Avançar para o conteúdo principal

Elizabeth of Aragon

Elizabeth of Aragon (Portuguese: Isabel) was born on 1271 in Zaragoza, Kingdom of Aragon. She was the daughter of Infante Peter of Aragon (later King Peter III) and his wife, Constance of Sicily.


 She showed early enthusiasm for her faith and religious fervour was common in her family (her great-aunt Elizabeth of Hungary was a saint!). She said the full Divine Office daily, fasted and attended choral masses twice a day.

 In 1281, when Elizabeth was 10, a marriage was arranged for her; the chosen husband was King Dinis of Portugal. However, the wedding was not celebrated until 1288, when Elizabeth was 17 and Dinis 26. The now Queen of Portugal quietly pursued the religious practices of her youth and was devoted to the sick and the poor.
Elizabeth had an active interest in Portuguese politics and was conciliator in the negotiations concerning the Treaty of Alcañices, signed by her husband and King Sancho IV of Castile in 1297.

 Dinis and Elizabeth would have two children: Constança (who would become Queen of Castile) and Afonso (the future Afonso IV of Portugal).

Elizabeth would serve as an intermediary between her husband and her son during the Civil War (1322-1324). Infante Afonso greatly resented his father, whom he accused of favouring his illegitimate son, Afonso Sanches. Dinis was prevented from killing his son through the intervention of the Queen. Legend says that Elizabeth, mounted on a mule, positioned herself between the opposing armies in order to prevent the fight. Peace was restored in 1324, when Afonso Sanches was sent into exile and the Infante swore allegiance to his father.

 The miracle of the roses is the most popular legend about Elizabeth: the Queen left the Castle of Sabugal during the winter to distribute bread to the poor. The King, annoyed she would be always mingling with the poor, surprised her and asked what she was carrying. Afraid he would discover the bread, Elizabeth answered It's roses, Sir!. Not convinced, Dinis asked back Roses? In January?. She then showed him what she carried and, instead of the bread, there were the most beautiful roses ever seen.

 After the King's death in 1325, the Queen retired to the monastery of Poor Claire nuns (Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha) which she had founded in 1314. She joined the Third Order of St Francis, and dedicated herself to the poor and sick.

 Elizabeth was known for being modest in her dress and humble in conversation. She provided lodgings for pilgrims, distributed small gifts, paid the dowries of poor girls and educated the children of poor nobles. She was also a benefactor of various hospitals and religious projects.

 In 1336, Elizabeth was called once more to act as a peacemaker. Her son, Afonso IV, had matched his troops against Alfonso XI of Castile, to whom he had married his daughter, and who had neglected and mistreated her. In spite of her age and weakness, Elizabeth hurried to Estremoz; again, she stopped the fighting and arranged terms of peace. As soon as her mission was completed, she took to her bed with a fever.

 Queen Elizabeth died on 4 July 1336, in the castle of Estremoz. Initially she was buried in the monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha; however, after frequent flooding in the 17th century, her remains were moved to the monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova.

She was beatified in 1526 and canonised by Pope Urban VIII in 1625. Her feast was inserted in the General Roman Calendar for celebration on 4 July.

Dinis of Portugal and Elizabeth of Aragon
Carlos Falch
(1655/6)
Etiquetas:

Comentários

Enviar um comentário

Mensagens populares deste blogue

Mihrimah Sultan

Mihrimah was born in Istanbul in 1522; she was the daughter of Sultan Süleyman I (aka The Magnificent) and his concubine, Hürrem Sultan . Her mother was freed in 1533 or 1534 and became the Sultan’s legal wife. On 26 November 1539, Mihrimah, aged 17, married Rüstem Pasha, who later rose to become her father’s Grand Vizier. Though this union was unhappy, Mihrimah flourished as a patroness of the arts and continued her travels with her father until her husband’s death. Mihrimah had two children: Osman and Hümaşah. Mihrimah travelled the Ottoman Empire with her father as he surveyed the lands and conquered new ones. In international politics, her mother sent letters to the Sigismund II, King of Poland, and the contents of these letters were mirrored in the letters Mihrimah sent. Although there is no proof of Hürrem and Mihrimah’s direct involvement in her half-brother Mustafa’s downfall, Ottoman sources and foreign accounts indicate that it was widely believed they worke...
1 comentário
Ler mais

Hürrem Sultan

Hürrem Sultan's birth name is unknown. It is said that it may have been Anastasia or Aleksandra Lisowska. Sources indicate that she was from Ruthenia, which was part of the Polish Kingdom. She was born circa 1502/4, in the town of Rohatyn, a major city of the Ruthenian Voivodeship. In the 1520s, Crimean Tatars captured her during one of their frequent raids into Ruthenia. Hürrem was first taken to the Crimean city of Kaffa, a major centre of slave trade, before she was taken to Istanbul. There, the Valide Sultan (the mother of the Sultan) Hafsa Sultan chose Hürrem as a gift for her son, Sultan Süleyman . Hürrem probably entered the harem at the age of 15. The precise year is unknown, but scholars believe that she became Süleyman's concubine around the time he became sultan, in 1520. Hürrem's unprecedented rise from harem slave to Süleyman's legal wife and Queen of the Ottoman Empire attracted jealousy and disfavour, not only from her rivals in the harem, but a...
Enviar um comentário
Ler mais

Joanna, Princess of Portugal

Joanna (Portuguese: Joana) was born on 6 February 1452, in Lisbon. She was the daughter of King Afonso V of Portugal and his wife, Isabel of Coimbra. After the death of her older brother, João, Joanna was recognised as heiress presumptive to the throne of Portugal. She received the title of Princess of Portugal (usually, the younger children of the monarch had the title of Infante or Infanta of Portugal). In 1455, however, a boy was born. The new prince João was now the heir and Joanna lost her title of Princess. Among the people, however, the now Infanta Joanna was still known as Princess Joanna. From a young age, the kind and charitable Joanna expressed a desire to become a nun but, because she was the second-in-line to the throne, her father did not allow it. She spent her time in various convents, but she never took the veil. In 1471, Afonso V led a military expedition to Tangier. While he was gone, Joanna served as Regent of the Kingdom. After vehemently refu...
Enviar um comentário
Ler mais