Biography of Alfonso VIII King Castile 1155-1214

Paternal Family Tree: Ivrea

Maternal Family Tree: Beatrix de Ramerupt Montdidier Countess Mortain and Perche 1129

1191 Marriage of King Richard I and Berengaria of Navarre

In 1151 [his father] Sancho III King Castile [aged 17] and [his mother] Blanche Ramirez Queen Consort Castile [aged 17] were married. She by marriage Queen Consort Castile. She the daughter of [his grandfather] García "Restorer" IV King Navarre and [his grandmother] Marguerite Aigle Queen Consort Navarre. He the son of Alfonso VII King Castile VII King Leon [aged 45] and Berenguela Barcelona Queen Consort Castile and Leon. They were fourth cousins.

On 11th November 1155 Alfonso VIII King Castile was born to [his father] Sancho III King Castile [aged 21] and [his mother] Blanche Ramirez Queen Consort Castile [aged 22].

On 12th August 1156 [his mother] Blanche Ramirez Queen Consort Castile [aged 23] died.

On 21st August 1157 [his grandfather] Alfonso VII King Castile VII King Leon [aged 52] died. His son [his father] Sancho [aged 23] succeeded III King Castile. His son [his uncle] Ferdinand [aged 20] succeeded II King Leon.

On 31st August 1158 [his father] Sancho III King Castile [aged 24] died. His son Alfonso [aged 2] succeeded VIII King Castile.

Before 17th September 1177 Alfonso VIII King Castile [aged 21] and Eleanor Plantagenet Queen Consort Castile [aged 15] were married. She by marriage Queen Consort Castile. She the daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England [aged 44] and Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England [aged 55]. He the son of Sancho III King Castile and Blanche Ramirez Queen Consort Castile. They were half fourth cousins.

In 1179 [his daughter] Berengaria Ivrea I Queen Castile was born to Alfonso VIII King Castile [aged 23] and [his wife] Eleanor Plantagenet Queen Consort Castile [aged 17]. She a granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England. She married 1197 her first cousin once removed Alfonso IX King Leon, son of Ferdinand II King Leon and Urraca Burgundy Queen Consort Leon, and had issue.

In July 1181 [his brother-in-law] Geoffrey Plantagenet 2nd Duke Brittany [aged 22] and Constance Penthièvre Duchess Brittany [aged 20] were married. She by marriage Duchess Brittany. He by marriage Duke Brittany. She the daughter of Conan "The Young" Penthièvre IV Duke Brittany and Margaret Dunkeld Duchess Brittany [aged 36]. He the son of [his father-in-law] King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England [aged 48] and [his mother-in-law] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England [aged 59]. They were half second cousin once removed. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.

On 19th August 1186 [his brother-in-law] Geoffrey Plantagenet 2nd Duke Brittany [aged 27] died at Paris [Map].

Jean de Waurin's Chronicle of England Volume 6 Books 3-6: The Wars of the Roses

Jean de Waurin was a French Chronicler, from the Artois region, who was born around 1400, and died around 1474. Waurin’s Chronicle of England, Volume 6, covering the period 1450 to 1471, from which we have selected and translated Chapters relating to the Wars of the Roses, provides a vivid, original, contemporary description of key events some of which he witnessed first-hand, some of which he was told by the key people involved with whom Waurin had a personal relationship.

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On 28th May 1187 [his daughter] Urraca Ivrea Queen Consort Portugal was born to Alfonso VIII King Castile [aged 31] and [his wife] Eleanor Plantagenet Queen Consort Castile [aged 25]. She a granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England. She married 1206 her second cousin once removed Alfonso "Fat" II King Portugal, son of Sancho "Populator" I King Portugal and Dulce Barcelona Queen Consort Portugal, and had issue.

On 4th March 1188 [his daughter] Blanche Ivrea Queen Consort France was born to Alfonso VIII King Castile [aged 32] and [his wife] Eleanor Plantagenet Queen Consort Castile [aged 26]. She a granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England. She married 23rd May 1200 her third cousin King Louis VIII of France, son of King Philip II of France and Isabelle Flanders Queen Consort France, and had issue.

On 28th June 1189 [his sister-in-law] Matilda Plantagenet Duchess Saxony [aged 33] died. She was buried at Brunswick Cathedral [Map].

Death of King Henry II

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On 6th July 1189 [his father-in-law] King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England [aged 56] died at Chinon Castle [Map]. William Mandeville 3rd Earl Essex Count Aumale was present. He was buried at Fontevraud Abbey [Map]. His son [his brother-in-law] Richard [aged 31] succeeded I King of England.

On 29th August 1189 [his brother-in-law] King John of England [aged 22] and Isabella Fitzrobert 3rd Countess Gloucester and Essex [aged 16] were married at Marlborough Castle [Map]. He by marriage Earl Gloucester. See Gesta Regis Henrici and Gesta Regis Henrici by Benedict of Peterborough. She the daughter of William Fitzrobert 2nd Earl Gloucester and Hawise Beaumont Countess Gloucester. He the son of [his father-in-law] King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England and [his mother-in-law] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England [aged 67]. They were half second cousins. She a great granddaughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.

