Elizabeth of Aragon
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth of Aragon, also known as Saint Elizabeth of Portugal, T.O.S.F.
(1271 – 4 July 1336) (Elisabet in Catalan
, Isabel in Aragonese
, Portuguese
and Spanish
), was queen consort
of Portugal
, a tertiary
of the Franciscan Order and is venerated
as a saint
of the Roman Catholic Church
.
and Queen Constance, and maternal granddaughter of Manfred of Hohenstauffen (son of German Emperor Frederick II
), conqueror of Sicily. The date and location of her birth remain unclear, although historians have suggested Zaragoza or Barcelona, between 1269 and 1271.
Elizabeth showed an early enthusiasm for religion. She said the full Divine Office
daily, fasted
and did other penance, as well as attended twice-daily choral Masses
. Religious fervor was common in her family, as she could count several members of her family who were already venerated
as saints. The most notable example is her great-aunt, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, T.O.S.F., after whom she was named.
was contracted in 1281 when she was less than ten years old, receiving the towns of Óbidos
, Abrantes
and Porto de Mós
as part of her dowry
. It was only in 1288 that the wedding was celebrated. Denis was 26 years old, while Elizabeth was 17. Denis
, a poet and statesman, known as the Rei Lavrador (Farmer King), because he planted a large pine forest near Leiria
to prevent the soil degradation that threatened the region.
Elizabeth quietly pursued the regular religious practices of her youth and was devoted to the poor and sick. Naturally, such a life was a reproach to many around her and caused ill will in some quarters. A popular story is told of how her husband's jealousy was aroused by an evil-speaking page, of how he condemned the queen's supposed guilty accomplice to a cruel death and was finally convinced of her innocence by the strange accidental substitution of her accuser for the intended victim.
Elizabeth took an active interest in Portuguese politics and was a decisive conciliator during the negotiations concerning the Treaty of Alcañices
, signed by Denis and Sancho IV of Castile
in 1297 (which fixed the borders between the two countries). In 1304, the Queen and Denis returned to Spain to arbitrate between Fernando IV of Castile and James II of Aragon
, brother of Elizabeth.
They had two children:
Elizabeth would serve as intermediary between her husband and Afonso, during the Civil War between 1322 and 1324. The Infante greatly resented the king, whom he accused of favoring the king's illegitimate son, Afonso Sanches. Repulsed to Alenquer
, which supported the Infante, Denis of Portugal was prevented from killing his son through the intervention of the Queen. As legend holds, in 1323, Elizabeth, mounted on a mule, positioned herself between both opposing armies on the field of Alvalade
in order to prevent the combat. Peace returned in 1324, once the illegitimate son was sent into exile, and the Infante swore loyalty to the king.
of the Poor Clare nuns, now known as the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha
(which she had founded in 1314) in Coimbra
. She joined the Third Order of St. Francis
, devoting the rest of her life to the poor and sick in obscurity. During the great famine
in 1293, she donated flour from her cellars to the starving in Coimbra, but was also known for distributing small gifts, paying the dowries
of poor girls, educating the children of poor nobles, and was a benefactor of various hospitals (Coimbra, Santarém and Leiria) and of religious projects (such as the Trinity Convent in Lisbon, chapels in Leiria and Óbidos, and the cloister
in Alcobaça
.
She was called to act once more as a peacemaker in 1336, when Alfonso IV marched his troops against King Alfonso XI of Castile
, to whom he had married his daughter Maria, and who had neglected and ill-treated her. In spite of age and weakness, the Queen-dowager insisted on hurrying to Estremoz, where the two kings' armies were drawn up. She again stopped the fighting and caused terms of peace to be arranged. But the exertion brought on her final illness. As soon as her mission was completed, she took to her bed with a fever from which she died on 4 July, in the castle of Estremoz.
Although Denis' tomb was located in Odivelas
, Elizabeth was buried in the Convent of Santa Clara (later the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha
) in Coimbra
, in a magnificent Gothic
sarcophagus. After frequent flooding by the Mondego River in the 17th century, the Poor Clares moved her mortal remains to the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova
(also in Coimbra). Her body was transferred to the main chapel, where it was buried in a sarcophagus of silver and crystal.
