Elizabeth of Aragon

Life events

1. Born — 1271

   Born 4 January 1271 in the royal house of Aragon, the daughter of Infante Peter (later King Peter III of Aragon) and Constance of Sicily. She was a great-niece and namesake of Elizabeth of Hungary.

2. Other — 1288

   Married King Denis of Portugal; the union had been arranged in 1282 when Elizabeth was 11, with a dowry including the towns of Óbidos, Abrantes, and Porto de Mós, but the wedding itself took place in 1288 when she was 17.

3. Other — 1297

   Played a decisive conciliating role in negotiations leading to the Treaty of Alcañices, signed by Denis of Portugal and Fernando IV of Castile, which fixed the borders between the two kingdoms. In 1304 she and Denis returned to Spain to arbitrate a further dispute between Fernando IV and her brother James II of Aragon.

4. Other — 1314

   Founded the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha in Coimbra for Poor Clare nuns, which later became her own place of retirement.

5. Other — 1323

   During the civil conflict between Denis and his son Afonso (1322–1324), Elizabeth rode on a mule and positioned herself between the two opposing armies at Alvalade to prevent battle, bringing the fighting to a halt. Peace followed in 1324 when the illegitimate son Afonso Sanches was sent into exile.

6. Tonsured — 1325

   After Denis' death in 1325, Elizabeth retired to the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha in Coimbra and formally joined the Third Order of St. Francis, devoting the remainder of her life to the poor and sick.

7. Died — 1336

   Died 4 July 1336 at the castle of Estremoz, having traveled there in spite of age and weakness to mediate between Afonso IV of Portugal and Alfonso XI of Castile, successfully stopping their armies from engaging. The exertion brought on a fatal fever.

8. Other — 1626

   Canonized by Pope Urban VIII on 24 June 1626; she had been beatified in 1516. Her feast was set to 4 July and, after a period at 8 July (from 1694), restored to 4 July by the 1969 revision of the Roman Calendar.

Relationships

Documented claims

• Elizabeth was a great-niece and namesake of Elizabeth of Hungary; both women became members of the Third Order of St. Francis and are linked to the miracle of the roses tradition. (likely)
• She earned the title 'Peacemaker' for repeated diplomatic interventions: arbitrating at the Treaty of Alcañices in 1297, halting the 1322–1324 royal civil war at Alvalade, and stopping a Portuguese-Castilian armed confrontation at Estremoz in 1336. (likely)
• Elizabeth is typically depicted in royal garb holding a bunch of roses in her skirt or in the scapular of her religious habit, often accompanied by a dove or olive branch, linking her iconography to the 'miracle of the roses' tradition. (likely)
• After the Mondego River repeatedly flooded the original burial site at Santa Clara-a-Velha, the Poor Clares transferred Elizabeth's remains to the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova in Coimbra, where they rest in a sarcophagus of silver and crystal. (likely)
• As queen and dowager, Elizabeth funded hospitals in Coimbra, Santarém, and Leiria, built chapels and the cloister at Alcobaça, paid dowries for poor girls, and during the 1293 famine distributed flour from her cellars to the starving in Coimbra. (likely)