Beatrice of Sicily (5 September 1326 – 12 October 1365) was a daughter of

Peter II of Sicily Peter II (1304 – 8 August 1342) was the King of Sicily from 1337 until his death, although he was associated with his father as co-ruler from 1321. Peter's father was Frederick III of Sicily and his mother was Eleanor, a daughter of Charles II of ...

and his wife

Elisabeth of Carinthia Elizabeth of Carinthia (1298–1352) was Queen of Sicily by marriage to Peter II of Sicily. She was the regent of Sicily during the minority of her son Louis, King of Sicily from 1348 until her death in 1352. The daughter of the Otto, the penu ...

. She was born into the

House of Barcelona The House of Barcelona was a medieval dynasty that ruled the County of Barcelona continuously from 878 and the Crown of Aragon from 1137 (as kings from 1162) until 1410. They descend from the Bellonids, the descendants of Wifred the Hairy. The ...

Family

Beatrice was the third of eight children, all of them living to adulthood apart from one sister, Violente. Beatrice's siblings included:

Frederick III the Simple Frederick III (or IV) (1 September 1341 – Messina 27 July 1377Setton, Kenneth M. (1975) " Volume III: The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries", Edited by Harry W. Hazzard, page 214.), called the Simple, was King of Sicily from 1355 to 1377. H ...

, Euphemia, Constance (both regents of Sicily),

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was introd ...

, wife of

Peter II of Aragon Peter II the Catholic (; ) (July 1178 – 12 September 1213) was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1196 to 1213. Background Peter was born in Huesca, the son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile. In 1205 he acknowled ...

Louis of Sicily Louis the Child ( it, Ludovico or ; 4 February 1338 – 16 October 1355) was King of Sicily (also known as "Trinacria") from 15 September 1342 until his death. He was a minor upon his succession, and was under a regency until 1354. His actual rul ...

, and Blanche, Countess of Ampurias. Beatrice's paternal grandparents were

Frederick III of Sicily Frederick II (or III) (13 December 1272 – 25 June 1337) was the regent of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1291 until 1295 and subsequently King of Sicily from 1295 until his death. He was the third son of Peter III of Aragon and served in the W ...

and

Eleanor of Anjou Eleanor of Anjou (August 1289 – 9 August 1341) was Queen of Sicily as the wife of King Frederick II of Sicily. She was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou by birth. She was the third daughter of King Charles II of Naples and Mary of Hungar ...

, daughter of

Charles II of Naples Charles II, also known as Charles the Lame (french: Charles le Boiteux; it, Carlo lo Zoppo; 1254 – 5 May 1309), was King of Naples, Count of Provence and Forcalquier (1285–1309), Prince of Achaea (1285–1289), and Count of Anjou and Maine ( ...

and Maria of Hungary; maternal grandparents were

Otto III of Carinthia Otto III ( – 25 May 1310), a member of the House of Gorizia (''Meinhardiner'' dynasty), was Duke of Carinthia and Count of Tyrol from 1295 until his death. He ruled jointly with his younger brothers Louis and Henry VI. Life Otto was a son of ...

and his wife Euphemia of Legnica, daughter of

Henry V, Duke of Legnica Henry V the Fat (german: Heinrich V der Dicke, pl, Henryk V Brzuchaty) ( – 22 February 1296) was a Duke of Jawor (Jauer) from 1273, of Legnica (Liegnitz) from 1278, and Duke of Wrocław ( Breslau) from 1290. He was the eldest son of Bole ...

and

Elisabeth of Kalisz Elisabeth of Kalisz (c. 1259 – 28 September 1304) or Elisabeth of Greater Poland, was the eldest child of Bolesław the Pious and his wife, Saint Jolenta of Poland. Her younger sister was Jadwiga of Greater Poland. Marriage In 1273, Elisabet ...

Life

Beatrice's parents resided in

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

, where Beatrice was likely born. In 1335, she was betrothed to

John Henry IV of Gorizia John Henry IV of Gorizia (1322–1338) was a medieval Count of Gorizia and a member of the Meinhardiner dynasty. He was the only surviving son of Henry III and his wife Beatrix of Lower Bavaria, the daughter of Duke Stephen I. He succeede ...

, a cousin twice removed of her mothers. Her mother renounced her rights to

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

and

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...

on Beatrice's behalf. However, the betrothal was cancelled by John Henry's mother who decided to settle with the new Habsburg rulers of Carinthia instead.Wilhelm Baum, I conti di Gorizia (LEG, 2000), p. 139 In 1345, Beatrice married Rupert, Count Palatine of the Rhine from the

House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...

. They needed a papal dispensation in order to marry. Rupert supported his uncle Prince Elector Rupert I actively with the Government of the Palatinate and was constantly on the move. Beatrice's mother-in-law

Irmengard of Oettingen Irmengard of Oettingen ( – 6 November 1389 in Worms, Germany) was a princess of the Counts von Oettingen by birth, and by marriage, Countess Palatine of the Rhine and, as a widow, a Dominican nun. Life Countess Palatine Irmengard ...

lived as a nun in the convent at

Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany, a city **Worms (electoral district) *Worms, Nebraska, U.S. *Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy Arts and entertainme ...

. Beatrice spent a lot of time here whilst her husband was away. Beatrice and Rupert had the following children: # Anna (1346 – 30 November 1415), married in 1363 to Duke Wilhelm VII of Jülich and Berg # Friedrich (1347 – c. 1395) # Johann (1349 – c. 1395) # Mechthild (born 1350), married to Landgrave Sigost of Leuchtenberg # Elisabeth (c. 1351 – 1360) # King

Rupert of Germany Rupert of the Palatinate (german: Ruprecht von der Pfalz; 5 May 1352 – 18 May 1410), sometimes known as Robert of the Palatinate, a member of the House of Wittelsbach, was Elector Palatine from 1398 (as Rupert III) and King of Germany from ...

(1352–1410) # Adolf (1355 – 1 May 1358) Beatrice died in 1365, 25 years before her husband became elector. She was buried in the Cistercian monastery of Schönau near

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

. The House of Wittelsbach founded the Collegiate Church in memory for Beatrice.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beatrice of Sicily 1326 births 1365 deaths 14th-century Italian women 14th-century Sicilian people House of Aragon Burials at Schönau Abbey House of Barcelona (Sicily) Nobility from Palermo Daughters of kings