it to her son.

When Ferdinand's father, Alfonso IX of León, died in 1230, his will delivered the kingdom to his older daughters Sancha and Dulce, from his first marriage to Teresa of Portugal. But Ferdinand contested the will, and claimed the inheritance for himself.

There was a crisis in the Almohad Caliphate and the leaders decided to abandon Spain, and left with the last remnant of the Almohad forces for Morocco. Andalusia was left fragmented in the hands of local strongmen. The Christian armies romped through the south virtually unopposed in the field. Individual Andalusian cities were left to resist or negotiate their capitulation by themselves, with little or no prospect of rescue from Morocco or anywhere else. On 22 December 1248, Ferdinand III entered as a conqueror in Seville, the greatest of Andalusian cities. At the end of this twenty-year onslaught, only a small part Andalusian state, the Emirate of Granada, remained unconquered.

On the domestic front, Ferdinand strengthened the University of Salamanca and erected the current Cathedral of Burgos. He was a patron of the newest movement in the Church, that of the mendicant [begging] Orders. Whereas the Benedictine monks, and then the Cistercians and Cluniacs, had taken a major part in the Reconquest up until then, Ferdinand founded houses for friars of the Dominican, Franciscan, Trinitarian, and Mercedarian Orders throughout Andalusia, thus determining the future religious character of that region. Ferdinand has also been credited with sustaining the convivencia in Andalusia. He himself joined the Third Order of St. Francis, and is honored in that Order.

Ferdinand III had started out as a contested king of Castile. By the time of his death in 1252, Ferdinand III had delivered to his son and heir, Alfonso X, a massively expanded kingdom. The boundaries of the new Castilian state established by Ferdinand III would remain nearly unchanged until the late 15th century.

Ferdinand was buried in the Cathedral of Seville by his son, Alfonso X. His tomb is inscribed in four languages: Arabic, Hebrew, Latin, and an early version of Castilian. He rests enclosed in a gold and crystal casket worthy of the king. His golden crown still encircles his head as he reclines beneath the statue of the Virgin of the Kings.

He married 2 times, first to Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen (1203?1235), daughter of the German king Philip of Swabia and Irene Angelina. Elisabeth was called Beatriz in Spain, the mother of his heir, Alonzo X.

His second wife was Joan, Countess of Ponthieu, and they had four sons and one daughter:

1. Ferdinand (1239-1260), Count of Aumale

2. Eleanor (c.1241-1290), married Edward I of England. They had sixteen children including the future Edward II of England and every English monarch after Edward I is a descendant of Ferdinand III.

3. Louis (1243-1269)

4. Simon (1244), died young and buried in a monastery in Toledo

5. John (1245), died young and buried at the cathedral in Córdoba


Buried:
Grave location, biography, portrait, and tomb photo:
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Ferdinand married Jeanne (Joan) of Dammartin, Countess of Ponthieu. Jeanne (daughter of Simon Demmartin, Count of Ponthieu and Marie of Ponthieu, Countess of Ponthieu) was born ca 1220, Abbeville, Picardie, France; died 16 Mar 1279, Abbeville, Picardie, France; was buried , Abbey of Valloires, Picardie, France. [Group Sheet]

1. Eleanor of Castile was born 10 Jan 1240, Burgos, Provincia de Burgos, Castilla y León, Spain; died 28 Nov 1290, Harby, Nottinghamshire, England; was buried , Westminster Abbey, London, England.

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonso_IX_of_Le%C3%B3n

He was was king of León and Galicia from the death of his father Ferdinand II in 1188. According to According to Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406), an Arab Muslin scholar, he is said to have been called the Baboso or Slobberer because he was subject to fits of rage during which he foamed at the mouth.

He took steps towards modernizing and democratizing his dominion and founded the University of Salamanca in 1212. In 1188 he summoned the first parliament reflecting full representation of the citizenry ever seen in Western Europe, the Cortes of León.

He took a part in the work of the Reconquest, conquering the area of Extremadura (including the cities of Cáceres and Badajoz).

Alfonso was born in Zamora. He was the only son of King Ferdinand II of León and Urraca of Portugal. His father was the younger son of Alfonso VII of León and Castile, who divided his kingdoms between his sons, which set the stage for conflict in the family until the kingdoms were re-united by Alfonso IX's son, Ferdinand III of Castile.

The convening of the Cortes de León in the cloisters of the Basilica of San Isidoro would be one of the most important events of Alfonso's reign. The difficult economic situation at the beginning of his reign compelled Alfonso to raise taxes on the underprivileged classes, leading to protests and a few towns revolts. In response the king summoned the Cortes, an assembly of nobles, clergy and representatives of cities, and subsequently faced demands for compensatory spending and greater external control and oversight of royal expenditures. The Cortes' 1188 session predates the first session of the Parliament of England, which occurred in the thirteenth century.

In spite of the democratic precedent represented by the Cortes and the founding of the University of Salamanca, Alfonso is often chiefly remembered for the difficulties his successive marriages caused between him with Pope Celestine III. He was first married in 1191 to his first cousin, Theresa of Portugal, who bore him two daughters, and a son who died young. The marriage was declared null by the papal legate Cardinal Gregory for consanguinity.

After Alfonso VIII of Castile was defeated at the Battle of Alarcos, Alfonso IX invaded Castile with the aid of Muslim troops. He was summarily excommunicated by Pope Celestine III. In 1197, Alfonso IX married his first cousin once removed, Berengaria of Castile, to cement peace between León and Castile. For this second act of consanguinity, the king and the kingdom were placed under interdict by representatives of the Pope. In 1198, Pope Innocent III declared Alfonso and Berengaria's marriage invalid, but they stayed together until 1204. The annulment of this marriage by the pope drove the younger Alfonso to again attack his cousin in 1204, but treaties made in 1205, 1207, and 1209 each forced him to concede further territories and rights. The treaty in 1207 is the first existing public document in the Castilian dialect.

In 1191, he married Theresa of Portugal, daughter of King Sancho I of Portugal and Queen Dulce of Aragon. Between 1191 and 1196, the year in which their marriage was annulled, three children were born:

1. Sancha (1191-before 1243) unmarried and without children. She and her sister Dulce became nuns or retired at the Monastery of San Guillermo Villabuena (León) where she died before 1243.

