If previously we have brought to discussion the life and deeds of Louis VIII of France, from the Capét dynasty, this time we intend to do the same with his wife, Queen Blanche. This formidable woman, responsible for the first effectively regency of France (we have female examples before her own days, that included of the already discussed here Adhélaide d'Aquitaine, consort of the first Capét king of France, Hugh, who had been herself a regent on behalf of her son though for some brief time) without contest, has been overshadowed by other regent queens of days after her own as the just equally formidable Queen Catherine de' Médici and the mother of Louis XIV, Queen Anne d'Autriche. But those mentioned women much owe to Blanche not only in matters of queenship but that of motherhood as an effective instrument of power as we will see next.
We ought to have in mind as we discuss queenship in the 12th and 13th centuries that this was a male dominant world, but this did not necessarily mean that women were completely excluded of power. Blanche is, naturally, the example we intend to study but before her we can mention her own grandmother, Eleanor d'Aquitaine, and even her mother, Eleanor of England, Queen of Castille. Philippe Augustus's own mother can be cited as somewhat powerful woman too, once he left her as co-regent of the realm of France as he went to crusades. Those queens certainly were a good example for Blanche in terms of queenship and we will see why. Bearing that idea in mind, we ask ourselves: who was Blanche de Castille? And what was her importance not only as Queen of France but as a Queen within a time where wars were waged and religion had its greatest expression in dominance?
We must, naturally, follow the course from the beginning. Blanche, named Blanca in Spanish language, was born in Palencia, Castille in the year of 1188. Some bibliographies here consulted claim that she was born precisely on 4 March of that year. She was the third daughter of Alfonso VIII of Castille and Eleanor of England, who was one of the daughters of King Henry II of England and his consort, Eleanor d'Aquitaine, whom she was named after. By the time she was 11 years old, Blanche was suggested as a bride for the Dauphin of France, our future Louis VIII, as part of the treaty conducted by her maternal uncle, King John of England, to make peace relations with King Philippe Augustus of France. There's a story, however, that tells us that it was not Blanche the intended bride for the future king of France, but her sister Urraca was offered as the Dauphine-to-be then and that when the 80-year-old Queen Eleanor went to Castille to pick up her granddaughter and take her to France, she decided that Blanche had a proper personality fit to be the future Queen of France. If that is true or not, we have no confirmations, but the fact is that the aging Eleanor d'Aquitaine indeed travelled to Castille to bring Blanche back to England and then to France where the marriage would occur.
As it was the case with Louis VIII, we have little information regarding Blanche's childhood and early youth until her marriage with the heir of France. Even then we speculate that she must have had an education fit for a future Queen since her sisters, who were all to be Queens of Castille, Aragon and Portugal were known for their brightness in dealing with politics of the realms they were to serve as consorts to the kings they were married to.
On that order, as formerly mentioned:
"Her grandmother Eleanor of Aquitaine, queen of England, traveled to Spain to take the 11-year-old Blanche to France, where a marriage treaty was concluded with Louis, the young son of King Philip II Augustus. This politically motivated marriage had been arranged by Blanche's uncle, King John of England, and was celebrated in 1200 at Portsmouth, Hampshire. It represented only a brief truce in the struggle between England and France for control over certain French territories."Furthemore,
"From soon after the time she was married, to the time she served as regent of France, she bore twelve children, but only five made it to adulthood. She and her husband ruled France beginning in 1223 until he died in 1226, leaving Blanche regent of France and guardian of their children. The oldest male was Louis IX and within three weeks of his father's death, Blanche had Louis IX crowned in order to secure his position and her influence over French politics. Because Louis was a minor, Blanche maintained a lot of influence over his actions and studies, something that was highly recommended by contemporaries. In fact, when Louis VIII made her regent of France, he did so with little explanation because there was a widespread belief that good government was continued by the help and guidance from mothers who advise their young kingsons."Before we proceed to her regency during the minority period of her son's rule, we must remember her deeds during her time as Dauphine of France and before rising to become Queen of France. When the truce between France and England, initially arranged from the moment Blanche was married to Louis, seemed to end, the French got involved in the First Baron's War that occurred in England during the late reign of King Philip Augustus and King John, as we have properly explained it upon discussing Louis' direct involvement on it. As for Blanche's part on the English civil war that involved the French's nobility, we can say that she used her right to the throne of England to instigate her husband in claiming it, and when her father-in-law the king refused to aid any further his son's quest, she seemed to threat to use her own children as hostages if necessary. Following the paragraph below, a statement will give us a better perception upon the mentioned scenary:
"During the English barons' rebellion of 1215-16 against King John, it was Blanche's English ancestry as granddaughter to King Henry II that led to Louis being offered the throne of England as Louis I. However, with the death of John in October 1216, the barons changed their allegiance to John's son, the nine-year-old Henry.
