ELEANOR OF CASTILE



1960 - Canadian Edition

ELEANOR OF CASTILE, queen of Edward I of England: d. Harby, Notting- hamshire, England, Nov. 28, 1290. Her parents were Ferdinand III of Castile and Queen Joanna, and Alfonso X was her half brother.

She was married to Prince Edward (later Edward I) of England in October 1254 and came to London in October 1255. The marriage brought Edward succession to her mother's possessions, the counties of Ponthieu and Montreuil in France; Alfonso relinquished to Edward his claims to Gascony. In 1270 she accompanied Edward on his crusade to the Holy Land, and after their return to England was crowned with him at Westminster on Aug. 19, 1274.

After her death at Harby (or Hardeby) her body was interred in Westminster Cathedral. The king had each resting place of her funeral procession from Lincoln to London marked by a cross. These became known as Eleanor Crosses. They were placed at Lincoln, Grantham, Stamford, Geddington, Northampton, Stony Stratford, Woburn, Dunstable, St. Albans, Waltham, Cheapside, and Charing. Only three of the original crosses remain, those at Geddington, Northampton and Waltham, the last considerably altered by restoration. The one at Charing Cross is a reproduction erected in 1863 to replace the original destroyed in 1647.

Alianore De Castille evolved into Eleanor over time. Eleanor of Castile, Cts de Ponthieu. Countess of Ponthieu. Eleanor died at the house of Richard de Weston or of Sir John Weston at Hardby in Nottinghamshire about ten miles from Clipstone. Her body was taken to Lincoln on Dec 4th, and the procession to Westminister Abbey stopped the next successive days at Grantham, Stamford, Geddington, Northampton, Stony Stratford, Woburn, Dunstable, St. Albans, Waltham, Westcheap, and Charing. "In every town and place where the corpse rested, the King commanded a cross of admirable workmanship to be erected to the Queen's memory" of which Northampton, Gheddington and Waltham remain. [S504] [S443]


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