Miracles were said to have followed upon her death. She was beatified in 1526 and canonized by Pope Urban VIII
on 25 May 1625, Her feast was inserted in the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints
for celebration on 4 July. In the year 1694 Pope Innocent XII
moved her feast to 8 July, so it would not conflict with the celebration of the Octave
of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles. In 1955, Pope Pius XII
abolished this octave. The 1962 Roman Missal changed the rank of the feast from "Double" to "Third-Class Feast". The 1969 reform of the Calendar classified the celebration as an optional memorial and restored it to 4 July. Her feast is also kept on the Franciscan Calendar of Saints
.
, but was known in Portuguese
and Spanish
as Isabel. She was the younger sister of King Alfonso III of Aragon
and King James II of Aragon
. She was also the older sister of King Frederick III of Sicily
.
Third Order of St. Francis
The Third Order of St. Francis is a third order within the Franciscan movement of the Roman Catholic Church. It includes both congregations of vowed men and women and fraternities of men and women living standard lives in the world, usually married...
(1271 – 4 July 1336) (Elisabet in Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
, Isabel in Aragonese
Aragonese language
Aragonese is a Romance language now spoken in a number of local varieties by between 10,000 and 30,000 people over the valleys of the Aragón River, Sobrarbe and Ribagorza in Aragon, Spain...
, Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
), was queen consort
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
of Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, a tertiary
Tertiary
The Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...
of the Franciscan Order and is venerated
Veneration
Veneration , or veneration of saints, is a special act of honoring a saint: an angel, or a dead person who has been identified by a church committee as singular in the traditions of the religion. It is practiced by the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic, and Eastern Catholic Churches...
as a saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
.
Biography
Elizabeth was a descendant of one of the most powerful families in Europe: daughter of King Peter III of AragonPeter III of Aragon
Peter the Great was the King of Aragon of Valencia , and Count of Barcelona from 1276 to his death. He conquered Sicily and became its king in 1282. He was one of the greatest of medieval Aragonese monarchs.-Youth and succession:Peter was the eldest son of James I of Aragon and his second wife...
and Queen Constance, and maternal granddaughter of Manfred of Hohenstauffen (son of German Emperor Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
), conqueror of Sicily. The date and location of her birth remain unclear, although historians have suggested Zaragoza or Barcelona, between 1269 and 1271.
Elizabeth showed an early enthusiasm for religion. She said the full Divine Office
Divine Office
Divine Office may refer to:* Liturgy of the Hours, the recitation of certain Christian prayers at fixed hours according to the discipline of the Roman Catholic Church* Canonical hours, the recitation of such prayers in Christianity more generally...
daily, fasted
Fasting
Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day , or several days. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive,...
and did other penance, as well as attended twice-daily choral Masses
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
. Religious fervor was common in her family, as she could count several members of her family who were already venerated
Veneration
Veneration , or veneration of saints, is a special act of honoring a saint: an angel, or a dead person who has been identified by a church committee as singular in the traditions of the religion. It is practiced by the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic, and Eastern Catholic Churches...
as saints. The most notable example is her great-aunt, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, T.O.S.F., after whom she was named.
Marriage
Her marriage to King Denis of PortugalDenis of Portugal
Dinis , called the Farmer King , was the sixth King of Portugal and the Algarve. The eldest son of Afonso III of Portugal by his second wife, Beatrice of Castile and grandson of king Alfonso X of Castile , Dinis succeeded his father in 1279.-Biography:As heir to the throne, Infante Dinis was...
was contracted in 1281 when she was less than ten years old, receiving the towns of Óbidos
Óbidos
Óbidos is a town of approximately 3100 inhabitants and municipal seat of the municipality of Óbidos, located in the Oeste Subregion, of the Estremadura historical province, in Portugal.-History:...
, Abrantes
Abrantes
Abrantes is a municipality in Portugal, with a population of 41,560 inhabitants, located on the southern margin of the Tagus River.-History:...
and Porto de Mós
Porto de Mós
Porto de Mós is a town in Porto de Mós Municipality in Portugal....
as part of her dowry
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
. It was only in 1288 that the wedding was celebrated. Denis was 26 years old, while Elizabeth was 17. Denis
Denis of Portugal
Dinis , called the Farmer King , was the sixth King of Portugal and the Algarve. The eldest son of Afonso III of Portugal by his second wife, Beatrice of Castile and grandson of king Alfonso X of Castile , Dinis succeeded his father in 1279.-Biography:As heir to the throne, Infante Dinis was...
