BLANCHE OF CASTILE (1188-1252)

This article appears in Volume V04, Page 40 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

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BLANCHE OF CASTILE (1188-1252) , wife of Louis VIII. of France, third daughter of Alphonso VIII., king of Castile, and of Eleanor of England, daughter of Henry II., was born at Valencia. In consequence of a treaty between Philip

Augustus

AUGUSTUS (a name 1 derived from Lat. augeo, increase, i.e. venerable, majestic, Gr. Ee0avr6s)

and John of England, she was betrothed to the former's son, Louis, and was brought to France, in the

spring

SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

of 1200, by John's mother Eleanor. On the 22nd of May 1200 the treaty was finally signed, John ceding with his niece the fiefs of Issoudun and Gracay, together with those that Andre de Chavigny, lord of Chateauroux, held in

Berry

, of the English crown. The

marriage

MARRIAGE

was celebrated the next day, at Portmort on the right bank of the Seine, in John's domains, as those of Philip lay under an interdict.
Blanche first displayed her

great

GREAT

qualities in 1216, when Louis,. who on the death of John claimed the English crown in her right, invaded England, only to find a united nation against him. Philip

Augustus

AUGUSTUS (a name 1 derived from Lat. augeo, increase, i.e. venerable, majestic, Gr. Ee0avr6s)

refused to help his son, and Blanche was his sole support. The queen established herself at Calais and organized two fleets, one of which was commanded by Eustace the Monk, and an army under Robert of Courtenay; but all her resolution and energy were in vain. Although it would seem that her masterful temper exercised a sensible influence upon her husband's gentler character, her role during his reign (12231226) is not well known. Upon his death he left Blanche regent and guardian of his children. Of her twelve or thirteen children, six had died, and Louis, the heirafterwards the sainted Louis IX., was but twelve years old. The situation was

critical

CRITICAL (in alphabetical order of authors)

, for the hard-won domains of the

house

HOUSE
HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in
Gothic
- GOTHIC
it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

of Capet seemed likely to fall to pieces during a minority. Blanche had to

bear

the whole burden of affairs alone, to break up a league of the barons (1226), and to repel the attack of the king of England (1230). But her energy and firmness overcame all dangers. There was an end to the calumnies circulated against her, based on the poetical homage rendered her by Theobald IV., count of Champagne, and theprolonged stay in Paris of the papal legate, Romano Bonaventura, cardinal of Sant' Angelo. The nobles were awed by her warlike preparations or won over by adroit diplomacy, and their league was broken up. St Louis owed his realm to his mother, but he himself always remained somewhat under the spell of her imperious personality. After he came of age (1236) her influence upon him may still be traced. In 1248 she again became regent, during Louis IX.'s absence on the crusade, a project which she had strongly opposed. In the disasters which followed she maintained peace, while draining the land of men and money to aid her son in the

East

EAST
EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

. At last her strength failed her. She fell ill at Melun in November 1252, and was taken to Paris, but lived only a few days. She was buried at Maubuisson.
Besides the works'of Joinville and William of Nangis, see Elie Berger, " Histoire de Blanche de Castille, reine de France," in Bibliotheque des ecoles francaises d'Athenes et de Rome, vol. lxx. (Paris, 1895) ; Le Nain de Tillemont, " Vie de Saint Louis," ed. by J. de Gaulle for the Societe de l'histoire de France (6 vols., 1847-1851); and Paulin Paris, " Nouvelles recherches sur les mceurs de la reine Blanche et de Thibaud," in Cabinet historique (1858).

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