Blanche of France (French: ''Blanche de France'') (1253–1323) was a daughter of King
Louis IX of France
Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the ...
and
Margaret of Provence
Margaret of Provence (french: Marguerite; 1221 – 20 December 1295) was Queen of France by marriage to King Louis IX.
Early life
Margaret was born in the spring of 1221 in Forcalquier. She was the eldest of four daughters of Ramon Berenguer IV ...
.
Biography
Blanche was born in 1253 in
Jaffa
Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...
,
County of Jaffa and Ascalon
The double County of Jaffa and Ascalon was one of the four major seigneuries comprising the major Crusader state of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, according to 13th-century commentator John of Ibelin.
History
Jaffa was fortified by Godfrey of Boui ...
during the
Seventh Crusade led by her father, Louis IX of France.
In November 1269, she married
Ferdinand de la Cerda, Infante of Castile
Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...
, eldest son of
Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Germ ...
and
Violant of Aragon
Violant or Violante of Aragon, also known as Yolanda of Aragon (8 June 1236 – 1301), was Queen consort of Castile and León from 1252 to 1284 as the wife of King Alfonso X of Castile.
Life
Violant was born in Zaragoza, the daughter of King ...
. They had:
*
Alfonso
Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
(1270–1333), who married Mahaut, daughter of
John I of Brienne, Count of Eu
John I of Brienne (died 12 June 1294) was the son of Alphonso of Brienne and Marie de Lusigan. His mother was the heiress of Eu, Seine-Maritime, and he succeeded his father as Count of Eu in 1270.
He married Beatrice, the daughter of Guy III, Co ...
. They had four sons and three daughters.
*
Ferdinand
Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...
(1275–1322), who married
Juana Núñez de Lara
Juana Núñez de Lara (1286 – 1351) was a daughter of Juan Núñez de Lara ''the Fat'' and his wife Teresa Díaz II de Haro of the lordship of Biscay. Juana is also known as la Palomilla or Lady of Lara.
Life
Juana was first married to Infante ...
, called "la Palomilla", Lady of Lara and Herrera, daughter of
Juan Núñez I de Lara
Juan Núñez I de Lara y León (died Córdoba, April 1294), also known as "''el Gordo''" or "the Fat", was a Spanish noble. He was the head of the House of Lara, Lord of Lerma, Amaya, Dueñas, Palenzuela, Tordehumos, Torrelobatón, and la ...
and Teresa Álvarez de Azagra. They had one son and three daughters. One daughter,
Blanca de La Cerda y Lara, was the mother-in-law of King
Henry II of Castile
Henry II (13 January 1334 – 29 May 1379), called Henry of Trastámara or the Fratricidal (''el Fratricida''), was the first King of Castile and León from the House of Trastámara. He became king in 1369 by defeating his half-brother Peter the ...
.
Ferdinand predeceased his father in 1275 at
Ciudad Real
Ciudad Real (, ; en, "Royal City") is a municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha, capital of the province of Ciudad Real. It is the 5th most populated municipality in the region.
History
It was founde ...
. Blanche and Ferdinand's sons did not inherit the throne of their grandfather, since their uncle, the second son,
Sancho
The name Sancho is an Iberian name of Basque origin (Santxo, Santzo, Santso, Antzo, Sans). Sancho stems from the Latin name Sanctius.Eichler, Ernst; Hilty, Gerold; Löffler, Heinrich; Steger, Hugo; Zgusta, Ladislav: ''Namenforschung/Name Studies/ ...
, enforced his claim, even by rebelling. Blanche's brother Philip warned Sancho that he would invade
Castile on behalf of his two nephews.
Blanche left Castile never to return. Her sons were sent to live with their grandmother
Violant of Aragon
Violant or Violante of Aragon, also known as Yolanda of Aragon (8 June 1236 – 1301), was Queen consort of Castile and León from 1252 to 1284 as the wife of King Alfonso X of Castile.
Life
Violant was born in Zaragoza, the daughter of King ...
who had them sent to the fortress of
Xàtiva
Xàtiva (, es, Játiva ) is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right (western) bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways. It is located 25 km west ...
so they would be safe from Sancho.
Blanche died at the
''Monastère des Clarisses de l’Ave Maria'', in Paris, in 1323.
Ancestry
References
Sources
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:France, Blanche of, Infanta of Castile
1253 births
1323 deaths
13th-century Spanish women
13th-century French women
14th-century French women
Blanche
French princesses
Castilian infantas
13th-century Castilians
Daughters of kings
Children of Louis IX of France