BACK    NEXT

BIO   

Berengaria never set foot in England until long after the death of her husband, Richard the Lionheart, who didn't spend much time there either.  Actually, he wasn't a big fixture in Berengaria's life since he was busy with the Third Crusade (and perhaps his boyfriends - although Richard's sexual preferences are shrouded in the mists of time) during their seven years of marriage.

I have to admit I've always had a soft spot for this pawn in Medieval politics.  Berngaria was said to have been beautiful, kind and intelligent - like all princesses.  She deserved better, even if she was just a regular gal. 

The good news is that Berengaria had a life after Richard.  She founded the Abbey of L'Epau near Le Mans, France, perhaps giving her a stronger position as an independent woman than that of a mere widow of an English king living in France.  Nancy

PS  Richard Paschal was kind enough to point out the flaws in the earliest edition of my mini-bio of Berengaria.  He also sent me some material from John Gillingham's Richard the Lionheart, a book that sheds some clarity on the relationship of Richard and Berengaria. 

Richard recommends Ulrike Kessler's book on King Richard as well as Queen Without a Country by Rachel Bard.  He said, "It is a historical novel where Ms Bard spent years researching Berengaria.  There are very few historical errors.  She has [King] Richard as bisexual, however, there is no evidence to support this view either."

In addition, Richard said, "The name 'Plantagenet' was not applied to the Angevin kings and their issue until several hundred years after Richard and Berengaria."

 

Mr. Paschal noted, "Berengaria's skeleton was rediscovered and analyzed by French scholars.  The shape of her skull is not exactly like the head on the effigy.  The skull does not have the heavy brow lines of the effigy.  It certainly appears that the shape of the face is correct.  People look at the effigy, see the heavy brow lines and conclude she was not attractive. This is a serious mistake."

Research assistance provided by Richard Paschal, an individual interested in Angevin history, particularly the lives of Richard and Berengaria.  He can be reached at RBPaschal@aol.com.

In response to Mr. Paschal's comments, Manuel Sagastibelza of Berengaria's homeland in Pamplona-Navarre wrote:

"The best work about Berengaria life is the Ann Trindade [Bernegaria] book.  You can read the two first chapters in my WEB about Berengaria. (I have the permission of the author.)"
http://www.ctv.es/USERS/sagastibelza/berenguela/berenguela_ann_trindade.htm

 

Sr. Sagastibelza has an excellent photo of Berengaria's effigy at:
http://www.ctv.es/USERS/sagastibelza/berenguela/berenguela_tumba.htm

He concluded, "As Jean Flori has demostrated, Richard the Lionheart was probably bisexual or homosexual.  The Gillingham's arguments are refuted clearly."

And just when we felt secure about the contents of this page, Rachel Bard, author of Queen without a Country, wrote,

As author of Queen without a Country, I question the statement in the Bio that she never set foot in England until long after Richard's death. I believe this "fact," which I've seen in other places too, is based on the historical record of King John's sending her a safe-conduct so she could come to England to discuss her inheritance with him. But there's no evidence that she went. Surely there would have been some record, if she'd indeed met with King John. I interpret this to mean she was afraid to go because she feared he'd imprison her. She saw the safe-conduct as a lure.

I love history!  And historians.

For still more information about the Crusades, visit AllCrusades.com.
 

Tom Tierney paper dolls for the collector in all of us.