Constance of Aragon
Konstanze von Aragón (* around 1184 ; † June 23, 1222 in Catania ) was Queen of Hungary in her first marriage, Queen of Sicily in her second marriage and, from 1212, German Queen; together with her husband Friedrich II , whose first wife she was, she was crowned empress in Rome in 1220.
Life
She was the eldest daughter of King Alfonso II of Aragon , Count of Barcelona , and the Sancha of Castile .
Her first marriage was around 1199, probably through the mediation of Pope Innocent III. , King Emmeric of Hungary . From this marriage comes the later Hungarian King Ladislaus . He was crowned king before his father's death in 1204, but died in 1205. Mother and son had had with the Austrian Duke Leopold VI. Found refuge.
After Konstanze became a widow in 1204, Friedrich's engagement to her younger sister Sancha was broken off at the end of the year. The marriage contract between Friedrich and Konstanze came about in 1208, again through the mediation of Innocent. The marriage with Friedrich II. Was then on 5./15. Closed in Messina July 1209 , before he was elected German king in 1212. Friedrich was 15 years old when he married, Konstanze 25. The young ruler had initially resisted the marriage, but Konstanze brought a force of 500 Spanish knights into the marriage, which he needed to enforce his claim to power.
During the first four years of Friedrich's stay in Germany, from 1212 to 1216, Konstanze was regent in Sicily until she followed her husband to Germany. From this second marriage comes a son, the later rebellious Heinrich (VII.) (* 1211; † February 1242).
Constance of Aragón was buried in the Cathedral of Palermo in a Roman sarcophagus, the relief of which shows a lion hunt. The Latin inscription above the relief reads: I was Sicily's Queen and Empress, Constanze. This is where I live now, Friedrich, yours. Friedrich laid his crown with her in the grave. In 1225 he married Isabella of Brienne , Queen of Jerusalem, for political reasons .
literature
- Norbert Kamp : Costanza d'Aragona, imperatrice, regina d'Ungheria e di Sicilia. In: Alberto M. Ghisalberti (Ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 30: Cosattini – Crispolto. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1984.
- Uwe A. Oster: The women of Emperor Friedrich II. Piper Verlag, Munich 2008.
- Ingo Runde: Konstanze von Aragón . In: The Empresses of the Middle Ages, ed. by Amalie Fößel , Pustet, Regensburg 2011, pp. 232–248.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Antonius Lux (ed.): Great women of world history. A thousand biographies in words and pictures . Sebastian Lux Verlag , Munich 1963, p. 273.
| Predecessors | Office | Successors |
|---|---|---|
| Margaret of France | Queen of Hungary 1198 / 99–1204 |
Gertrud von Andechs |
| Maria of Brabant |
Roman-German queen 1212 to 1222 |
Isabella II (Jerusalem) |
| Maria of Brabant |
Roman-German Empress 1220 to 1222 |
Isabella II (Jerusalem) |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Constance of Aragon |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Queen of Hungary, Queen of Sicily, Holy Roman Empress |
| DATE OF BIRTH | uncertain: 1184 |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 23, 1222 |
| Place of death | Catania |