Today I'm delighted to bring you a guest post by my lovely talented friend Sarah, formerly of Sarah's History, who now runs a fab new blog about Edward II's grandfather Henry III (see end of post for link). Sarah tells us all about Henry's queen Eleanor of Provence and her relationship with her children and grandchildren, including the future Edward II.
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Eleanor of Provence was not a faultless woman. In her time
as queen she made many enemies, both within her court and among her subjects.
She was skilled politically, but often advanced her Savoyard relatives ahead of
those who were of English birth, which of course did nothing for her own
reputation. The king, Henry III, advanced his own Lusignan relatives, causing
further rifts within royal circles. During the struggles of the 1260s, the
Simon de Montfort led barons of England called for all those of foreign birth
to be expelled from the country, so angry were they with Eleanor’s influence
(Simon de Montfort himself was, of course, not of English birth, but that
didn’t seem to matter). The monarchy’s survival, for over a year, hung in the
balance.
Putting political issues to one side, Eleanor and Henry were
an extraordinarily close couple, loyal to one another throughout their
marriage. Eleanor raised troops for Henry in 1264 following his defeat at
Lewes, stood side by side with him throughout the struggles he faced during his
reign, and was thought to have been at his bedside as he died (Howell, p.253).
There was not a whiff of sexual scandal during their marriage, no mistresses,
no lovers. Eleanor and Henry had five children together, and through them over
twenty grandchildren.
Eleanor’s family was important to her, and this is
demonstrated by her actions with regards to them. I’ve briefly spoken of her
commitment to her husband so will say no more of that; today, I want to discuss
Eleanor’s relationships with her children and grandchildren.
Of her five children, the relationship which is best
documented is that between Eleanor and her eldest son, Edward, who was born at
the Palace of Westminster in June 1239 and baptised at the abbey a few days
later (Morris, p.5). Edward was very quickly installed with his nurses at
Windsor Castle. His parents spent over £10,000 making improvements to Windsor,
which of course means Edward was raised with the best of everything; stone
chambers, fireplaces, tiled floors, beautifully painted walls and hygienic
privy chambers- having enough hygienic toilet facilities, as well as their
maintenance and condition, was important to Henry III (Wade-Labarge, p.25).
Edward ate from a silver plate and wore clothes of the finest fabrics (Morris,
p.6); he was raised in wonderful comfort. His education, too, was of the utmost
importance. Though the exact details of what Edward learned are as yet unknown
to us, we can safely assume he was taught to read, though not necessarily how
to write (Morris, p.8), as well as languages, knightly skills, history and
theology.
Eleanor, as queen, was required to move around the country
with Henry III, so she did not spend every day with her children. She did visit
Windsor often, however; the queen on average spent more than half of the year,
every year, with her children at Windsor Castle (Morris, p.6). This was, by the
standards of the time, a lot of time to be spent with one’s children. King
Henry, too, spent a lot of time at Windsor with his family, though not quite as
much as Queen Eleanor. Edward was joined quickly by three siblings; Margaret
was born in 1240, Beatrice in 1242 and Edmund in 1245. All of the royal children
were raised at Windsor with the help of nurses, guardians and the queen’s
relatives from Savoy.
As the children grew older the love of their mother and the
concern for their welfare remained constant. One incident that demonstrates the
depth of the love held by Queen Eleanor is that of when Edward fell sick while
travelling with his parents in 1246. The family had travelled to Beaulieu for
the rededication of the royal Cistercian foundation, and while there, Edward
suddenly became extremely ill - so ill that it was thought too dangerous to move
him. The queen decided quickly that Edward was to stay at Beaulieu and that she
would stay with him (Howell, p.101). A woman staying within the walls of a Cistercian
abbey was unheard of as it seriously breached their rules, but Eleanor would
not move. She stayed with her son for three weeks, refusing to leave him in the
care of doctors, nurses or monks, risking her own health at a time when
medicine was not what it is now.
Eleanor showed a similar display of concern, it could be
argued, soon after Edward married Eleanor of Castile in November 1254. Eleanor
of Castile had almost certainly fallen pregnant soon after her marriage and
given birth to a stillborn daughter the following May (Morris, p.22); a
heartbreaking incident, which had stirred King Henry and Queen Eleanor into
wanting to protect the thirteen year old princess. Henry III requested that
Lord Edward travel to his lands in Ireland, while his wife was to be received
by the king and queen in England; the separation would obviously mean that
Eleanor would not fall pregnant again soon, protecting her health and safety
from the dangers of being pregnant so young. Edward defied his parents and
travelled to England instead, arriving home six weeks after Eleanor of Castile
(Morris, p.23). It would seem the older couple had the younger couple’s
interests at heart, though were probably thought of by the young prince as
interfering. The worry about a daughter in law dying in childbirth became a
tragic reality when in 1274 Aveline, the wife of Eleanor’s second son Edmund,
died while giving birth to twins.
In 1253 a daughter had been born to Eleanor and Henry after
an eight-year period with no children. Little Katherine was not in good health;
she is thought to have been born deaf and mute, as Matthew Paris described her
as muta et inutilis, and she was not
strong like her siblings. She died in her fourth year, in November 1256
(Howell, p.101). The king and queen were devastated, both so deeply grieved
their little daughter that they became sick, the queen dangerously so (Howell,
p.101). Masses were said daily for the little girl’s soul, a demonstration of
the love and affection felt by the king and queen for their lost daughter. She
had not been betrothed or served any political purpose yet; she was grieved so
deeply simply because she was loved. Henry and Eleanor loved all of their
children. Messengers were frequently travelling between their courts and the
new courts of their older, married daughters; excellent marriages were made for
the four surviving children, with the girls not endangered by early
consummation; and though they were grown and left home Eleanor’s daughters
visited often.