Louis continued to claim the English crown in her right, only to find a united nation against him. Philip Augustus refused to help his son, and Blanche was his sole support. Blanche raised money from her father-in-law by threatening to put up her children as hostages. She established herself at Calais and organized two fleets, one of which was commanded by Eustace the Monk, and an army under Robert I, Latin Emperor. [...] On 24 August, the English fleet destroyed the French fleet carrying those reinforcements off Sandwich and Louis was forced to sue for peace."We can perceive from this statement what kind of spirit Blanche had and this warrior-like type would continue to be her strenght even afterwards. Unfortunately, we do not have records that tell us about the brief period in which she reigned as Queen consort, but afterwards as regent, a period that is now to be discussed.
It's important to recollect that by the time Louis IX became King of France he was a minor and not all of France's nobility was under control as it has been already discussed during the three years of Louis VIII's reign. Therefore, it's no surprise to see why the Queen Dowager was quick in making her son crowned: not only this political move was to prevent any rebellion from the French barons, but also to remind them of a dynastic continuity with his coronation, which took place three weeks after Louis VIII's death at the Reims cathedral, as well with her regency. This strenght we have mentioned earlier is perceptible here:
"[...] In his discussion of the long tradition of female regents in France, historian André Poulet indicates something of the breadth of her 'absolute power' as queen-regent when it was her turn to take up the role: she 'legislated, dealt with foreign powers, waged wars, arranged marriages'. 'In short', he concludes, she 'imposed herself as sovereign of the realm.'."In addition to what has already been stated,
"Blanche showed herself by turns a delicate diplomat, a clever negotiator, and a strong leader. Dressed in white, on a white palfrey draped in the same colour, she rode into battle at the head of her troops. After an attempted abduction of the young king, Blanche did not hesitate to replace rebel noble associates with commoners if she thought it necessary. She also created local militias. Blanche was gradually able to subdue the revolt, establish a new truce with England, and, in 1229, pacify the south of France by signing the Treaty of Paris with Raymond VII, count of Toulouse. France then entered an era of domestic stability, which saw the construction of many cathedrals throughtout the country."These political tacts in which, as we could see, she was quite successful has another motive which aided in the turn of such good deeds. Few medievalists consider motherhood as an political instrument as Madeline Fine successfully did when writing her article entitled as "Blanche of Castille and the role of the Queen-Regent." She tells us that:
"The reiteration of Blanche abiding by her motherly role reinforces the notion that motherhood was a source of political power for women of the royalty. This use of gender to not only produce children, but also oversee their education and upbringing, establishes an even stronger correlation between a mother and her children. In other words, the guidance of one's royal children gave mothers an outlet of political power. Blanche and other royal women made sure they gave their children the best and most informed upbringings possible so that their children could successfully lead and protect their lands.
In Blanche's role of overseeing her son's education, she can trust that he will lead a good government, but still count on her if he needs advice. [...] During her son's minority, Blanche had to deal with French baronial opposition that came about as a result of her late husband's military expedition to England. She worked endlessly to prove to them her dedication to French interests and not those abroad, while also demonstrating her ability to deal with and convince opposing barons to fulfill their responsibilities to the crown. During his minority, Louis depended very heavily on his mother for guidance."That being said, motherhood became an instrument of power as much as her piety. She uses both to create an image that links her to Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ, since she sees herself as a mother who looks after the interests of her son... and her regency proofs this. At the same time, however, we see that, like most women in power during those days, before and after, she had to masculinize herself in some degree to earn some respect. However, it was justly this motherhood that helps her to stablish herself on power and as such, as we will see, marks were left under her government.
One of these came after her son came out of age and was ready to take the reins of the govern himself, but, as he depended of his mother, it was Blanche the responsible for finding him a wife. The next Queen of France was Margaret of Provence and that marriage, despite being a political match that eventually became a love one, marked essentially the end of her regency. So Fine states that:
"In watching over her son's interests and creating political alliances, Blanche selected Marguerite of Provence to be Louis's wife. It is postulated that this marriage marked the end of her first term as regent of France, and despite the switch of power her influence over him did not change, but lasted her lifetime. Louis had her join him in council meetings, meet with foreign ambassadors, write letters to citizens of cities requesting their fidelity, and even trusted her to guide him in matters of justice, policy and piety. According to Murphy, 'Blanche was held up as a model of queenship and late medieval writers put a strong emphasis on the mediatory role she had with her son'. So much so that several councils across the kingdom referenced her in their entries as an example of the model queen for French queens to emulate in the centuries to come."Underneath these flatteries, however, not all was perfect. Her relationship with her daughter-in-law was very terrible, to say the least. Blanche dismissed any relative or friend to the new Queen and tried to prevent her son to meet her as much as she could. In spite of this meddling, Margaret and Louis managed to have at least nine children. It also appears that another motive for their rivalry concerned the former Queen's vanity:
"The queen mother, who was growing old and beginning to miss her once-famous Castilian beauty, could not see without some sadness this young, so beautiful, so living a queen, attracting to her the poets of the new generation and ravishing their praises to her."Whether this was true or not, what is more important is that Blanche was recalled to be regent of the country once more when her son, accompanied with his wife, Queen Margaret, departed for another crusade.
