Eleanor of Aragon

Eleanor of Aragon (* 1333 ; † December 26, 1416 in Falset ) was a daughter of the Infante Peter of Aragón and Anjou (1305-1381) and Joan of Foix . From 1369 to 1379 she was regent in Cyprus .

Her father was the seventh of ten children of King Jacob II of Aragon . The Infante of Aragon was also Count of Ribagorça , Empúries and Prades . Eleanor was therefore a member of the Aragonese royal family and was probably born in the castle of Falset , at that time the capital of the County of Prades.

Queen of Cyprus

To strengthen his political and economic power in the Mediterranean, Peter IV , King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona, ​​married his cousin Eleanor to Peter I of Cyprus in 1353 .

The reign of Eleanor was not a godsend for Cyprus. It is said that she was bitter, tough, and inflexible. Her husband kept lovers and she could not bear it. While Peter I was on the crusade against Alexandria in 1366 , Eleanor , who ruled as regent , had an eight month pregnant mistress of the king (Johanna the German ( Joanna L'Aleman )) thrown into the dungeon of the fortress of Kyrenia and tortured.

After Peter I returned from a long trip to Europe, Eleanor was accused of adultery with Johannes von Morf, the titular count of Edessa . However, the convened court denied the allegations. As a result, Peter bullied the nobles preferred by Eleanor, including his own brothers. On January 17, 1369 he was finally murdered in the arms of a lover, possibly on the orders of his brother John of Lusignan, titular prince of Antioch .

The marriage resulted in three children: the underage heir to the throne Peter II (* around 1357; † 1382), Margarete († around 1397), who married Jacques de Lusignan , Count of Tripoli, and Eschiva († 1369), who died young .

In the name of her son, Eleanor became regent again, together with the king's brothers, John and Jacob, who later became King James I of Cyprus . She initially stayed in Cyprus to prevent the throne from being stolen from her son.

In a secret message, she actually invited the Genoese to invade Cyprus in order to get revenge on her brothers-in-law. With the help of the betrayal of Johannes von Morf, the Genoese conquered Famagusta in 1373 and captured Jacob. Eleanor ordered the murder of John in 1374.

When her son Peter II ascended the throne in 1381, Eleanor, now 44 years old, returned to Catalonia .

Mistress of Valls

Upon the return of the Queen of Cyprus, her cousin, King Peter IV, transferred his share of the city of Valls to her in 1382 . The Archbishop of Tarragona was co-ruler .

Eleonore moved to Valls in the archbishop's palace. This turned into a ruling court within a short time with numerous servants and favorites, some of whom had accompanied them from Cyprus. In particular, her majordomo Bonanato and her brother Joan I, the Count of Prades, who often stayed in the city, were a nuisance for the population.

Her grave in Barcelona

After a short time, the disputes intensified. In Valls, for example, a tax has always been paid on the import of wine. However, the ex-queen's favorites insisted that they be exempt from these taxes. This led to a revolt with fatalities on both sides. After all, there was nothing left for the courtiers to do but pay the taxes.

After the death of King Peter IV, his son and successor John I transferred his share of the city of Valls to the Archbishop of Tarragona due to financial difficulties. The clashes between the population and the ex-queen of Cyprus continued, however. Because of alleged insults against the citizens of Valls, they invaded the palace again and killed Bonanato in front of Eleanor. Horrified, she fled to her brother's territory, to Gratallops near Falset . After living in Valls for twelve years, she never went back to town.

She died on December 26, 1416 in Falset Castle.