Christian Women of the Medieval Era – Part 36

Introduction:

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas! My prayer now is for a Happier New Year! We paused for the holidays from our series on the amazing lives of the Christian women who lived during the Middle Ages with a story about the origination of one of the most beautiful Christmas carols – “Silent Night”. I hope you were blessed by the story and that the hymn will have new meaning and richness for you.

In our series on Medieval Christian women, we have found that each of these women did her part in transforming the culture around her by following in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus who cared for the poor and neglected. They accomplished countless acts of piety and charity in many ways using the gifts that God gave them for service. The women were queens, abbesses, sisters, influential citizens, writers, godly wives and mothers, and leaders in many other ways. 

The period between 500 to 1500 AD, sometimes called the “Dark Ages” was actually a time of cultural growth and exciting life for most people. It is sad that we don’t study the stories of the saints in this period if for no other reason than to see the interconnectedness we have with these saints. Our story this week will show how Christianity passed down from generation to generation in the Middle Ages through the wise teaching of godly mothers.

A Godly Queen and Mother – Blanche of Castile 

One of the interesting things about the Medieval societies in Europe is that they were Christian. I am not saying that every person or community behaved in a way that was honoring to Jesus, but the governments, religious authorities, and social conventions were Christian. It was their “political correctness” for the time. We must keep this in mind as we study the Middle Ages. They would no more think of not going to church than we would think of not having a choice about going. It just wasn’t part of their worldview or psyche to think that they would ever not worship God.

In our day people insist that government be separate from religion.^[1] We live in a secular society and have gotten comfortable with it. People are distressed or angry when believers talk about God in public. “Keep that to yourself!” secular people shout. But in the Medieval Era God was the central topic of every subject. It was assumed by everyone that He is our creator and provider and no one questioned that He is to be worshipped by all. Medieval people were thought less of if they did not go to church just as people today who talk about church out loud are thought less of.

It should not be surprising then to see that there was a line of rulers in the Middle Ages that were Christians. No, not every ruler behaved like the Christian he claimed to be. Many were hypocrites taking advantage of their power and position to enrich themselves, but they still lived in a time when popes, other rulers, and society had certain expectations. In our story this week we will see that a godly wife and mother could also be a good influence towards Christian behavior.

Blanche of Castile was born in 1188 in Palencia, Castile to King Alphonso VIII of Castile and Princess Eleanor Plantagenet of England. Her grandfather was Henry II of England and her grandmother was Queen Eleanor of England and Aquitaine.^[2]

Grandmother Queen Elanor lived a long and successful life as a ruler. When her youngest son, John (known in the Robin Hood movies as “bad king John”) became king he signed the Treaty of Le Goulet with French King Philip Augustus in 1199. Part of the agreement was that one of John’s nieces should be joined by marriage to Philip’s son the future Louis VIII. John turned to his mother Queen Eleanor for help with this decision. One of Eleanor’s granddaughters, Blanche had already shown remarkable intelligence and strength of character even as a young girl. For this reason, grandmother Eleanor chose her from among many granddaughters to be the bride of King Louis VIII of France. 

Queen Eleanor went to Castile to get Blanche in 1199 when Blanche was only eleven years old. Eleanor took her to France where there was an official betrothal to Louis VIII and then there was a marriage ceremony completed on May 23, 1200 at Portsmouth. Since the bride and groom were very young, (Blanche was around 11 and Louis around 12) actual consummation did not take place for a number of years. However, Blanche and Louis were close as they grew up and maintained their mutual desire for unison in their actions until Louis’s death in 1126. In 1205 Blanche gave birth to a son, the first of 13 children. Only five of them, four sons and one daughter, survived to adulthood. Two of her children are saints – Louis IX, known as Saint Louis, and Saint Isabelle (She will be in the next post).

Louis VIII trusted his childhood friend and confidante Blanche more than anyone else all through his reign. At the end of his life, he contracted dysentery during a battle and eventually died from it. Before dying on November 8, 1226 Louis made a will naming Blanche as the guardian of their many children. This included Blanche’s regency for Louis IX who was only twelve years old. Knowing that Blanche might not get the respect that he desired for her, Louis VIII summoned the church and civil authorities to his bedside and made them swear to have Louis crowned as soon as possible after his death. But many of the barons saw a chance to get rid of their “Spanish” queen and take over the control of the throne. Neither did they feel a woman could handle rulership. They were so wrong. Blanche is remembered to this day as one of the strongest and most able rulers France ever had.