Richard I Appoints his Bishops

                    On 15th September 1189 [his brother-in-law] King Richard "Lionheart" I of England [aged 32] held a Council meeting at Pipewell [Map] at which he appointed a number of Bishops:
                
                    Bishop William Longchamp was elected Bishop of Ely.
                
                    Bishop Godfrey Lucy was elected Bishop of Winchester.
                
                    Bishop Richard Fitzneal [aged 59] was elected Bishop of London.
                
                    Archbishop Hubert Walter [aged 29] was elected Bishop of Salisbury.

In 1191 [his illegitimate brother-in-law] Archbishop Geoffrey Plantagenet [aged 39] was appointed Archbishop of York.

Marriage of King Richard I and Berengaria of Navarre

On 12th May 1191 [his brother-in-law] King Richard "Lionheart" I of England [aged 33] and Berengaria of Navarre Queen Consort England [aged 26] were married at Chapel of St George at Limassol Castle [Map]. She was crowned Queen Consort England the same day by the Hélie de Malemort, archbishop of Bordeaux, Jean aka John Fitz Luke, bishop of Évreux and Bernard II de Lacarre, Bishop of Bayonne. She the daughter of [his uncle] Sancho "Wise" King Navarre [aged 59] and [his aunt] Sancha Ivrea. He the son of [his father-in-law] King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England and [his mother-in-law] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England [aged 69]. They were half fourth cousins.

Richard's mother and sister Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England and [his sister-in-law] Joan Plantagenet Queen Consort Sicily [aged 25] were present.

In 1194 Raymond Count of Toulouse [aged 37] succeeded Marquess Provence. [his sister-in-law] Joan Plantagenet Queen Consort Sicily [aged 28] by marriage Marchioness Provence.

In 1196 [his illegitimate brother-in-law] William Longespée Earl Salisbury [aged 20] and Ela of Salisbury 3rd Countess of Salisbury [aged 9] were married. He by marriage Earl Salisbury. She the daughter of William of Salisbury 2nd Earl Salisbury [aged 46] and Eleanor Vitre Countess of Salisbury [aged 38]. He the illegitmate son of [his father-in-law] King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England and Ida Tosny Countess Norfolk [aged 40]. They were fifth cousin once removed.

In October 1196 Raymond Count of Toulouse [aged 39] and [his sister-in-law] Joan Plantagenet Queen Consort Sicily [aged 31] were married at Rouen, France [Map]. She by marriage Countess Toulouse. She the daughter of [his father-in-law] King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England and [his mother-in-law] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England [aged 74]. He the son of Raymond Rouerge V Count Toulouse and Constance Capet Countess Boulogne and Toulouse. They were third cousin once removed.

In 1197 [his son-in-law] Alfonso IX King Leon [aged 25] and Berengaria Ivrea I Queen Castile [aged 18] were married. She by marriage Queen Consort Leon. She the daughter of Alfonso VIII King Castile [aged 41] and Eleanor Plantagenet Queen Consort Castile [aged 35]. He the son of Ferdinand II King Leon and Urraca Burgundy Queen Consort Leon [aged 49]. They were first cousin once removed. She a granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

In 1197 [his sister-in-law] Alix Capet Countess Blois [aged 46] died.

On 11th March 1198 [his sister-in-law] Marie Capet Countess Champagne [aged 53] died.

Death of King Richard I

                    On 26th March 1199 [his brother-in-law] King Richard "Lionheart" I of England [aged 41] was besieging Châlus Chabrol Castle. During the course of the evening King Richard "Lionheart" I of England was shot by a crossbow. Richard died on 6th April 1199. His brother John [aged 32] succeeded I King of England.
                
                    His mother Eleanor appears to have been present at his death as confirmed in a Charter by her on 21st April: 'quia dilectus noster Lucas, abjbas de Torpiniaco, affuit nobiscum infirmitati et funeri karissimi filii nostri regis, et circa eiusdem exequias pre omnibus aliis religiosis laboravit.' i.e. 'because our beloved Luke, abbot of Turpenay, was with us during the illness and at the funeral of our most dear son the king, and worked more than all other religious men in carrying out his obsequies.'     
    Coggeshall also mentioned that Richard 'summoned by letter his mother, who was dwelling at Fontevraud'.
                
                    There was a brother between Richard and John named Geoffrey Duke of Brittany who had a son Arthur [aged 11], who was around twelve, and a daughter Eleanor [aged 15], who was around fifteen, whose mother was Constance Penthièvre Duchess Brittany [aged 38].
                
                    King Philip II of France [aged 33] had planned for Eleanor to marry his son, probably to bring Brittany into the French Royal family, possibly to pursue a claim on England.
                