2. Ferdinand(1192/1193-1214), unmarried and without children.

3. Dulce (1193/1194-1248).

On 17 November 1197 he married Infanta Berengaria of Castile, daughter of King Alfonso VIII of Castile and Leonor of England. Five children were born of this marriage:

4. Eleanor (1198/1199-11 November 1202).

5. Constance (1 May 1200-7 September 1242), became a nun at the Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas, Burgos, where she died.

6. Ferdinand III of Castile (1201-1252). King of Castile in 1217 after the death of Henry I of Castile and of León in 1230 after the death of his father.

7. Alfonso (1202-1272), Lord of Molina due to his first marriage to Mafalda González de Lara.

8. Berengaria of León (1204-1237), in 1224 married John of Brienne.

Alfonso also fathered many illegitimate children. After the annulment of his first marriage and before wedding Berengaria, he had a relationship which lasted about two years with Inés Íñiguez de Mendoza, daughter of Iñigo López de Mendoza and María García, with whom he had a daughter born around 1197:

9. Urraca Alfonso, the wife of Lope Díaz II de Haro, Lord of Biscay.

He had another relationship afterwards with a noblewoman from Galicia, Estefanía Pérez de Faiam. In 1211, King Alfonso gave her lands in Orense where her family, as can be inferred from her last will dated 1250, owned many estates, as well as in the north of Portugal. She was the daughter of Pedro Menéndez Faiam, who confirmed several royal charters of King Alfonso IX, and granddaughter of Menendo Faiam, who also confirmed several diplomas issued in Galicia as of 1155 by King Ferdinand II of León. After the relationship ended, Estefanía married Rodrigo Suárez with whom she had children. In her will, she asked to be buried in the Monastery of Fiães in northern Portugal.

Alfonso IX and Estefanía were the parents of:

10. Ferdinand Alfonso of León (born in 1211),[18] died young.

According to Spanish historian, Julio González, after his relationship with Estefanía, the king had a lover from Salamanca, of unknown origin, whose name was Maura and with whom he had:

11. Fernando Alfonso de León (ca. 1214/1218-Salamanca, 10 January 1278), archdeacon of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, who had issue with Aldara de Ulloa.

Of his relationship with the noblewoman from Portugal, Aldonza Martínez de Silva, daughter of Martim Gomes da Silva and his wife Urraca Rodrigues, which lasted from 1214 to 1218, three children were born:

12. Rodrigo (ca. 1214-ca. 1268), lord of Aliger and Castro del Río, and Adelantado of the March of Andalusia, he married Inés Rodríguez, daughter of Rodrigo Fernández de Valduerna, Lord of Cabrera and alférez of King Alfonso IX.

13. Aldonza (died after 1267). Married count Pedro Ponce de Cabrera, and had children. They are the ancestors of the Ponce de León family.

14. Teresa Alfonso of León.

King Alfonso's most long-lasting relationship, which began in 1218 and lasted until his death in 1230, was with Teresa Gil de Soverosa.[27] A member of the Portuguese nobility, Teresa was the daughter of Gil Vasques de Soverosa and his first wife María Aires de Fornelos. They had four children, all of them born between 1218 and 1239:

15. Sancha (d. 1270). Married Simon Ruiz, Lord of Los Cameros. She later became a nun at the convent of Santa Eufemia de Cozuelos which she had founded.

16. María (died after July 1275). Her first marriage was with Álvaro Fernández de Lara. She was then the concubine of her nephew King Alfonso X of Castile and, according to the Count of Barcelos, her second husband was Suero Arias de Valladares.

17. Martín (died 1268/1272), married to Maria Mendes de Sousa, founders of the Monastery of Sancti-Spíritus, Salamanca. There was no children from this marriage.

18. Urraca (d. after 1252). First married García Romeu, and then Pedro Núñez de Guzmán.

Alfonso IX of León died on 24 September 1230. His death was particularly significant in that his son, Ferdinand III of Castile, who was already the King of Castile also inherited the throne of León from his father. This was thanks to the negotiations of his mother, Berengaria, who convinced her stepdaughters to renounce their claim on the throne. In an effort to quickly consolidate his power over León, Ferdinand III abandoned a military campaign to capture the city of Jaén immediately upon hearing news of his father's death and traveled to León to be crowned king. This coronation united the Kingdoms of León and Castile which would go on to dominate the Iberian Peninsula.

Buried:
Grave location, historical portrait, and photo of cathedral:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GScid=2366170&GRid=101385377&

Alfonso married Berengaria of Castile, Queen of Castile and Queen of Léon. Berengaria (daughter of Alfonso VIII (El De Las Navas) of Castile, King of Castille and King of Toledo and Eleanor Plantagenet, Queen of Castille) was born ca 1179, Burgos, Provincia de Burgos, Castilla y León, Spain; died 08 Nov 1246, Las Huelgas, Provincia de Burgos, Castilla y León, Spain; was buried , Monasterio de Santa María la Real de las Huelgas, Burgos, Provincia de Burgos, Castilla y León, Spain. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berengaria_of_Castile

She was queen regnant of Castile in 1217 and queen consort of León from 1197 to 1204. As the eldest child and heir presumptive of Alfonso VIII of Castile, she was a sought after bride, and was engaged to Conrad, the son of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. After his death, she married her cousin, Alfonso IX of León, to secure the peace between him and her father. She had five children with him before their marriage was voided by Pope Innocent III.

When her father died, she served as regent for her younger brother Henry I in Castile until she succeeded him on his untimely death. Within months, she turned Castile over to her son, Ferdinand III, concerned that as a woman she would not be able to lead Castile's forces. However, she remained one of his closest advisors, guiding policy, negotiating, and ruling on his behalf for the rest of her life. She was responsible for the re-unification of Castile and León under her son's authority, and supported his efforts in the Reconquest of Spain from the Moors. She was a patron of religious institutions and supported the writing of a history of the two countries.

She was the eldest daughter of King Alfonso VIII of Castile and Eleanor of England, and she was the heiress presumptive of the throne of Castile for several years, because many of her siblings who were born after her died shortly after birth or in early infancy.

