Leonor (Eleanor) de Guzmán y Ponce de León (1310–1351) was a Castilian noblewoman. After roughly 1330, she became the long-term mistress and favourite of
Alfonso XI, with whom she had the illegitimate
Henry "the Fratricidal", future first monarch of the
House of Trastámara
The House of Trastámara (Spanish, Aragonese and Catalan: Casa de Trastámara) was a royal dynasty which first ruled in the Crown of Castile and then expanded to the Crown of Aragon in the late middle ages to the early modern period.
They were a ...
. She held the lordship of
Medina-Sidonia until she fell from grace in the wake of Alfonso's death in 1350. She was thus ensuingly executed by her enemies.
Life
Eleanor was the daughter of nobleman Pedro Núñez de Guzmán and his wife, Beatriz Ponce de León, a great-granddaughter of King
Alfonso IX of León. Her parents married her off as a young girl to Juan de Velasco.
Eleanor's husband died in 1328, at twenty years old. Soon thereafter, in
Seville she met King Alfonso XI. He was so impressed by her beauty that he made her his mistress. He preferred Eleanor to his wife
Maria of Portugal, daughter of
Alfonso IV of Portugal
Afonso IVEnglish: ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', or ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese), ''Alfonso'' or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin). (; 8 February 129128 May 1357), called the Brave ( pt, o Bravo, links=no), was King ...
, whom he married in 1328. After Maria's son and heir, the future
Peter of Castile, was born in 1334, Alfonso left Maria and lived with De Guzmán instead. The humiliated queen resented her unfaithful husband and asked him to cease his public displays of preference for his mistress. The king ignored his wife's pleas, and gave Eleanor
Huelva,
Tordesillas, and
Medina-Sidonia in addition to other holdings. He also established Eleanor's household in Seville where she was allowed to hear political matters. The court was increasingly troubled by Alfonso's behavior and as a result, the Pope intervened by forcing Portugal to invade Castile.
The King died on 27 March 1350 and was succeeded by his heir Peter and his wife Maria who served as regent. Maria had not forgotten the myriad slights that she had endured because of her husband's love for his mistress. Thirsting for revenge, Maria imprisoned Eleanor, and later ordered the execution of her rival in 1351 in the ''alcázar'' of
Talavera de la Reina. Eleanor's death only exacerbated the rift within the royal family. Her son Henry and Maria's son Peter continued to fight one another for control of Castile. Henry eventually won and was crowned
King of Castile.
Children
*Pedro Alfonso, 1st Lord of
Aguilar de Campoo
Aguilar de Campoo () is a town and municipality of Spain located in the province of Palencia, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is close to the River Pisuerga. Its 2011 population is 7741.
It is one of the locations of the St. James' ...
(1330–1338)
*Juana Alfonso, 1st Lady of
Trastámara (born 1330)
*Sancho Alfonso, 1st Lord of
Ledesma (1331–1343)
*
Henry II of Castile (1334–1379)
*
Fadrique Alfonso
Fadrique Alfonso of Castile, 1st Señor de Haro (1334–1358), 25th Master of the Order of Santiago (1342–1358), was the fifth illegitimate child of Alfonso XI of Castile and Eleanor of Guzman. He was born in Seville.
Biography
Fadrique was ...
, Master of the
Order of Santiago and 1st Lord of
Haro (1334–1358)
*Fernando Alfonso, 2nd Lord of Ledesma
*
Tello Alfonso
Tello Alfonso of Castile (1337 – October 1370) was the seventh of the ten illegitimate children of Alfonso XI of Castile and Eleanor of Guzman. He was a prince of Castile and First Lord of Aguilar de Campoo. In Spanish he is known as ''Tell ...
, 1st Lord of Aguilar de Campoo (1337–1370)
*Juan Alfonso, 1st Lord of
Badajoz and
Jerez de la Frontera (1341–1359)
*
Sancho Alfonso, 1st Count of Alburquerque (1342–1374)
*Pedro Alfonso (1345–1359)
Eleanor was a common ancestor to the
Catholic Monarchs. Three of her sons, Henry II of Castile, Fadrique Alfonso and Sancho Alfonso, 1st Count of Alburquerque
[Ferdinand II of Aragon, son of John II of Aragon, son of Eleanor of Alburquerque, daughter of Sancho Alfonso, 1st Count of Alburquerque] were ancestors of
Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia from ...
. In addition,
Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as List of Aragonese royal consorts, Queen consort ...
, wife of Ferdinand II of Aragon was descended from both De Guzmán and Maria, as follows: Henry II of Castile's grandson,
Henry III of Castile, married Peter of Castile's granddaughter,
Catherine of Lancaster; their son,
John II of Castile, was the father of Isabella I of Castile.
Ancestors
References
* Fuente, María Jesús. Reinas medievales en los reinos hipánicos. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guzman, Eleanor Of
1310 births
1351 deaths
People from Seville
Mistresses of Spanish royalty
14th-century Castilians
Murdered royalty
Spanish murder victims
14th-century Spanish women