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Constance of Aragon (Catalan: ''Constança d'Aragó'', Spanish: ''Constanza de Aragón'', 1179 – 23 June 1222) was an Aragonese
infanta Infante (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as "infant" or translated as "prince", is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to the ...
who was by marriage firstly Queen of Hungary and Croatia, and secondly Queen of Germany and Sicily and Holy Roman Empress. She was regent of Sicily from 1212 to 1220. She was the second child and eldest daughter of the nine children of
Alfonso II of Aragon Alfonso II (1–25 March 1157Benito Vicente de Cuéllar (1995)«Los "condes-reyes" de Barcelona y la "adquisición" del reino de Aragón por la dinastía bellónida» p. 630-631; in ''Hidalguía''. XLIII (252) pp. 619–632."Alfonso II el Casto, h ...
and Sancha of Castile.


Queen of Hungary

Constance's marriage to Emeric of Hungary was credited to Margaret of France, wife of
Béla III of Hungary Béla III (, , ; 114823 April 1196) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia between 1172 and 1196. He was the second son of King Géza II of Hungary, Géza II and Géza's wife, Euphrosyne of Kiev. Around 1161, Géza granted Béla a du ...
. The wedding took place in 1196. Four years later, in 1200, the Queen gave birth to a son, called Ladislaus. When King Emeric was dying, he crowned his son Ladislaus co-ruler on 26 August 1204. The King wanted to secure his succession and had his brother
Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...
promise to protect the child and help him govern the
Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
until reaching adulthood. Emeric died three months later, on 30 November. Ladislaus succeeded him as King while Andrew became his Regent. Andrew soon took over all regal authority while Ladislaus and Constance were little more than his prisoners. Constance managed to escape to
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
with Ladislaus. The two found refuge in the court of
Leopold VI, Duke of Austria Leopold VI (15 October 1176 – 28 July 1230), known as Leopold the Glorious, was Duke of Styria from 1194 and Duke of Austria from 1198 to his death in 1230. He was a member of the House of Babenberg. Biography Leopold VI was the younger son o ...
, but Ladislaus died 7 May 1205. The former Regent and now King Andrew II of Hungary took the body of his nephew and buried him in the Royal Crypt of
Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...
. Duke Leopold sent Constance back to Aragon.


Queen of Sicily and Holy Roman Empress

When Constance returned to Aragon, she took up residence with her mother, Queen Sancha, in the Abbey of Nuestra Senora, at Sijena; Sancha had founded the abbey after her husband's death, and now lived there in retirement. Constance spent the next three years in the abbey with her mother, until her fate, again, was changed by her brother. Peter II wanted to be on good terms with Pope Innocent III, since he wanted an annulment of his marriage with Maria of Montpellier, and needed the blessing of the Pope. The Pope solicited the hand of the Dowager Queen of Hungary for his pupil, the young King
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (, , , ; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerusalem from 1225. He was the son of Emperor Henry VI, Holy Roman ...
. The Aragonese King accepted the proposal; Constance left her mother and the abbey of Nuestra Senora and began her trip to Sicily (1208). She never returned to Aragon or saw her mother again. Sancha died shortly after the departure of her daughter. Constance and Frederick were married in the Sicilian city of
Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...
on 15 August 1209. In the ceremony, she was crowned Queen of Sicily. By this time, Constance was thirty years old and her new husband only fourteen. Two years later, in 1211, Constance gave birth to a son, called
Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...
, who later had a tragic end. On 9 December 1212, Frederick was crowned
King of Germany This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (), from Treaty of Verdun, the division of the Francia, Frankish Empire in 843 and Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in ...
in opposition to Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor. During the absence of her husband, Constance stayed in Sicily as regent of the Kingdom until 1220. At first Frederick controlled Southern Germany and Otto IV was effectively deposed on 5 July 1215. This time Constance was crowned German Queen with her husband.
Pope Honorius III Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of importa ...
crowned Frederick
Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...
on 22 November 1220. Constance was crowned Holy Roman Empress while their son Henry became the new King of Germany. She died of
malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
less than two years later in
Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...
and was buried in the
Cathedral of Palermo Palermo Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palermo, located in Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy. It is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. As an architectural complex, it is characterized by the pr ...
, in a Roman sarcophagus with a crown, the Crown of Constance.


References


Sources

*111 * *Jacqueline Alio: ''Queens of Sicily 1061-1266'', Trinacria, New York 2018. *Uwe A. Oster: ''Die Frauen Kaiser Friedrichs II'', Piper Verlag, Munich 2008. *Ingo Runde: ''Konstanze von Aragón'', in: ''Die Kaiserinnen des Mittelalters'', hrsg. von Amalie Fößel, Pustet, Regensburg 2011, pp. 232–248. *Austin Lane Poole: ''Filippo di Svevia e Ottone IV'', in: ''Storia del mondo medievale'', vol. V, 1999, pp. 54–93. *E.F. Jacob: ''Innocenzo III'', in: ''Storia del mondo medievale'', vol. V, 1999, pp. 5–53. *Michelangelo Schipa: ''L'Italia e la Sicilia sotto Federico II'', in: ''Storia del mondo medievale'', vol. V, 1999, pp. 153–197. *Maria Amalia Mastelloni: ''Il sarcofago antico di Costanza d'Aragona, in Federico e la Sicilia, dalla terra alla corona. Arti figurative e arti suntuarie'', a cura di M. Andaloro, Palermo 1995, pp. 46–52. , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Constance Of Aragon 1179 births 1222 deaths 13th-century queens consort 13th-century women regents 13th-century regents Royal consorts of Sicily Holy Roman Empresses 12th-century Italian women 12th-century Italian people 13th-century Italian women Burials at Palermo Cathedral House of Aragon Duchesses of Swabia Aragonese infantas Wives of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor Remarried queens consort Queens consort of Hungary Daughters of kings Mothers of Italian monarchs Mothers of Sicilian monarchs Hungarian queen mothers Mothers of German monarchs Daughters of counts