Berengaria's first engagement was agreed in 1187 when her hand was sought by Conrad, Duke of Rothenburg and fifth child of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. Conrad then marched to Castile, where in Carrión the engagement was celebrated and Conrad was knighted. Berengaria's status as heir of Castile specified that she would inherit the kingdom after her father or any childless brothers who may come along. Conrad would only be allowed to co-rule as her spouse, and Castile would not become part of the Holy Roman Empire.

The marriage was not consummated, due to Berengaria's young age, as she was less than 10 years old. Conrad and Berengaria never saw each other again. By 1191, Berengaria requested an annulment of the engagement from the Pope, influenced, no doubt, by third parties such as her grandmother Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was not interested in having a Hohenstaufen as a neighbor to her French fiefdoms.

In order to help secure peace between Castile and León, Berengaria married Alfonso IX of León, her first cousin once removed, in Valladolid in 1197. As part of the marriage, and in accordance with Spanish customs of the time, she received direct control over a number of castles and lands within León. Most of these were along the border with Castile.

Berengaria and Alfonso IX had five children:

1. Eleanor (1198/1199-1202).

2. Constance (1200-1242), a nun in the Abbey of las Huelgas.

3.Ferdinand III (1201-1252), King of Castile and León.

4. Alfonso (1203-1272), Lord of Molina and Mesa by his first marriage to Mafalda de Lara, heiress of Molina and Mesa. His second marriage was to Teresa Núñez, and third to Mayor Téllez de Meneses, Lady of Montealegre and Tiedra, by whom he was the father of María of Molina, wife of King Sancho IV of León and Castile.

5. Berengaria (1204-1237), married John of Brienne, King of Jerusalem.

Starting in 1198, Pope Innocent III objected to the marriage on the grounds of consanguinity, though the couple stayed together until 1204. They vehemently sought a dispensation in order to stay together, including offering large sums of money. However, the pope denied their request, although they succeeded in having their children considered legitimate. Her marriage dissolved, Berengaria returned to Castile and to her parents in May 1204, where she dedicated herself to the care of her children.

Though she had left her role as queen of León, she retained authority over and taxing rights in many of the lands she had received there, which she gave to her son Ferdinand in 1206. Some of the nobles who had served her as queen followed her back to the court in Castille. The peace which had prevailed since her marriage was lost, and there was war again between León and Castille, in part over her control of these lands. In 1205, 1207, and 1209, treaties were made again between the two countries, each expanding her control. In the treaties of 1207 and 1209, Berengaria and her son were given again significant properties along the border. The treaty in 1207 is the first existing public document in the Castilian dialect.

In 1214, on the death of her father, Alfonso VIII of Castile, the crown passed to his only surviving son, Berengaria's 10-year-old brother, Henry I. Their mother Eleanor assumed the regency, but died 24 days after her husband. Berengaria, now heir presumptive again, replaced her as regent. At this point internal strife began, instigated by the nobility, primarily the House of Lara. They forced Berengaria to cede regency and guardianship of her brother to Count Álvaro Núñez de Lara.

The situation in Castile had grown perilous for Berengaria, so she decided to take refuge in the castle of Autillo de Campos, which was held by Gonzalo Rodríguez Girón (one of her allies) and sent her son Ferdinand to the court of his father. Circumstances changed suddenly when Henry died on 6 June 1217 after receiving a head wound from a tile which came loose while he was playing with other children at the palace of the Bishop of Palencia.

The new sovereign was well aware of the danger her former husband posed to her reign; it was feared that he would claim the crown for himself. Therefore, she kept her brother's death and her own accession secret from Alfonso. She wrote to Alfonso asking that Ferdinand be sent to visit her, and then abdicated in their son's favor on 31 August.

Although she did not reign for long, Berengaria continued to be her son's closest advisor, intervening in state policy, albeit in an indirect manner. Well into her son's reign, contemporary authors wrote that she still wielded authority over him. One example in which Berengaria's mediation stood out developed in 1218 when the scheming Lara family, still headed by former regent Álvaro Núñez de Lara, conspired to have Alfonso IX, King of León and King Ferdinand's father, invade Castile to seize his son's throne. However, the capture of Count Lara facilitated the intervention of Berengaria, who got father and son to sign the Pact of Toro on 26 August 1218, putting an end to confrontations between Castile and León.

In 1222, Berengaria intervened anew in favor of her son, achieving the ratification of the Convention of Zafra, thereby making peace with the Laras by arranging the marriage of Mafalda, daughter and heiress of the Lord of Molina, Gonzalo Pérez de Lara, to her own son and King Ferdinand's brother, Alfonso. In 1224 she arranged the marriage of her daughter Berengaria to John of Brienne, a maneuver which brought Ferdinand III closer to the throne of León, since John was the candidate Alfonso IX had in mind to marry his eldest daughter Sancha. By proceeding more quickly, Berengaria prevented the daughters of her former husband from marrying a man who could claim the throne of León.

Perhaps her most decisive intervention on Ferdinand's behalf took place in 1230, when Alfonso IX died and designated as heirs to the throne his daughters Sancha and Dulce from his first marriage to Theresa of Portugal, superseding the rights of Ferdinand III. Berengaria met with the princesses? mother and succeeded in the ratification of the Treaty of las Tercerías, by which they renounced the throne in favor of their half-brother in exchange for a substantial sum of money and other benefits. Thus were the thrones of León and Castile re-united in the person of Ferdinand III, which had been divided by Alfonso VII in 1157.

She intervened again by arranging the second marriage of Ferdinand after the death of Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen. Although he already had plenty of children, Berengaria was concerned that the king's virtue not be diminished with illicit relations. Her husband's rampant infidelity most likely played a part in this decision. This time, she chose a French noblewoman, Joan of Dammartin, a candidate put forth by the king's aunt and Berengaria's sister Blanche, widow of King Louis VIII of France. Berengaria served again as regent, ruling while her son Ferdinand was in the south on his long campaigns of the Reconquest. She governed Castile and León with her characteristic skill, relieving him of the need to divide his attention during this time.

She met with her son a final time in Pozuelo de Calatrava in 1245, afterwards returning to Toledo.[40] She died 8 November 1246,and was buried at Las Huelgas near Burgos.

Much like her mother, Eleanor of England, she was a strong patron of religious institutions. She worked with her mother to support the Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas. As queen of León, she supported the Order of Santiago and supported the Basilica of San Isidoro, not only donating to it, but also exempting it from any taxes.

