Urraca of Castile (Portugal)

Urraca of Castile (* 1186 or 1187 in Coimbra ; † November 3, 1220 in Lisbon ) was a princess of Castile and queen of Portugal from 1211 until her death .

Urraca of Castile in the Genealogia dos Reis de Portugal (1530/34)

Life

Urraca was born the daughter of King Alfonso VIII of Castile and his wife, Eleonore Plantagenet (a born English princess, daughter of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine ). It was named after her great-great-grandmother Urraca of León and Castile (1080-1126), who was the ruling queen of Castile and León from 1109 to 1126 . Urraca had nine siblings, of whom Berenguela , Blanka , Eleonore and the later King Henry I of Castile reached adulthood. To seal the Treaty of Le Goulet concluded on May 22nd, 1200 between Johann Ohneland and Philip II August , the French Crown Prince Ludwig (VIII) was to be married to a niece of Johann. John's mother, Urraca's grandmother Eleanor of Aquitaine , traveled to Castile in order to choose the future French queen from among her grandsons. The choice fell on the younger Blanka, allegedly because the name Urraca would have been ineffable for the French.

Urracas sarcophagus in the Alcobaça Monastery

In 1208 Urraca married the Portuguese heir to the throne, who ascended the throne as Alfonso II in 1211 . This made Urraca queen as a wife, but not as a ruler in her own right. Urraca sponsored various orders, including the Franciscans and Dominicans . She had political influence on the king. In 1214 Alfonso II decided that she should take over the reign in the event of his death. However, she died in 1220, three years before him, and was buried next to him in the Alcobaça Monastery, which was only completed in 1223 .

ancestors

Alfonso VII of Castile (1104-1157)

Berenguela of Barcelona (? –1149)

García IV. Ramírez (? –1150)

Marguerite de l'Aigle (? –1141)

Gottfried V. Plantagenet (1113–1151)

Matilda of England (1102–1167)

William X of Aquitaine (1099–1137)

Aenòr de Chateleràud (1105–1130)

Sancho III. of Castile (1133–1158)

Blanka of Navarre (? –1157)

Heinrich II. Plantagenet (1133–1189)

Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122–1204)

Alfonso VIII of Castile (1155-1214)

Eleonore Plantagenet (1161-1214)

Urraca of Castile (1186-1220)

progeny

Urraca of Castile had five children with Alfonso II :

• Sancho II (8 September 1207 - 4 January 1248), King of Portugal
• Alfons III (May 5, 1210 - February 16, 1279), King of Portugal
• Leonor (* 1211 - 13 May 1231), ⚭ 1229 King Waldemar III. from Denmark
• Fernando (* 1217; † 1246), Lord of Serpa
• Vicente (* 1219)

See also: List of the Queens of Portugal , List of the Kings of Portugal , History of Portugal , Timeline of the History of Portugal , Portugal under the Burgundian rulers .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Fernando Maria Cornet: Cosas de Familia: Historia Genealogica de los Cornet del Tucuman , p. 164 ( online )
2. ^ Karl H. Schneider: Gender roles in history from a Polish and German point of view , p. 103 ( online )
3. ↑ Carles A Rabassa i Vaquer: Holy rulers, divine monarchs . University of Jaume, 2002 p. 248

predecessor	Office	Successor
Dulce of Barcelona	Queen of Portugal 1211-1220	Mécia Lópes de Haro