Zoe Porphyrogenita: A Feisty Byzantine Empress (978-1050)

To close our little tribute to the Byzantine empresses, we speak of Zoe Porphyrogenita who, unlike the predecessors we have spoken to, came of high born origins (hence why her surname is Porphyrogenita, which meant 'born into the purple', a colour that for a long time has been associated to royalty in general) and was politically and culturally cunning for her days. Yet, it's sad to attest that few were the proper websites that were dedicated to her, but one hopes this should not prevent those who are intrigued to search further about our historical character.

Born Zoe Porphyrogenita, she was the second daughter of Constantine VIII and Helena of Alypious. She had an older sister, Eudocia, and one younger, Theodora. Eudocia was unfit to rule due to her appearance being disfigured by small pox, and it's known that if the heir of the imperial crown has some physical disease or incapacity, they are thus unfit to rule. Zoe would have to share the throne with her younger sister, Theodora.

Not much is known of Zoe's childhood and youth, since she remained in obscurity once her uncle, Basil II, feared the loss of the Macedonian Dynasty if his nieces were married. Still, suitors sought the hands of the imperial princesses, though it was Zoe's that Basil II agreed to give to the Holy Roman Emperor Otto III in 996 once she captured the attention of the Emperor's ambassy, Arnulf, who thought Zoe quite the beauty. 

As a result, "in January 1002, she accompanied Arnulf back to Italy, only to discover when the ship reached Bari that Otto III had died, forcing her to return home. Another opportunity arose in 1028, when an embassy from the Holy Roman Empire arrived in Constantinople with a proposal for an imperial marriage. Constantine VIII and the fifty-year-old Zoe rejected the idea out of hand when it was revealed that the intended groom Henry, the son of Conrad II, was only ten years old."

It was not until her uncle had died that Zoe was able to choose her own husband. Until that moment, she was forced to be at the company of her youngest sister, Theodora, whom she despised and had jealousy feelings because "she had never forgiven Theodora for being their father's first choice to marry Romanos." He, who would eventually be her husband and co-emperor as Romanos III Agyros, was the urban prefect of Constantinople, and third distant cousin of the Empress. 

In order to have the power for herself, unwilling as she was to share with her sister, Zoe manipulated Romanos by preventing him to marry Theodora, by placing one of his men to watch her and later, by accusing her sister "of  plotting to usurp the throne,first with Presian of Bulgaria, followed by Constantine Diogenes, the Archon of Sirmium." Consequently, Zoe had her own youngest sister locked in a monastery and forced her to take her vows. 

Even though she was married and crowned next to Romanos, the Empress became obsessed in keeping the dynasty of which she was a member to and attempted the many medieval ways possible to carry an heir, such as potions, amulets and magic charms. But neither of the said options could give her what she wanted. Romanos, then, attempted to control the Empress further by limiting her activities, though he tolerated her extra marital affairs. However, 

"On April 11, 1034, Romanos III was found dead in his bath, and there was speculation that Zoe and Michael had conspired to have him poisoned, then strangled or drowned. Zoe married Michael later that same day and he reigned as Michael IV until his death in 1041."

Interesting is to observe that, even though she had her first marriage at an advanced age for that time, she remarried in a short time. According to her contemporary chronicles, this beauty and youth admired by others were the result of her concern to her vanity, that is, to remain young and beautiful. As we see next:

"The eye-witness chronicles of the era describe her as blonde, with bright white skin, lack of wrinkles, and a very young girl appearance, preserving her beauty even into her 60s. All the historical sources agree that her main occupation was the manufacture of cosmetic essences, and for this purpose, she had installed a laboratory (myrepseion) in her private quarters, where she prepared various drugs and perfumes, spending much of her time for these activities"

That way, she was far more lively even in ther fifties than probably when she was younger, but it must taken in consideration that her parents and uncle no longer were there to refrain her free spirit. As for marrying one of her lovers, Zoe thought, as probably many women would regardless the century, that he was the one. That Michael would be more devoted to her, more than her previous husband. Zoe was to be proven wrong, for:

"Michael IV was  concerned about Zoe turning on him the way she had turned on Romanos, so he excluded Zoe from politics by placing all power in the hands of his brother John the Eunuch. Zoe was confined again to the palace gynaeceum and kept under strict surveillance, while Michael's visits grew more and more infrequent. Nevertheless, the disgruntled empress conspired in vain against John in 1037 or 1038."

Although we have no informations of how were the politics under the reign of Zoe, it can be presumed, perhaps, they were partly the reason of her popularity, for when Michael V had banished her after the death of Zoe's hand and continued to imput such a harsh treatment, a popular and violent riot rose that almost took him life. To attend the popular demand of bringing the Empress back, she did so, but this time she was not meant to rule solely. Instead, Zoe was forced to reign with the sister she hated the most: Theodora.

"A delegation headed by the Patrician Constantine Cabasilas went to the monastery at Petrion to convince Theodora to become co-empress alongside her sister. At an assembly at Hagia Sophia, the people escorted a furious Theodora from Petrion and proclaimed her empress along Zoe. After crowning Theodora, the mob stormed the palace, forcing Michael V to escape to a monastery."

But the sibling rivalry would remain still. Several were the attempts Zoe tried to overshadow the policies by reigning solely, but she was prevented each time of doing so. One of these attempts, however, included a third husband and this was the limit the Orthodox Church permitted for the sovereigns to remarry. Constantine IX then was Zoe's third husband, but he would not give in his long term mistress in order to marry the empress, a deal that was oddly taken with no complaints from Zoe. 

During his reign, she permitted Constantine to rule almost as if he was sole emperor, once she gave him powers to do so. But, behind all the schemes, it was Theodora who reigned effectively. However, that was not how it was seen before the public, who, once again, protested in the strees against the poor treatment Constantine IX was imputing the sisters. Their presences were required and both Zoe and Theodora showed before the people to assure them there had been no attempt of murdering Zoe and that all rested well.

Unfortunately, there is no further information of the last days of Zoe Porphyrogenita, a woman that was, to certain extent, ahead of her days, living against the general medieval expectation concerning how a consort should act and behave. What is known is that she did not stop her activities of perfume and cosmetics, and that she died around the year of 1050, childless.

Bibliography:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zo%C3%AB_Porphyrogenita

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1473-2165.2012.00629.x/abstract?systemMessage=Wiley+Online+Library+will+be+unavailable+on+Saturday+25th+March+from+07%3A00+GMT+%2F+03%3A00+EDT+%2F+15%3A00+SGT+for+4+hours+for+essential+maintenance.++Apologies+for+the+inconvenience.

Theodora of the Byzantines: From the Brothels to the Imperial Crown (500-548)

If in our last post we have discussed about the religious and political events that marked the life of Irene of Athens, today we will turn our eyes another remarkable Byzantine Empress, Theodora. Whilst we have observed that in the next centuries a marriage between a royal and a commoner has caused great scandal, making history in most cases, when we look at the background to some of these empresses, it is rather intriguing to see they were commoners with difficult lives who managed to get to the highest position of the society they were part of.

Theodora is no exception to these cases. As the empress consort of the Byzantine Emperor, she actively promoted laws that helped women and instigated the cult to Monophysitism, besides helping to strenghten the empire authority which was already marked by corruption. In days where society was made by men and to men, a woman in power as Theodora was usually seen with suspicious and fear. Specifically, because she was a prostitute in her origins, men as Procopius would describe her in not the best terms. So who was this Empress as ruler, wife and woman? It's what we will see next.