She is portrayed as a wise and virtuous woman by the chroniclers of the time.




Buried:
Grave location, historical portrait, and statue:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=62558130

Notes:

Wikipeida
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_II_of_Le%C3%B3n

He was was King of León and Galicia from 1157 to his death. Born in Toledo, Castile, he was the son of King Alfonso VII of León and Castile and of Berenguela, of the House of Barcelona. At his father's death, he received León and Galicia, while his brother Sancho received Castile and Toledo. Ferdinand earned the reputation of a good knight and hard fighter, but did not display political or organising faculty.

He spent most of his first year as king in a dispute with his powerful nobles and an invasion by his brother Sancho III. In 1158 the two brothers met at Sahagun, and peacefully solved the heritage matters. However, Sancho died in the same year, being succeeded by his child son Alfonso VIII, while Ferdinand occupied parts of Castile.The boundary troubles with Castile restarted in 1164: he then met at Soria with the Lara family, who represented Alfonso VIII, and a truce was established, allowing him to move against the Muslims who still held much of southern Spain, and to capture the cities of Alcántara and Alburquerque. In the same year, Ferdinand defeated King Afonso I of Portugal, who, in 1163, had occupied Salamanca in retaliation for the repopulation of the area ordered by the King of León.

In 1165 he married Urraca, daughter of Afonso of Portugal. However, strife with Portugal was not put to an end by this move. In 1168 Afonso of Portugal again felt menaced by Ferdinand II's repopulation of the area of Ciudad Rodrigo: he then attacked Galicia. As his troops were also besieging the Muslim citadel of Badajoz, Ferdinand II was able to push the Portuguese out of Galicia and rush to Badajoz. When Afonso saw the Leonese arrive he tried to flee, but he was disabled by a broken leg caused by a fall from his horse, and made prisoner at one the city's gates. Afonso was obliged to surrender as his ransom almost all the conquests he had made in Galicia in the previous year. When in the same years the Almoravids laid siege to the Portuguese city of Santarém, Ferdinand II came to help his father-in-law, and helped to free the city from the menace.

In 1175 Pope Alexander III annulled Ferdinand II and Urraca of Portugal's marriage due to consanguinuity. The King remarried to Teresa Fernández de Traba, daughter of count Fernando Pérez de Traba, and widow of count Nuño Pérez de Lara. In 1185 Ferdinand married for the third time to Urraca López de Haro (daughter of Lope Díaz, lord of Biscay, Nájera and Haro), who was his mistress since 1180. The second Urraca tried in vain to have Alfonso IX, first son of Ferdinand II, declared illegitimate, to favor her son Sancho.

Ferdinand II died in 1188 at Benavente, while returning from a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. He was buried in the cathedral of Compostela.

In 1230 Forty two years after Ferdinand II's death his namesake grandson Ferdinand III of Castile united Castile with Leon permanently.

Ferdinand married Urraca of Portugal around 1165, they had one son, King Alfonso IX.

Following her repudiation, he formed a relationship with Teresa Fernández de Traba, daughter of count Fernando Pérez de Traba, and in August 1179 he married her, having Ferdinand (1178-1187), legitimized through his parents' subsequent marriage, and a child whose birth led to the death of its mother.

He then formed a liaison with Urraca López de Haro, daughter of Lope Díaz I de Haro, whom he married in May 1187, having García (1182-1184), Alfonso, b.1184, legitimized through the subsequent marriage of his parents, died before his father, and Sancho (1186-1220), Lord of Fines.



Buried:
Grave location, historical portrait, biography, and photo of cathedral:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=57133062

Ferdinand married Urraca of Portugal, Queen of León. Urraca (daughter of Afonso Henriques I of Portugal and Matilda (Mafalda) of Savoy) was born ca 1151, Coimbra, Portugal; died 16 Oct 1188, Valladolid, Provincia de Valladolid, Castilla y León, Spain; was buried , Monastery of Santa María de Wamba, Valladolid, Provincia de Valladolid, Castilla y León, Spain. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urraca_of_Portugal

She was was an Infanta of Portugal, daughter of Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, and his wife, Queen Maud of Savoy. She was queen consort of León as the wife of King Ferdinand II and the mother of Alfonso IX.

In May or June of 1165, she married Ferdinand II, becoming the first infanta of Portugal to have married a Leonese monarch. The only son of this marriage, Alfonso IX, was born in Zamora on 15 August 1171. This marriage failed to prevent her father Afonso I from declaring war on Ferdinand after he became his son-in-law. This short war culminated in disaster when Afonso was captured in Badajoz.

The marriage of Ferdinand II and Urraca was annulled in 1171 or 1172 by Pope Alexander III the two being second cousins, great-grandchildren of Alfonso VI of León and Castile. Urraca then became a nun joining the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem and retired to live in the estates that her former husband had given her in the Carta de Arras (wedding tokens) in Zamora. Later, she retired in the Monastery of Santa María de Wamba which belonged to the aforementioned order.

On 25 May 1176, Queen Urraca donated land and villas to the Order of Saint John, probably coinciding with her joining the order. These properties included Castroverde de Campos and Mansilla in León and Salas and San Andrés in Asturias.

She was present in 1188 at the coronation of her son Alfonso IX who inherited the throne after his father's death on 22 January 1188 and, in that same year, on 4 May, both confirmed the privileges granted by the former king to the Order of Santiago. Her presence is registered for the last time in medieval charters in 1211 when she donated the village of Castrotorafe that she had received from her husband the king in 1165 as a wedding gift to the Cathedral of Zamora.

Queen Urraca was buried at the Monastery of Santa María de Wamba in what is now the province of Valladolid, that belonged to the Order of Saint John. In the interior of the Church of Santa María, the only part remaining of the ancient monastery, is the Chapel of the Queen where a plaque that was placed there subsequently mentions that Queen Urraca of Portugal had been interred in this church.

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonso_VIII_of_Castile

He was the King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. He is most remembered for his part in the Reconquest and the downfall of the Almohad Caliphate. After having suffered a great defeat with his own army at Alarcos against the Almohads in 1195, he led the coalition of Christian princes and foreign crusaders who broke the power of the Almohads in the Battle of the Navas de Tolosa in 1212, an event which marked the arrival of a tide of Christian supremacy on the Iberian peninsula.

