Ancestral Trails 2016 » BERENGARIA ALPHONSA de CASTILE (-1246)

Personal data BERENGARIA ALPHONSA de CASTILE 

• She was born on January 8, 1179/80 in Burgos, Burgos, Castilla-Leon, Spain.
• Title: Queen of Castile & Leon
• (Accession) in the year 1217 in Queen of Castile.
• (Accession) in the year 1217 in Queen of Leon.
• She died on November 8, 1246 in León, León, Castilla-León, Spain, she was 67 years old.
• A child of ALFONSO SANCHEZ de CASTILE and ELEANOR PLANTAGENET

Household of BERENGARIA ALPHONSA de CASTILE

(1) She is married to ALFONSO IX FERNANDO CAPET de LEON.

They got married on November 10, 1197 at Valladolid, Castilla-Leon, Spain, she was 18 years old.

Child(ren):

1. Alfonso de MOLINA  1203-???? 
2. BERENGARIA de LEON  1198-1237 
3. FERNANDO de CASTILE  1201-1252 

• The couple has common ancestors.



(2) She is married to Conrad von SCHWABIA.

They got married June 1188, she was 9 years old.Source 1

• The couple has common ancestors.



Notes about BERENGARIA ALPHONSA de CASTILE

Berengaria (Castilian: Berenguela; 1179 or 1180 - 8 November 1246) was queen regnant of Castile in 1217 and queen consort of León from 1197 to 1204. As the eldest child and heir presumptive of Alfonso VIII of Castile, she was a sought after bride, and was engaged to Conrad, the son of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. After his death, she married her cousin, Alfonso IX of León, to secure the peace between him and her father. She had five children with him before their marriage was voided by Pope Innocent III.

When her father died, she served as regent for her younger brother Henry I in Castile until she succeeded him on his untimely death. Within months, she turned Castile over to her son, Ferdinand III, concerned that as a woman she would not be able to lead Castile's forces. However, she remained one of his closest advisors, guiding policy, negotiating, and ruling on his behalf for the rest of her life. She was responsible for the re-unification of Castile and León under her son's authority, and supported his efforts in the Reconquista. She was a patron of religious institutions and supported the writing of a history of the two countries.

Berengaria was born either in 1179 or 1180, in Burgos. She was the eldest daughter of King Alfonso VIII of Castile and Eleanor of England. Those who cared for the young infanta were generously rewarded. Her nurse, Estefanía, received land from Alfonso and Eleanor on her retirement in May 1181. Another nurse, Elvira, received a similar retirement gift in 1189 at Berengaria's request.

As the eldest child of king Alfonso and Eleanor, she was the heiress presumptive of the throne of Castile for several years, because many of her siblings who were born after her died shortly after birth or in early infancy, so Berengaria became a greatly desired partner throughout Europe.

Berengaria's first engagement was agreed in 1187 when her hand was sought by Conrad, Duke of Rothenburg and fifth child of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. The next year, the marriage contract was signed in Seligenstadt, including a dowry of 42000 Maravedí. Conrad then marched to Castile, where in Carrión the engagement was celebrated and Conrad was knighted. Berengaria's status as heir of Castile when she inherited the throne was based in part on documentation in the treaty and marriage contract, which specified that she would inherit the kingdom after her father or any childless brothers who may come along. Conrad would only be allowed to co-rule as her spouse, and Castile would not become part of the Empire. The treaty also documented traditional rights and obligations between the future sovereign and the nobility.

The marriage was not consummated, due to Berengaria's young age, as she was less than 10 years old. Conrad and Berengaria never saw each other again. By 1191, Berengaria requested an annulment of the engagement from the Pope, influenced, no doubt, by third parties such as her grandmother Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was not interested in having a Hohenstaufen as a neighbor to her French fiefdoms. Those fears were neutralized when the duke was assassinated in 1196.

In order to help secure peace between Castile and León, Berengaria married Alfonso IX of León, her first cousin once removed, in Valladolid in 1197. As part of the marriage, and in accordance with Spanish customs of the time, she received direct control over a number of castles and lands within León. Most of these were along the border with Castile, and the nobles who ran them in her name were allowed to seek justice from either king in the event of being wronged by the other. In turn, these knights were charged with maintaining the peace along the border in the queen's name.

Berengaria and Alfonso IX had five children:

Eleanor (1198/1199 - 1202).
Constance (1200 - 1242), a nun in the Abbey of las Huelgas.
Ferdinand III (1201 - 1252), King of Castile and León.
Alfonso (1203 - 1272), Lord of Molina and Mesa by his first marriage. He married, first, Mafalda de Lara, heiress of Molina and Mesa, second, Teresa Núñez, and third, Mayor Téllez de Meneses, Lady of Montealegre and Tiedra, by whom he was the father of María of Molina, wife of King Sancho IV of León and Castile.
Berengaria (1204 - 1237), married John of Brienne, King of Jerusalem.

Starting in 1198, Pope Innocent III objected to the marriage on the grounds of consanguinity, though the couple stayed together until 1204. They vehemently sought a dispensation in order to stay together, including offering large sums of money. However, the pope denied their request, although they succeeded in having their children considered legitimate. Her marriage dissolved, Berengaria returned to Castile and to her parents in May 1204, where she dedicated herself to the care of her children.
SOURCE: Wikipedia

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