, a poet and statesman, known as the Rei Lavrador (Farmer King), because he planted a large pine forest near Leiria
Leiria
Leiria is a city in Leiria Municipality in the Centro Region, Portugal. It is the capital of Leiria District. The city proper has 50,200 inhabitants and the entire municipality has nearly 120,000...
to prevent the soil degradation that threatened the region.
Elizabeth quietly pursued the regular religious practices of her youth and was devoted to the poor and sick. Naturally, such a life was a reproach to many around her and caused ill will in some quarters. A popular story is told of how her husband's jealousy was aroused by an evil-speaking page, of how he condemned the queen's supposed guilty accomplice to a cruel death and was finally convinced of her innocence by the strange accidental substitution of her accuser for the intended victim.
Elizabeth took an active interest in Portuguese politics and was a decisive conciliator during the negotiations concerning the Treaty of Alcañices
Alcañices
Alcañices is a small town in the province of Zamora, Spain. It is very close to the border with Portugal, not far from the Portuguese town of Bragança....
, signed by Denis and Sancho IV of Castile
Sancho IV of Castile
Sancho IV the Brave was the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1284 to his death. He was the second son of Alfonso X and Yolanda, daughter of James I of Aragon.-Biography:...
in 1297 (which fixed the borders between the two countries). In 1304, the Queen and Denis returned to Spain to arbitrate between Fernando IV of Castile and James II of Aragon
James II of Aragon
James II , called the Just was the King of Sicily from 1285 to 1296 and King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. In 1297 he was granted the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica...
, brother of Elizabeth.
They had two children:
- a daughter named ConstanceConstance of PortugalInfanta Constança of Portugal was a Portuguese infanta , daughter of King Denis of Portugal and his wife Saint Elizabeth of Aragon...
, who married King Ferdinand IV of CastileFerdinand IV of CastileFerdinand IV, El Emplazado or "the Summoned," was a king of Castile and León and Galicia...
; - a son Afonso (who later became King Afonso IV of PortugalAfonso IV of PortugalAfonso IV , called the Brave , was the seventh king of Portugal and the Algarve from 1325 until his death. He was the only legitimate son of King Denis of Portugal by his wife Elizabeth of Aragon.-Biography:...
).
Elizabeth would serve as intermediary between her husband and Afonso, during the Civil War between 1322 and 1324. The Infante greatly resented the king, whom he accused of favoring the king's illegitimate son, Afonso Sanches. Repulsed to Alenquer
Alenquer
Alenquer is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 304.2 km² and a total population of 42,932 inhabitants. The municipality is composed of 16 parishes, and is located in the District of Lisbon....
, which supported the Infante, Denis of Portugal was prevented from killing his son through the intervention of the Queen. As legend holds, in 1323, Elizabeth, mounted on a mule, positioned herself between both opposing armies on the field of Alvalade
Alvalade
Alvalade is a Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Lisbon.Established as a parish in 1959, it is one of the smallest of its area and the most aged one of the city....
in order to prevent the combat. Peace returned in 1324, once the illegitimate son was sent into exile, and the Infante swore loyalty to the king.
Dowager Queen
After Denis' death in 1325, Elizabeth retired to the monasteryMonastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
of the Poor Clare nuns, now known as the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha
Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha
The ruins of the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha are located in the city of Coimbra, in Portugal. The monastery was built in the 14th century on the left bank of the Mondego River, but had to be abandoned in the 17th century due to frequent floods...
(which she had founded in 1314) in Coimbra
Coimbra
Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
. She joined the Third Order of St. Francis
Third Order of St. Francis
The Third Order of St. Francis is a third order within the Franciscan movement of the Roman Catholic Church. It includes both congregations of vowed men and women and fraternities of men and women living standard lives in the world, usually married...
, devoting the rest of her life to the poor and sick in obscurity. During the great famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
in 1293, she donated flour from her cellars to the starving in Coimbra, but was also known for distributing small gifts, paying the dowries
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
of poor girls, educating the children of poor nobles, and was a benefactor of various hospitals (Coimbra, Santarém and Leiria) and of religious projects (such as the Trinity Convent in Lisbon, chapels in Leiria and Óbidos, and the cloister
Cloister
A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
in Alcobaça
Alcobaça
Alcobaça is a city in Alcobaça Municipality in Leiria District and Oeste Subregion, in Portugal, formerly included in the Estremadura Province. The city grew along the valleys of the rivers Alcoa and Baça, from which it derives its name. The municipality has a total population of 55,269...
.