What is known about Theodora's early life is that her father was a bear-keeper of a hippodrome in Constantinople and her mother was likely an actress before that. She was probably born around the year 500 and had two sisters, a younger whose is unknown, and another, the eldest being named Camito, whose talent as singer made her famous. Also, when she was five:

"her father died (...) and her mother married another animal-keepr. When he failed to land her dead husband's job, she rehearsed her three little girls in arm movements and the silent gestures of supplication that would have been recognized by theatre audiences of the time. Then, she dressed them up and took them to the hippodrome--a vast complex, housing a capacity crowd of 30, 000 men--to formally request a job for their new stepfather. The wish was granted and Theodora went to become an actress, dancer, mime artist, comedian."

This profession which she performed in stages, however, eventually led most of the actresses to prostitution. Around the age of 14, Theodora already had given birth to a child, whose information we have none of it, but we presume that, like her sister Comito who was mistress to many men, "both had several abortions." Four years later, she would quit being actress as she was mistress to Hecebolus, governor of what today is known as Libya.

"When they broke up, not long afterwards, she joined an ascetic community in the desert near Alexandria, experiencing a religious conversion to a branch of early Christianity, Monophysitism, that was then under attack by the Roman state. The division between those who believed, with the state, that Christ was both fully human and fully divine in one, and those who, as Theodora did, believed His divinity was the prime force, raged on throughout Theodora's life."

She would remain a devout to Monophysitism for all her life, supporting this cult even when she became empress. And by the time she converted and gave up the life she was having until then, it's when she was acquainted to Justinian. He, who was born Flavius Peterus Sabbatius, was a farmer adopted by his uncle, the Emperor Justin I, once he was childless. Justinian was the heir of the Roman Emperor and took part of his council. History tells that he:

"Justinian was a farmer's son from present-day Serbia who travelled to Constantinople at the age of 11 to work for his uncle Justin, and help in his rise to power and eventual elevation to the throne. Justinian had a strong legal mind (his codifying of Roman law remains a part of legal training today), and had one law changed to raise Theodora's status, and another created to allow her to marry, something that former actresses could not legally do at the time. They married against the wishes of Justinian's aunt, the empress Euphemia, herself an ex-slave and concubine, who saw her own origins echoed a little too obviously in Theodora's. When Justin died and Justinian became emperor in 527, "Theodora-from-the-Brothel" was empress of Rome."

One of the most formidable episodes during the reign of Justinian happened when two political rivais, the Blues and the Greens, started a riot that, at first, the emperor could not resolve and had seen no other solution but to flee away. There's a speech where Theodora encourages him to stay, underlining "the significance of someone who died as a ruler instead of living as an exile or in hiding, reportedly saying 'royal purple is the noblest shroud'."

Impressive as she was, though criticized for the harsh way Justinian responded successfully to the riots, Theodora was respected by her husband not only for her beauty but for her wit. They often shared similar views concerning politics, diverging, perhaps, only in religious matters. Even there, Justinian was only tolerant to the Monophysitism because of his consort's belief. It's said that she was called his "partner in my deliberations". Theodora held court, had "her own official entourage and her own imperial seal."

Her involvement in politics was very important to advocate on behalf of the women's rights. It is thankful to her actions that forced prostitution was forbidden, being "known  for buying girls who had been sold into prostitution, freeing them, and providing for their future." Brothels were closed, and those who earned money with prostitution were repelled. A convent named Metanoia (Repentance) was created for ex-prostitutes.

"She also expanded the rights of women in divorce and property ownership, instituted the death penalty for rape, forbade exposure of unwanted infants, gave mothers some guardianship rights over their children, and forbade the killing of a wife who committed adultery. Procopius wrote that she was naturally inclined to assist women in misfortune. After Theodora's death, "little effective legislation was passed by Justinian"."

"As empress, she worked on the paper On Pimps, an attempt to stop pimps making their money from prostitutes. Well aware of the impossibility of marriage and a safe life for such women, she set up a house where they could live in peace. Theodora worked for women's marriage and dowry rights, anti-rape legislation, and was supportive of the many young girls who were sold into sexual slavery for the price of a pair of sandals. Her laws banished brothel-keepers from Constantinople and from all the major cities of the empire."

As a woman in a male world, Theodora left her marks though those are hardly being spoken in most gender discussions. Her personality is seen as commanding, persuasive, strong willed and opinionated. To men as Procopius, already mentioned before as the historian of the empire who described Theodora's supposedly sexual escapes and attempted to difame her name and sex, whose belief tended to see women below to men in social ranks, this was a natural absurd.

"[He] (...) greatly disapproved of Theodora's personality and background- she was smart and ruthless, and in her early life a prostitute and actress- blaming her for political and financial upheaval. Foss describes her as "less than saintly". Procopius's notorious account of Theodora in his 'Secret History' shows extreme dislike for her character; he, and Byzantine society in general, evaluated her former occupations as very near the bottom of the 'hierarchy of the arts'. Procopius writes that Theodora was secretive and unfaithful, yet this characterization can be attributed mostly to his own personal bias against her."

Another historian, John Malalas (c.490-c.570),

"only mentions Theodora three times: once as "the pious Theodora" who stopped brothel-keepers from enlisting unwilling young girls as prostitutes: second, to relate that while on a trip to Pythion, she was found "giving generously to the churches": and lastly to report her death. Although Malalas does not describe Theodora sexually, he does not shy away from graphic sexual descriptions of others whom he accuses "of living immorally in matters of the flesh"."

The controversy surrounding Theodora both as prostitute and later as Empress brings an interesting comparison to Mary Magdalene, due to her piety and penitent character she expressed especially after her conversion to Monophysitism. Yet, it must not be forgotten she too was a woman of her days, specially when rivalries with the former empress, her husband's aunt, is mentioned. With her flaws or not, Theodora was a royal of great importance and her death, at the age of 48, left the empire mourning her free-spirit.

Bibliography:

https://www.thoughtco.com/empress-theodora-facts-3529665

http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/rulers/justinian-i-and-theodora-i.html

https://www.mcgill.ca/classics/files/classics/2004-09.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodora_(6th_century)

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jun/10/theodora-empress-from-the-brothel

http://www.ancient.eu/article/603/

http://fascinatinghistory.blogspot.com.br/2005/05/theodora-ad-500-548-whore-who-became_01.html

Irene of Athens:The Ruthless Byzantine East Roman Empress (752-803)

In order to celebrate the Internation Women's Day, this week we will bring to the discussion some of the stories concerning royal women whose controversial figures were in the centre of studies and discussion for some long time. Also, to open the posts of this year, certainly later than planned, we begin with the Byzantine Empress Irene of Athens and how important she was to the Orthodox Eastern Church. 

Born in Athens of a Greek noble family, between the years of 750 and 755, little is known regarding Irene Sarantapechaina's life before ascending to the Byzantine throne. In some bibliographies here consulted, it's said that she was orphan under the charge of an uncle. What can be said with some degree of certainty is that around the year of 769 she was brought to the Constantinople court of Constantine V where she was soon married off to his heir, Leo IV. What can be said regarding Irene is what she's mostly famous for: being the responsible for the veneration of icons. As we can see next:

"Her main achievement during her reign was the settling of the Iconoclastic Controversy. Her predecessors had denounced and destroyed icons, were the living pictures of the saints, and Mary and Christ. The emperor had taken the Jewish and Muslim stance that these icons were idols. She was responsible for the eventual most important festival known as the Feast of Orthodoxy, which is still celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox Church."

