Famous People Of The Middle Ages

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Intoduction
Eleanor of Aquitane
Queen Margaret
Joan of Arc
Richard The Lionhearted
Catherine of Aragon
Queen Isabella
Bibliography

Medieval women were very limited in how they could live their lives. From the day they were born, they had men who told them what they could and could not do. Marriages were usually for convenience, to gain land or property. Henry VII, the king of England, searched for a suitable wife after his first wife died. He learned the widow of the King of Naples was available and sent out three agents to determine if she was healthy, attractive and had money. The widow passed the first two qualifications but failed the third, Henry remained a widower.

(This is a picture of the typical Medieval woman.)

Some children were as young as 4 or 5 years old when they were married. Prearranged marriages of children were so common that the church said children in the cradle could not be married. If a woman went through childhood without becoming married, her choices were then to marry or attend a convent.

A husband ruled the family in a marriage. His wife was required to lie at her husband's feet and beg for his forgiveness for anything she had done or failed to do on certain occasions. The children did the same at the feet of their parents. Although the rules said that the beating should be 'reasonable', wife beating was a common practice in the Middle Ages. However, women were a vital part in the family life and, in Italy, were a power in the family circle.

Much of the work in the Middle Ages was done by women. They not only spun cloth and made clothing for the family, they also worked in the fields like the men did. The upper-class girls were even taught to spin. Women continued to operate the buisnesses when their husbands died. A wide variety of jobs in trade and industry were held by women in Paris. London women played an important role in the cityšs trade.

Although women in the Middle Ages were as illiterate as their husbands and fathers, there was education available in a few places. One of the most famous of the love stories in the Middle Ages involved Heloise, who fell in love with her professer. Their romance cost him his job and she was expelled from the University of Paris. Women were thereforth barred from attending the university. Women still attended universities in Italy, however, and Maria di Novella became a math professer in the University of Bologne at the age of 25.

Here's a picture of Clare

Clare (no last name given) was one of the outstanding women in the 13th century. She was the daughter of a wealthy noble from Assisi and when she heard St. Francis speak, devoted her life to poverty. She invented the Poor Clares and all who joined became impoverished as well. She proved her firmness when the Saracens attaked the town; she went to the walls and the Saracens were so impressed by her courage, they left. Not only in the care that they took of the patients in the convent hospital, but also their example of self-denial, the nuns made others aware of their own greed and selfcenteredness.

(We do focus alot on women in this page, but don't worry, we do have some men on this page.)

Eleanor of Aquitane

Eleanor of Aquitane was the Queen of France (1137-1152) and England (1154-1204). She was the mother of two English kings, Richard (The Lion-Hearted, 1157-1199) and John I (1167-1216) and the most politically influential woman of her time. She was born in France as the daughter of William X and wed Louis VII of France in 1137. During her marriage to Louis, she had two daughters and accompanied her husband on The Second Crusade (Holyland) from 1147-1149. She took 300 women with her on the Second Crusade to fight and help nurse the wounded. Her marriage to Louis was consentially annulled in 1152. She later married King Henry II in 1154 and bore to him 5 sons and 3 daughters. She inherited the Duchy of Aquitane at 15 and brought it in her marriage, which marked the beggining of the ever present conflict between France and England that continued throughout the Middle Ages. Eleanor convinced Henry to invest in their son, Richard, with these lands. There were problems within Henry's marriage to Eleanor, his continued unfaithfulness alienated Eleanor and in turn, she joined her son's rebellion against Henry in 1173. They were unsuccessful in their attempt to overthrow Henry and Eleanor was captured while fleeing and imprisoned until Henry's death in 1189. Once she was released, she was a powerful influence presence at the court. She granted amnesty to prisoners and secured the succesion of Richard to the throne. She ruled during Richard's absence on the Third Crusade and thwarted an attempt by John to conspire with France against England. She also negotiated a reconciliation between the brothers upon Richard's return in 1194. This reconciliation maintained the peace in England and insured John's succession to the throne. Eleanor's influence also extended into culture and education, she gathered the leading poets, scholars and musicians to form an educational institution.