His reign saw the domination of Castile over León and, by his alliance with Aragon, he drew those two spheres of Christian Iberia into close connection.

Alfonso was born to Sancho III of Castile and Blanche, in Soria on 11 November 1155. He was named after his grandfather Alfonso VII of León and Castile, who divided his kingdoms between his sons. This division set the stage for conflict in the family until the kingdoms were re-united by Alfonso VIII's grandson, Ferdinand III of Castile.

His early life resembled that of other medieval kings. His father died in 1158. Though proclaimed king when only two years of age, Alfonso was regarded as merely nominal by the unruly nobles to whom a minority was convenient. Immediately, Castile was plunged into conflicts between the various noble houses vying for ascendancy in the inevitable regency. The devotion of a squire of his household, who carried him on the pommel of his saddle to the stronghold of San Esteban de Gormaz, saved him from falling into the hands of the contending factions. The noble houses of Lara and Castro both claimed the regency, as did the boy's uncle, Ferdinand II of León. In March 1160 the Castro and Lara met at the Battle of Lobregal and the Castro were victorious, but the guardianship of Alfonso and the regency fell to Manrique Pérez de Lara.

Alfonso was put in the custody of the loyal village Ávila. At barely fifteen, he came forth to do a man's work by restoring his kingdom to order. It was only by a surprise that he recovered his capital Toledo from the hands of the Laras.

During the regency, his uncle Sancho VI of Navarre took advantage of the chaos and the king's minority to seize lands along the border, including much of La Rioja. In 1170, Alfonso sent an embassy to Bordeaux to Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine to seek the hand of their daughter Eleanor. Due to the bride's young age of 9, the marriage was finalized at Burgos, before 17 September 1177. The marriage treaty helped provide Alfonso with a powerful ally against his uncle. In 1176, Alfonso asked his father-in-law to arbitrate the disputed border territories. While Alfonso received back much which had been taken from him, he did have to pay significant monetary compensation.

From Uclés, he began a campaign which culminated in the reconquest of Cuenca in 1177. The city surrendered on 21 September, the feast of Saint Matthew, ever afterwards celebrated by the citizens of the town. Alfonso took the initiative to ally all Christian kingdoms of the peninsula ? Navarre, León, Portugal, and Aragon ? against the Muslim Almohads. By the Treaty of Cazola of 1179, the zones of expansion of each kingdom were defined.

For the next seventeen years, the frontier between Moor and Castilian was fixed in the hill country just outside Toledo.
Finally, in 1212, through the mediation of Pope Innocent III, a crusade was called against the Almohads. Castilians under Alfonso, Aragonese and Catalans under Peter II, Navarrese under Sancho VII, and Franks under the archbishop of Narbonne, Arnaud Amalric, all flocked to the effort. The military orders also lent their support. Calatrava first, then Alarcos, and finally Benavente were captured before a final battle was fought at Las Navas de Tolosa near Santa Elena on 16 July. The caliph Muhammad al-Nasir was routed and Almohad power broken.

Alfonso died at Gutierre-Muñoz and was succeeded by his surviving son, Henry I. Henry died young and his daughter Beregaria inherited the throne of Castille. She quickly abdicated in favor of her son Ferdinand III of Castile who would re-unite the kingdoms of Castile and León.

With Eleanor Alfonso had 11 children:

1. Beregaria, the second wife of King Alfonso IX of León.

2. Sancho died in infancy.

3. Sancha died in infancy.

4. Henry died young.

5. Urraca married Alfonso II of Portugal.

6. Blanche married Louis VIII of France.

7. Ferdinand, heir to the throne, was returning through the San Vicente mountains from a campaign against the Muslims when he contracted a fever and died.

8. Mafalda betrothed in 1204 to Infante Ferdinand of Leon, eldest son of Alfonso IX and stepson of her oldest sister.

9. Eleanor married in Ágreda on 6 February 1221 with James I of Aragon.

10. Constance was a nun at the Cistercian monastery of Santa María la Real at Las Huelgas.

11. Henry was the only surviving son, he succeeded his father in 1214 aged ten under the regency firstly of his mother and later his oldest sister. He was killed when he was struck by a tile falling from a roof.






Buried:
Grave location, historical portrait, and photo of cathedral:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=62553726

Alfonso married Eleanor Plantagenet, Queen of Castille. Eleanor (daughter of Henry II Plantagenet, King of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine) was born 13 Oct 1162, Domfront Castle, Normandy; died 31 Oct 1214, Burgos, Provincia de Burgos, Castilla y León, Spain; was buried , Monasterio de Santa María la Real de las Huelgas, Burgos, Provincia de Burgos, Castilla y León, Spain. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_of_England,_Queen_of_Castile

She was Queen of Castile and Toledo as wife of Alfonso VIII of Castile and was the sixth child and second daughter of Henry II, King of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Eleanor was born in the castle at Domfront, Normandy on 13 October 1162, as the second daughter of Henry II, King of England and his wife Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine. 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.

In 1174, when she was 12 years old, Eleanor married King Alfonso VIII of Castile in Burgos. 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 border on the Pyrennes, 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.

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. 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. 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. 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.

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.

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.

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

Eleanor and Alfonso had 11 children:

1. Beregaria, the second wife of King Alfonso IX of León.

2. Sancho died in infancy.

3. Sancha died in infancy.

4. Henry died young.

5. Urraca married Alfonso II of Portugal.

6. Blanche married Louis VIII of France.

7. Ferdinand, heir to the throne, was returning through the San Vicente mountains from a campaign against the Muslims when he contracted a fever and died.

8. Mafalda betrothed in 1204 to Infante Ferdinand of Leon, eldest son of Alfonso IX and stepson of her oldest sister.

9. Eleanor married in Ágreda on 6 February 1221 with James I of Aragon.

10. Constance was a nun at the Cistercian monastery of Santa María la Real at Las Huelgas.

11. Henry was the only surviving son, he succeeded his father in 1214 aged ten under the regency firstly of his mother and later his oldest sister. He was killed when he was struck by a tile falling from a roof.



