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| Violant of Aragon | |
|---|---|
 Violant of Aragon | |
| Queen consort of Castile andLeón | |
| Tenure | 1252–1284 |
| Born | 8 June 1236 Zaragoza,Kingdom of Aragon (now inAutonomous community ofAragon,Spain) |
| Died | 1301 (aged 64–65) Roncesvalles,Kingdom of Navarre,France (now inChartered Community of Navarre, Spain |
| Spouse | |
| Issue among others... | |
| House | Barcelona |
| Father | James I of Aragon |
| Mother | Violant of Hungary |
Violant orViolante of Aragon, also known asYolanda of Aragon (8 June 1236[citation needed] – 1301), wasQueen consort of Castile andLeón from 1252 to 1284 as the wife of KingAlfonso X of Castile.
Violant was born inZaragoza, the daughter of KingJames I of Aragon (1213–1276) and his second wife,Violant of Hungary (ca.1215-1253).[1] Her maternal grandparents wereAndrew II of Hungary andYolanda de Courtenay.[2]
In January 1249, Violant married KingAlfonso X of Castile at Burgos,[1] who before his marriage, had a romantic relationship with Mayor Guillén de Guzmán who bore to him an illegitimate daughterBeatrice.
Due to Violant's young age, she was unable to get pregnant for several years. Alfonso came to believe that his wife was barren and came to even consider the possibility of asking the pope for an annulment of the marriage.
Legend has it that the Queen could not get pregnant and the doctor told her to rest.Alicante was recaptured by the Crown of Castile and the King and Queen rested in a farm located in the fields near the city, and there she became pregnant; the King decided to call the place "Pla del Bon Repos" ("Plain of good sleep"), a name that has been left to posterity and today is a suburb of Alicante.
In 1275, Violant's son and heir to Castile,Ferdinand de la Cerda, died heir to the Castilian-Leonese throne and Alfonso at first ignored the rights of Ferdinand's two sons,Alfonso andFernando, and instead made their second son, Prince Sancho heir; he would later succeed asSancho IV of Castile.
In response, the widow of Ferdinand,Blanche of France, enlisted the help of her brother,Philip III of France. At the same time, queen Violant sought support for her grandchildren from her brother, KingPeter III of Aragon, who agreed to protect and guard them in the kingdom of Aragon, accommodating her grandchildren in the Castle of Xativa. During the reign of her son Sancho IV, and the latter's son,Ferdinand IV of Castile, Queen Violant lived almost permanently in Aragon and she supported the rights to the throne of Castile and León of her grandson, Alfonso de la Cerda.
In 1276, Violant founded the Convent of San Pablo inValladolid. This was erected in honor of the Hungarian Order of St. Paul. Violant's mother brought some Hungarian influence on the Spanish culture, and also introduced the Order of St. Paul.
Queen Violant died inRoncesvalles,Navarre, in 1301, on her return fromRome, where she had won the Jubilee in 1300.
Alfonso and Violant had the following children:
Translation from Spanish Wikipedia
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| Preceded by | Queen consort of Castile andLeón 1252–1284 | Succeeded by |
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