She was called to act once more as a peacemaker in 1336, when Alfonso IV marched his troops against King Alfonso XI of Castile
Alfonso XI of Castile
Alfonso XI was the king of Castile, León and Galicia.He was the son of Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. Upon his father's death in 1312, several disputes ensued over who would hold regency, which were resolved in 1313...
, to whom he had married his daughter Maria, and who had neglected and ill-treated her. In spite of age and weakness, the Queen-dowager insisted on hurrying to Estremoz, where the two kings' armies were drawn up. She again stopped the fighting and caused terms of peace to be arranged. But the exertion brought on her final illness. As soon as her mission was completed, she took to her bed with a fever from which she died on 4 July, in the castle of Estremoz.
Although Denis' tomb was located in Odivelas
Odivelas
Odivelas is a civil parish in Odivelas Municipality in Lisbon Metropolitan Area, Portugal.. The city has a population of 50,846. The municipality is composed of 7 parishes, and is located in the District of Lisbon....
, Elizabeth was buried in the Convent of Santa Clara (later the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha
Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha
The ruins of the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha are located in the city of Coimbra, in Portugal. The monastery was built in the 14th century on the left bank of the Mondego River, but had to be abandoned in the 17th century due to frequent floods...
) in Coimbra
Coimbra
Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
, in a magnificent Gothic
Gothic art
Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...
sarcophagus. After frequent flooding by the Mondego River in the 17th century, the Poor Clares moved her mortal remains to the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova
Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova
The Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova is a monastery in Coimbra, Portugal. It was built to replace the mediaeval Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha, located nearby, which at the time was prone to frequent flooding by the waters of the Mondego river. The monastery was built in the 17th and 18th...
(also in Coimbra). Her body was transferred to the main chapel, where it was buried in a sarcophagus of silver and crystal.
Sainthood
Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII , born Maffeo Barberini, was pope from 1623 to 1644. He was the last pope to expand the papal territory by force of arms, and was a prominent patron of the arts and reformer of Church missions...
on 25 May 1625, Her feast was inserted in the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints
Roman Catholic calendar of saints
The General Roman Calendar indicates the days of the year to which are assigned the liturgical celebrations of saints and of the mysteries of the Lord that are to be observed wherever the Roman Rite is used...
for celebration on 4 July. In the year 1694 Pope Innocent XII
Pope Innocent XII
Pope Innocent XII , born Antonio Pignatelli, was Pope from 1691 to 1700.-Biography:He was born in Spinazzola to one of the most aristocratic families of the Kingdom of Naples, which included many Viceroys, and ministers to the crown, and was educated at the Jesuit college in Rome.In his twentieth...
moved her feast to 8 July, so it would not conflict with the celebration of the Octave
Octave (liturgical)
"Octave" has two senses in Christian liturgical usage. In the first sense, it is the eighth day after a feast, reckoning inclusively, and so always falls on the same day of the week as the feast itself. The word is derived from Latin octava , with dies understood...
of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles. In 1955, Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
abolished this octave. The 1962 Roman Missal changed the rank of the feast from "Double" to "Third-Class Feast". The 1969 reform of the Calendar classified the celebration as an optional memorial and restored it to 4 July. Her feast is also kept on the Franciscan Calendar of Saints
Calendar of saints
The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the feast day of said saint...
.
Family and Ancestors
She was named after her great-aunt Saint Elizabeth of HungaryElisabeth of Hungary
Elizabeth of Hungary, T.O.S.F., was a princess of the Kingdom of Hungary, Countess of Thuringia, Germany and a greatly-venerated Catholic saint. Elizabeth was married at the age of 14, and widowed at 20. She then became one of the first members of the newly-founded Third Order of St. Francis,...
, but was known in Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
as Isabel. She was the younger sister of King Alfonso III of Aragon
Alfonso III of Aragon
Alfonso III , called the Liberal or the Free , was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1285...
and King James II of Aragon
James II of Aragon
James II , called the Just was the King of Sicily from 1285 to 1296 and King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. In 1297 he was granted the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica...
. She was also the older sister of King Frederick III of Sicily
Frederick III of Sicily
Frederick II was the regent and subsequently King of Sicily from 1295 until his death. He was the third son of Peter III of Aragon and served in the War of the Sicilian Vespers on behalf of his father and brothers, Alfonso and James...
.
External links
- "Saint Elizabeth, Queen of Portugal", Butler's Lives of the Saints