In between the issue concerning the restauration of the icons, Irene was also in the midst of a struggle for power with her son when he became Constantine VI at age nine, after Leo IV died. In spite of the rumours that he was poisoned under her commands, Irene became Empress-Regent on behalf of her son and soon worked to have an alliance with Charlemagne by arranging a betrothal between his daughter and Constantine, but this would be later called off against his wishes. Amidst the relationship mother and son that worsened with time, there were other complications to the hungry for power Irene. The late Emperor Leo IV had four half-brothers who, upon his death, soon sought his crown. Rebellions like these were stopped by Irene's forces repetedly until she had them into priesthood, so that way their claims would be invalid.

Following the "clash over veneration of icons, a patriarch, Tarasius, was appointed in 784, on condition that veneration of images be reestablished. To that end, a council was convened in 786, which ended up disbanded when it was disrupted by forces backed by Irene's son Constantine. Another meeting was assembled in Nicae in 787. The decision of the council was to end the banning of image veneration, while clarifying that the worship itself was to the Divine Being, not to the images."

This mended the relationship with Rome only briefly as they came to a mutual agreement to such religious matters.

Where politics were now concerned, opposition between Constantine and his mother grew, as she refused to give his son power, even the countless times he was manipulated by her to do as her will. After all, "in 788, Irene held a bride show to select a bride for her son. Of the thirteen possibilites, she selected Maria of Amnia", daughter of a wealthy Greek official. The match displeased Constantine VI, as he much preferred to have been married to the daughter of Charlemagne. However, not soon Maria gave him two daughters, he divorced her and married his mistress. Maria and the princesses were exiled and though one is said to have died at an early age, the other lived with Maria in a monastery, but, unlike her mother, had not taken the veil and married against Maria's wishes. 

The second marriage involved Constantine VI in a complicated relationship with the Church which helped Irene consolidate her position as Empress. No matter if Constantine had been already in prison and rescued back, he started to lose supporters. As it's perceptible in the next paragraph:

"(...) When Constantine grew up, Irene refused to hand over power to him, and instead put him in prison. Even when Constantine was rescued and put in power, in 792 he ended up letting his mother have the power again. (...)"

"In 797, a conspiracy led by Irene to regain power for herself succeded. Constantine tried to flee but was captured and returned to Constantinople, where, on the orders of Irene, he was blinded by his eyes being gouged out. That he died shortly after is assumed by some; in other accounts, he and Theodote retired to private life. During Theodote's life, their residence became a monastery. Theodote and Constantine had two sons; one was born in 796 and died in May of 797. The other was born after his father was deposed, and apparently died young."

Once her son was heireless and Constantine VI himself was removed from her path from one way or another, Irene of Athens became the first Empress of such a vast empire alone. But precisely because she was a female that the Pope was quick to respond it by investing Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor in a coronation in Rome, following the Frankish law that forbade any woman to reign solely, unless she was a consort. 

In spite of this, Irene was recognized within her territories as Byzantine Empress and often she "took the male title Basileus (Emperor) in preference to the usual offical status of Empress. Since she could not claim dynastic connections to the emperor she had deposed, she put her own portrait on both the obverse and reverse of her."

What happened next was of no good to Irene, though. Even with all the ruthless that had given her power to depose her son and reign herself alone, little by little she started losing supporters. Firstly, she was already unpopular between the army, which was a supporter of her late son the emperor, and the fact she was surrounded by eunuchs did not help her cause; the invasions of outsiders enemies, as arabs, were possibly a consequence of this as we may see following the paragraph below:

"Another victory by the Arabs reduced Irene's support among the government leaders. In 803, the officials in government rebelled against Irene. Technically, the throne was not hereditary, and the leaders of government had to elect the emperor. This time, she was replaced on the throne by Nikephoros, a finance minister."

Another cause of her fall was the approach between the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne to the Byzantine Empress, who, in turn, was considering to accept his proposal of marriage. If she had accepted it, this would be an union of two empires that had not been since the fall of the Roman Empire. 

"This situation was forced to a conclusion when Charlemagne proposed to marry Irene. The union would have brought East and West together for the first time in centuries. Irene was happy to accept, but no self-respecting Byzantine wanted to see a Frankish emperor on the throne, and so the ministers had to act now."

In response to these events that tensed these later years of Irene's reign, she was deposed and sent to exile. She would die the next year. Nowadays, Irene is best remembered as St Irene, whose day is still celebrated. Some sources claim her popularity in between the common folk, despite her intriguing manners to hold power and manage the whole iconoclasm issue. Whether be the case, controversial or not, Irene of Athens was not a typical medieval woman and she certainly held her ambitions too high to be the expected quiet christian lady of her days. Being so, for better or worse, she led the path to the next generation of sole queens and empresses the world would yet meet.

Bibliography:

http://web.clark.edu/afisher/HIST252/Women%20in%20the%20Byzantine%20Empire.pdf 

http://quatr.us/medieval/history/byzantine/irene.htm#topbar

https://www.thoughtco.com/alexius-comnenus-profile-1788347

http://www.rapiddiffusion.com/history/real-life-game-thrones-empress-irene-part-1/

http://www.rapiddiffusion.com/history/real-life-game-thrones-empress-irene-part-2/

http://biography.yourdictionary.com/irene-of-athens

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irene_of_Athens

Charles Martel: the Hammer of Francia. (686-741)

Whenever we turn our eyes to the Carolingean dynasty, it's most common that we have in mind Charlemagne, who, reasonably so, was responsible for most of his military conquests in High Middle Ages. Not very behind him, though, it was his grandfather, Charles Martel, who was also encharged for shaping the country we know as France, but in his days had another name: Francia. Like Charlemagne in a few generations later, Charles was also a religious man and his military skills were the cause why the islamics never conquered Francia, in the beginning of their retreat to Middle West.

But his life was hardly easy from the beginning. Charles Martel (Deustch: Karl Martel) was born in 686. His father was Pepin II of Herstal and possibly his mistress, sometimes acknowledged as his second wife, a noblewoman named Alpaida, in days where poligamy was tolerated, and which might explain that assuming Charles was illegitimate, perhaps is not the ideal. Regardless of his situation, he was the son of the Mayor of Austrasia, located in the eastern Frankish kingdom. The Mayor was a position of officers who encharged of managing the king's household before becoming guardian to minor kings. However, even when those reached majority, the Mayors still:

"(...) acted as chief officer of the government in his name. And as several of the young kings, even when they were old enough to rule, gave less attention to business than to pleasure, the mayors continued to do all the business, until at last they did everything that the king ought to have done. They made war, led armies in battle, raised money and spent it, and carried on the government as they pleased, without consulting the king."

 "(...) It meant the mayor of leader of the palace, eventually evolving into the role of king. At the time of Charles' birth, the Merovingian line of kings was failing. The Mayor overshadowed the king, reducing the actual king (in this case, Dagobert III) to little more than a figurehead. Pepin II had absolute power to include control of the treasury and the dispensation of offices."

