Isabella of Aragon (ca. 1247 – 28 January 1271), was

Queen of France This is a list of the women who were queens or empresses as wives of French monarchs from the 843 Treaty of Verdun, which gave rise to West Francia, until 1870, when the Third Republic was declared. Living wives of reigning monarchs technica ...

from 1270 to 1271 by marriage to

Philip III of France Philip III (1 May 1245 – 5 October 1285), called the Bold (french: le Hardi), was King of France from 1270 until his death in 1285. His father, Louis IX, died in Tunis during the Eighth Crusade. Philip, who was accompanying him, returned ...

Life

Isabella was the eighth child and youngest daughter of King

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( es, Jaime el Conquistador, ca, Jaume el Conqueridor; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276; King of Majorca from 1231 to 1276; and Valencia from 1238 to 12 ...

and his second wife, Violant of Hungary. Her exact date of birth was not recorded, but she certainly was born in late 1247 or early 1248 since her father, who financially supported the

Monastery of Santa María de Sigena A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...

, stipulated in his will in January 1248 that if he had another son, he should become a knight Templar and if the child was a daughter, she should enter Santa María de Sigena as a nun. The will was certainly abandoned before Isabella's birth because she was married. On 11 May 1258, the Treaty of Corbeil was concluded between Isabella's father and King

Louis IX of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the d ...

. As part of the agreement a betrothal was arranged between Louis's second son,

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who populariz ...

, and Isabella, the youngest daughter of James I. The formal wedding took place on 28 May 1262 at the city of Clairmont (currently

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label= Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attrac ...

); by that time, Philip was already the

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to the French throne due to the death of his older brother, Louis, in 1260. Having accompanied her husband and father-in-law to the

Eighth Crusade The Eighth Crusade was the second Crusade launched by Louis IX of France, this one against the Hafsid dynasty in Tunisia in 1270. It is also known as the Crusade of Louis IX against Tunis or the Second Crusade of Louis. The Crusade did not see an ...

against

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

in July 1270, Isabella became queen of France the following month on the death of King Louis IX. On their way home, while crossing the

Savuto The Savuto is a river and valley in Calabria, Southern Italy, that lies at the intersection of the provinces of Cosenza and Catanzaro. It is also the name of a DOC wine produced in the region. The river's source is in La Sila and it empties in ...

river near Martirano in

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, on 11 January 1271 she suffered a fall from her horse: six months pregnant with her fifth child, she gave birth prematurely to a son, who died soon after. First transported to Martirano Castle and then to

Cosenza Cosenza (; :it:Dialetto cosentino, local dialect: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000; the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Province of Cosen ...

, exhausted and feverish, Isabella died there on 28 January 1271 aged 24. Her death was a devastating emotional blow to her husband, especially since she had been pregnant. Because she died far from her homeland, the funeral technique of ''

Mos Teutonicus ''Mos Teutonicus'' (Latin for "German custom") was a postmortem funerary custom used in Europe in the Middle Ages as a means of transporting, and solemnly disposing of, the bodies of high status individuals. Nobles would often undergo Mos Teutonicu ...

'' was practiced upon Isabella. Alain Erlande-Brandenburg, ''Le roi est mort. Étude sur les funérailles, les sépultures et les tombeaux des rois de France jusqu'à la fin du xiiie siècle'' Firstly, she was buried at Cosenza Cathedral alongside her newborn son, and then in the royal necropolis in the

Basilica of St Denis The Basilica of Saint-Denis (french: Basilique royale de Saint-Denis, links=no, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building ...

. Isabella's tomb, like many others, was desecrated during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

in August 1793. The tragic end of Isabella is recalled in the ''Laudi'' of the poet Gabriele D'Annunzio.

Issue

# Louis (1264 –1276), heir apparent to the French throne from 1270 until his death # Philip IV (1268 –1314), King of France #Robert (1269 –1271). # Charles, Count of Valois (1270 –1325). #Stillborn son (1271).

References

Sources

* * * , - {{Authority control 1247 births 1271 deaths Aragonese infantas Christians of the Eighth Crusade Deaths by horse-riding accident in Italy Burials at the Basilica of Saint-Denis French queens consort House of Aragon Philip IV of France Women in medieval European warfare Women in war in France Women in 13th-century warfare 13th-century French women Daughters of kings