Sanchia of Provence
Encyclopedia
Sanchia of Provence was the third daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence
and Beatrice of Savoy
. Sanchia was described as "of incomparable beauty".
and Beatrice of Provence
. Her sisters were the respective Queen consort
s of Louis IX of France
, Henry III of England
and Charles I of Sicily
.
When all four sisters were together, Margaret and Eleanor insisted on the two younger sitting on stools in their presence because they were not queens. This irked Sanchia and Beatrice very much, neither realizing that fate would provide both of them with crowns ultimately and that Beatrice in particular would live a romantic and exciting life.
It was Eleanor of Provence who arranged a marriage between her brother-in-law Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall
, whose first wife Isabel Marshal
had died recently, and her sister Sanchia. The latter was engaged to Raymond VII of Toulouse
, but the weak part he played in the recent fighting was a good enough excuse for breaking the bond.
A new marriage contract was drawn up and signed, Sanchia, occupying a stool, no doubt, during the ceremony of signature, for Richard, although the wealthiest man in the Kingdom of England
and perhaps in Europe
, was still only a prince. Beatrice of Savoy, mother of the bride, came to England to see her third daughter wedded, but her father Ramon Berenguer IV was detained by state difficulties which his wife solved by getting a loan from Henry III of four thousand marks. The cost of the wedding was chiefly defrayed by a levy imposed on the Jews of the country. It was an arbitrary proceeding, each of them receiving notice of the size of the donation required. An idea of the extravagance of the festivities may be gleaned from the fact that thirty thousand dishes were prepared for the wedding dinner alone. The marriages of the royal brothers from France and England to the four sisters from Provence
improved the relationship between the two countries, which led up to the Treaty of Paris. Sanchia was present, along with all her sisters and her mother.
Sanchia of Provence was said to have a softer and more winsome type of good looks than either her older sisters Margaret or Eleanor. In January 1257, the ambassadors were summoned to a long hall where Richard and Sanchia were dining in considerable elegance and state, "Richard rose to hear what the men from Bohemia
had to say and at the finish he burst into tears. He would accept the crown, he said, but it was not through greed or ambition. His sole object was to assist in restoring prosperity to the German states; his honest desire was to rule justly and well. It was clear to the German delegation, and to the throng of adherents and servants who swarmed into the hall to listen, that he was happy over the fulfillment of his great wish. It must have been quite apparent also that Sanchia was delighted beyond measure. Now she would be a queen as well as her two older and patronizing sisters."
She was crowned Queen of the Romans with her husband on 27 May 1257 at Aachen Cathedral
in Germany.
The couple had 3 sons:
Sanchia died 9 November 1261 at Berkhamsted Castle
and was buried in Hailes Abbey
.
Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence
Ramon Berenguer IV , Count of Provence and Forcalquier, was the son of Alfonso II of Provence and Garsenda of Sabran, heiress of Forcalquier. After his father's death , Ramon was imprisoned in the castle of Monzón, in Aragon until he was able to escape in 1219 and claim his inheritance. He was a...
and Beatrice of Savoy
Beatrice of Savoy
Beatrice of Savoy was the daughter of Thomas I of Savoy and Margaret of Geneva. She was Countess consort of Provence by her marriage to Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence.-Family:...
. Sanchia was described as "of incomparable beauty".
Life
She was a sister of Margaret of Provence, Eleanor of ProvenceEleanor of Provence
Eleanor of Provence was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Henry III of England from 1236 until his death in 1272....
and Beatrice of Provence
Beatrice of Provence
Beatrice of Provence , was a countess regnant of Provence. She was also a Queen consort of Sicily by marriage to King Charles I of Sicily....
. Her sisters were the respective 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...
s of Louis IX of France
Louis IX of France
Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...
, Henry III of England
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
and Charles I of Sicily
Charles I of Sicily
Charles I , known also as Charles of Anjou, was the King of Sicily by conquest from 1266, though he had received it as a papal grant in 1262 and was expelled from the island in the aftermath of the Sicilian Vespers of 1282...
.
When all four sisters were together, Margaret and Eleanor insisted on the two younger sitting on stools in their presence because they were not queens. This irked Sanchia and Beatrice very much, neither realizing that fate would provide both of them with crowns ultimately and that Beatrice in particular would live a romantic and exciting life.