Now, here are some not well known, but interesting, facts about Eleanor:

She arranged the marriage of her granddaughter, Blanche of Castille to Louis VIII of France
She sucessfully defended her French territories against assault
She created allies with several ruling houses in Europe, through her five daughters
She retired the Abbey of Fontrevault, France in 1202
She turned over thousands of vassalls to Abbe Bernard in 1146
She was seized by her husband to protect her from her uncle(1147)
She found the sensous life of the Eastern Christiens more attractive than the tedious routines of Paris
She established the "court of love" with daughter Marie in Poitiers to teach concepts of courtly love
She payed ransom to Henry VI for Richard's freedom (1193-1194)
Her daughter Marie died at age 53 in 1199
She lead an army that crushed the rebellion in Anjou against king John
She died April 1, 1204 at age 83

Henry II was 10 years her junior

Queen Margaret

Margaret succeeded in uniting the Scandinavian kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden which was a unique accomplishment in the histories of these three countries. This tri-partite union lasted for 136 years. Margaret was the descendent of Canute, the first Danish king of England and the daughter of King Valdemar IV. She was married at age ten to Haakon VI of Norway. Haakon was the son of Magnus Eriksson of Sweden and Norway. Although Haakon lost the crown 1 year later, he still remained soveriegn over Norway. Margaret was an accomplished scholar who grew up at the Norwegian court. Her son, Olaf V, was born in 1370 and her father died in 1375 . The Danes willingly accepted Olaf as their king after Haakon died in 1380 and the crown was passed to Olaf. Margaret ruled the kingdom on Haakon's beliefs. Olaf passed away in 1387 and Margaret was declared the "Sovereign lady and ruler" of both countries. Margaret adopted her grandson, Eric of Pomerania, to provide a male ruler in 1393. She then turned her attention toward Sweden, where angry nobles were rebelling against their king and had defeated the armies of Albert of Mecklenberg and imprisoned Albert. The Hanseatic League intervened and the rebels released Albert on the condition that he pay Margaret 60,00 marks. Albert failed to pay and Margaret gained control of Sweden and the three countries united for the first and only time under Margaret's rule when Eric was crowned in 1397. Margaret continued to rule for Eric when he came of age in 1401. Margaret was moved to consolidate her power and centralize her authority in a commanding but diplomatic way. In order to do this, she set up a network of provencial sherrifs who governed their own native territories. This system served to strengthen allegiance to the crown, rather than to a region. This system also reformed Danish currency and built up the royal treasury through taxation and reclaimed hundreds of estates in Denmark and Sweden that had once belonged to the crown. Margaret was a resourceful statewomen in foreign affairs and maintained her coun tries neutrality while recovering lost Danish territory. She was able to realize the primary goals of creating a unified kingdom and sustaining Scandinavian sovereignity in the face of continued German territorial expansion to a large extent. Although the tri-partite union ended in 1525, the union between Sweden and Norway continued for 400 years until 1814. Margaret died aboard her ship In Flensborg harbor at the age of 59.

Joan of Arc

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Joan of Arc was a national heroine who turned the tide of the Hundred Years War in France's favour. She was the daughter of a Domremy farmer named Jaques d'Arc and his wife Isabella Devouthen. Joan was a pious child and she had her first vision when she was 13. She claimed that she heard the voice of God in her father's garden and over the next 5 years she approached by St. Catherine, Margaret and Micheal the Archangel. Northern France was presently ocupied by Henry VI and his armies. Rheims, the traditional site of french coronations was also occupied. The voices that she had been hearing commanded her to liberate Rheims so the Dauphin Charles could be crowned. Charles later became King Charles VII. The English laid seige to Orleans in 1429 which promted Joan to seek an urgent audiance with Charles. She met privatly with Charles at the age of 16 for two hours. She told Carles that she was God's messanger and that he was the true heir to France, the kings son. Her claims were certified by the board of Roman Catholic Church theologians and she was sent to Tours to assemble an army. She arived dressed in white men's armor and carring a sword emblazoned with five crossed and a banner with a painting of the king of heaven holding an orb and the motto, " Jesus Maria". Troups entered Orleans on April 30 and stormed the Bastille of Augustines where they capture Tourelles. It was there that Joan planted the first scaling ladder and was wounded in the shoulder. She later stood by Charles side as the Maid of Orleans crowned him king on July 14. She was later enobled on December 29 on recognition of what she had done for her country by following successful routes of the British. When the British captured Compiegne in preparation to take Paris the following year, Joan mounted a campaign but failed and was taken prisoner. The English wanted to destroy her influence and discredit Charles. Joan was turned over to a court in Rouen for trial in January, 1431. The interrogation lasted for 14 months and Joan had been found guilty of 12 counts: her visions had been faked, her use of masculine dress had been censured, and, the most damning of all, her belief that she was directly responsible to God, not the church, was condemned as heresey. She was burned at the stake in the Old Market Square in Rouen on May 30. She gazed intently at the cross she held in her hands as she was burned and cried out, "Jesus", as the flames engulfed her. The judgement that caused her death was anulled in 1456 and Joan was canonized by Pope Benedict in 1920. She is now forever honored as the patron saint of France.

