The New Murrey and Blue blog

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri @ sparkypus.com

‘The Passing of Eleanor’ –  artist’s impression of the funeral cortège of Eleanor of Castile watched over by her grieving husband, Edward I.  Artist Frank Salisbury, 1910 (1).

‘Pray for our consort, who in life, we loved dearly, and, dead, we do not cease to love….’

Edward Ist in a letter to the Abbot of Cluny, France,  4 January 1291….

Queen Eleanor (birth name Leonor de Castilla) died on Tuesday 28 November 1290 ending a marriage that had lasted for thirty-six years. They had married in November 1254, when Edward (1239-1307) was 15 and Eleanor (1241-1290) 13.  Their political story can be found elsewhere, and, not wanting to destroy the ethos of this part of their story,  I won’t go into it here only suffice to say that personally,  and fortunately,  for them, an enduring love grew between them, and they would go on to produce a massive brood of 16 children although the majority of them would sadly predecease their parents.

While travelling northwards Eleanor became too ill to continue the journey and was taken to the manor house of Richard de Weston at Harby in the parish of North Clifton on the Trent, Nottinghamshire.  I would love to know more about this man who was, presumably,  minding his own business when the royal cavalcade descended upon him complete with a dying queen.  However I appear to be going off on one of my tangents and so back to the royal couple.  I have been unable to ascertain whether Edward and Eleanor were travelling together when she became too ill to continue and they diverted to Harby or whether the king was further north and travelled back south to Harby when news reached him of his ailing queen.

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