Having been perceived how great being a Mayor was, it's almost no surprise to tell that this position would be disputed between Charles and the first wife of his father, on behalf of their eight-year-old son after Pepin's death. In fact, at his deathbed, he was convinced by Plectrude to give his position as Mayor transferred to their young son. Although part of the nobility of Austrasia had accept it, the noblemen of Neustria refused Theudoald as the new Mayor, especially since Plectrude would act as regent until his majority. As a result, a Civil War would implode and Charles Martel was imprisoned in Cologne within a year by Plectrued, who feared that his figure would rise uprisings all over Francia, which eventually came to happen, but he managed to escape from this imprisonment after obtaining the support of the Austrasian nobility. Consequently, Charles self proclaimed as Mayor of Francia.

This Civil War was marked by two important battles that would leave an important impression into the young Charles Martel. The first, as we known the Battle of Cologne, was the first and possibly only defeat of Charles in his whole life. This happened because he did not gather enough men to beat the army of Neustrians, otherwise known as western Franks, joined by their Germanic allies named Frisians. 

The second was the Battle of Amblève, in another Frankish region named Austrasia, a decisive battle where Charles used innovatives methods alongside his allies to defeat the Neustrians and Frisians rivals, led by King Chilperic II, mayor Ragenfrid and the Duke of Frisians, Radbod. As we can see in the next paragraph:

"Charles caught up with the retreating Neustrian Army near Malmedy at the Battle of Ableve and completely routed them. This battle would prove Martel innovative on the battlefield, something that would mark him in future conflicts."

"He appeared where his enemies least expected him, while they were marching triumphantly home and far outnumbered him. He also attacked when least expected, at midday, when armies of that era traditionally were resting. Finally, he attacked them how they least expected it, by feigning a retreat to draw his opponents into a trap. The feigned retreat, next to unknown in Western Europe at that time--it was a traditionally eastern tactic--required both extraordinary discipline on the part of the troops and exact timing on the part of their commander. Charles, in this battle, had begun demonstrating the military brilliance that would mark his rule."

As a result of the intern conflit, he "restored centralized government in Francia and began the series of military campaigns that reestablished the Franks as the undisputed masters of all Gaul." Little by little, Charles started an union over the Frankish reunion, especially by seizing lands or being acknowledged as the overlord of some otherwise independent duchies. It's also remarked that feudalism had its beginning under his command. It must be remembered as well that Charles was no king of the Franks just yet, despite rulling the region as if he was one. Once his internal matters were resolved, or the most important of these anyway, he was acknowledged as Mayor, Prince and Duke of Francia. 

As for his relationship with the Church, it was general good. He was, in fact, a :

"great patron of Saint Boniface and made the first attempt at reconciliation between the Papacy and the Franks. The Pope wished him to become the defender of the Holy See and offered him the Roman consulship. Martel refused the offer"

Where foreign policy is concerned, Christiniaty in general was concerned with the advance of the empire of the Islamics. Compared to Byzantinum's, or perhaps in response to it, the Islamics have not only enlarged in matters of territory, but their ambitions pushed it forward into Western Europe. After their conquest in the Iberian Peninsula, the Islamic turned their eyes to the Franks, believing this to be an easy conquest as it was a spread belief that the Frankish kings did absolutely nothing. But they would be proved wrong. 

"Charles' attention was called to foreign conflicts, and dealing with the Islamic advance (...) was a foremost concern. Arab and Berber islamic forces had conquered Spain (711), crossed the Pyrenees (720), seized a major dependency of the Visgoths (721-725), and after intermittent challenges, under Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, the Arab Governor of al-Andalus, advanced toward Gaul and on Tours, "the holy town of Gaul": in October 732, , the army of the Umayyad Caliphate led by Al Ghafiqi met Frankish and Burgundian forces under Charles in an area between the cities of Tours and Poitiers (...), leading to a decisive, historically important Frankish victory known as the Battle of Tours (...), ending the "last of the great Arab invasions of France", a military victory termed "brilliant" on the part of Charles."

Had this Battle of Tours, very important in the Frankish History because of the victory of Charles Martel, a different result, it's certain to say Christianity would be all converted to Arabs and fall into their domain. As we can understand it better below:

"The Battle of Tours (...) was fought on October 10, 732 between forces under the Frankish leader Charles Martel and a massive invading Islamic army led by Emir Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi Abd al Rahman, near the city of Tours, France. During the battle, the Franks defeated the Islamic army and Emir Abd er Rahman was killed. This battle stopped northward advance of Islam from the Iberian peninsula, and is considered by most historians to be of macrohistorical importance, in that it haltd the Islamic conquests, and preserved Christianity as the controlling faith in Europe, during a period in which Islam was overruning the remains of the old Roman and Persian Empires."

There are estimatives that the Frankish army defending Gaul were between 15,000 and 75,000; whilst the Muslims had around 60,000 and 400,00 in cavalry, though these numbers can be lesser than it is thought. Whatever the certain number is, what is commonly believed by most accounts is that the entire Muslim army was present at the Battle. 

After the victory at the Battle of Tours was granted on the Franks' side, Charles turned against "fellow Christian realms, establishing Frankish control over Bavaria, Alemannia, and Frisia, and compelling some of the Saxon tribes to offer tribute."

In his personal life, there is little to be known, except that he was possibly married twice. The first to a noblewoman named Rotrude of Treves with whom he had five children before her death in 724: Hiltrude, Carloman, Landrade, Auda, and Pippin the Younger. After Rotrude's death, he was married to Swanhild, with whom he had a son Grifo. It's also said that he had some mistresses, named Ruodhaid, who produced four children: Bernard, Hieronymus, Remigius, and Ian.

In general words, we understand the political aspects of Charles Martel as Mayor, Prince and Duke of Franks as the emerging of a realm more unified and a monarchy more centralized, modelling the characteristics that would shape politics later better developed in the reigns of Hugh Capet, Philippe IV and Louis XII. "The responsibilities of the knights of court, and so in the development of the Frankish system of feudalism" were also observed throughout the period of Charles Martel as main governor of Francia, being its sovereign in all but name. Lastly,

"from 737 until his death in 741, Charles focused on the administration of his realm and expanding his influence. This included subduing Burgundy in 739. These years also saw Charles lay the groundwork for his heirs' sucession following his death. When he died on October 22, 741, his lands were divided between his sons Carloman and Pippin III. The latter would father the next Carolingian leader, Charlemagne. Charles' remains were interred at the Basilica of St Denis near Paris."

The strong administration that marked his reign would be followed by Pepin, who, at first, reigned together with his brother Carloman, but once he sought a religious life to live, becoming a monk, Pepin solely ruled as Pepin III. As the son that would succeeded him in turn, Pepin continued to spread his father's legacy in what France would later be.