Richard the Lionhearted

People of the west were stunned by the fall of Jerusalem, Kings even helped in freeing the Holy City: Philip II of France, Frederick Barbarossa of Germany, and Richard the Lion Hearted of England. Richard is by far the most famous today. His fame mainly comes from the story of Robin Hood, a younge man who fights Prince John in order to save England while Richad is kept hostage in Austria. In the end, Richard comes home and becomes king once agian. Robin, lovely Maid Marian, the merry men of Sherwood Forest, and Engfland live happily ever after. Part of the story is true at least. Richard was born to Herny II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He grew up in a family who were constantly at war with one and other. Poor Richard even had to strugle with his father to be considered an heir to the throne. Once crowned(1189), Richard imidiatly prepared for the Third Crusade. He raised the taxes to help fund the expidition. Richard and King Philip Augustus of France joind forces in Sicily. He conquered Cyprus on his way to the holy land and the city's wealth help to increase the Crusaed's funds. Richard the joined in the seige of Acre in June 1191. The leaders of the Germans and French quarreled constantly during the seige, the French and English armies almost came to blows. In July Arce fell and by August Philip was back in France. Richard was a brave soldier. He enjoyed nothing more than a good war. Once the French left him, Richard founfd a new army to help him fight: Saladin, the sultan of Egypt. "Let us purge the air of the air they breathe," said Saladin. He had his heart set on driving the Crusaders out. Unfortunatly, Richard's army was stopped and forced to retreat when he tried to capture Jerusalem in 1191. He tried three more times but never succeeded. When he finally realized that he would never take Jerusalem, Richard worked out a treaty with Saladin. It left the Crusaders with only a fringe along the coastline, and their base at Ascalon was destroyed. The fact that there was no good way to go home was yet another problem that Richard faced. Both land and sea routes were controlled by his enemies. In 1192, he disguised himself while passing through Austria. Unfortunatly, King Leopold was watching for him and he was captured in Vienna. Leopold turned Richard over to Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI who required a ransom of 150,000 marks for Richard's release. The English people quickly raised the taxes to help meet the demands, and even though the full amount was never met, Richard was released. Richard arrived home in 1194. After being there for only a few weeks, he left to fight Philip in France. In 1199 , Richard died from a crossbow injury to the shoulder. He rulled as the King of England for eleven years even though he was on English soil for less than a year. He accomplished nothing of importance to his country but he is still and always has been a popular figure.

Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon was described as the most beloved queen in English history. Catherine was born on December 15, 1485 at Alcala de Henares, Madrid. She was the last child of Ferdinand of Aragon, king of Spain and Isabella, queen of Castile (together known as the "Catholic Kings").

She left Spain in 1501 to marry Arthor, Prince of Wales and the oldest son of King Henry VII. They were wed on November 14, 1501 at St. Pauls Cathedral, London. After only a few short months together he passed away on April 2, 1502 at Ludlow Castle, Shorpshire. Catherine then became engaged to his brother, Henry VIII and married him in 1509 when he inherited the throne. Their relationship was a healthy and happy one for many years. Catherine was of considerable education, culture, and was capable of ruling the kingdom while Henry was gone during the French Campaigns(1511-1514). She was a great patron of education and contributed funds to Oxford and Cambridge universities. She engaged in close friendships with to many leading intellectuals of her day including Sir Thomas Moore. Sir Thomas Moore was later beheaded because he refused to sanction Catherine and Henry's divorce.
Catherine had six children with Henry between 1510 and 1518. All of them died except one girl, Mary I. Henry decided to have his marriage annulled on the basis that it wasn't right to marry his brother's widow. He wanted to remarry because her wanted a male heir to avoid war over succession. He was also in love with a younger, and more beautiful Anne Boleyn. When the Catholic Church refused to grant his petition he broke with Rome and established the Church of England. However, the pope had delayed his request for seven years until 1533.
Catherine died on January 7, 1536 at Kimbolton Castle and she was later buried at Peterborough Cathedral.

