Eleanor of Provence (c. 1223 – 24/25 June 1291) was a French noblewoman who became
Queen of England as the wife of King
Henry III from 1236 until his death in 1272. She served as regent of England during the absence of her spouse in 1253.
Although she was completely devoted to her husband and staunchly defended him against the rebel
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester ( – 4 August 1265), later sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from his namesake relatives, was a nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the ...
, she was very much hated by the Londoners. This was because she had brought many relatives with her to England in her retinue; these were known as "the Savoyards", and they were given influential positions in the government and realm. On one occasion, Eleanor's barge was attacked by angry Londoners who pelted her with stones, mud, pieces of paving, rotten eggs and vegetables.
Eleanor had five children, including the future King
Edward I of England
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...
. She also was renowned for her cleverness, skill at writing poetry, and as a leader of fashion.
Early life
Born in the city of
Aix-en-Provence in southern France, she was the second daughter of
Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence
Ramon Berenguer IV (french: Raimond-Bérenger; 1198 – 19 August 1245) was a member of the House of Barcelona who ruled as count of Provence and Forcalquier. He was the first count of Provence to live in the county in more than one hundred years ...
(1198–1245) and
Beatrice of Savoy
Beatrice of Savoy (c. 1198 – c. 1267) was Countess consort of Provence by her marriage to Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence. She served as regent of her birth country Savoy during the absence of her brother in 1264.
Early life
She was th ...
(1198–1267), the daughter of
Thomas I of Savoy
Thomas Ι (''Tommaso I''; c. 1178 – 1 March 1233) was Count of Savoy from 1189 to 1233. He is sometimes numbered "Thomas I" to distinguish him from his son of the same name. His long reign marked a decisive period in the history of Savoy.
Bi ...
and his wife
Margaret of Geneva
Margaret of Geneva (1180?–1252), was a countess of Savoy by marriage to Thomas I of Savoy.Eugene L. Cox, The Eagles of Savoy : The House of Savoy in Thirteenth-Century Europe, Princeton University Press, 2015 (réimpr. 2015) (1re éd. 1974), 5 ...
. She was well educated as a child and developed a strong love of reading. Her three sisters also married kings. After her elder sister
Margaret married
Louis IX of France, their uncle
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
corresponded with
Henry III of England
Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry a ...
to persuade him to marry Eleanor. Henry sought a dowry of up to twenty thousand silver marks to help offset the dowry he had just paid for his sister
Isabella
Isabella may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Isabella (surname), including a list of people
Places
United States
* Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...
, but Eleanor's father was able to negotiate this down to no dowry, just a promise to leave her ten thousand marks when he died.
Like her mother, grandmother, and sisters, Eleanor was renowned for her beauty. She was a dark-haired brunette with fine eyes.
Piers Langtoft Peter Langtoft, also known as Peter of Langtoft ( fro, Piers de Langtoft; died 1305) was an English historian and chronicler who took his name from the small village of Langtoft in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
Langtoft was an Augustinian canon ...
speaks of her as "The erle's daughter, the fairest may of life". On 22 June 1235, Eleanor was betrothed to King Henry III (1207–1272). Eleanor was probably born latest in 1223;
Matthew Paris
Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris ( la, Matthæus Parisiensis, lit=Matthew the Parisian; c. 1200 – 1259), was an English Benedictine monk, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey ...
describes her as being "''jamque duodennem''" (already twelve) when she arrived in the
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various History of Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, ...
for her marriage.
Queen consort
Eleanor was married to King Henry III of England on 14 January 1236. She had never seen him prior to the wedding at
Canterbury Cathedral and had never set foot in his kingdom.
Edmund Rich
Edmund of Abingdon (also known as Edmund Rich, St Edmund of Canterbury, Edmund of Pontigny, French: St Edme; c. 11741240) was an English-born prelate who served as Archbishop of Canterbury. He became a respected lecturer in mathematics, diale ...
, Archbishop of Canterbury, officiated. She was dressed in a shimmering golden dress that fitted tightly at the waist and flared out to wide pleats at her feet. The sleeves were long and lined with ermine. After riding to London the same day where a procession of citizens greeted the bridal pair, Eleanor was crowned queen consort of England in a ceremony at
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...
which was followed by a magnificent banquet with the entire nobility in full attendance. Her love for her husband grew significantly from 1236 onward.
