View source for Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Portugal

{{Short description|Queen of Portugal from 1433 to 1438}}
{{Other people|Eleanor of Aragon}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox royalty|consort=yes
| name         = Eleanor of Aragon
| succession   = [[Queen consort of Portugal]]
| image        = D. Leonor de Aragão, Rainha de Portugal - The Portuguese Genealogy (Genealogia dos Reis de Portugal).png
| caption      = Queen Leonor in ''Genealogia dos Reis de Portugal'' (António de Holanda; 1530-1534)
| reign        = 14 August 1433 – 9 September 1438
| coronation   = 15 August 1433
| spouse       = {{marriage|[[Edward, King of Portugal]]|22 September 1428|9 September 1438|end=died}}
| issue        = {{plainlist|
*[[Afonso V, King of Portugal]]
*[[Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu]]
*[[Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress|Eleanor, Holy Roman Empress]]
*[[Catherine of Portugal|Infanta Catherine]]
*[[Joan of Portugal|Joan, Queen of Castile]]}}
| house        = [[House of Trastámara|Trastámara]]
| father       = [[Ferdinand I of Aragon]]
| mother       = [[Eleanor of Alburquerque]]
| birth_date   = 2 May 1402
| birth_place  = [[Medina del Campo]]
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1445|2|19|1402|5|2|df=yes}}
| death_place  = [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]]
| burial_place = [[Batalha Monastery]]
}}
'''Eleanor of Aragon''' (2 May 1402 – 19 February 1445) was [[List of Portuguese royal consorts|Queen of Portugal]] from 1433 to 1438 as the spouse of [[Edward, King of Portugal|King Edward]].<ref>[https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/leonora-aragon-1405-1445 Leonora of Aragon (1405–1445)] Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia</ref> After Edward's death, she served as regent in 1438-1440 for her son [[Afonso V of Portugal|Afonso V]].<ref name="Lawler">{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Women in the Middle Ages |last=Lawler |first=Jennifer |year= 2001 |location=Jefferson, N.C. |publisher=McFarland |page=102 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofwo0000lawl/page/102/mode/2up}}</ref> She was the daughter of [[Ferdinand I of Aragon]] and [[Eleanor of Alburquerque]].
== Biography ==
Eleanor's brother, [[Alfonso V of Aragon]], arranged her marriage to the future King [[Edward of Portugal]], which happened on 22 September 1428.{{sfn|Pereira|Rodrigues|1904|p=166}} They had nine children, of whom five survived to adulthood. In 1433, she became Queen of Portugal.{{sfn|Pereira|Rodrigues|1904|p=167}}
When her husband died on 9 September 1438, Eleanor was appointed regent of Portugal in his will,{{sfn|McMurdo|1889|p=413}} which was supported by the [[Portuguese Cortes]].{{sfn|McMurdo|1889|p=416}} However, as a woman and a foreigner, she was unpopular with the people, who preferred the late king's brother [[Infante Peter, Duke of Coimbra]].{{sfn|Livermore|1976|p=113}} Her appointment as regent therefore caused a riot in [[Lisbon]].{{sfn|Pereira|Rodrigues|1904|p=167}} The riot was suppressed by her brother Count John of Barcelona, later King [[John II of Aragon]].{{citation needed|date=February 2024}} Eleanor was supported by the nobility and the will, while Peter was supported by a fraction of the nobility and by the people.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Marques |first1=Antonio Henrique R. de Oliveira |title=History of Portugal |date=1976 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofportuga1976marq/page/130/mode/2up? |publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=0-231-08353-X|page=131|location=New York}}</ref> Negotiations for a compromise arrangement were drawn out over several months. Eleanor was at first prepared to divide the regency between herself and Peter, but the interference of the Count of Barcelos and other nobles that sided with her complicated matters and she was ultimately dissuaded.{{sfn|McMurdo|1889|pages=417-418}} In March 1439, Eleanor gave birth to a posthumous daughter, Joan, and her eldest daughter, Philippa, died. Eleanor's poor health and grief from losing her daughter caused her to withdraw from state affairs, further enraging the people.{{sfn|McMurdo|1889|p=418}}
Eventually, the Cortes appointed Peter the sole regent.<ref name="Lawler"/> Eleanor continued conspiring, but decided to flee to [[Crown of Castile|Castile]] in December 1440,{{sfn|McMurdo|1889|p=433}} bringing her infant daughter Joan with her.{{sfn|McMurdo|1889|p=431}}
Dependent on charity and longing to be reunited with her children,{{sfn|Pereira|Rodrigues|1904|p=168}} Eleanor was deeply unhappy in Castile.{{sfn|McMurdo|1889|p=437}} In 1444, she applied to return to Portugal,{{sfn|Livermore|1976|p=114}} but died at Toledo in February 1445. There were rumors that she was poisoned.{{sfn|Livermore|1976|p=115}} In 1457, Afonso V ordered the transfer of her remains to [[Batalha, Portugal]], where she is now buried alongside her husband in the [[Batalha Monastery]].{{sfn|McMurdo|1889|p=438}}
==Issue==
Eleanor had a total of nine children, five of whom survived to adulthood.{{sfn|de Sousa|1735|pp=492–496}}
#Infante John, 15 October 1429 – 14 August 1433.
