The English queen who never set foot in England.That must tell you right there that this wasn't the greatest partnership England has seen, despite the fame and notoriety of her crusade-loving husband, Richard The Lionheart.
To me, Berengaria is the classic example of a woman married off for political gains...a pawn in the world of her father and husband (and in her case, mothers-in-law!) She had little to say about her lot in life, and because she produced no heir in her short marriage to Richard, she was of little use to his family once he died.
Born of Navarre royalty, (a region in Northern Spain), she was married to Richard in 1191. Unlike women of my previous posts, very little is known of her life. There are no stories of Richard yanking her off her horse by her braids to get her attention, he did not wage war against her father for the right to marry her...nothing.
What we do know, however, is that Berengaria was Richard's second choice--the B team, as it were. The Lionheart had a strong attraction to the beautiful Alys, sister to France's King Phillip II. The two were betrothed and wedding bells were in the near future for Alys and Richard. That is, until Alys decided to take up with Richard's father, King Henry, and bear him a child. Richard's supposed half-brother. Richard terminated the betrothal in 1190.
Not one for sloppy seconds, and not one to waste anymore energy on affairs of the heart, Richard let his mother, Eleanor of Aquitane, choose his next bride-to-be and broker the marriage deal.
The English asked, the Spaniards said yes...and there you have it.
The story of her journey to her wedding was an interesting one. Journeying with her future mother-in-law, Berengaria traveled by ship to Sicily, where they picked up Richard's sister, Joan (the widowed Queen of Sicily). Their ship ran aground on the isle of Cyprus and the women were taken prisoner by the island's ruler, Isaac Comnenus. Always one for a fight, Richard rescued the women, overthrew the ruler, and married his bride in a small chapel on the island before setting off back to war.
They traveled together for a spell, before the queen returned to Europe and Richard got himself captured and imprisoned. Berengaria raised money for his release and Richard returned home to England...where he was not joined by his wife! Eventually the church intervened and formally chastised Richard for not being a very good husband. He took the tongue lashing in stride and escorted his wife to church every week until his death in 1199.
She retired to Le Mans on one of her dowry properties and fought with the new King John for the rights to her pension as dowager queen (His mother, Eleanor, had to fight John on behalf of Richard's widow). When John's son took the throne in 1216, he settled John's old debts with Berengaria and she lived peacefully in the abbey at L'Epau, where she was buried after her death in 1230.
Was it one of history's great love stories? Probably not. There is suggestion that the queen truly loved and admired her husband. But unfortunately for her, Richard seemed more interested in his gains and wars than his wife...he viewed the marriage as more of a formality and a duty to serve for one's country. The two produced no heirs and the kingdom went to Richard's younger, oft-villified brother King John.
No comments:
Post a Comment