Elisabeth of Swabia

Elisabeth of Swabia
Queen consort of Castile
Tenure	1219-1235
Born	March or May 1205 Nürnberg
Died	5 November 1235 (aged 30) Toro
Burial	Seville Cathedral
Spouse	Ferdinand III of Castile
House	House of Hohenstaufen
Father	Philip of Swabia
Mother	Irene Angelina

Elisabeth of Swabia (renamed Beatrice; March/May 1205 – 5 November 1235^[1]), was a German princess member of the House of Hohenstaufen and by marriage Queen consort of Castile and Leon.

Born in Nürnberg, she was the fourth daughter of Philip, Duke of Swabia and King of Germany, and Irene Angelina, daughter of Emperor Isaac II Angelos of the Byzantine Empire.^[2]

Life

After the murder of her father Philip (21 June 1208) ^[2] and the death of her mother Irene after childbirth complications two months later (27 August), she and her sisters were placed under the guardianship of their cousin, Frederick, King of Sicily (later Emperor Frederick II), who arranged the marriage of Elisabeth and King Ferdinand III of Castile.

The marriage ceremony between Elisabeth and Ferdinand III was celebrated on 30 November 1219 in the city of Burgos.^[2] In Castile, she assumed the name Beatrice, probably in honour to both her eldest sister the Holy Roman Empress (who had died in 1212) and the youngest one (who died alongside their mother in 1208 during childbirth).

In 1230, after the death of her father-in-law, King Alfonso IX of Leon, she became also in the Queen consort of that country, who became definitely united to Castile.

During her marriage, Elisabeth gave birth ten children:

Coat of Arms of Elisabeth-Beatrice of Swabia as Queen Consort of Castile.

• King Alfonso X of Castile and Leon (called the Wise) (b. Toledo, 23 November 1221 - d. Seville, 4 April 1284).^[3]
• Infante Frederick of Castile and Leon (b. Guadalajara, bef. 15 September 1223 - executed 1277).^[4]
• Infante Ferdinand of Castile and Leon (b. Cuenca, bef. 27 March 1225 - d. near Seville, bef. 23 November 1248).
• Infanta Eleanor of Castile and Leon (b. 1226 - died young).
• Infanta Berengaria of Castile and Leon (b. 1228 - d. Las Huelgas 1279), a nun at the Cistercian monastery Santa María la Real at Las Huelgas since September 1243.
• Infante Henry of Castile and Leon (b. bef. 10 March 1230 - d. Roda, 8 August 1303).^[4]
• Infante Philip of Castile and Leon (b. bef. 5 Dec 1231 - d. 28 November 1274).^[4]
• Infante Sancho of Castile and Leon (b. 1233 - d. Toledo, 27 October 1261), Archbishop of Toledo from 1251–1261.^[4]
• Infante Manuel (or Juan Manuel) of Castile and Leon (b. Carrión de los Condes, 1234 - d. Peñafiel, 25 December 1283).^[4]
• Infanta Maria of Castile and Leon (b. and d. bef. 5 November 1235).^[5]

Queen Beatrice died in Toro on 5 November 1235 aged 30. Her death was probably related to her last childbirth, or even died after giving birth. She was buried in the Royal Monastery of Huelgas de Burgos, next to King Henry I. Later, her son Alfonso X transferred her body to Seville Cathedral in 1279, where that of her husband rested.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Elisabeth of Swabia

Frederick I, Duke of Swabia               Frederick II, Duke of Swabia                       Agnes of Germany               Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor                             Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria               Judith of Bavaria                       Wulfhild of Saxony               Philip, King of Germany                                   Stephen I, Count of Burgundy               Renaud III, Count of Burgundy                       Beatrix of Lorraine               Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy                             Simon I, Duke of Lorraine               Agatha of Lorraine                       Adelaide of Leuven               Elisabeth of Swabia                                         Konstantinos Angelos, Admiral of Sicily               Andronikos Dukas Angelos of Byzantium                       Theodora Komnene               Isaac II Angelos                             Theodoros Kastamonitis               Euphrosyne Kastamonitissa                       Irene Angelina                                   Andronikos Doukas Palaiologos               George Komnenodoukas Palaiologos (1125–1168)                       Unknown Komnene               Unknown Palaiologina?, afterwards Irene                             ?Irene Komnene Kantakouzene?

Resources

• Arch and Garay, Ricardo (1954). Jerónimo Zurita Institute. National Research Council .. ed. Graves of the royal house of Castile. Madrid.
• Elorza, Juan C.; Lourdes Vaquero, Belen Castillo, Martha Black (1990). Castilla y Leon. Ministry of Culture and Social Welfare. ed. Pantheon Real de las Huelgas de Burgos. The tombs of the kings of León and Castile (2nd edition). Editorial Evergráficas SA. ISBN 84-241-9999-5 .
• Gomez Moreno, Manuel . Diego Velazquez Institute. National Research Council .. ed.'s Pantheon Royal Huelgas de Burgos. Madrid.

See also

• Swabia

References

1. (ES)Luis Suárez Fernández, Historia de Espana antigua y media, (Ediciones Rialp, S.A., 1976), 29.
2. (ES)Acercamiento Mutuo de Espana y Alemania, Jaime Ferreiro Alemparte, España y Europa, un pasado jurídico común, ed. Antonio Pérez Martín, (Cometa S.A., 1986), 181.
3. (ES)Carlos Alvar, Traducciones y traductores: materiales para una historia de la traducción en Castilla durante Edad Media, (Centro en Estudios Cervantinos, 2010), 113.
4. (ES)Alfonso X en la Europa del siglo XIII, Carlos Estepa Diez, Alfonso X, ed. Miguel Rodríguez Llopis, (Editora Regional de Murcia, 1997), 22.
5. According to Lucas de Tuy, Chronicon Mundi, Liber IV, p. 112, 115. she was already born (probably in early 1235) when her mother died, and predeceased her for a few days (morte Regina domina Beatrix and ante paucos dias...filia Regis Fernandi et Regine Beatricis Maria puellula).