#Infanta Philippa, 27 November 1430 – 24 March 1439.
#[[Afonso V of Portugal]] 15 January 1432 – 28 August 1481; who succeeded Edward as 12th [[King of Portugal]].
#Infanta Maria, 7 December 1432 – 8 December 1432.
#[[Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu|Infante Ferdinand]], 17 November 1433 – 18 September 1470; Duke of [[Viseu]] and father of future king [[Manuel I of Portugal]].
#[[Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress|Infanta Eleanor]], 18 September 1434 – 3 September 1467; married [[Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor]].
#Infante Edward, 12 July 1435 – 12 July 1435.
#[[Catherine of Portugal|Infanta Catherine]], 26 November 1436 – 17 June 1463.
#[[Joan of Portugal|Infanta Joan]], 31 March 1439 – 13 June 1475; married King [[Henry IV of Castile]].
== References ==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}
===Sources===
* {{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/historiagenealog02sous#page/492/mode/2up |title=Historia genealogica da casa real portugueza |trans-title=Genealogical History of the Royal House of Portugal |volume=2 |language=pt |last=de Sousa |first=Antonio Caetano |publisher=Lisboa Occidental |year=1735 }}
*{{cite book |last=Livermore |first=H.V. |year=1976|title=A New History of Portugal |url=https://archive.org/details/newhistoryofport0000unse_y9g3/page/n9/mode/2up |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521095716}}
*{{cite book |last1=McMurdo |first1=Edward |title=The history of Portugal, from the Commencement of the Monarchy to the Reign of Alfonso III |date=1889|publisher=Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington|location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/historyportugal04mcmugoog |volume=II |access-date=12 January 2024}}
*{{cite book |last1=Pereira |first1=Esteves |last2=Rodrigues |first2=Guilherme |title=Portugal: diccionario historico, chorographico, heraldico, biographico, bibliographico, numismatico e artistico |date=1904 |publisher=J. Romano Torres |location=Lisboa |pages=166–168|url=https://archive.org/details/portugaldicciona04pere/page/166/mode/2up|volume=IV |language=Portuguese}}
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{{succession box|title=[[List of Portuguese queens|Queen consort of Portugal]]|before=[[Philippa of Lancaster]]|after=[[Isabel of Coimbra]]|years=14 August 1433 – 13 September 1438}}
{{s-end}}
{{infantas of Aragon}}
{{Portuguese consorts}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eleanor Of Aragon}}
[[Category:1402 births]]
[[Category:1445 deaths]]
[[Category:House of Trastámara]]
[[Category:House of Aviz]]
[[Category:Queens consort of Portugal]]
[[Category:15th-century Portuguese women]]
[[Category:15th-century Portuguese people]]
[[Category:15th-century women regents]]
[[Category:15th-century regents]]
[[Category:Aragonese infantas|Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Portugal]]
[[Category:Daughters of kings]]
[[Category:Portuguese queen mothers]]
[[Category:Daughters of counts]]