Bibliography:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Martel

https://www.boundless.com/world-history/textbooks/boundless-world-history-i-ancient-civilizations-enlightenment-textbook/the-middle-ages-in-europe-9/the-carolingian-dynasty-45/charles-martel-and-pepin-the-short-974-17581/

http://study.com/academy/lesson/charles-martel-biography-battle-of-tours.html

http://www.heritage-history.com/index.php?c=academy&s=char-dir&f=martel

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03629a.htm

http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/imperialism/notes/tours.html

http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/battleswarsto1000/p/tours.htm

https://themuslimissue.wordpress.com/2014/10/31/remembering-the-crusaders-charles-the-hammer-martel-the-hero-of-the-age/

http://www.authorama.com/famous-men-of-the-middle-ages-11.html

William de Warenne: The Lion of Scotland (1143-1214)

We begin the last month of the year with William of the House of Dunkeld, first of his name to rule over Scotland from 1143 until his death in 1214. He, who was known as the lion of the Scots after his life, was a contemporary of another lion: the king of England, Henry II, and his sons, Richard I and John. Perhaps if he was not a contemporary of the Plantagenets, the Angevin Emperors, William I of Scotland would be luckier? A question we might never get the answer. 

William, who received the nickname "the Lion" after his death because of his association in using a lion in his flag and preferred to be identified as "William de Warenne", was born circa 1143 as the second son of Henry of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon, son of King David I of Scotland, and Ada de Warenne. We've had no access to William's education, and what we know of him is after 1165, the year he succeeded his older brother Malcolm IV as King of Scotland and crowned at Scone Abbey on 24 December that same year. In comparison to his late brother, William was:

"powerfully built, redheaded and headstrong. He was an effective monarch whose reign was marred by his ill-fated attemps to regain control of Northumbria from the Normans."

From the beginning, as we can perceive from the quote above, William attempted to regain the earldom of Northumbria that his brother Malcolm IV was forced to give to Henry II of England under the threat of invasion. This would be a point of William's reign where he had based many of his decisions in taking the earldom back, probably because he looked back at the reign of his grandfather, David I. But, in reality, David of Dunkeld was only lord of half of the English lands because he took advantage from the Civil War between Matilda and Stephen.

Nonetheless, the refusal of Henry II in giving William the earldom leaded to the complications of the Anglo-Scottish relations. Where government is concerned, William was energetic and stubborn. In one of his -almost- constant conflicts with England, he is support to have:

"(...) recklessly charged the English troops himself, shouting: "Now we shall see which of us are good knights!". He was unhorsed and captured by Henry's troops led by Ranulf de Glanvill and taken in chains to Newcastle, then Northampton, and then transferred to Falaise in Normandy. Henry then sent an army to Scotland and occupied it. As ransom and to regain his kingdom, William had to acknowledge Henry as his feudal superior and agree to pay for the cost of English army's occupation of Scotland by taxing the Scots. The church of Scotland was also subjected to that of England. This he did by signing the Treaty of Falaise. He was then allowed to return to Scotland. In 1175, he swore fealty to Henry II at York Castle."

As a result of the signing of this Treaty, Henry II chose William I a wife, this being a great-granddaughter of King Henry I of England. Her name was Ermengarde de Beaumont, with whom he had four children, Alexander II and three girls who were married into English aristocracy. By the time they were married, William was in his 40's and, despite having sired a few illegitimate children with two mistresses -or more-, he remained faithful to Ermengarde. They were married thus at Woodstock Palace, Oxfordshire. His faithfulness might be explained based on his fondness of the Norman chilvaric culture that was a trending back then: in fact, he had brought to his court constantly young knights, with great festivities and tournments. William also did not speak Gaelic or English, but French instead. It is also why he used his maternal surname, for he felt more connected with his Norman connections than to those of his father's. 

However, to many Scots this treaty represented one of its worst ways of humiliations so, consequently, revolts broke out. One of them came from the descendants of Duncan II, but it was severely repressed, and eventually agreements were dealt in order to favour both parts. Relations with England were marked by these tensions caused by the ambitions of the monarchs from both countries. Yet, where William is concerned, we must remember that he:

"(...) had an agressive personality- ambitious, headstrong and driven by an obsessive crusade to recover the earldom of Northumberland, which Malcolm had been forced to concede to Henry II in 1157. It would prove to be the driving force of his long reign and not surprisingly a cause of tension with Henry II. After persistently failing to persuade Henry to just give it back, William angered him further by making overtures to his great rival, Louis VII of France. Impressively, William was responsible for a legendary display of Plantagenet rage on Henry's part:

"On a certain day when King Henry was at Caen, and was eagerly conducting the affair that he had with the king of Scotland, he broke out in insulting language against Richard de Hamez, who seemed to be speaking to some extent in the king of Scotland's favour. And the king, roused to his usual fury, flung his cap from his head, put off his belt, threw far from him the mantle and clothes that he had on: removed with his own hands the silken coverlet that was over the couch: and, sitting as it were in a manure-heap, began to chew the stalks of straw." [John of Salisbury to Thomas Becket]

When Henry II was succeeded by his oldest surviving son, Richard I, Anglo-Scottish relations were hardly improved, with Richard refusing the earldom to William. He, however, did not support John's rebellion against Richard and when John became king, with the continue decline of having the earldom restaured, William threatened to support Arthur of Brittany's claims to the English crown, Despite the constant tensions and threatenings from both sides, William would never get the earldom he so desired.

Nonetheless, though his reign was mainly marked by tensions with Scottish earls and English kings, it must be remembered that it was under William's reign that the famous Auld Alliance with France was established. Considering also Scotland as a whole country, economy was satisfying and relations with the Church were good also, with the Pope claiming that the Church of Scotland was a "favourite daughter" of Rome. In other words:

"He [William] threw himself into government with energy and diligently followed the lines laid down by his grandfather, David I. Anglo-French settlements and feudalization were extended, new burghs founded, criminal law clarified, the responsibilities of justices and sheriffs widened, and trade grew. Arbroath Abbey was founded (1178), and the bishopric of Argyll established (c.1192) in the same year as papal confirmation of the Scottish church by Pope Celestine III."

Also:

"William's long reign was an important one for the growing nation state in Scotland. John of Fordun's moniker of 'the lion of justice' is perhaps a little strong, but royal justice was now spreading further over Scotland and with more central control than ever before. William himself  presided over cases and Scottish law codes tended to match the law codes coming out of England, where Henry II was introducing major reforms. William also oversaw improvements to Scotland's economy, fouding various new burghs (i.e market towns), levying customs duties at seaports and overseeing a transition to a money economy (rather than just bartering goods) thanks to a significant improvement in Scottish mints, which were now equal in value to English coins and so viable abroad."

It is said, according to a legend, that in 1206 he cured a case of a child with scrofula by the touch of his hands whilst blessing the child. Six years later, in December 12th, William died, at Stirling Castle. He would be buried at Arbroath Abbey, which was founded by him to honour, some say, Thomas Beckett, and was succeded by his only son Alexander II, who reigned in Scotland from 1214 until his own death in 1249.

Bibliography:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_the_Lion

http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/dunkeld_9.htm

https://rexfactor.wordpress.com/2016/07/26/william-the-lion-1165-1214/

http://www.timeref.com/people/hpr383.htm

https://thehistoryjar.com/tag/william-the-lion/

http://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/E0036924109000869

http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/william-i-king-of-scots-the-lion/

http://www.scottish-history.com/origins5.shtml

Mary of Habsburg: Queen of Hungary & Governor of the Netherlands (1505-1558)

                               

On today's blog, we will be discussing the life of one of the children of Queen Joanna of Castile, unfairly known as Juana la Loca (English: Joanna the Mad) due to her said attack of madness, and her husband, Philippe the Handsome, the Habsburg son of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I who was known for being a prince with very good features... and also for his infidelities. Their offspring had lots of Queens, Kings and Emperors, of those, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V being the most famous and his sister Eleanor, twice consort for two kings of distant countries: Portugal, in her first marriage, and France, in her second.