Buried:
Grave location, historical portrait, biography, and photo of tomb:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10783007

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonso_VII_of_Le%C3%B3n

The son of Urraca of León and Raymond of Burgundy of the first of the House of Ivrea to rule in the Iberian peninsula, he became the King of Galicia in 1111 and King of León and Castile in 1126. Alfonso first used the title Emperor of All Spain, alongside his mother Urraca, once his mother vested him with the direct rule of Toledo in 1116.

Alfonso was a dignified and somewhat enigmatic figure. He also sought to make the imperial title meaningful in practice, though his attempts to rule over both Christian and Muslim populations was even less successful. During his tenure, Portugal became de facto independent, in 1128, and was recognized as de jure independent, in 1143. He was a patron of poets, including, probably, the troubadour Marcabru.

In 1111, Alfonso was crowned King of Galicia in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. He was a child, but his mother had in 1109 succeeded to the united throne of León-Castile-Galicia and desired to assure her son's prospects and groom him for his eventual succession.

By 1125 he had inherited the formerly Muslim Kingdom of Toledo. On 10 March 1126, after the death of his mother, he was crowned in León and immediately began the recovery of the Kingdom of Castile, which was then under the domination of Alfonso the Battler, King of Navarre and Aragón. By the Peace of Támara of 1127, the Battler recognised Alfonso VII as King of Castile. This territory had gained much independence during the rule of his mother and experienced many rebellions. After his recognition in Castile, Alfonso fought to curb the autonomy of the local barons.

In 1135, Alfonso was crowned "Emperor of Spain" in the Cathedral of León. By this, he probably wished to assert his authority over the entire peninsula and his absolute leadership of the Reconquest. He appears to strive for the formation of a national unity which Spain had never possessed since the fall of the Visigothic kingdom.

Alfonso was a pious prince. He introduced the Cistercians to Iberia by founding a monastery at Fitero. He adopted a militant attitude towards the Moors of Andalusia and led a series of crusades subjugating the Moors. By 1144, he advanced as far as Córdoba.

When Pope Eugene III preached the Second Crusade, Alfonso VII, with García Ramírez of Navarre and Ramon Berenguer IV, led a mixed army of Catalans and Franks, with a Genoese?Pisan navy, in a crusade against the rich Mediterranean port city of Almería, in Andalusia, which was occupied in October 1147. Six years later, Almería entered into Moorish possession again. Alfonso was returning from an expedition against them when he died in pass of Muradel in the Sierra Morena mountains.

Alfonso was at once a patron of the church and a protector, though not a supporter of, the Moors, who were a minority of his subjects. His reign ended in an unsuccessful campaign against the rising power of the Muslim Almohads. Though he was not actually defeated, his death in the pass, while on his way back to Toledo, occurred in circumstances which showed that no man could be what he claimed to be, "king of the men of the two religions." Furthermore, by dividing his realm between his sons, he ensured that Christendom would not present the new Almohad threat with a united front.

In November 1128, he married Berenguela, daughter of Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona. She died in 1149. Their children were:

1. Sancho III of Castile (1134-1158)

2. Ramon, living 1136, died in infancy

3. Ferdinand II of León (1137-1188)

4. Constance (c.1138-1160), married Louis VII of France

5. Sancha (c.1139-1179), married Sancho VI of Navarre

6. García (c.1142-1145/6)

7. Alfonso (c.1144-by 1149)

In 1152, Alfonso married Richeza of Poland, the daughter of Ladislaus II the Exile. They had:

8. Ferdinand, (1153-1157)

9. Sancha (1155-1208), the wife of Alfonso II of Aragón.

Alfonso also had two mistresses, having children by both. By an Asturian noblewoman named Guntroda Pérez, he had an illegitimate daughter, Urraca (1132-1164), who married García Ramírez of Navarre, the mother retiring to a convent in 1133.

Later in his reign, he formed a liaison with Urraca Fernández, widow of count Rodrigo Martínez and daughter of Fernando Garcés de Hita, an apparent grandson of García Sánchez III of Navarre, having a daughter Stephanie the Unfortunate (1148-1180), who was killed by her jealous husband, Fernán Ruiz de Castro.



Buried:
Grave location, biography, and historical portraits:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=88303926

Alfonso married Berenguela (Berengaria) of Barcelona, Queen of Castille, León and Galicia. Berenguela (daughter of Ramon Berenguer, III of Barcelona, Count of Barcelona, Girona, and Ausona , and Count of Provence and Douce I of Provence, Countess of Provence) was born ca 1116, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; died 15 Jan 1149, Palencia, Castile and León, Spain; was buried , Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela Provincia da La Coruña Galicia, Spain. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berengaria_of_Barcelona

Berenguela or Berengaria of Barcelona was Queen consort of Castile, León and Galicia. She was the daughter of Raimon III of Barcelona and Dulce Aldonza Milhaud. Berenguela was the sister of Ramon Berenguer IV who was the ruler of the Kingdom of Aragon.

In November 1128, she married Alfonso VII. Their children were:

1. Sancho III of Castile (1134-1158)

2. Ramon, living 1136, died in infancy

3. Ferdinand II of León (1137-1188)

4. Constance (c.1138-1160), married Louis VII of France

5. Sancha (c.1139-1179), married Sancho VI of Navarre

6. García (c.1142-1145/6)

7. Alfonso (c.1144-by 1149)

In her lifetime a new political entity was formed in the northeast Iberian Peninsula: Portugal seceded from León in the west, giving more balance to the Christian kingdoms of the Iberian peninsula. Her brother Ramon Berenguer successfully pulled Aragon out of its pledged submission to Castile, aided no doubt by the beauty and charm of his sister Berengaria, for which she was well known in her time.

Her niece Dulce of Aragon married Sancho I of Portugal, while her famous granddaughter was Queen Berengaria of England.

She died in Palencia, and was buried at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.


Buried:
Grave location, biography, photos of effigy and cathedral:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=90699229

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afonso_I_of_Portugal

Nicknamed "the Conqueror,""the Founder," or "the Great" by the Portuguese, he was the first King of Portugal. He achieved the independence of the southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia, the County of Portugal, from Galicia's overlord, the King of León, in 1139, establishing a new kingdom and doubling its area with the Reconquest, an objective that he pursued until his death, in 1185, after forty-six years of wars against the Moors.

