Elvira of Castile ( – 6 February 1135) was a member of the

House of Jiménez A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

and the first

Queen of Sicily The monarchs of Sicily ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1130 until the "perfect fusion" in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1816. The origins of the Sicilian monarchy lie in the Norman conquest of southern Italy which oc ...

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 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 ...

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 Zaida of Seville, c. 1070–1093/1107 (?), was a refugee Muslim princess, formerly associated with the Abbadid dynasty, who became a mistress and then perhaps wife of king Alfonso VI of Castile. She is said by Al-Andalus sources to have been th ...

, the Arab princess from the

Abbadid dynasty The Abbadid dynasty or Abbadids () was an Arab dynasty from the tribe of Banu Lakhm of al-Hirah, which ruled the Taifa of Seville in al-Andalus following the fall of the Caliphate of Cordoba in 1031. After the collapse, they were the most powerful ...

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 Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

, Elvira must have been accustomed to a significant level of

convivencia ''Convivencia'' (Spanish for "living together") is a term used by scholar Américo Castro to describe a period in Spanish history from the Muslim Umayyad conquest of Hispania in the 700s to the expulsion of the Jews in 1492. It claims that in t ...

, which was present in Sicily as well. In 1117 or 1118, Elvira married

Roger II Roger II or Roger the Great (, , Greek: Ρογέριος; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Sicily and Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon. He began his rule as Count of Sicily in 1105, became ...

, then

count of Sicily The County of Sicily was a Norman state comprising the islands of Sicily and Malta and part of Calabria from 1071 until 1130. The county began to form during the Norman conquest of Sicily (1061–91) from the Muslim Emirate, established by ...

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

Islamic art Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslims, Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across ...

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 The County of Apulia and Calabria (), later the Duchy of Apulia and Calabria (), was a Norman state founded by William of Hauteville in 1043, composed of the territories of Gargano, Capitanata, Apulia, Vulture, and most of Campania. It becam ...

(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 Tancred or Tankred is a masculine given name of Germanic origin that comes from ''thank-'' (thought) and ''-rath'' (counsel), meaning "well-thought advice". It was used in the High Middle Ages mainly by the Normans (see French Tancrède) and espec ...

(1120–1138), Prince of Bari (from 1135). *

William I William I may refer to: Kings * William the Conqueror (–1087), also known as William I, King of England * William I of Sicily (died 1166) * William I of Scotland (died 1214), known as William the Lion * William I of the Netherlands and Luxembour ...

(1120/1121 – 7 May 1166), his successor,

(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 This is a list of the rulers of the Principality of Capua. Lombard rulers of Capua Gastalds and counts The gastalds (or counts) of Capua were vassals of the princes of Benevento until the early 840s, when Gastald Landulf began to clamour for the i ...

(from 1135) and

Duke of Naples The dukes of Naples were the military commanders of the ''ducatus Neapolitanus'', a Byzantine Empire, Byzantine outpost in Italy, one of the few remaining after the conquest of the Lombards. In 661, Emperor Constans II, highly interested in south I ...

. * 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.

Notes

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 Elvira is a female given name. It is believed to have first been recorded in medieval Spain, while other sources claim that it is likely of Germanic ( Gothic) origin. In the Balkans, Elvira is popular among Bosniaks, Croats, and Slovenes in the ...

Infectious disease deaths in Sicily Daughters of emperors Duchesses of Apulia Daughters of kings Mothers of Sicilian monarchs