Cat's Historical Doodles

Claude was born on 13 October 1499, in Romorantin-Lanthenay, France. She was the eldest daughter of King Louis XII of France and his wife, Anne of Brittany. Claude was named after Claudius of Besançon, a saint her mother had invoked so she could give birth to a living child. During her two marriages, Anne had at least fourteen pregnancies, but only two children survived to adulthood: Claude and her younger sister, Renée. On 9 January 1514, when her mother died, Claude became Duchess of Brittany in her own right. Four months later, she married her cousin Francis, Duke of Valois. With this union, it was secured that Brittany would remain united to the French crown, if the third marriage of Louis XII with Mary Tudor would not produce an heir. However, this union was short-lived and childless: Louis died less than three months later, on 1 January 1515. Francis succeeded him and they were now King Francis I and Queen Claude of France. As Queen, Claude was eclipsed at court by her ...

Dinis was born on 9 October 1261, in Lisbon. He was the eldest son of King Afonso III by his second wife, Beatrice of Castile. Not much is known about his childhood. In 1279, Afonso III died and Dinis succeeded him to the throne. In 1281, the now King of Portugal married Elizabeth of Aragon (future saint); she was just 10 years old. In 1290, Dinis began to pursue the systematic centralisation of royal power: he imposed judicial reforms, instituted the Portuguese language as the official language of the court and created Portugal's first university. His politics encouraged economical development and he advanced the interests of the Portuguese merchants. In fact, he set up a fund called Bolsa de Comércio, the first form of marine insurance in Europe. Dinis also encouraged the discovery and exploitation of sulphur, silver, tin and iron mines. During his reign, Lisbon became one of Europe's centres of culture and learning. At the new university, lectures in the arts, ...

Maria Ana Francisca Josefa Rita Joana was born in Lisbon, on 7 October 1736. She was the second child of King José and his wife, Queen Mariana Victoria. When she was young, she was considered as a possible bride to Louis, Dauphin of France, the son of Louis XV and Marie Leszczyńska of France. However, her mother refused to consent to the marriage. Maria Ana Francisca dedicated herself to painting and music and remained single for the rest of her life. Maria Ana Francisca and her family escaped to Brazil, when Napoleon Bonaparte ordered the invasion of Portugal in 1807. She died in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 16 May 1813. She was 76 years old. Her remains were moved to Convento do Desagravo do Santíssimo Sacramento, in Lisbon. This convent had been founded in 1294, but completely destroyed during the 1755 earthquake. 131 women residing in the convent died during the earthquake. In 1783, Maria Ana Francisca reopened the convent with the blessing of Queen Maria I . Infanta Ma...

Teresa (aka Tarasia or Tareja) was born on 4 October 1178 in Coimbra, Portugal. She was the oldest daughter of King Sancho I of Portugal and his wife, Dulce of Aragon. Teresa became Queen of León after her marriage to Alfonso IX of León. They would have three children: Infanta Dulce, Infanta Sancha and Infante Ferdinand. Ferdinand was, at the time, the heir apparent to the throne and remained so until his death, in 1214. However, this marriage was declared invalid because Teresa and Alfonso were first cousins. She returned to Portugal, where she lived at the monastery of Lorvão. This monastery was formerly under Benedictine rule, but Teresa converted it into a Cistercian convent with over 300 nuns. When her father died, Teresa should have received the Castle of Montemor-o-Velho and all the income there produced, as stated in Sancho I's testament. However, her brother (and new king) Afonso II wanted to centralise power and prevented his sister from receiving what was ri...