The barons completely misjudged Blanche. Blanche, though Castilian by birth remained loyal to her new French home. She sought for the rest of her life to maintain unity among the people. Knowing that the barons were seeking an opportunity for a chance to seize power which would only contribute to chaos and disruption Blanche took Louis IX to Rheims on November 29, 1226 only three weeks after the death of Louis VIII, to be crowned king. During this journey mother and son made a stop at Soissons where Louis was knighted.

When Louis was crowned king, Blanche returned to her efforts to put a check on the rebellious barons and maintain the rightful rule of the royal family. Throughout the remaining 26 years of her life Blanche worked to achieve and maintain peace in France. 

All was not easy. There were many obstacles for Blanche to deal with. First of all, as we noted, she had to put down the revolt of the barons who wanted to challenge the young king. The disgruntled barons tried to rally around an illegitimate son of King Philip II Augustus, Philip Hurepel. When the insurrectionists put Philip Hurepel’s claims forward, Henry III of England joined their side. Blanche knew that she must take action immediately and joined in the battle at the Ile de France against Henry III and the barons. She won a victory over the rebellious barons. It was also the first of several victories over the English Henry III. 

Blanche proved herself to be a strong leader. She had great respect for the common man and formed local militias when necessary who came to her aid in battles. Blanche gradually put down all of the revolts. She was a successful diplomat, clever negotiator, and wise administrator. She made peace with England. In 1229 she arranged the Treaty of Paris to make peace with the nobles. France was than in a position to enter a period of tranquility and economic stability. 

During the remainder of her life Blanche took advantage of her reign to make laws that would care for the poor in Paris. Blanche was also careful to not overtax the people. She made the court live within their means. Now able to enjoy the benefits of her efforts Blanche witnessed the building of many cathedrals throughout the country. 

As part of her effort to maintain peace among the various factions in France, Blanche arranged for her son Louis to marry Margaret of Provence. Louis and Margaret had a happy marriage. The one weakness in Blanche’s life that scholars have pointed out though, was that Blanche was a jealous and bossy mother-in-law. She did not make Margaret’s life easy, but this flaw was outweighed by the many wise counsels that Blanche tried to give Louis. Bossy or not, Louis really needed her help.

Blanche had raised Louis to be a devout Christian. She saw to it that he prayed every day and listened to the sermons of the monks on all feast days. But later Louis showed that he could be fanatical. For example, When Pope Gregory IX wanted Louis to move against Jewish communities, Louis was all set to obey the pope. Blanche insisted that the Jews be given a chance to counter the accusations made against them. Louis revered his mother so much that he arranged for the Disputation of Paris in 1240. At this event Rabbi Yechiel of Paris defended the Talmud. Afterwards, though Louis obeyed the pope and burned the Talmud and other Jewish books, he did not harm Rabbi Yechiel who had been taken into the protection of Blanche. Blanche helped her son to set a more reasonable course of action and prevented a pogrom. 

Blanche also tried to prevent what she saw as another huge mistake by her son Louis when he had decided to join the Seventh Crusade in 1248. Not only did Blanche fear for her son, but she knew that the cost would be great and she was unhappy about taxing the people for it. Blanche turned out to be right. Louis was captured by the Muslims on April 6, 1250 at the Battle of Al Mansurah. Like her grandmother Eleanor who overtaxed England to free Richard The Lionheart, Blanche now had to heavily tax the people to get the money for her son’s ransom. She called on friends, family, political allies and the pope for funds but interest in the crusades was waning. It was a difficult task but eventually Louis returned home after suffering only defeat. 

Meanwhile back in Paris while Louis was absent, Blanche had once again been entrusted with the regency. While Louis was away Blanche was presiding over council meetings and overseeing the care of the people. Because of her personal involvement with commoners, Blanche was much-loved and respected by the people. She was able to hold the kingdom together while Louis was on the crusade. Still unafraid to take action herself in spite of a heart ailment, Blanche rode to the aid of some poor prisoners who were being mistreated.

In 1252, Blanche suffered an attack of her heart ailment on the way to an abbey. She was taken to the palace of the Louvre to be cared for. She died a few days later in Paris. Louis IX was in Jaffa when the news reached him. He had lost his beloved mother and the best defender of his rulership. Blanche was admired throughout her life as a woman of integrity who ruled ably and graciously. Blanche was truly a loss to the whole nation of France. 

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^[1] We could have quite a philosophical discussion about why I don’t think this is ever possible. Every person has a religion even if its atheism. Maybe another time.

^[2] See posts on August 4, 2020, August 18, 2020, September 8, 2020, and September 22, 2020 – “Christian Women in the Medieval Era – Parts 25, 26, 27, and 28” Yes, Queen Eleanor’s life took 4 posts!