Her tomb in Barcelona Eleanor of Aragon (1333 – 26 December 1417) was

Queen consort of Cyprus Empress and Despoina ''in'' Cyprus :''Byzantine titles did not have any territorial qualification, so there were no Emperors or Despots'' of ''Cyprus'' Komnenoi dynasty, 1184–1191 Consort of Cyprus House of Lusignan, 1192–1489 Titula ...

by marriage to

Peter I of Cyprus Peter I (9 October 1328 – 17 January 1369) was King of Cyprus and titular King of Jerusalem from his father's abdication on 24 November 1358 until his death in 1369. He was invested as titular Count of Tripoli in 1346. As King of Cyprus ...

. She was regent of Cyprus during the absence of her spouse in 1366, and regent during the minority of her son

Peter II of Cyprus Peter II (1354 or 1357 – 13 October 1382), called the Fat (French ''Pierre le Gros''), was the eleventh King of Cyprus of the House of Lusignan from 17 January 1369 until his death. Peter W. Edbury: The Kingdom of Cyprus and the Crusades 1191 ...

from 1369.

Life

Eleanor was a member of 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. Th ...

as the daughter of Peter of Aragon and Joan of Foix. To enhance his kingdom's political and economic power in the Mediterranean, King

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV, ; an, Pero, ; es, Pedro, . In Catalan, he may also be nicknamed ''el del punyalet'': "he of the little dagger". (Catalan: ''Pere IV''; 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''el Cerimoniós''), w ...

arranged a marriage in 1353 between his cousin Eleanor and

. By this marriage Eleanor became Queen of Cyprus and titular Queen of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...

Queen regent of Cyprus

The reign of Eleanor's husband was not a windfall for Cyprus. Her husband kept mistresses, which she was unable to endure. In 1366, when Peter went off on a crusade against Alexandria, he made Eleanor regent of Cyprus. After the return of Peter I from a long trip to Europe, Eleanor was accused of having committed adultery with John of Morf, the titular of Edessa. The court convened, but subsequently dismissed the charges. Peter then bullied Eleanor's favored nobles, including his own brothers. On 17 January 1369, Peter was eventually murdered in the arms of a lover, perhaps on the orders of his brothers

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 ...

and James. On behalf of her son, Eleanor was again regent, together with the brothers of the king, John and James. She stood first in Cyprus to prevent the throne of her son from being usurped. In a secret message, she invited the Genoese to a de facto invasion of Cyprus, to take revenge on her brothers-in-law. With the help of the betrayal of John Morf, they were conquered by the Genoese in 1373 and captured James. Eleanor led the assassination of John in 1374. In 1378, Peter II married Valentina Visconti, daughter of

Barnabò Visconti Barnabò is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Guglielmo Barnabò (1888–1954), Italian actor *Alessandro Barnabò Alessandro Barnabò (2 March 1801 – 24 February 1874) was an Italian Catholic Cardinal and Prefect of the Co ...

. The first choice of his marriage would have been to a daughter of

John V Palaiologos John V Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Ἰωάννης Παλαιολόγος, ''Iōánnēs Palaiológos''; 18 June 1332 – 16 February 1391) was Byzantine emperor from 1341 to 1391, with interruptions. Biography John V was the son of E ...

; this suggestion was rejected for political reasons, since the Latins did not encourage the marriage of Peter to a Greek princess. The justification that was given to the Palaiologos messengers was that the king was busy with the dangers that threatened Cyprus because of the Genoese invasion of the island. It is known that Eleanor did not get along with her daughter-in-law Valentina due to being involved in many issues and scandals. In 1381, the now 44-year-old Eleanor was forced to return to

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

, in order to prevent more problems with Valentina.

Lady of Valls

After her return, her cousin,

, entrusted Eleanor with the city of

Valls Valls () is a city and municipality in the province of Tarragona in Catalonia, Spain. According to the 2014 census it has a population of 24,570. Valls is known for its calçots – a type of scallion or green onion – and the human towers tradi ...

. She was co-ruler with the archbishop of Tarragona. Eleanor moved into the archbishop's palace in Valls. This changed within a short time into a sovereign court with numerous officials and minions; some had accompanied her from Cyprus. It was necessary in Valls that a tax had to be paid on the import of wine. The favourites of the Queen, however, insisted that they were exempt from these taxes. This led to a revolt, with casualties on both sides. There was no choice but for her friends to pay the taxes. After the death of King Peter IV, power was transferred to his son and successor, King John I. The clashes between the population and the Queen Dowager of Cyprus, however, still continued. For alleged insults against the citizens, they broke into the palace and killed John, brother and butler to Eleanor; he was murdered before Eleanor's eyes. Terrified, Eleanor fled to territory of her brother. After twelve years of living in Valls, Eleanor never returned. She died on 26 December 1416 in the Castle of Falset,

Issue

Peter and Eleanor had the following children: *

(c. 1357–1382), succeeded him as King of Cyprus and Jerusalem *Marie named Mariette (ca. 1360 – ca. 1397), once engaged to Carlo Visconti and married in 1385 to her cousin James of Lusignan (d. 1395/1397), titular

Count of Tripoli The count of Tripoli was the ruler of the County of Tripoli, a crusader state from 1102 through 1289. Of the four major crusader states in the Levant, Tripoli was created last. The history of the counts of Tripoli began with Raymond IV of Toulo ...

, son of

John of Lusignan John of Lusignan ( French: ''Jean de Lusignan''; c. 1329 or 1329/1330 – 1375) was a regent of the Kingdom of Cyprus and titular Prince of Antioch. He was son of King Hugh IV of Cyprus and his second wife Alix of Ibelin. He was a member of the Ho ...

and second wife Alice of Ibelin, and had issue *Eschive (d. before 1369), died young. It is possible that she was the daughter of Peter's first wife, Eschive de Montfort rather than Eleanor

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eleanor Of Aragon, Queen Of Cyprus Cypriot queens consort 14th-century women rulers 1333 births 1417 deaths Countesses of Tripoli House of Aragon 14th-century Spanish women 14th-century people from the Kingdom of Aragon 15th-century Spanish women 15th-century people from the Kingdom of Aragon 14th-century Cypriot people 15th-century Cypriot people Queen mothers