Sibila de Fortià (died 1406), Queen of Aragon, was daughter of Berenguer de Fortià and his wife Francesca de Vilamarí. Sibila belonged to the family of

Fortià Fortiá is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Alto Ampurdán, Gerona, Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, s ...

, of the lower nobility, with possessions in rural

Empordà Empordà (; ) is a natural and historical region of Catalonia, Spain, divided since 1936 into two '' comarques'', Alt Empordà and Baix Empordà. The city of Figueres, an important urban and economic center of the Empordà, was designated th ...

, in the

County of Empúries The County of Empúries (, ), also known as the County of Ampurias (), was a medieval county centred on the town of Empúries and enclosing the Catalan region of Peralada. It corresponds to the historic ''comarca'' of Empordà. After the Fr ...

. She was the fourth wife of

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV (Catalan: ''Pere IV d'Aragó;'' Aragonese; ''Pero IV d'Aragón;'' 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''El Cerimoniós''; Aragonese: ''el Ceremonioso''), was from 1336 until his death the king of ...

Early life

Sibila was said to be a natural beauty in her early adulthood. She married her first husband, Artal de Foces on an unknown date. Upon her widowhood, Sibila became a lady in waiting to Peter's third wife,

Eleanor of Sicily Eleanor of Sicily (1325–1375) was Queen of Aragon from 1349 until 1375 as the third wife of King Peter IV. Early life Eleanor was the daughter of Peter II of Sicily and Elisabeth of Carinthia. She was the second of eight children, six of w ...

, during the royal couple's stay in Sibila's home of

. Eleanor died in 1375; she had left Peter two surviving sons and one daughter. Sibila attracted the attention of the king soon after Eleanor's death, when Sibila was in her twenties and Peter was fifty six. When the king's sons,

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

and

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 * Second E ...

, found out what was happening, they opposed their father's remarriage, as it could cause dynastic problems. The marriage announcement of the lovers led to tense relations between the king and his sons.

Second marriage: Queen of Aragon

On 11 October 1377, in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Sibila married Peter IV of Aragon, becoming his fourth wife. It's believed that before the marriage, Sibila gave birth to a son, Alfonso, who only lived for a year. The child's birth has been doubted, as the only record of his birth is in the ''Chronicle of Peter IV of Aragon''. The couple had three children: *Alfonso of Aragon (1376 – 1377), Count of Morella. *Peter of Aragon (born and died April 1379). * Isabella of Aragon (1380–1424), married

James II of Urgell James II (in Catalan ''Jaume II d'Urgell'' or ''Jaume el Dissortat'' ("James the unlucky"), in Spanish ''Jaime II el desafortunado'') (1380 – 1 June 1433) was the Count of Urgell (1408–1413), Viscount of Àger, and lord of Antillón, Alcole ...

and was mother of

Isabella of Urgell, Duchess of Coimbra Isabella of Urgell, Duchess of Coimbra (Spanish: ''Isabel'') (12 March 1409 – 17 September 1459) was a Catalan noblewoman of the Urgell branch of the House of Barcelona. She was the wife of Infante Peter, Duke of Coimbra. Family Isabella was b ...

. Through Isabella, Peter and Sibila are ancestors to

Joana, Princess of Portugal Joanna of Portugal OP (6 February 1452 – 12 May 1490; , ) was a Portuguese regent princess of the House of Aviz, daughter of King Afonso V of Portugal and his first wife Queen Isabel of Coimbra. She served as regent during the absence of ...

and

John II of Portugal John II (; ; 3 May 1455 – 25 October 1495), called the Perfect Prince (), was King of Portugal from 1481 until his death in 1495, and also for a brief time in 1477. He is known for reestablishing the power of the Portuguese monarchy, reinvigo ...

.Descendants of Sibilia de Fortia
/ref> Over time, things grew worse. Sibila's family were invited to court, and the king began to favor Sibila's brother, Bernard. Peter, Sibila and her family formed one faction of the court, the other being composed of Peter's son and heir, John, his French wife

Violant of Bar Violant of Bar (c. 1365 – 3 July 1431) was Queen of Aragon by marriage to King John I of Aragon. She was active in matrimonial politics and served as regent of Aragon in the name of her spouse from 1388 until 1395. Life Violant was the daughte ...

, and their followers.

Widowhood

After Peter died in 1387, John and Violant became King and Queen of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

, and they wanted to be rid of Sibila. For her own safety, Sibila fled to

Sant Martí Sarroca Sant Martí Sarroca () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Alt Penedès, Barcelona, Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy ...

; where her stepdaughter Eleanor of Aragon had lived before her death. Sibila did not stay there long, as she was forced to return to

on the command of John and Violant. They did not execute Sibila but sent her to live in

under close surveillance; however, she was treated better there than at the royal court. After John died in 1396, and Martin succeeded him, Sibila remained in Barcelona.

Death and burial

Sibila died in Barcelona on 24 November 1406. By order of King Martin she had a state funeral. She was buried in the convent of Sant Francesc (Framenors) in Barcelona, traditional burial place of kings and queens of Aragon. She was later transferred to the pantheon of Poblet. When the convent was demolished in the nineteenth century, Sibila and others were reburied on 20 April 1852 at the

Cathedral of Barcelona The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia (), also known as Barcelona Cathedral, is the seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. The cathedral was constructed from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, with the principa ...

. She was the first deposited in a box embedded in the wall of the chapel of the Martyrs of the cloister, covered by

Isabella II of Spain Isabella II (, María Isabel Luisa de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904) was Queen of Spain from 1833 until her deposition in 1868. She is the only queen regnant in the history of unified Spain. Isabella wa ...

, and on 13 October 1998, moved inside the temple, in a box placed on the wall to the left of the altar major.

Bibliography

*E. Albertí, ladies, queens, abbesses: Eighteen female figures in medieval Catalonia, Barcelona, Alberto, 2007. *J. Nonell Bassegoda, "The Royal Tombs of the Cathedral of Barcelona", Bulletin de la Real Academia Catalana de Belles Arts de Sant Jordi, 13 (1999), 237-255. *A. Boscolo, Fortià di Sibila, regina d'Aragona, Padua, CEDAM, 1970 rad. Catalan: Queen Sibylla of Fortià, Barcelona, Rafael Dalmau, 1971 *L. Riber, Fortis Sibila, Madrid, Ediciones y Publicaciones Españolas, 1944, pp. 13–55. *J. M. Roca, "La Reyna ampurdanesan" Sovereignty of Catalonia: collection of historical monographs, Barcelona, Fundació Concepció Rabell and Cibils, widow Romaguera, 1928, pp. 9–211. *R. Tasis and Mark, The King lives in Pere III, Barcelona, Aedos, 1954

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sibila of Fortia 14th-century births 1406 deaths Year of birth unknown Queens consort of Aragon Majorcan queens consort House of Aragon 14th-century people from the Crown of Aragon 14th-century Spanish women