Eleanor of Provence was widowed in November 1272 and entered
into a new phase of her life as queen dowager. Just before he died Henry III
placed Windsor Castle in Eleanor’s custody, and it was to here that she moved
(Howell, p.288). Just like her children, the households of some of Eleanor’s
grandchildren were established at Windsor- Edward I’s son Henry and daughter
Eleanor were both there. When she was awarded her dower lands by her son the
following summer, Eleanor established herself a household at her palace at
Guildford, her grandchildren with her.
It is with her grandson Henry, named after her husband, that
Eleanor seems to have had the closest relationship. He was a sick child, and as
she had cared for his father in 1246 she cared for his son. Physicians that
were held in high esteem by the dowager queen were appointed to care for young
Henry (Howell, p.289) and on one occasion he was bathed in a gallon of wine, at
a cost of 4d, as the process was thought to be strengthening (Wade-Labarge,
p.26). Henry died aged just six years old in October 1274, shortly after his
parents had returned from crusade and had been crowned king and queen. He died
at his grandmother’s palace at Guildford (Howell, p.289); presumably, she had
been with him as he died too, just as she was likely with his grandfather. It
was at the dowager queen’s insistence that a gift of £10 a year for Henry’s
nurse was made permanent, and it was she that founded a Dominican priory at
Guildford in his memory (Howell, p.289). These are the actions of a woman who
is clearly grieving for someone beloved. The following year both of Queen
Eleanor’s daughters died, too; the chronicler Thomas Wykes commented that the
grief of losing her daughters was only comforted by the joy Eleanor found in
their children.
After Eleanor left Windsor for Guildford, she was frequently
visited by her grandchildren, and more were still to come. In April 1284 Edward
of Caernarfon was born, who quickly became heir apparent when another of the
dowager queen’s grandchildren, ten year old Alfonso, died later that year. By
this time Eleanor was making preparations to enter the convent at Amesbury for
the rest of her days, though she still took an active interest in the
well-being of her grandchildren. Edward I was advised by his mother not to take
young Edward north, for the fear of the cold weather making him ill.
Eleanor entered Amesbury in July 1286, shortly after her two
granddaughters were veiled; Eleanor of Brittany was the ten year old daughter
of Beatrice, and Mary the six year old daughter of Edward (Howell, p.300). The
girls took their vows with other girls from noble families in grand ceremonies
in March and August of 1285 respectively. Eleanor is often accused at this
point of acting selfishly; the installation of her granddaughters would of
course make life at Amesbury more appealing. However, the entry of girls into
convents was regarded as an act of great piety, and Eleanor may have been
thinking of the well-being of her family’s souls as well as her own interests.
The younger Eleanor and Mary were protected from the danger of dying in
childbirth, they were protected by God as nuns and their lives were not as restricted
as one might think, as both girls visited their families at the royal courts
and Mary took part in several pilgrimages. Eleanor of Brittany eventually
became an abbess, and both women lived long lives in good health.
Eleanor of Provence is an often maligned queen and was
politically unpopular in her time. She was, however, a loving and committed
wife, mother and grandmother, and while this was not politically important in
the grand scheme of things, it gave her immediate descendants a love and
security that is often thought to be missing in medieval families. Eleanor and
Henry, and their children and grandchildren, experienced love, trust and a
familial closeness that would be difficult to replicate in their times.
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Bibliography:
Margaret Howell, Eleanor
of Provence: Queenship in Thirteenth Century England, Blackwell Publishing,
2001
Margaret Wade-Labarge, Mistress,
Maids and Men: Baronial Life in the Thirteenth Century, Phoenix Books, 2003
(Originally published in 1965)
Michael Prestwich, Edward
I, Yale English Monarchs Series, 1997 (Originally published in 1988)
Marc Morris, A Great
and Terrible King: Edward I and the Forging of Britain, Hutchinson/Random
House, 2008
Seymour Phillips, Edward
II, Yale English Monarchs Series, 2010
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I really liked your article, but wish you had gone into some of Eleanor's early life. I have found that she was raised by her family to believe family ties were everything. He uncles were her closest advisors. Eleanor's protectivness of her husband and children was ingrained in her at an early age. It seems as though she was quite close to her sister, the queen of France, as well. But, overall a great article.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, Lily! In fairness, the title of the post is 'Eleanor of Provence and her children', so naturally that was Sarah's focus. Maybe she'll decide to write about Eleanor's natal family and early life (and the effect this may have had on how she formed relationships with her children) on her own Henry III blog sometime.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this post. I know very little about Eleanor, and it was very pleasing for once to read about a happy royal marriage - and a close-knit family. How considerate to take in the young princesses health re starting a family. So sad to hear about their daughter Katherine. Excellent post!
ReplyDeleteThank you Kathryn for hosting my guest post, and thank you both Lily and Anerje for the lovely comments!
ReplyDeleteLily, that is a great suggestion for a post and I will add it to my blog post ideas list- the Provencal family ties are fascinating, I agree.
Anerje, Henry and Eleanor's marriage really does challenge the stereotypes about medieval marriages and family life, it is one of the things that appeals to me about the family.
Sarah, brilliant post! I have learned so much about Eleanor. And yes! What has struck me most are certainly the close family ties, very unusual in the times Eleanor lived in. I too love your post on Henry III's queen on your wonderful blog. Judging by what you've written there about her, she could not have loved and taken care less. After all she had been raised in a family where love and care for one's relatives was of great importance.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this delightful information about the royal family in the late 1200's, I love to read indepth about their lives. Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this delightful information about the royal family in the late 1200's, I love to read indepth about their lives. Wonderful!
ReplyDelete