Eleanor of Castile (died 1244)

"Eleanor of Castile, Queen of Aragon" redirects here. For the later Queen of Aragon by that same name, see Eleanor of Castile (1307–1359).

For other people named Eleanor of Castile, see Eleanor of Castile (disambiguation).

Eleanor of Castile
170px Eleanor’s seal
Queen consort of Aragon
Tenure	6 February 1221 – April 1229
Died	1244 Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas near Burgos
Spouse	James I of Aragon
Issue	Alfonso of Bigorre
House	House of Burgundy
Father	Alfonso VIII of Castile
Mother	Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Eleanor of Castile (? –1244) was a daughter of Alfonso VIII of Castile and Eleanor of England. She was Queen consort of Aragon by her arranged marriage to James I of Aragon.

Her mother was a daughter of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor’s sister Berengaria became Queen of Castile since their brother Henry I of Castile died with no issue and because Berengaria was the eldest of the daughters. Another sister, Blanche became Queen of France by her marriage to Louis VIII of France.

Marriage

In 1221 at Ágreda, Eleanor married James I; she was nineteen and he was fourteen. The next six years of James’s reign were full of rebellions on the part of the nobles. By the Peace of Alcalá of 31 March 1227, the nobles and the king came to terms. The pair were married for political reasons rather than love.

The marriage produced one son:

• Alfonso of Bigorre, married Constance of Montcada, Countess of Bigorre.

When the marriage was annulled in 1230, the divorce agreement prohibited her from remarrying. Alfonso was declared legitimate but his half siblings by James’ second wife Violant of Hungary inherited James’ kingdom when he died.

Later life

Eleanor became a nun after her marriage, she went to the Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas to join her elder sister Berengaria who had retired from ruling Castile and Leon, and their other sister Costanza, who was long a nun there. All three sisters died there, Costanza in 1243, Eleanor in 1244, and Berengaria in 1246. All are buried in the Abbey.

Burial

After her death, the corpse of Eleanor was buried in the Monastery of Las Huelgas in Burgos.

Her remains were deposited in a tomb which is now located in the Nave of Santa Catarina of the Gospel, and lies between the tomb containing the remains of Philip, son of Sancho IV and María de Molina, which is placed to the right, and the tomb containing the remains of Peter, brother of Philip.

During work on the Monastery in the middle of the twentieth century it was found that the remains of Eleanor, mummified and in good condition, lay in her tomb of limestone; the roof had two slopes and was smooth, although in the past was polychrome.

Her coffin was wooden and devoid of cover, although there were still remnants of its shell and lysed cross made of studded gold braid, as well as clothing that was buried with the Queen, among which highlighted three brocade garments in Arabic, which in the opinion of Manuel Gómez Moreno are similar to those found in the grave of Philip, son of Eleanor’s nephew Ferdinand III.

Ancestry

Family of Eleanor of Castile (died 1244)

16. Raymond of Burgundy               8. Alfonso VII of Castile                       17. Urraca of León and Castile               4. Sancho III of Castile                             18. Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona               9. Berengaria of Barcelona                       19. Douce I, Countess of Provence               2. Alfonso VIII of Castile                                   20. Ramiro Sánchez, Lord of Monzón               10. García Ramírez of Navarre                       21. Cristina Rodriguez               5. Blanche of Navarre                             22. Gilbert de l'Aigle, Seigneur de l'Aigle               11. Marguerite de l'Aigle                       23 Juliana du Perche               1. Eleanor of Castile                                         24. Fulk V of Anjou               12. Geoffrey V of Anjou                       25. Ermengarde of Maine               6. Henry II of England                             26. Henry I of England               13. Empress Matilda                       27. Matilda of Scotland               3. Eleanor of England                                   28. William IX of Aquitaine               14. William X of Aquitaine                       29. Philippa of Toulouse               7. Eleanor of Aquitaine                             30. Aimery I of Châtellerault               15. Aenor de Châtellerault                       31. Dangereuse de L'Isle Bouchard

See also

• List of Aragonese consorts

Eleanor of Castile House of Burgundy Cadet branch of the Anscarids Born: circa 1202 Died: circa 1244
Royal titles
Vacant Title last held by Marie of Montpellier	Queen consort of Aragon 1221–1229	Vacant Title next held by Violant of Hungary
	Countess consort of Barcelona, Girona, Osona and Besalú 1221–1229
Vacant Title last held by Agnes	Lady of Montpellier; Viscountess of Carlat, in Auvergne, and Baroness of Aumelas 1221–1229