It was Eleanor of Provence who arranged a marriage between her brother-in-law Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall
Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall
Richard of Cornwall was Count of Poitou , 1st Earl of Cornwall and German King...
, whose first wife Isabel Marshal
Isabel Marshal
Isabel Marshal was a medieval English countess. She was the wife of both Gilbert de Clare, 4th Earl of Hertford and 1st Earl of Gloucester and Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall...
had died recently, and her sister Sanchia. The latter was engaged to Raymond VII of Toulouse
Raymond VII of Toulouse
Raymond VII of Saint-Gilles was Count of Toulouse, Duke of Narbonne and Marquis of Provence from 1222 until his death. He was the son of Raymond VI of Toulouse and Joan of England...
, but the weak part he played in the recent fighting was a good enough excuse for breaking the bond.
A new marriage contract was drawn up and signed, Sanchia, occupying a stool, no doubt, during the ceremony of signature, for Richard, although the wealthiest man in the Kingdom of England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
and perhaps in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, was still only a prince. Beatrice of Savoy, mother of the bride, came to England to see her third daughter wedded, but her father Ramon Berenguer IV was detained by state difficulties which his wife solved by getting a loan from Henry III of four thousand marks. The cost of the wedding was chiefly defrayed by a levy imposed on the Jews of the country. It was an arbitrary proceeding, each of them receiving notice of the size of the donation required. An idea of the extravagance of the festivities may be gleaned from the fact that thirty thousand dishes were prepared for the wedding dinner alone. The marriages of the royal brothers from France and England to the four sisters from Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
improved the relationship between the two countries, which led up to the Treaty of Paris. Sanchia was present, along with all her sisters and her mother.
Sanchia of Provence was said to have a softer and more winsome type of good looks than either her older sisters Margaret or Eleanor. In January 1257, the ambassadors were summoned to a long hall where Richard and Sanchia were dining in considerable elegance and state, "Richard rose to hear what the men from Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
had to say and at the finish he burst into tears. He would accept the crown, he said, but it was not through greed or ambition. His sole object was to assist in restoring prosperity to the German states; his honest desire was to rule justly and well. It was clear to the German delegation, and to the throng of adherents and servants who swarmed into the hall to listen, that he was happy over the fulfillment of his great wish. It must have been quite apparent also that Sanchia was delighted beyond measure. Now she would be a queen as well as her two older and patronizing sisters."
She was crowned Queen of the Romans with her husband on 27 May 1257 at Aachen Cathedral
Aachen Cathedral
Aachen Cathedral, frequently referred to as the "Imperial Cathedral" , is a Roman Catholic church in Aachen, Germany. The church is the oldest cathedral in northern Europe and was known as the "Royal Church of St. Mary at Aachen" during the Middle Ages...
in Germany.
The couple had 3 sons:
- Richard of Cornwall (July 1246 – 15 August 1246)
- Edmund, 2nd Earl of CornwallEdmund, 2nd Earl of CornwallEdmund of Cornwall of Almain was the 2nd Earl of Cornwall of the 7th creation.-Early life:Edmund was born at Berkhamsted Castle on 26 December 1249, the second and only surviving son of Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall and his wife Sanchia of Provence, daughter of Ramon Berenguer, Count of Provence,...
(1249–1300), married Margaret de Clare (died 1312). Childless. - Richard of Cornwall (1252–96) who married Joan Saint Owen (born 1260, date of death unknown) and had children. He, however, died at the siege of Berwick-upon-TweedBerwick-upon-TweedBerwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
in 1296.
Sanchia died 9 November 1261 at Berkhamsted Castle
Berkhamsted Castle
Berkhamsted Castle is a ruined Norman motte-and-bailey castle at Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, England.The original fortification dates from Saxon times. Work on the Norman structure was started in 1066 by William the Conqueror who later passed the castle to his half-brother, Robert, Count of...
and was buried in Hailes Abbey
Hailes Abbey
Hailes Abbey is two miles northeast of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, England.The abbey was founded in 1245 or 1246 by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, called "King of the Romans" and the younger brother of King Henry III of England. He was granted the manor of Hailes by Henry, and settled it with...
.
Ancestry
Sources
- Nancy Goldstone. Four Queens; The Provençal Sisters who ruled Europe. Pinguin Books, London, 2008