                    King Philip II of France supported Arthur's claim to the English throne. In the resulting war Arthur was captured, imprisoned and never seen again. Eleanor was captured, probably around the same time as Arthur, and imprisoned, more or less, for the remainder of her life, even after King John's death through the reign of King Henry III since she represented a threat to Henry's succession.

On 4th September 1199 [his sister-in-law] Joan Plantagenet Queen Consort Sicily [aged 33] died at Rouen, France [Map]. She was buried at Fontevraud Abbey [Map].

Around April 1200 [his brother-in-law] King John of England [aged 33] and Isabella Fitzrobert 3rd Countess Gloucester and Essex [aged 27] marriage annulled due to consanuinity but more likely because John's new status as heir to the English throne mean't he had better prospects. He may have already decided to marry Isabella of Angoulême Queen Consort England [aged 12] who he married on 24th August 1200.

Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke

Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.

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23rd May 1200 [his son-in-law] King Louis VIII of France [aged 12] and Blanche Ivrea Queen Consort France [aged 12] were married. She the daughter of Alfonso VIII King Castile [aged 44] and Eleanor Plantagenet Queen Consort Castile [aged 38]. He the son of King Philip II of France [aged 34] and Isabelle Flanders Queen Consort France. They were third cousins. He a great x 3 grandson of King William "Conqueror" I of England. She a granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

On 24th August 1200 [his brother-in-law] King John of England [aged 33] and Isabella of Angoulême Queen Consort England [aged 12] were married. She had been engaged to Hugh IX of Lusignan IV Count of La Marche [aged 37] who subsequently appealed to King Philip II of France [aged 35], their feudal overlord, who used the position to justify a war against John. The difference in their ages was 21 years. She the daughter of Aymer Angoulême I Count Angoulême [aged 40] and Alice Courtenay Countess Angoulême. He the son of [his father-in-law] King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England and [his mother-in-law] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England [aged 78]. They were fourth cousin once removed.

Around 1202 [his daughter] Constance Ivrea was born to Alfonso VIII King Castile [aged 46] and [his wife] Eleanor Plantagenet Queen Consort Castile [aged 40]. She a granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

On 14th April 1204 [his son] Henry I King Castile was born to Alfonso VIII King Castile [aged 48] and [his wife] Eleanor Plantagenet Queen Consort Castile [aged 42]. He a grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England. He married (1) 1215 his second cousin once removed Mafalda Burgundy Queen Consort Castile, daughter of Sancho "Populator" I King Portugal and Dulce Barcelona Queen Consort Portugal (2) 1216 his second cousin Sancha Ivrea Queen Consort Castile, daughter of Alfonso IX King Leon and Theresa of Portugal Queen Consort Leon.

In 1206 [his son-in-law] Alfonso "Fat" II King Portugal [aged 20] and Urraca Ivrea Queen Consort Portugal [aged 18] were married. She the daughter of Alfonso VIII King Castile [aged 50] and Eleanor Plantagenet Queen Consort Castile [aged 44]. He the son of Sancho "Populator" I King Portugal [aged 51] and Dulce Barcelona Queen Consort Portugal. They were second cousin once removed. She a granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

On 12th December 1212 [his illegitimate brother-in-law] Archbishop Geoffrey Plantagenet [aged 60] died at Normandy [Map]. He was buried at Notre Dame du Parc, Rouen.

On 5th October 1214 Alfonso VIII King Castile [aged 58] died. He was buried at Abbey of Santa Maria la Real de Huelgas [Map]. His son Henry [aged 10] succeeded I King Castile.

On 31st October 1214 [his former wife] Eleanor Plantagenet Queen Consort Castile [aged 53] died at Burgos [Map]. She was buried at Abbey of Santa Maria la Real de Huelgas [Map].

[his son] Henry Ivrea was born to Alfonso VIII King Castile and Eleanor Plantagenet Queen Consort Castile. He a grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

[his son] Ferdinand Ivrea was born to Alfonso VIII King Castile and Eleanor Plantagenet Queen Consort Castile. He a grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans

Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.

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[his daughter] Mafalda Ivrea was born to Alfonso VIII King Castile and Eleanor Plantagenet Queen Consort Castile. She a granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

[his daughter] Sancha Ivrea was born to Alfonso VIII King Castile and Eleanor Plantagenet Queen Consort Castile. She a granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

[his daughter] Eleanor Ivrea Queen Consort Aragon was born to Alfonso VIII King Castile and Eleanor Plantagenet Queen Consort Castile. She a granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England. She married her half second cousin James I King Aragon, son of Peter II King Aragon and Marie Montpellier Queen Consort Aragon, and had issue.

[his son] Sancho Ivrea was born to Alfonso VIII King Castile and Eleanor Plantagenet Queen Consort Castile. He a grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.