Afonso I was the son of Henry of Burgundy and Theresa, the natural daughter of King Alfonso VI of León and Castile. The pair reigned jointly as Count and Countess of Portugal until Henry's death, after which Theresa reigned alone. Afonso was about three years old when his father Count Henry, died on 12 May 1112 during the siege of Astorga. In an effort to pursue a larger share in the Leonese inheritance, his mother Theresa married Fernando Pérez, Count of Trava, the most powerful count in Galicia.

The Portuguese nobility disliked the alliance between Galicia and Portugal and rallied around the infant Alfonso.
In 1122, Afonso turned fourteen, the adult age in the 12th century. He made himself a knight on his own account in the Cathedral of Zamora, raised an army, and proceeded to take control of his mother's lands.

In 1128, near Guimarães, at the Battle of São Mamede Afonso and his supporters overcame troops under his stepfather Count Fernando Peres de Trava of Galicia. Afonso exiled his mother to Galicia, and took over rule of the County of Portugal. Thus the possibility of re-incorporating Portugal (up to then known as Southern Galicia) into a Kingdom of Portugal and Galicia as before was eliminated and Afonso became sole ruler following demands for independence from the county's church and nobles. He also vanquished his mother's nephew, Alfonso VII of León, who came to her rescue, and thus freed the country from political dependence on the crown of his cousin of León. On 6 April 1129, Afonso Henriques dictated the writ in which he proclaimed himself Prince of Portugal.

Afonso then turned his arms against the persistent problem of the Moors in the south. His campaigns were successful and, on 25 July 1139, he obtained an overwhelming victory in the Battle of Ourique, and straight after was unanimously proclaimed King of the Portuguese by his soldiers, establishing his equality in rank to the other realms of the Peninsula. The first assembly of the Portuguese Cortes convened at Lamego.

Independence from Alfonso VII of León, however, was not a thing he just could achieve militarily. The County of Portugal still had to be acknowledged diplomatically by the neighboring lands as a kingdom and, most importantly, by the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope. Afonso wed Mafalda of Savoy, daughter of Amadeus III, Count of Savoy, and sent ambassadors to Rome to negotiate with the Pope. He succeeded in renouncing the control of his cousin, Alfonso VII of León, becoming instead a vassal of the papacy, as the kings of Sicily and Aragon had done before him.

In Portugal he built several monasteries and convents and bestowed important privileges to religious orders. He is notably the builder of Alcobaça Monastery, to which he called the Cistercian Order of his uncle Bernard of Clairvaux of Burgundy. In 1143, he wrote to Pope Innocent II to declare himself and the kingdom servants of the church, swearing to pursue driving the Moors out of the Iberian Peninsula. Bypassing any king of León, Afonso declared himself the direct liege man of the papacy. Afonso continued to distinguish himself by his exploits against the Moors, from whom he wrested Santarém and Lisbon in 1147 (see Siege of Lisbon). He also conquered an important part of the land south of the Tagus River, although this was lost again to the Moors in the following years.

Meanwhile, King Alfonso VII of León (Afonso's cousin) regarded the independent ruler of Portugal as nothing but a rebel. Conflict between the two was constant and bitter in the following years. In 1169 the now old Dom Afonso was disabled in an engagement near Badajoz by a fall from his horse, and made prisoner by the soldiers of the king of León Ferdinand II also his son-in-law. Portugal was obliged to surrender as his ransom almost all the conquests Afonso had made in Galicia in the previous years.

In 1179 the privileges and favours given to the Roman Catholic Church were compensated. Pope Alexander III acknowledged Afonso as king and Portugal as an independent crown with the right to conquer lands from the Moors. With this papal blessing, Portugal was at last secured as a kingdom.

In 1184, in spite of his great age, he still had sufficient energy to relieve his son Sancho, who was besieged in Santarém by the Moors. Afonso died shortly after, on 6 December 1185. The Portuguese revere him as a hero, both on account of his personal character and as the founder of their nation.

In July 2006, the tomb of the king (which is located in the Santa Cruz Monastery in Coimbra) was to be opened for scientific purposes by researchers from the University of Coimbra (Portugal) and the University of Granada (Spain). The opening of the tomb provoked considerable concern among some sectors of Portuguese society and the Portuguese State Agency for Architectural Patrimony. The government halted the opening, requesting more protocols from the scientific team because of the importance of the king in the nation's formation.

Afonso married in 1146 Mafalda of Savoy (1125-1158), daughter of Amadeo III, Count of Savoy, and Mahaut of Albon and they had the following children:

1. Urraca who married Ferdinand II of León.

2. Sancho I, succeeded him as the 2nd King of Portugal

3. Teresa, married successively Philip I of Flanders and Odo III, Duke of Burgundy.

and at least 5 illegitimate children who lived to become adults.

Buried:
Grave location, historical portrait, and biography:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=11797223

Afonso married Matilda (Mafalda) of Savoy. Matilda (daughter of Amadeus III of Savoy and Mahaut of Albon, Countess of Savoy) was born ca 1125, County of Savoy; died 04 Nov 1157, Coimbra, Portugal; was buried , Monastery of Santa Cruz, Coimbra, Portugal. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matilda_of_Savoy,_Queen_of_Portugal

She was the first Queen of Portugal. Her husband was King Afonso I, the first sovereign of Portugal, whom she married in 1146.

She was the second or third daughter of Amadeus III of Savoy, Count of Savoy and Maurienne, and Mahaut of Albon (the sister of Guigues IV of Albon, "le Dauphin").

Three of her children lived to adulthood:

1. Infanta Urraca (1151-1188), married to King Ferdinand II of León.

2. Sancho I, King of Portugal (1154-1212), married to Dulce, Infanta of Aragon (daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona, and Queen Petronila of Aragon)

3. Infanta Theresa (1157-1218), married to Philip I, Count of Flanders, and next to Eudes III, Duke of Burgundy





Buried:
Grave location, historical portrait, and biography:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=99677140

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_II_of_England

Henry was the son of Geoffrey of Anjou and Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England. He became actively involved by the age of 14 in his mother's efforts to claim the throne of England, then occupied by Stephen of Blois, and was made Duke of Normandy at 17. He inherited Anjou in 1151 and shortly afterwards married Eleanor of Aquitaine, whose marriage to Louis VII of France had recently been annulled.

He ruled as Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Count of Nantes, King of England (1154?89) and Lord of Ireland; at various times, he also controlled Wales, Scotland and Brittany.

