Left At the Altar: A Medieval Version of Pre-nuptial Agreement.

We hear frequently these days of gold-diggers marrying men for money and air-tight pre-nuptial agreements that precede the marriage.  Basically, people of unequal status joining together in holy matrimony.

Before the public interest and governmental control, marriage was often between two people and their families and while a public spectacle, it was not necessarily controlled or sanctioned by the government for many years. In fact for many years, a couple just needed to make a declaration before God. However, a number of young women would be seduced into bed with promises of marriage that did not come to fruition. So there were changes to protect the virtue of women by declaring that there must be witnesses to the marriage.  Though, once a marriage occurred they were joined together in body, spirit and mind. Any progeny would be entitled to rights and privileges according to the status of their parents. Normally, this was of no issue amongst couples of equal status, but what of couples of unequal status?

Well, this was usually an issue with the upper nobility who had decided to marry someone of low status. This of course was almost exclusively upper noblemen and lower status women, but there are a few cases of women. Many members of their family would insist that if they deign to marry beneath them, then they should at the very least, marry them morganatically.

Marrying morganatically meant that the status' of either person in the couple remained unchanged. But it also meant that any children resulting from the union would not be entitled to the possible titles, ranks and property of the higher status person. These marriages were also colloquially referred to as, "Left-handed marriages".   During the marriage ceremony, the groom will often grab his bride's hand with his left hand instead of his right.

It sounds really unfair, doesn't it? Well, it can be surmised that most of these marriages occurred between couples who were in love with one another and although children were not granted the same inheritance rights as a legitimate heir.  A lot of fathers were rather fond of their children and as such would work to have rights, lands or titles granted to them. Or would create advantageous matches for them and thus would re-ignite the dynastic line. Also, most husbands would bestow or at least try to gain titles for their wives so that some social awkwardness can be avoided. (Not being able to remain seated in the presence of higher ranks is one example).

Some royals that had morganatic marriages:
1) Louis XIV and Madame de Maintenon (This one is rather suspect, there's no proof that the marriage existed. However, many of the court believed that it occurred, and there were portraits painted of her wearing regal robes).
2) George William of Brunswick and Eleonore d'Olbreuse. Their daughter, Sophia Dorothea of Celle, was married to George I of Great Britain.
3) Elizabeth I of Russia and Alexei Razumovsky. Again this one is rather unclear. But certainly most people believed that they were married.

A Macabre Coronation: Ines de Castro

We have been privy to a few coronations in the past few years, though none have reached the pomp and circumstance of the ones of yesteryear. Coronations of a new king/queen were regarded as highly important and no expense was spared to show the new ruler off. 


However, one of the strangest coronations to have existed goes to Ines De Castro, the wife of Pedro I of Portugal.

For you see, Ines de Castro was already dead a few years. Upon his accension to the throne, Pedro had his secret (some say not legitimate) wife exhumed from her burial plot and presented to the court as a legitimate queen.

Pedro I was madly in love with his wife, Ines de Castro, when she was brutally murdered by Pedro's father, King Afonso V.  Ines de Castro started her notorious life at court when she accompanied Pedro's wife, the Infanta Constantia of Castile, as her lady-in-waiting.  Although Constantia was his wife, Pedro  only had eyes for Ines.  Her settled Ines into a monastery outside of the palace and visited frequently and sent many love letters to his darling love.

There were attempts made to separate the pair. Upon the birth of Constantia and Pedro's son, Ines was made the godmother, which in the time period would make Ines a member of the family and therefore, the dalliance between the two to be deemed incestuous. This did nothing to temper the passion between the two. King Afonso banished Ines back to Castile for a time period in 1344.  But Pedro would go and visit her in Castile.  Fortunately for the couple, they weren't separated for very long as Constantia died in 1345 after giving birth to their third child, Dom Fernando.

After her death, Pedro gave up all sense of propriety and retrieved his Ines and the pair began to live openly together. They had four children together, which raised concern with many at the court inheritance of the crown. The child that Constantia had in 1345 was still living, and many were afraid that the child of Ines and Pedro would try and usurp  Dom Fernando's rights to the throne.  Additionally, Ines' brothers became close to Pedro and were leading Pedro down a path that would only lead to war and destruction. They were trying to persuade Pedro that he should seize the throne of Castile, which was a very fantastical idea even though Pedro had a claim through his grandfather.

The King soon decided that something must be done about this family. One night when Pedro was away, the King called together his counselors to decide what should be done. They came to the conclusion that Ines must die. Rather brutally, she was stabbed to death in front of her children with Pedro.

When Pedro found out that Ines had been murdered at the hands of his father, he reacted with fury and swift. Along with Ines' two brothers, he organized a revolt against the King. His troops swept through the country and laid siege to Porto, when his mother, the Queen, intervened to bring some peace between Father and Son. Within 2 years, King Afonso was dead and the new King Pedro brought 2 of 3 Ines' direct killers to justice.  He had both men take from Castile, where they had escaped, and had them tortured. He had the hearts of both of them ripped out from their chest cavity watching as he ate his dinner. The third killer would never be found.

In 1360, five years after the death of Ines and three years into his own reign, Pedro announced that he and Ines were secretly married. And as legend has it, he had the body of his beloved exhumed and dressed in regal coronation robes and made his entire court swear fealty and kiss the bottom of her robes. After the ceremony, he had her re-buried in a pomp ceremony deserving of the Queen of Portugal.