Unpopularity
Eleanor was a loyal and faithful consort to Henry, but she brought in her retinue a large number of uncles and cousins, "the Savoyards", and her influence with the King and her unpopularity with the English barons created friction during Henry's reign. Her uncle
William of Savoy
William of Savoy (died 1239 in Viterbo) was a bishop from the House of Savoy. He was a son of Thomas, Count of Savoy and Margaret of Geneva. He was elected bishop of Valence in 1224. He negotiated the weddings of queens, and was an advisor to ...
became a close advisor of her husband, displacing and displeasing English barons.
Though Eleanor and Henry supported different factions at times, she was made regent of England when her husband left for Gascony in 1253. Eleanor was devoted to her husband's cause, stoutly contested
Simon de Montfort
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester ( – 4 August 1265), later sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from his namesake relatives, was a nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the ...
, and raised troops in France for Henry.
On 13 July 1263, she was sailing down the
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
when her barge was attacked by citizens of London. Eleanor stoutly hated the Londoners, who returned her hatred; in revenge for their dislike, Eleanor had demanded from the city all the back payments due on the monetary tribute known as ''queen-gold'', by which she received a tenth of all fines which came to the Crown. In addition to the ''queen-gold'', other such fines were levied on the citizens by the Queen on the thinnest of pretexts. In fear for her life as she was pelted with stones, loose pieces of paving, dried mud, rotten eggs and vegetables, Eleanor was rescued by
Thomas Fitzthomas, the
Mayor of London
The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom.
The current m ...
, and took refuge at the bishop of London's home.
Queen dowager and death
In 1272, Henry died, and her son Edward, who was 33 years old, became king of England. She remained in England as
queen dowager and raised several of her grandchildren: Edward's son
Henry
Henry may refer to:
People
*Henry (given name)
* Henry (surname)
* Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry
Royalty
* Portuguese royalty
** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal
** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...
and daughter Eleanor and Beatrice's son
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
. When her grandson Henry died in her care in 1274, Eleanor went into mourning and gave orders for his heart to be buried at the
priory at Guildford, which she founded in his memory. In January 1275, she
expelled the Jews from all of her lands.
[Alison Taylor, "Cambridge, the hidden history", (Tempus: 1999) , p82] Eleanor's two remaining daughters died in 1275, Margaret on 26 February and Beatrice on 24 March.
She retired in 1286 to
Amesbury Priory
Amesbury Priory was a Benedictine monastery at Amesbury in Wiltshire, England, belonging to the Order of Fontevraud. It was founded in 1177 to replace the earlier Amesbury Abbey, a Saxon foundation established about the year 979. The Anglo-Norma ...
in Wiltshire, eight miles north of
Salisbury
Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath.
Salisbury is in the southeast of ...
, where she was visited by her son, King Edward. Two of her granddaughters –
Mary of Woodstock
Mary of Woodstock (11 March 1278 – before 8 July 1332) was the seventh named daughter of Edward I of England and Eleanor of Castile. She was a nun at Amesbury Priory, but lived very comfortably thanks to a generous allowance from her parents. ...
(daughter of Edward) and
Eleanor of Brittany – were already nuns there, each having entered the priory on reaching the age of seven.
Eleanor died on 24/25 June 1291 at the priory and was buried there.
The site of her grave is unknown, making her the only English queen without a marked grave. Her heart was taken to London where it was buried at the Franciscan priory of
Greyfriars.
Cultural legacy
Eleanor was renowned for her learning, cleverness, and skill at writing poetry, as well as her beauty; she was also known as a leader of fashion, continually importing clothes from France. She favoured red silk
damask
Damask (; ar, دمشق) is a reversible patterned fabric of silk, wool, linen, cotton, or synthetic fibers, with a pattern formed by weaving. Damasks are woven with one warp yarn and one weft yarn, usually with the pattern in warp-faced satin ...
and often wore parti-coloured
cotte
The cotte (or cote) was a medieval outer garment, a long sleeved shift, or tunic, usually girded, and worn by men and women. In medieval texts, it was used to translate '' tunica'' or ''chiton''. Synonyms included tunic or gown. It was worn over ...
s (a type of tunic), gold or silver
girdle
A belt, especially if a cord or rope, is called a girdle if it is worn as part of Christian liturgical vestments, or in certain historical, literary or sports contexts.