Henry was an energetic and sometimes ruthless ruler, driven by a desire to restore the lands and privileges of his royal grandfather, Henry I. During the early years of the younger Henry's reign he restored the royal administration in England, re-established hegemony over Wales and gained full control over his lands in Anjou, Maine and Touraine.

Henry's desire to reform the relationship with the Church led to conflict with his former friend Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury. This controversy lasted for much of the 1160s and resulted in Becket's murder in 1170.

Henry soon came into conflict with Louis VII and the two rulers fought what has been termed a "cold war" over several decades. Henry expanded his empire, often at Louis' expense, taking Brittany and pushing east into central France and south into Toulouse; despite numerous peace conferences and treaties, no lasting agreement was reached. By 1172, he controlled England, large parts of Wales, the eastern half of Ireland and the western half of France, an area that would later come to be called the Angevin Empire.

Henry and Eleanor had eight children. Henry's relationship with his wife Eleanor was complex: Henry trusted Eleanor to manage England for several years after 1154, and was later content for her to govern Aquitaine; indeed, Eleanor was believed to have influence over Henry during much of their marriage. Ultimately, however, their relationship disintegrated and chroniclers and historians have speculated on what ultimately caused Eleanor to abandon Henry to support her older sons in the Great Revolt of 1173-74. Probable explanations include Henry's persistent interference in Aquitaine, his recognition of Raymond of Toulouse in 1173, or his harsh temper. Henry had several long-term mistresses, including Annabel de Balliol and Rosamund Clifford

As the children grew up, tensions over the future inheritance of the empire began to emerge, encouraged by Louis and his son King Philip II. In 1173 Henry's heir apparent, "Young Henry", rebelled in protest; he was joined by his brothers Richard and Geoffrey and by their mother, Eleanor. France, Scotland, Flanders and Boulogne allied themselves with the rebels. The Great Revolt was only defeated by his vigorous military action and talented local commanders, many of them "new men" appointed for their loyalty and administrative skills.

Henry had eight legitimate children by Eleanor, five sons: William, the Young Henry, Richard, Geoffrey and John, and three daughters: Matilda, Eleanor and Joan. Henry also had several illegitimate children; among the most prominent of these were Geoffrey (later Archbishop of York) and William (later Earl of Salisbury). Henry was expected to provide for the future of his legitimate children, either through granting lands to his sons or marrying his daughters well. Henry's family was divided by rivalries and violent hostilities, more so than many other royal families of the day. Various suggestions have been put forward to explain Henry's family's bitter disputes, from their inherited family genetics to the failure of Henry and Eleanor's parenting.

Henry struggled to find ways to satisfy all his sons' desires for land and immediate power. Philip successfully played on Richard's fears that Henry would make John king, and a final rebellion broke out in 1189. Decisively defeated by Philip and Richard and suffering from a bleeding ulcer, Henry retreated to Chinon in Anjou, where he died.

Henry's empire quickly collapsed during the reign of his youngest son John. Many of the changes Henry introduced during his long rule, however, had long-term consequences. Henry's legal changes are generally considered to have laid the basis for the English Common Law, while his intervention in Brittany, Wales and Scotland shaped the development of their societies and governmental systems.



Buried:
Grave location, portrait and tomb effigy:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1951

Henry married Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor (daughter of William X of Aquitaine and Aenor de Châtellerault) was born 1122, Poitiers, Vienne, Poitou-Charentes, France; died 01 Apr 1204, Poitiers, Vienne, Poitou-Charentes, France; was buried , Fontevraud Abbey Fontevraud-l'Abbaye Departement de Maine-et-Loire Pays de la Loire, France. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine

Eleanor was the oldest of three children of William X, Duke of Aquitaine, whose glittering ducal court was renowned in early 12th-century Europe, and his wife, Aenor de Châtellerault, the daughter of Aimery I, Viscount of Châtellerault. She was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in western Europe during the High Middle Ages and a member of the Ramnulfid dynasty of rulers in southwestern France. She inherited the Duchy of Aquitaine from her father, William X, in 1137, and later became queen of France and of England.

By all accounts, Eleanor's father ensured that she had the best possible education. Eleanor came to learn arithmetic, the constellations, and history. She did learn domestic skills such as household management and the needle arts of embroidery, needlepoint, sewing, spinning, and weaving.[3] Eleanor ended up developing skills in conversation, dancing, games such as backgammon, checkers, and chess, playing the harp, and singing. Although her native tongue was Poitevin, she was taught to read and speak Latin, was well versed in music and literature, and schooled in riding, hawking, and hunting. Eleanor was extroverted, lively, intelligent, and strong-willed.

Her four-year-old brother William Aigret and their mother died at the castle of Talmont, on Aquitaine's Atlantic coast. Eleanor became the heir presumptive to her father's domains. The Duchy of Aquitaine was the largest and richest province of France; Poitou (where Eleanor spent most of her childhood) and Aquitaine together were almost one-third the size of modern France.

As Duchess of Aquitaine, Eleanor was the most eligible bride in Europe. Three months after she became duchess, she married King Louis VII of France, son of her guardian, King Louis VI, the Fat. As Queen of France, she participated in the unsuccessful Second Crusade. After the birth of her second daughter Alix, Louis agreed to an annulment given that their union had not produced a son after fifteen years of marriage. Their daughters, Marie and Alix, were declared legitimate and custody was awarded to Louis, while Eleanor's lands were restored to her.

As soon as the annulment was granted, Eleanor became engaged to Henry, Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou, who became King Henry II of England in 1154. Henry was her third cousin, and eleven years younger. They married eight weeks after the annulment of Eleanor's first marriage.

Over the next thirteen years, she bore Henry eight children: five sons, three of whom would become kings; and three daughters. However, Henry and Eleanor eventually became estranged. Henry imprisoned her in 1173 for supporting her son Henry's revolt against her husband. She was not released until 6 July 1189, when Henry died and their son ascended the English throne as Richard I.

Now queen dowager, Eleanor acted as regent while Richard went on the Third Crusade, where on his return he was captured and held prisoner. Eleanor lived well into the reign of her youngest son, John. By the time of her death, she had outlived all her children except for John and Eleanor.



Buried:
Grave location and tomb effigy:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6437&ref=acom