Isabella of Portugal (1428–1496)

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Isabella of Portugal ( Spanish Isabel ; * between 1428 and 1431 ; † August 15, 1496 in Arévalo ), also known under the name Isabella of Avis , was Queen of Castile and León from 1447 to 1454 through marriage to John II of Castile .

family

Through her father John of Portugal , the youngest surviving son of King John I of Portugal , Isabella was a granddaughter of the Portuguese king. Her mother was Isabella von Braganza , the daughter of Alfons von Braganza , a half-brother of Johann.

In August 1447 she married the Castilian King John II and became his second wife. The connection resulted in two children:

Life

Nothing is known about the first years of Isabella of Portugal's life. Only after her marriage in 1447 to the much older John II in Madrigal de las Altas Torres does the historical tradition begin. Although the Castilian king's first marriage to Henry IV had produced a male heir, his marriage to Blanka von Aragón had remained childless to date, so that John II sought a second marriage to secure the succession. The connection with Isabella, for which a papal dispensation was necessary, came about at the instigation of Johann's favorite Álvaro de Luna , who then tried to severely limit the amorous king's contacts with his young wife. He hadn't counted on Isabella's stubbornness, however. Jealous and possessive as she was, a power struggle ensued between her and de Luna for the king's favor.

After the birth of her first child, Isabella fell into a deep depression. She locked herself in and spoke only to her husband. Eventually she convinced him to get rid of Alvaro de Luna, and the two hired Alfonso Pérez de Vivero to carry out their plans. But when de Luna found out about the plans, he in turn murdered Pérez, giving the king a reason to execute him. But Isabella could not enjoy her triumph for long, because only nine months after the birth of her second child Alfonso, her husband died in July 1454.

Tomb of Isabella and her husband

Heinrich IV., Isabella's stepson from the first marriage of Johann II., Succeeded his father on the throne and sent the young widow with her two children to the castle in Arévalo . Isabella, used to luxury and convenience, had to be content with a much simpler, secluded lifestyle. Her psychological condition deteriorated more and more over the years. Their two children stayed with their mother until about 1461 as she got crazier. After all, the former queen didn't recognize anyone anymore and didn't know who she was. Her daughter ascended the Castilian throne as Isabella I in 1474 and from then on took care of the mother. On August 15, 1496, Isabella of Portugal, completely confused, died in Arévalo. Her remains were transferred to the Miraflores Carthusian monastery in Burgos in 1505 , where they found their final resting place next to Isabella's husband and son.

literature

  • Germán Bleiberg (Ed.): Diccionario de Historia de España. Desde sus orígenes hasta el fin del reinado de Alfonso XIII . Volume 2. Revista de Occidente, Madrid 1952.
  • Francisco de Paula Cañas Gálvez: Las Casas de Isabel y Juana de Portugal, reinas de Castilla. Organización, dinámica institucional y prosopografía (1447–1496) . In: Las relaciones Discretas ente las Monarquías Hispana y Portuguesa. Las Casas de las Reinas (signed XV-XIX) . Volume 1. Polifemo, Madrid 2009, ISBN 978-84-96813-175 , pp. 9-231.
  • Philippe Erlanger . Isabella the Catholic . Katz, Gernsbach 1989, ISBN 3-925825-25-8 .
  • MA Panzer: The Catholic royal couple . In: Walther L. Bernecker (Ed.): The Spanish Kings. 18 historical portraits from the Middle Ages to the present day . Beck, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-406-42782-0 .

Web links

Commons : Isabella of Portugal  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Alison Weir: Britain's Royal Family. A Complete Genealogy . The Bodley Head, London 1999, p. 101.
  2. ^ Jirí Louda, Michael MacLagan: Lines of Succession. Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe . 2nd Edition. Little, Brown & Company, London 1999, plate 48. According to other sources, the wedding took place on July 22, 1447.
  3. ^ A b G. Bleiberg: Diccionario de Historia de España .
  4. ↑ a b J. NW Bos: Isabel of Portugal ( Memento from April 28, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
personal data
SURNAME Isabella of Portugal
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Isabel of Portugal; Avis, Isabella from
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Mother of Isabella I the Catholic
DATE OF BIRTH between 1428 and 1431
DATE OF DEATH August 15, 1496
Place of death Arévalo