Girdles are used to close a cassock in Christian denominations, including th ...
s into which a dagger was casually thrust, and decorations of gilt quatrefoil. To cover her dark hair, she wore jaunty pillbox caps. Eleanor introduced a new type of
wimple
A wimple is a medieval form of female headcovering, formed of a large piece of cloth worn draped around the neck and chin, covering the top of the head; it was usually made from white linen or silk. Its use developed in early medieval Europe; i ...
to England, which was high, "into which the head receded until the face seemed like a flower in an enveloping spathe".
She had developed a love for the songs of the
troubadour
A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairi ...
s as a child and continued this interest into adulthood. She bought many romantic and historical books that included stories from ancient times to contemporary romances written in the period (13th century).
Eleanor is the protagonist of ''The Queen From Provence'', a historical romance by British novelist
Jean Plaidy
Eleanor Alice Hibbert (née Burford; 1 September 1906 – 18 January 1993) was an English writer of historical romances. She was a prolific writer who published several books a year in different literary genres, each genre under a different pen ...
which was published in 1979. Eleanor is a main character in the novel ''Four Sisters, All Queens'' by author Sherry Jones, as well as the novels ''The Sister Queens'' by Sophie Perinot, and "My Fair Lady: A Story of Henry III's Lost Queen" by J. P. Reedman. She is also the subject of Norwegian Symphonic metal band Leave's Eyes in their song "Eleonore De Provence" from their album ''Symphonies of the Night''.
Issue
Eleanor and Henry had five children together. Eleanor seems to have been especially devoted to her eldest son, Edward; when he was deathly ill in 1246, she stayed with him at the
abbey at Beaulieu in
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
for three weeks, long past the time allowed by monastic rules. She personally supervised Edward's upbringing and education. It was because of her influence that King Henry granted the duchy of Gascony to Edward in 1249. Her youngest child, Katherine, seems to have had a degenerative disease that rendered her deaf. When the little girl died at the age of three, both her royal parents suffered overwhelming grief. Eleanor possibly had four other sons who also died in childhood, but their existence is in doubt as there is no contemporary record of them.
#
Edward I (1239–1307), married
Eleanor of Castile (1241–1290) in 1254, by whom he had issue, including his heir
[ Edward II. His second wife was Margaret of France, by whom he had issue.]
# Margaret (1240–1275), married King Alexander III of Scotland
Alexander III (Medieval ; Modern Gaelic: ; 4 September 1241 – 19 March 1286) was King of Scots from 1249 until his death. He concluded the Treaty of Perth, by which Scotland acquired sovereignty over the Western Isles and the Isle of Man. His ...
, by whom she had issue.[
# Beatrice (1242–1275), married ]John II, Duke of Brittany
John II ( br, Yann, french: Jean; 123918 November 1305) reigned as Duke of Brittany from 1286 until his death, and was also Earl of Richmond in the Peerage of England. He took part in two crusades prior to his accession to the ducal throne. As a ...
, by whom she had issue.[
#]Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster
Edmund, Earl of Lancaster and Earl of Leicester (16 January 12455 June 1296) nicknamed Edmund Crouchback was a member of the House of Plantagenet. He was the second surviving son of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. In his chi ...
(1245–1296), married Aveline de Forz
Aveline is a surname of Norman French origin, derived from a given name, a diminutive of Ava. The surname is in turn the origin of the given name Evelyn.
In modern French, ''aveline'' means hazelnut. This is derived from the name of the Italian ...
in 1269, who died four years later without issue; married Blanche of Artois
Blanche of Artois ( eu, Blanka; 1248 – 2 May 1302) was Queen of Navarre and Countess of Champagne and Brie during her marriage to Henry I of Navarre. After his death she became regent in the name of their infant daughter, Joan I. She passed o ...
in 1276, by whom he had issue.
#Katherine
Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria.
In the early Christ ...
(25 November 1253 – 3 May 1257)[
]
Notes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Eleanor of Provence
1220s births
1291 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
13th-century viceregal rulers
13th-century women rulers
13th-century French people
13th-century English people
13th-century French women
Women in 13th-century warfare
13th-century English poets
13th-century English women writers
Irish royal consorts
People from Aix-en-Provence
English royal consorts
Duchesses of Aquitaine
House of Aragon
People of the Barons' Wars
Women in medieval European warfare
Henry III of England
Regents of England
Burials at Amesbury Abbey
Queen mothers