But today the topic is about one of Queen Joanna's less spoken children, Mary of Habsburg, who was not only Queen of Hungary but a Governor of the Netherlands on behalf of her brother, Charles. So who was this woman, well spoken by Erasmus  whose beauty we can attest by her portraits above? What were the greatest achievements whilst a politician? That is precise what we intend to find out next.

After facing very difficulties in labour, with her life in risk, Queen Joanna of Castile finally gave birth to her third daughter, whom she named Mary (Spanish: Maria). The archduchess, known then as Mary of Austria, was born in Brussels on 15 September, and would be sent at an early age to be educated at the court of her paternal aunt, Margaret of Austria, after the mental breakdown of her mother around 1506. Earlier that year, before her depart, her grandfather, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, negotiated to have her married to an unborn heir to the crown of Hungary.

After she was placed under the care of Margaret of Austria, alongside her siblings Isabel, Eleanor and Charles, the alliance with Hungary was confirmed upon the birth of the heir Louis, and "when she was eight years old, Mary left Margaret of Austria's court at Mechelen and traveled to Maximilian's court in Vienna in preparation for the conclusion of his proposed alliance."

To reinforce this alliance with Hungary, a sister of Louis, Anne, was offered the hand of either the two brothers of Mary, who turned out to be Ferdinand. So Anne was also sent to Maximilian's court to be educated alongside Mary and there:

"(...) the fourteen-year-old Anne knelt next to Maximilian, renounced her title as "empress" and was married by proxy to Maximilian's grandson. Following this ceremony, the "little queens", now sisters-in-law, were sent to Innsbruck."

What we know about Archduchess Mary's education is that she received a very good education from excellent tutors. Her grandfather also encouraged her hunting activities, an habit she would still practice, though her passion were much more like culture, music and arts, as seen in the paragraph below:

"That year [1516], Mary's father-in-law died, making Louis and Mary king and queen of Hungary and Bohemia. Mary moved to Innsbruck, where she was educated until 1521. Maximilian encouraged her interest in hunting, while childhood lessons prompted an interest in music. This passion would later be demonstrated during her tenure as governor of the Netherlands."

Once her marriage was celebrated on 11 December 1520, and the next year she departed to Hungary, it was then during the period afterwards when the royal couple was blessed in Buda, that she and Louis fell in love. At first, because of her youth, Mary held little influence at court, but it was not too soon until she surrounded herself with German and Dutch influences, which "formed the base for the interests of the House of Habsburg" and made use of her authority by putting to an end factions that divided court. As we can perceive next:

"By 1524, (...) the new queen had negotiated considerable influence and authority for herself, and by 1525, in a "spectacular coup", she gained even more when she assumed control of one powerful political faction and put down the threat, for the moment, of another. A friend wrote to the humanistic scholar Erasmus expressing the hope and regret of many: "If she could only be changed into a king, our affairs would be in better shape."

Often, Mary and Louis were seen riding and hunting when they were not busy trying to contain Hungary from the political threats coming from the Ottoman Empire. Hungarian nobility was quite a problem from the weak Louis, who had "inherited the crown of a country whose noblemen were fighting among themselves and against the peasantry." It is no surprise to understand that, consequently, the country was very divided and that made easy to Ottoman Empire break in. Louis eventually leaded the army against the Ottomans, and though he was close to a victory, he slipped from his frightened horse and died drowned after the Battle of Mohács.

Following the death of her husband, whom she would mourn for the rest of her life, Queen Mary sought her brother, Ferdinand, recently elected King of Bohemia, to alert him about the Hungarian defeat and...

"sending him a warning: 'I fear the Turk will not stop at my lord brother's borders.' Shortly thereafter, an urgent message was sent to the archduke, urging him to come immediately to Hungary's aid--until he could arrive, troops were requested to support Mary 'so that the kingdom does not fall away from us entirely and Your Serene Highness can the better come into Hungary with her help'."

As a result, the Queen Dowager was chosen to be the regent on behalf of Ferdinand, though this was done against her will. Nonetheless, as dutiful as she was, she "spent the following year working to secure the election of Ferdinand as King of Hungary." There was an attempt of resigning, but her request was denied at least until summer of 1527, when he assumed the crown.

Subsequently,

"Hungary was divided into three parts: Ottoman Hungary- a part of the Ottoman Empire, Royal Hungary- ruled by Mary's brother Ferdinand, and Eastern Hungarian Kingdom- ruled by John Zápolya."

In the next year, her aunt Margaret suggested a marriage to King James V of Scotland, of which Mary refused, claiming that, for having loved her husband, she would not be capable of loving again, so she had no wishes for another marriage. Another brother of Mary, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, Charles, proposed Frederick of Bavaria instead, who had unsuccessfully tried to court Eleanor, Mary's sister, years before. But again Mary refused.

Ferdinand, by 1528, offered the position of regent in Netherland, but Mary declined, claiming that "such affairs need a person wiser than I am", though he would persist in drawing her to politics especially after communicating the death of their aunt, Margaret of Austria the year after, leaving the post of Governor of the Netherlands vacant. Thus, this was offered by Charles V to his sister, who reluctantly thought about whether was wiser to decline or accept.

"As her biographer Jane de Iongh states Mary's dilemma, on the one hand she could remain a queen "without a country, without a crown, without money", but with some measure of independence. On the other, she could assume the regency of the Netherlands which offered action, responsibilities, and power--but no independence.

 In her response of 29 January, Mary agreed to take over the regency for Charles. In October, she was invested with the power to uphold the law, to receive petitions, to supervise legislation  and finances, to command the army, and to head the various governors of the provinces: "In short, she received the right to perform everything that could serve to maintain the sovereign's authority and the welfare of the country."

As Governor of the Netherlands, Mary was a sole ruler, even though she was so on behalf of her brother, the Emperor, who, as he told herself, could not always be in every place, so he trusted in the members of his family to play this role. However, it was observed that many female rulers were either unmarried or widows who masculinized themselves in order to hold authority. With Mary this was no different. Because of that, she is often seen as "authoritarian" unlike her charismatic aunt, who was much praised for her beauty and intelligence.

But was she really "authoritarian"? She was forced to deal with several rebellions, had her complaints and asks for help ignored by her brother Charles, and saw no other way but to declare war against France. In a world where power was largely associated to strenght and this latter, to men, Mary eventually masculinized herself, as she would later say that because of her gender she was hardly taken seriously by her counterparts or even by Charles.

In matters concerning their nieces Dorothea and Christina who, after the death of their mother, Isabella, Queen of Denmark, were under the care of Margaret, they were sent to Mary's after Margaret's past away. At her court, they were educated and Mary also helped in planning their marriages for...

"Charles, like his Habsburg grandfather, decided to follow the course of "happy Austria" in using marriage to effect in arranging political alliances."

