Joan of Acre (1272-1307)
1272--1307 (kvinna)
Joan of Acre, Countess of Gloucester & Hertford
Birthdate: april 1272
Birthplace: Acre, Kingdom of Acre
Death: Died 23 april 1307 in Clare Castle, Clare, Suffolk, England
Cause of death: possibly died in childbirth
Begravningsort: Priory Church of the Augustine Friars, Clare, Suffolk, England
Joan of Acre
Joan of Acre (April 1272 – 23 April 1307) was an English princess, a daughter of King Edward I of England and Queen Eleanor of Castile.[2] The name "Acre" derives from her birthplace in the Holy Land while her parents were on a crusade.
She was married twice; her first husband was Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester, one of the most powerful nobles in her father's kingdom; her second husband was Ralph de Monthermer, a squire in her household whom she married in secret.
Joan is most notable for the claim that miracles have allegedly taken place at her grave, and for the multiple references to her in literature.
Joan (or Joanna, as she is sometimes called) of Acre was born in the spring of 1272 in the Kingdom of Acre, Outremer, now in modern Israel, while her parents, Edward I and Eleanor of Castile, were on crusade.[3] At the time of Joan's birth, her grandfather, Henry III, was still alive and thus her father was not yet king of England. Her parents departed from Acre shortly after her birth, traveling to Sicily and Spain[4] before leaving Joan with Eleanor's mother, Joan, Countess of Ponthieu, in France.[5] Joan lived for several years in France where she spent her time being educated by a bishop and “being thoroughly spoiled by an indulgent grandmother.”[6] Joan was free to play among the “vine clad hills and sunny vales”[7] surrounding her grandmother’s home, although she required “judicious surveillance.”[8]
As Joan was growing up with her grandmother, her father was back in England, already arranging marriages for his daughter. He hoped to gain both political power and more wealth with his daughter's marriage, so he conducted the arrangement in a very “business like style”.[9] He finally found a man suitable to marry Joan (aged 5 at the time), Hartman, son of King Rudoph I, of Germany. Edward then brought her home from France for the first time to meet him.[10] As she had spent her entire life away from Edward and Eleanor, when she returned she “stood in no awe of her parents”[6] and had a fairly distanced relationship with them.
Unfortunately for King Edward, his daughter’s suitor died before he was able to meet or marry Joan. The news reported that Hartman had fallen through a patch of shallow ice while “amusing himself in skating” while a letter sent to the King himself stated that Hartman had set out on a boat to visit his father amidst a terrible fog and the boat had smashed into a rock, drowning him.[11]
Edward arranged a second marriage almost immediately after the death of Hartman.[12] Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, who was almost thirty years older than Joan and newly divorced, was his first choice.[13] The earl resigned his lands to Edward upon agreeing to get them back when he married Joan, as well as agreed on a dower of two thousand silver marks.[14] By the time all of these negotiations were finished, Joan was twelve years old.[14] Gilbert de Clare became very enamored with Joan, and even though she had to marry him regardless of how she felt, he still tried to woo her.[15] He bought her expensive gifts and clothing to try to win favor with her.[16] The couple were married on 30 April 1290 at Westminster Abbey | |
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