Medici, Eleonora de (1522–1562)

Italian noblewoman and warrior, duchess of Florence . Name variations: Eleonora of Toledo; Eleonore of Toledo; Eleonora da Toledo. Born in 1522; died of malarial fever in 1562; daughter of Pedro de Toledo (a rich Spanish viceroy at Naples and marquis of Villafranca); became first wife of Cosimo I or Cosmos de Medici (1519–1574), grand duke of Tuscany (r. 1569–1574), in 1543; children: five sons, Francesco (1541–1587); Giovanni, cardinal (d. 1562); Garzia (d.1562); Ferdinand I (1549–1609); Pietro (1554–1604); and three daughters, Maria (b. 1540, died at 17); Isabella de Medici (1542–1576); Lucrezia de Medici (c. 1544–1561).

Eleonora de Medici was a noblewoman who married the Italian prince Cosimo I de Medici. Sixteenth-century Italy was a place of incessant civil warfare carried on by the lords of its powerful city-states, and Cosimo was no exception to the rule. He spent most of his career trying to defeat the House of Strozzi, hereditary enemies of the House of Medici. Eleonora was not a passive witness to Cosimo's warfare; instead, she was an active participant and seems to have been a bold warrior. She fought in pitched battles alongside her husband, and in some cases led troops herself. A chronicler of the time recorded an instance when Eleonora was riding with only a few soldiers and met Filippo Strozzi. A battle ensued, and in the end Eleonora took Strozzi captive. She later participated in the capture of the town of Siena in 1554.

Her daughters Maria and Lucrezia died young; Maria died of malaria at 17, and Lucrezia died at 16, one year after her marriage to Alfonso d'Este, duke of Ferrara. Her daughter Isabella de Medici , who was married to Paolo Giordano Orsini and lived in the Medici Palace, was murdered by her husband. (See also Accoramboni, Vittoria.)

Eleonora de Medici died in 1562, following the death of her favorite son Garzia; Cosimo, who was with her to the end, never fully recovered from the loss, though he did go on to marry his young mistress, Camilla Martelli . Together, they had two children: Giovanni (d. 1621) and Virginia d'Este .

Laura York , M.A. in history, University of California, Riverside, California