In here we find one more time conflicts between Mary and Charles; though it is true that, in one hand, he relies on her and trusts in her capacibility in reigning on his behalf, on the other, he values above all opinions his own and not of those he trusts. For example: Mary argued with her brother that Christina was far too young to consummate her marriage with the duke of Milan, providing him with religious and social arguments how against she was with this act, but he ignored. She then delayed it, claiming first Christina to be sick, before going to some part of Netherland to resolve the matter, until she could do so no longer for Christina had reached the age of 12, as we can see in the following paragraph:

"At this, Mary of Austria responded, for once, as her biography notes, abadoning 'the humble attitude of modest pupil' which she had adopted with her brother and speaking with a 'conviction and a confidence in her own judgment that cannot have escaped Charles despite the careful terms in which her letter was couched':

I reply to Your Majesty...only to unburden my conscience... and to warn you of the difficulties I think I discern... I am of the opinion that it contravenes the law of God and all reason to have her marry so young, before she is twelve years old... I hold it not only contrary to God's command, but I am moreover convinced that you may endanger her life, should she become pregnant before she is altogether a woman. It has often happened that in such cases neither the mother nor the child has survived the birth.

Monseigneur, I am aware that I have said more about this matter, and that I express myself more clumsily, than is desirable. I beg you to forgive me, for my conscience and the love I bear the child compel me to it." 

Christina was not long married when, some years later, she returned a widow to her aunt's court. At this year, she received a propose from King Henry VIII of England, a match that Mary great disapproved and used all of her will to  disencourage it, in spite of Charles' insistances. With Henry VIII's excommunication, however, she managed to convince her brother.

What it may seem stubborness for some and determination for others was a cause for disagreement of the two siblings for long years, but, in spite of them, it is assumed that, though she was not his favourite sister, they were fond of each other and had mutual respect. But it must be remembered that he left Mary in a charge she was unwilling to take from the beginning, despite her sense of duty led her to do the art of government well, and ignored her pleadges for help. She faced difficulties that often made her try to resign, receiving always a decline on the part of Charles. And that is how we understand why she is unfairly seen as "authoritary".

But unlike other contemporaries, like Henry VIII of England or François I of France, she did try to use peace as a mean to achieve her goals, especially within her family. When Charles V abdicate his Holy Roman Empire crown and intended to pass to his son, she had to mediate it for Ferdinand was protesting over the matter. Her relationship with Philippe, her nephew, though, was no better than the one she had with Charles, though it may be assumed that even with Charles she had a better one. It is probably a cause why she wrote a long letter explaining the reasons for resigning one more time. Despite the protests of her brother and her nephew, for apparently she excelled in governing Netherlands for the Spanish Crown, she had her request finally granted.

Mary joined her recently widowed sister Eleanor and returned to Castile, despite fearing to live in a country she was never introduced to its language and costume. So she then flew from Ghent with Eleanor and Charles and was very devasted when they came to die in 1558. But before he died, Charles had requested his sister to be Governor once more, a promise she came to make and was ready to fulfill, but she was too weak and feverish and died in October that same year.

What we learn about Mary, at least in our humble point of view, is the other way her strenght worked. She did not prosecute Protestants, though in a moment she was forced to do so by Charles' command and slight threat of distrusting a member of his family if any of them did so, she was a patron of musicians and arts, a supporter of Reinassacence. A woman of her days, for she believed women should not take part where it doesn't concern them and was always a pious royal, she nonetheless used her heart to do what was expected and yet could and would stand for herself and those she cared, and it is not because she had no scandals in her lifetime that she should be less remembered than some of her siblings.

Bibliography:

http://www.monstrousregimentofwomen.com/2015/07/mary-of-austria-heart-to-do-anything.html

http://www.liquisearch.com/mary_of_hungary_governor_of_the_netherlands

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_of_Hungary_(governor_of_the_Netherlands)

Catherine of Braganza: A Portuguese Loving and Brave Queen of the British (1638-1705)

The subject of our blog today is about this consort who is, unfortunately, neglected in counterpoint to her predecessors. Who was Catherine of Braganza, the only Portuguese Infanta to be crowned Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland? It is true that we count a Castilian consort amongst the British Kings (Eleanor of Castile, as the wife of King Edward I, excluding the Castilian princesses who were married to princes like John of Gaunt) and an Aragonese, Catherine of Aragon, before the union of Spain. Then the future Philippe II of Spain is married to Queen Mary Tudor.  Even with the next dynasty, the Stuarts, we see no Portuguese consort until the restoration, when Catherine is married to King Charles II, and no other after their deaths. 

But Catherine of Braganza was more than just the sweet wife of a womanizer monarch. Their own relationship was, against all odds,  one of full of affection. After his death, she returned to Portugal, where she acted as regent to her brother and then to her nephew. She was a fortress for all, a clever and pious woman who introduced the habit of drinking tea to the British people. Currently, british historiography has been trying to open to new perspectives of the impact Catherine left during the time she reigned as Queen next to Charles Stuart. 

Born Catarina Henriquetta de Bragança at the Ducal Palace of Vila Viçosa, she was the second daughter of the then 8th duke of Bragança, John, and his spouse Luísa of Guzmán. By the time of her birth, Portuguese was struggling for independence against Spain, as it was under the Spanish domain ever since King Philippe II united the Iberian Peninsula. Eventually, John became King John IV of Portugal, accepting the throne and declaring independence of Spain for good. Many european countries were relucting to acknowledging it: for example, France abandoned the treaty with Portugal and the struggle with Spain would still remain for a while.

Despite this, Catherine had a happy childhood in Lisbon, where she was raised at a convent that stayed very near to the royal palace. Her mother, Queen Luísa, supervised the education of her children, and Catherine was no exception. What we also know, aside of her quiet childhood, is that "her upbringing was said to be sheltered and made her a person of strong faith and devotion."

With her father becoming king of Portugal, and upon the death of her older sister Joanna, Catherine's status as Portuguese Infanta was very valuable so her mother:

"(...) first contemplated a marriage with Louis XIV of France. When that didn't materialize, she turned to England. A secreet meeting was set up with her ambassador and King Charles II. The Portuguese offered Charles Tangier which could be used as a base for trade in the Mediterranean, Bombay, a gateway for trade with India, free trade with Brazil and the East Indies and an enormous amount of cash, £300,00. After a year  of negotiations and overcoming doubts over him marrying a Catholic princess, Charles announced he would marry Catherine of Braganza before Parliament on May 8, 1661."

As for Charles II, before he was invited to come back to England, there had been few prospects as his consort. Luckily, situation favoured for his side once it was stabilized and the choice fell on Catherine of Braganza, especially because she'd bring a huge dowry to the already in debt british sovereign. Nonetheless, by all accounts the:

 "(...) marriage between the newly restored King of England and the Portuguese Infanta took place in Portsmouth on the 21st of May 1662. As St Thomas's, the parish church of Portsmouth, was still heavily damaged from the English Civil War, the only suitable venue for a royal wedding was the "Domus Dei". (...) The wedding service, however, is believed to have taken place in the Governor's Presence Chamber and not the chapel itself [4]. Besides a considerable dowry of some 2 million Portuguese Crowns, England also gained the North African port of Tangiers, trading privileges in the East Indies (...)."

It is said that they had two ceremonies: one, secret, followed the Catholic rites according to the new Queen's insistence; and the other followed the Protestant ones. Later, on 30 september 1662 the:

"(...) married couple entered London as part of a large procession, which included the Portuguese delegation and many members of the court. There were also minstrels and musicians, among them ten playing shawns and twelve playing Portuguese bagpipes, those being the new Queen's favourite instruments. The procession continued over a large bridge, especially designed and built for the occasion, which led into the palace where Henrietta Maria, the Queen Mother waited, along with the British court and nobility. This was followed by feasting and firework displays."

