Eleanor of Montfort (1252–1282)

Princess of Wales. Name variations: Eleanor de Mont-fort; (nickname) The Demoiselle. Born in 1252 in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England; died in childbirth in June 1282 in Wales; buried in Llanfaes, Gwynedd, Wales; daughter of Simon of Montfort and Eleanor of Montfort (1215–1275), countess of Leicester; married Llewellyn ap Gruffydd (Llywelyn III), prince of Wales, on October 13, 1278; children: Gwenllian (b. 1282).

The daughter of Simon of Montfort and Eleanor of Montfort (1215–1275), Eleanor was born into the chaos of her parents' rebellion against King Henry III of England. She was only 13 when her father died while leading the baronial army at the Battle of Evesham. Henry had sworn to imprison Eleanor and her mother to avoid any opportunities for further rebellion, even though the elder Eleanor was his own sister. Mother and daughter escaped to France to avoid imprisonment, and the younger Eleanor remained at the convent of Montargis until about 1276, when she was sent to Wales to marry the Welsh prince Llewellyn ap Gruffydd. The marriage had actually been arranged 11 years earlier by her father Simon of Montfort, but the constant warfare between Wales and England prevented Llewellyn from marrying Eleanor for a decade.

The new English king Edward I was opposed to this marriage between his greatest Welsh enemy and a member of the rebellious Montfort family, despite the fact that he and Eleanor were cousins. Edward had pirates in his employ capture the ship on which Eleanor was sailing, and she was kept imprisoned, though in some luxury, for two years. Llewellyn was forced to swear fealty to Edward in order to free his bride, and in 1278 they were finally married. Eleanor, now about 26, spent the next four years acting as a peacemaker. She used her familial ties to the English royal house and her close relationship with her husband to convince the parties to cease the warring for power over Wales which was destroying lands and families. She had some positive effect on the conflict but unfortunately died at age 30 in giving birth to a daughter.

sources:

Costain, Thomas. The Three Edwards. NY: Popular Library, 1958.

Gies, Frances, and Joseph Gies. Women in the Middle Ages. NY: Harper and Row, 1978.

Laura York , Riverside, California