Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress

Eleanor of Portugal
Eleanor of Portugal, painting probably by Hans Burgkmair the Elder
Holy Roman Empress Queen of the Romans Archduchess consort of Austria
Tenure	16 March 1452 – 3 September 1467
Born	18 September 1434 Torres Vedras
Died	3 September 1467 (aged 32) Wiener Neustadt
Burial	Wiener Neustadt
Spouse	Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor
Issue	Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor Kunigunde, Duchess of Bavaria
House	House of Aviz
Father	Edward of Portugal
Mother	Eleanor of Aragon
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Eleanor of Portugal (18 September 1434 – 3 September 1467) was Empress of the Holy Roman Empire. A Portuguese infanta (princess), daughter of King Edward of Portugal and his wife Eleanor of Aragon, she was the consort of Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick III, and the mother of Emperor Maximilian I.

Background

Eleanor was born in Torres Vedras on 18 September 1434, one of the nine children of King Edward of Portugal and Eleanor of Aragon. She was the third eldest daughter, but her two older sisters died when they were young, leaving Eleanor as the surviving eldest daughter.

When her father King Edward died five days before her fourth birthday, Eleanor's brother Afonso V succeeded him as king with her mother as regent. The following March, her mother gave birth to another daughter, Joan, who would become the notorious wife of Henry IV of Castile.

In 1440, Eleanor's mother was forced to go into exile in Castile after losing the litigation with her brother-in-law, Infante Peter, Duke of Coimbra, for the regency of the young King Afonso. She left Eleanor behind because Eleanor was ill at the time.

Empress

Frederick III and Eleanor of Portugal.

The marriage was likely suggested by Isabella of Portugal, duchess of Burgundy. Arrangements were made by Eleanor's maternal uncle Alfonso V, King of Aragon and Naples who, in 1448, sent artists from his court to paint Eleanor. Eleanor was also suggested to marry Louis, Dauphin of France, eldest son of King Charles VII, but it was said, that she herself preferred to marry Frederick, because this would give her the title of Empress instead of Queen. The practical negotiations was made in Naples and completed in 1451. During the sea travel, the fleet escorting Eleanor to Italy was tormented by pirates and storms, and there were rumours that she had been lost at sea. Eleanor and Frederick met in Sienna : Frederick was to have paled when he saw her, out of excitement but also worry that she would have troubles giving birth because of her frail appearance. The marriage took place in Rome. Upon her coronation, she was also given the name Helena, but she never used this name. The festivities was hosted by her uncle, the king of Naples.

Eleanor and Frederick were dissimilar, and her interest for dance, gambling and hunting was not shared by Frederick, and their relationship was affected by their differences. Frederick sent Eleanor's Portuguese entourage home after the wedding because of the cost, and she suffered from homesickness; he also blamed her for having caused the death of several of their children by letting them eat Portuguese food, and therefore took over the upbringing of the remaining children entirely for himself. During the period of captivity in Vienna, when people were forced to eat rats, cats and dogs, she cheered people up. History have claimed that Eleanor was taken from a splendid court in Portugal to a cultural wasteland in Vienna because of her spouse's strict economic sense.

Marriage and children

Eneias Silvio Piccolomini (the future Pope Pius II) celebrating the marriage between Frederick III and Eleanor.

On 16 March 1452 in Rome, she married the German King Frederick III, and the two were crowned Holy Roman Emperor and Empress three days later, on 19 March 1452 by Pope Nicholas V at St. Peter's Basilica. Her dowry was used by her husband to alleviate his financial problems and cement his power. Frederick III was the last Holy Roman Emperor to be crowned in Rome.

With Frederick III she had five children:

• Archduke Christopher (16 November 1455 – 21 March 1456)
• Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519)
• Archduchess Helena (3 November 1460 – 28 February 1461)
• Archduchess Kunigunde (16 March 1465 – 6 August 1520), married Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria
• Archduke John (9 August 1466 – 10 February 1467)

Eleanor died in Wiener Neustadt on 3 September 1467, and is buried in the Neukloster, the Cistercian monastery of that same city, where her tombstone may be seen.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress

16. Afonso IV of Portugal               8. Peter I of Portugal                       17. Beatrice of Castile               4. John I of Portugal                             18. Lourenço Martins               9. Teresa Lourenço                       19. Sancha Martins               2. Edward I of Portugal                                   20. Edward III of England               10. John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster                       21. Philippa of Hainault               5. Philippa of Lancaster                             22. Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster               11. Blanche of Lancaster                       23. Isabel de Beaumont               1. Eleanor of Portugal                                         24. Henry II of Castile               12. John I of Castile                       25. Juana Manuel of Castile               6. Ferdinand I of Aragon                             26. Peter IV of Aragon               13. Eleanor of Aragon                       27. Eleanor of Sicily               3. Eleanor of Aragon                                   28. Alfonso XI of Castile               14. Sancho Alfonso, 1st Count of Alburquerque                       29. Eleanor of Guzman               7. Eleanor of Alburquerque                             30. Peter I of Portugal               15. Infanta Beatrix of Portugal                       31. Inês de Castro

References

• Sigrid-Maria Größing, AEIOU - Glück und Unglück im österreichischen Kaiserhaus, Verlag Amalthea, ISBN 978-3-85002-633-8