Elvira of Castile ( – 6 February 1135) was a member of the House of Jiménez and the first Queen of Sicily as the wife of

Roger II of Sicily Roger II or Roger the Great (, , Greek language, Greek: Ρογέριος; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Kingdom of Sicily, Sicily and Kingdom of Africa, Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon, C ...

. Elvira was a legitimate daughter of Alfonso VI,

king of León In the reign of Ordoño I of Asturias (850–866), the kingdom began to be known as that of León. In 910, an independent Kingdom of León was founded when the king of Asturias divided his territory amongst his three sons. Below follows a ...

and Castile. Her mother was King Alfonso VI's fourth wife, Isabella. This Isabella is likely identical to Zaida of Seville, the Arab princess from the Abbadid dynasty who was Alfonso's mistress before marrying him. Other historians have argued that she was a French princess. Growing up at her father's court in the multiconfessional city of Toledo, Elvira must have been accustomed to a significant level of convivencia, which was present in Sicily as well. In 1117 or 1118, Elvira married Roger II, then count of Sicily and king from 1130. Sicily too had a sizeable Muslim population, and the marriage was part of Roger's plan to emulate the religious policy of Elvira's father. Elvira's likely descent from the Muslim rulers of

Al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

exemplifies a "pattern of cultural association" between the queens of Sicily and the

Islamic world The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is ...

. She may have even influenced the extensive cultivation of

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during her husband's reign. There is exceptionally little information about Queen Elvira. She does not appear to have been active in politics or as a church patron, and is chiefly remembered for giving birth to Roger's six children. Elvira and Roger had six children: * Roger III (1118 – 12 May 1148), heir, Duke of Apulia (from 1135), possibly also Count of

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

. * Tancred (1120–1138), Prince of Bari (from 1135). * William I (1120/1121 – 7 May 1166), his successor, Duke of Apulia (from 1148). *

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. I ...

(1122 – 10 October 1144), Prince of Capua (from 1135) and Duke of Naples. * Adelisia (1126 - post 1184), regnant duchess of Florence. She married firstly Jocelyn, Count of Loreto, and secondly Robert III, Count of Loritello. * Henry (1130 - 1143), prince of Taranto. In 1135, both Roger and Elvira fell ill. The illness was grave and infectious. The king survived, but the queen died on 6 February. Roger was devastated by her death; he withdrew to his room and refused to see anyone except his closest servants. Eventually rumors spread that he too had died. Roger remained a widower for fourteen years and remarried only in 1149, as he had outlived four out of the five sons he had had with Elvira.

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References

* * * * * * {{Royal consorts of Sicily, state=collapsed 1100s births 1135 deaths Roger II of Sicily Royal consorts of Sicily 12th-century Italian women 12th-century Sicilian people 12th-century Italian nobility Leonese infantas Castilian infantas Elvira Infectious disease deaths in Sicily Daughters of emperors Duchesses of Apulia Daughters of kings Mothers of Sicilian monarchs