"Although she opposed his crusading venture, Blanche again assumed her role as regent of France. After her son was captured in 1250, she added the job of raising his ransom to her responsibilities as regent."In addition, Fine explains:
"According to Miriam Shadis' essay, 'Blanche of Castile' and Fracinger's 'Medieval Queenship: Reassessing the Argument', Blanche's proeminence in her second term as regent was shown in the negotiations surrounding the Treaty of Vendome. This treaty secured tentative peace with her opponent, Pierre Mauclerc, who was known for holding the title of Duke of Brittany for his son Jean. This treaty arranged the marriage of Pierre's daughter Yolanda, with Blanche's son Jean.
She also arranged the marriages of her daughter Isabelle and son Alphonse with a son and daughter of Hugh de Lusignan and Isabelle of Angouleme. These treaties were vital in pacifying some of Blanche's strongest opponents. These marital treaties served as political strategies because it gained her important time in securing the realm for her son while he way away. [...] This goes to show how Blanche's tactical planning was recognized and respected for her dedication to her son and his realm was unwavering.[...]".By that time, Blanche had, doubtless, established a model of queenship that would be followed by her successors to some extent. Motherhood, upon analyzing the role of the consorts of the French throne, was very positive instrument, specially when so closely linked to religion as Blanche did. Her deeds give us an image of a loving, caring but equally energetic and fearless queen who would do all that was in her power to protect the interests of her adoptive realm. Regardless of her English and Spanish relations, Blanche would prove to be a trustful queen who defended the interests of her subjects above her own and that of her relatives. She thus became French by far then merely by marrying the French king.
Collecting success and a few failures, she was, as we could see from what was left in History, a successful Queen, mother and wife who followed the footsteps of her maternal grandparents, certainly inheriting her brightness and political tact from her grandmother Eleanor d'Aquitaine and her strenght and belief in her honest conduct, if not her own temper, from her English grandfather, the first king of the Plantagenet line, Henry II.
To close this memorable woman's History, we leave you with this paragraph below:
"Although weakened by a heart ailment, Blanche did not neglect her obligations as a regent. Continuing to preside over council meetings, she signed laws and watched over the poor of Paris. When some of the poor were mistreated by the cathedral chapter, she herself rode, as formerly, to open the gates to their prison. On her way to the Abbey of the Lys, one of her favourite retreats, Blanche suffered an attack of the heart, ailment that was to take her life. She was returned to the palace of the Louvre, dressed in a nun's habit, and laid on a bed of hay. There, after begging forgiveness of all and having received the last sacraments, she died. She was buried at Maubuisson Abbey and her heart taken to the Abbey of the Lys."In spite of all her political and religious heritances that have been told, it is mostly important to recollect that two of her children who outlived infancy were to be canonized after their deaths, one becoming the patron of the kings of France, St Louis (King Louis IX), and the other praised as saint by the franciscan order, St Isabelle (the same Isabelle who was betrothed to one of the sons of Hugh X of Luisignan, she refused so in order to remain virgin, but she never became a nun, though). Perhaps that is her greatest contribution to the spiritual world. May History remember always this formidable woman that was Blanche de Castille, Queen of France.
Bibliography:
-http://expositions.bnf.fr/francoisIer/grand/fra_058.htm
-http://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/IR/00/01/03/14/00001/ReadingPowerintheSources.pdf
-https://epistolae.ctl.columbia.edu/letter/706.html
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blanche_of_Castile
-https://www.britannica.com/biography/Blanche-of-Castile-wife-of-Louis-VIII
-https://www.historyofroyalwomen.com/blanche-of-castile/queens-regent-blanche-castile/
-https://www.monstrousregimentofwomen.com/2015/03/blanche-of-castile-following-in-her.html
-https://epistolae.ctl.columbia.edu/woman/77.html
-https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/why-did-eleanor-go-get-blanche-castile-for-who-did-81755
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