Sancha of Castile (21 September 1154/5 – 9 November 1208) was the only surviving child of King Alfonso VII of León and Castile by his second wife, Richeza of Poland. On January 18, 1174, she married King

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 ...

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

; they had at least eight children who survived into adulthood. A patroness of troubadours such as Giraud de Calanson and Peire Raymond, the queen became involved in a legal dispute with her husband concerning properties which formed part of her dower estates. In 1177, she entered the County of Ribagorza and took forcible possession of various castles and fortresses that belonged to the crown there. After her husband died at Perpignan in 1196, Sancha was relegated to the background of political affairs by her son, Peter II. She retired from court, withdrawing to the Hospitaller convent for noble ladies, the Royal Monastery of Santa María de Sigena, which she had founded. There she assumed the cross of the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...

, which she wore until the end of her life. The

queen mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the monarch, reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also ...

entertained her widowed daughter, Queen Constance, at Sigena before Constance married

Emperor Frederick II 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 of the Ho ...

in 1208. Sancha died soon afterwards, aged fifty-four, and was interred in front of the high altar of her foundation at the Sigena monastery; her tomb is still there to be seen.

Issue

* Peter II (1174/76 – 14 September 1213), King of Aragon and Lord of Montpellier. * Constance (1179 – 23 June 1222), married firstly

Emeric, King of Hungary Emeric, also known as Henry or Imre (, , ; 117430 November 1204), was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia between 1196 and 1204. In 1184, his father, Béla III of Hungary, ordered that he be crowned king, and appointed him as ruler of K ...

and secondly

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 ...

. * Alfonso II (1180 – February 1209), Count of Provence, Millau and Razès. *

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

(1182 – February 1226), married Count Raymond VI of Toulouse. * Ramon Berenguer (ca. 1183/85 – died young). * Sancha (1186 – aft. 1241), married Count

Raymond VII of Toulouse Raymond VII (July 1197 – 27 September 1249) was Count of Toulouse, Duke of Narbonne and Marquis of Provence from 1222 until his death. Family and marriages Raymond was born at the Château de Beaucaire, the son of Raymond VI of Toulouse a ...

, in March 1211 * Ferdinand (1190 – 1249), cistercian monk, Abbot of Montearagón. * Dulcia (1192 – ?), a nun at Sijena.

References

Sources

* * * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Castile, Sancha Of, Queen Of Aragon 1150s births 1208 deaths Sancha Queens consort of Aragon Leonese infantas Castilian infantas 12th-century people from the Crown of Aragon 12th-century Spanish women Daughters of emperors Daughters of kings Aragonese queen mothers Year of birth uncertain