Queen Isabella

Isabella was named the 'Catholic Queen' or the 'Law and Order Queen' by the pope because of her great devotion to religion and politics which won her great popularity. Her motto was, łOne king, one law, one faith.˛ She was an ambitious ruler who promoted education, religion, and the arts. She imposed religious authority, one example would be the Spanish Inquisition.

She was the only daughter of Juan II of Castile and Leon. He died when she was only three years old and Isabella was taken to live with her brother Alfonso and her step-brother Enrique, who recognized her as his heir. She was tutored by monks by which she learned poetry, music, philosophy, sewing, and horseback riding. Enrique wanted her marriage to strengthen his position but she refused all prearranged matches. In 1469, Isabella married her second cousin Ferdinand by choice even though they had only known each other four days. Ferdinand was the heir to the throne of Aragon and they planned to be joint rulers. They kept their marriage a secret for three years until Enrique found out and she was exiled. He removed Isabella's name and disinherited her. Isabella was sent to live with her mother in a small castle in Arevado. This split Castile into opposing camps and nearly brought on civil war. In 1474, Enrique died without appointing an heir so Isabella had herself throned. Enrique daughter, Juana La Beltianeja contested. Juana received help from Alfonso V of Portugal in the civil war that followed. The war ended in 1476 at Toro with the defeat of the Portuguese. In five years Ferdinand became king of Aragon and the consolidation of their joint rein was cemented by the birth of their son Juan, the first of five children. Although they ruled separately, they fought together in the battle against the Muslins which they eventually won in 1492. When Isabella was born, Spain was divided into three provinces. Her first priority as queen was to break the power of the lawless Castilian nobility and assert royal authority. To accomplish this, she revived the Hernandad (brotherhood). The hernandad was an armed peace keeping association made up of rural constabularies and judicial tribunals, which were both under royal jurisdiction. Isabella took control of the religious military by making Ferdinand the master. This mix of royal, military, political, and economic strength allowed Isabella and Ferdinand to start a long awaited crusade. A crusade to drive the Moors out of Spain by retaking control of the Moorish stronghold of Granada. Despite the fact that she was pregnant, Isabella supervised the battles. After eleven long years of fighting their efforts were finally rewarded and Granada fell(1492). For the first time in over 800 years, Spain was united into one country and the Spanish people viewed her as a symbol of the countries unity and purpose. The creation Spanish Inquisition was also created in 1492. It was prompted by Isabella's devotion to religious authority and it was established under royal control. Turquemander, who was Isabellas own confessor, was appointed "Grand Confessor". He targeted Moors, Moorish converts that were suspected of changing back, and Jews who were forced to convert or leave Spain. The intention of the Spanish Inquisition was to help create social stability and religious purity. This goal was reached but at a considerable cost. Some 2000 people lost their lives because of the and 1000s more became homeless. After the conquest at Granada, Isabella agreed to finance Christopher Columbus's quest. Isabella's vision for Spain included world expansion that began with these voyages which opened up a new realm of Spanish Influence. He wanted to find a passage to the far east but he ended up discovering the new world, a.k.a America. This made the nation the undisputed leader in global exploration, a world power. She forged a nation and a national character. Isabella left a legacy for the good and ill at home and in the America's for centuries to follow. In 1504, Isabella died and left her kingdom to her son Joan who would also inherit Aragon when Ferdinand died.

Bibliography

Cambert, Anthony. Kings and Queens of England and Great Britain. New York: Facts on File, 1990.

Felder, Deborah. The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time. Ontario: Citadel Press, 1996.

Rollea, Gail. 100 Women Who Shaped World History. California: Bluewood Books, 1994.

Royston, Angela. 100 Greatest Women. Surry: Dragonšs World, 1995.

www.chs.chico.k12.ca.us/~drabut1/politics2/elanor.htm

www.newadvent.org/cathen/08409c.htm

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