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Elizabeth of Carinthia (1298-1352) was an influential queen and royal family member in the Kingdom of Sicily, who lived and ruled in a tumultuous time. In 1323, she married Peter II of Sicily and became the Queen of Sicily. During her time as Queen, Elizabeth ensured that the royal lineage of the Aragonese in Sicily continued. Two sons eventually ascended the throne, Louis of Sicily and Frederick IV of Sicily. Elizabeth was the regent for her young son Louis from 1348 until her death in 1352. Politically, the decades leading up to Elizabeth's reign were full of conflicts between Frederick III, King of Sicily, and Robert of Naples who had the backing of the papacy in Avignon. Famine, warfare, and plague were widespread in Europe during the mid-fourteenth century, which had a devastating impact on Sicily in particular, due to its economic expansion and prosperity in the two centuries prior. Elizabeth's reign occurred during a period where Italian citizens were disheartened and anxious, which caused tension among the local populace. The island was also marked by turbulent relations between the throne and Sicily's noble families, eventually degenerating into a civil war. These internal rivalries between the noble families required the coming of age of Elizabeth's sons to resolve the fighting. Biography[edit] Elizabeth of Carinthia, born in 1298, was the second daughter to Otto III of Carinthia, also Otto II of Tyrol (d 1310) and Euphemia of Silesia-Liegntiz. Otto and Euphemia had no male heirs. Unfortunately, little is known about Elizabeth's early life, prior to her marriage, as is the case with many medieval women, even noble medieval women. On 23 April 1323, Elizabeth married Peter II of Sicily (Trinacria), son of Frederick III, King of Sicily [Trinacria] (1271- June 25, 1337) and Eleanor of Anjou (1289- August 9, 1341)a little more than a year after his coronation. Speculation by Francesco Testa suggests that Elizabeth was not Frederick III's first choice for a daughter-in-law.[17] Frederick wished to marry his heir to Beatrice, the daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry. Instead, Beatrice married Charles II of Pannonia, leaving Frederick to marry his eldest son and heir to Elizabeth of Carinthia. The lavish ceremonies of the wedding and coronation served as reminders to Sicilian nobility of the power of the royalty, a struggle the Aragonese family had been battling for years. Elizabeth's reign as regent would be marked by the tensions created over these struggles.[18] As the young queen, Elizabeth's primary occupation was the production of viable heirs for the Sicilian throne, as task she took up soon after marriage. Less than two years after their wedding, Peter II and Elizabeth had a son in Messina in February 1324, whom they named Frederick. Unfortunately, he died a few months after his birth.[19] Following the death of their first born, Elizabeth and Peter II had seven more children, their first four daughters whom survived to maturity were; Constance(1324 - October 1355), regent of Sicily for her younger brother, Louis, from 1352 to 1354 following the death of her mother, Elizabeth. Constance never married. Their second daughter, Eleanor, Queen of Aragon (1325-1375), married Peter IV of Aragon, and was the mother Martin II of Sicily. Beatrice (1326-1365) their third daughter, married Rupert II, Elector Palatine, and they had Rupert of Germany. Their fourth surviving child, Euphemia (1330-1359) was regent for her brother Frederick IV of Sicily from 1355 to 1357. Like her sister Constance, Euphemia never married. Following their four daughters, Elizabeth gave birth to Louis on 4 February 1338. Louis became the heir to Peter II, his father. After successfully producing a male heir, Elizabeth and Peter II had Frederick IV of Sicily, who became be his brother, Louis's, successor. Peter II and Elizabeth had three more children together; Violante, who was born in 1334, died young, John (1342- 22 June 1353) and Blanche (1342-1373), who married John, Count of Amphurias. Of their nine children, 5 daughters and 2 sons survived into adulthood. The death of Frederick III in 1337 sparked the explosion of Sicilian tensions, created from the confluence of strain of political uncertainty, a bad economy, and unstable power imbalance between the divided feudal class. The death of her father-in-law began the solo reign of Peter II as King of Sicily. As it was easy to influence Peter II, Sicily would have been much more negatively impacted by his reign if it were not for Elizabeth.[18] In the struggles between the feuding groups, Elizabeth sided with the Palizzi, who won the favour of the king over Chiaramonte. Further from their home in Messina, the Aragonese interest warred the Angevins warred in Greece. With her mother-in-law, Eleanora of Naples, Elizabeth worked to support mediation and reconciliation between the two feuding houses.[20] Although very limited in actual power, Elizabeth used her influences to impact the governance of Sicily. With the death of her husband Peter II in August of 1342, Elizabeth lost the influence over the political management of the Kingdom of Sicily. At Elizabeth's insistence, however, Louis, her four-year-old son, was crowned King of Sicily, ensuring his rightful place on the throne. Peter II's brother, Duke John, acted as regent for the first six years of the young king's reign. During this time, Elizabeth kept a power balance with her brother-in-law.[21] When Duke John dies of plague in 1348, Elizabeth become the regent for ten-year-old Louis. Elizabeth's regency lasted from 1348, until her death. Her daughter Constance took over as regent for Louis. It is unclear when exactly Elizabeth died. Some sources suggest that she died between 1349 and 1350,[18] while others date it later to 1352. She is buried in Messina in St. Francis. Her last son, King Frederick IV (d. 1377), is buried next to her.[18] Although little information remains on Elizabeth of Carinthia, Queen of Sicily, what little is known makes it clear that she worked to positively impact the decisions of those around her. Her influence over her husband Peter II ensure that the Kingdom of Sicily remain intact. Later, her delicate negotiations with Duke John, her brother-in-law and regent of Louis, helped to maintain the Kingdom of Sicily. Elizabeth's agency ensures that her children did inherit the Sicilian throne. Elizabeth's action exhibits how queens are able to exert influence not just as wives, but as mothers of the future generation.[20] From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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