And although her good, quiet, pious nature she developed thanks to the days she spent in the convent had pleased the Queen Mother, the effect it had on her husband was little. Despite the good beginning they apparently shared, with Charles having no complaints of his wife, he had mistresses, one of them the most famous being Barbara Villiers. She apparently demanded to be included in the retinue of ladies of the Queen. At first, Catherine was not aware of the liasion and permitted it, but once she found about it, she tried to dismiss. This was reason to the strangement between them until she was forced to accept her husband's mistress.

In fact, "Catherine worked hard on her public image of being a pious image (but she also loved to party), and conveyed the message that she was still the queen". This would prove useful as the king started to rely on his wife, and, as their relationship developed into a loving one, the king would constantly stand by her side, especially when she was accused of poisoning him in what was known as "Popish Act":

"Technically British monarchs were not supposed to be practicing Catholics (...) but she practiced her religion anyway. She was definitely in danger of treason, though, when she was accused of planning to poison the king along with other conspiracies. King Charles didn't believe the accusations against his wife and ignored suggestions to divorce her. He said: "She could never do anything wicked, and it would be a horrible thing to abandon her."

The divorce was suggested not only as a result of Catherine failing in producing a male heir after three miscarriage, but because of the concern that the crown would be passed to James, who, by then, was converted to Catholicism. Nonetheless, it seemed this did not make them strained, but attached one another as was already mentioned, to the point that whoever offended the Queen would be at least banished from court or be sent away, as it was the case of Barbara Villiers.

The nature of their relationship has been often discussed through controversies of whether he did love her or not, after all, it is not uncommon to wonder so due to the common concept of love. But here are some situations that prove how kind and loving King Charles was towards his wife, despite the extra marital affairs that made the Stuart king known for his love of women.

"On one occasion, she (Catherine) felt ill during the night when he was in bed with her. He got up to fetch her a basin, but she was sick in the sheets before he returned. Not until he had himself cleaned and dried her, and changed the sheets, did he call her women to help, and repaired to his own room, even then returning three times to see how she was before he finally went to sleep. (Masters 1979, 75-76)."

Also:

"In 1663, she fell seriously ill and almost died. The King remained by her side, seemingly devoted to her. In her delirium she kept asking where her children were. Charles reassured her and his attentiveness seemed to restore her. When she recovered she couldn't walk and was temporarily deaf but she eventually overcame these disabilities. In 1665, plague in London caused the court to move to Oxford and it is likely Catherine miscarried in February 1666. She suffered another miscarriage in 1668 and again in June 1669."

That being said, Catherine is remembered for introducing the tea into the British lands, or at least making a habit having it, since Samuel Pepys, a 17th century writer, mentions the drink before Catherine's arrival.  As the next paragraph points it out:

"She started a fashion for drinking tea, which became associated with the queen as well as changing consumer habits. In one poem of tea, Edmund Waller wrote 'the best of queens and best of herbs we owe/ to that bold nation which the way did show': thinking of Portugal and how assets and trading links with Portugal could help to create new opportunities in England. But the actual parts of Catherine's dowry, the ports that were coming from Catherine's dowry, like Bombay, gave England a presence in India and provided a new platform for the East India trading company."

But her habits were not limited in making drinking tea fashionable at court. In fact, although the court of Charles II is often associated to the reproduction of francophone's influences, Queen Catherine managed to, through her fondness of dance, insert some Italian styles in music and fashion. Another of her habits involved playing cards, which left Protestants perplexed, because she did so on Sunday's. She also:

"enjoyed dancing and took great delight in organising masques. She had a great love for the countryside and picnics; fishing and archery were also favourite pastimes. In a far cry from her convent-days the newly liberated Catherine displayed a fondness for the recent trend of court ladies wearing men's clothing, which we are told, "showed off her pretty, neat legs and ankles"; and she was even reported to have considered leading the way in wearing shorter dresses, which would show off her feet."

Plus, Catherine:

"(...) may have introduced the use of forks as well. She did not get involved with English politics but closely followed developments in Portugal. In 1665, she started building a religious house east of St. James which was completed in 1667 and became known as The Friary." 

In general words, we understand that, although she failed in what was expected concerning the main role of a consort -which was providing a male heir to the king- she nonetheless was wise by holding the crown in times her position as queen was constantly defied by the mistresses of her husband and to what extent did her Portuguese habits and her own piety contributed to be an easy target to Protestants courtiers.

After Charles's death in 1685, James Stuart became King James II of England and VII of Scotland. With him, Catherine held the prestigious position of Queen Dowager, and kept good relations with him. She also witnessed the Glorious Revolution, where her niece through marriage, Mary, deposed her father James alongside her husband William of Orange. They would reign jointly as Queen Mary II and King William III. The relations Catherine of Braganza held with them were respectfully, but some odd involving money and other religious misunderstandings leaded her to return to Portugal, as we see next:

"Catherine's current chamberlain worked closely with the now dowager-queen. He took the blame for Catherine's actions when Mary II found out that Catherine forbade the chapels of Somerset House to say prayers for King William. William once tried to get Catherine out of Somerset House, but Catherine reminded him she was protected with certain rights. It took Queen Mary to talk through things with Catherine. Finally it was agreed upon that it would be best if she returned to Portugal."

Whether these events actually happened or were merely misunderstandings is beyond of us to figure them out, but the idea that Mary disliked her aunt Catherine can at least be put aside. It must be remembered that even though this is the end of 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century, the Protestant Reformation that ecloded almost 200 years earlier still had its effects. Tensions between Protestantism and Catholicism still happened, and the English people would difficultly accept a monarch of the latter religion.

Perhaps the reason they tolerated Catherine, or at least embraced her as Queen, unlike what had happened to her predecessor, is possibly explained by the fact she lacked heirs and the possibility of educating them to Catholicism. So if there was a main reason that could be pointed to Catherine's return to her homeland is this one.

But even still, when she did so, she returned as a wealthy widow and held regency in Portugal on the behalf of her brother and then her nephew. When this latter's mother died, it was Catherine who helped him to get out of depression and acted as mothern figure. Furthermore, she:

"(....) ruled over military campaigns and was highly effective in running the country. She was to govern to great acclaim until her death on December 31, 1705. She is buried in the Royal Pantheon of the Braganza Dynasty and her name is highly respected to this day in Portugal."

Biography:

http://www.rmg.co.uk/discover/behind-the-scenes/blog/very-royal-wedding-charles-ii-and-catherine-braganza

http://loyaltybindsme.blogspot.com.br/2012/07/did-charles-ii-love-catherine-of.html

http://herstoryline.com/2014/09/23/keeping-up-appearances-catherine-of-braganza-charles-iis-underestimated-wife/

http://stuarts-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/royal-marriage.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_of_Braganza

http://www.marryingcultures.eu/research/catherine-braganza

http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk/queen_of_reg/catherine.html

https://thefreelancehistorywriter.com/2012/08/30/catherine-of-braganza-queen-of-england/

http://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/11/nyregion/here-s-to-queen-catherine-who-gave-queens-a-name.html

http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/stuart_29.html