Infant Mortality

Royal and noble families of the Medieval era found themselves locked in a dangerous and tragic game of roulette, that of producing an heir.  Young brides felt the pressure and the physical discomforts of being pregnant early and often.  And both parents felt the grief and disappointment at stillbirths, deaths of infants and toddlers, or even of preteens and teenagers on the cusp of life.  Edward I of England and his beloved wife, Eleanor of Castile, were unlucky in this regard even by the standards of their day.

Edward was the son of Henry III and nephew of Richard of Cornwall.  He was tall, a fearless athlete and rider, and later an able military commander and lawgiver, though he wouldn't inherit the throne until 1272.  Eleanor had lion's blood in her veins.  Her grandmother was Eleanor of England, daughter of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, for whom she was named.  Edward married Eleanor in 1254, when she was about thirteen years old.  Girls of that age were considered marriagable and they would have started married life right away.  And, something unexpected happened.  Edward and Eleanor fell in love.  They would be almost inseparable for most of their lives together.  Eleanor would come to depend on her husband's strength and patience.  Unlike a later Tudor king, he didn't throw her away when childbearing and childrearing didn't come as easily as they both hoped. 

Tragedy struck within months of their wedding.   In 1255, Eleanor gave birth to a stillborn daughter.  Then, another girl, Katherine, 1261-1264, and Joanna, 1265.  John, 1266-1271, was sent to live with his great-uncle, Richard of Cornwall, who had to bear the sad news to both Grandpa Henry III and Prince Edward.  Little Henry was also short-lived, 1268-1274.  He would die in the care of his widowed grandmother Eleanor of Provence.  There was a temporary reprieve with a tiny Eleanor, 1269-1298.  At least she lived to grow up, get married and have kids of her own.  Next was a daughter, born while Edward and Eleanor were on Crusade in Palestine in 1271.  Some sources name her Juliana, though there was no official record of her name.  Next was Joan, 1272-1307.  She, too, would live to have children of her own, and later give her father a few headaches with her choices in men.

Finally, Edward and Eleanor could hope.  Alphonso, named for his great-grandfather on Eleanor's side of the family, born in 1273 and named Earl of Chester.  England almost had a King Alphonso, but he, too, died very young.  Eleanor and Edward kept trying, just in case.  One needed an heir and a spare, or two or more.  Margaret, 1275-1333, was also a healthy child who grew up and gave her father grandchildren.  Berengaria, 1276-1278, did not.  There was a stillborn daughter, 1277.  Mary, 1279-1332, became a Benedictine nun.  It was common practice at the time for a noble family to donate a child or two to the church, along with a generous dowry of land and manor houses.  Another stillborn son in 1280, and Elizabeth, 1282-1316, who also lived to grow up.  Finally, the future Edward II, 1284-1327, who was born just weeks after his elder brother Alphonso had died.

This list doesn't account for any miscarriages Eleanor might have had, which could explain some of the earlier gaps among the children's births.  After Little Edward's birth, Eleanor's health slowly spiraled downhill.  Heart trouble might have been part of the cause.  Whether there were any gynecological issues from all these births will never be known.  Little Edward was 6 when his mother died in her husband's arms in 1290.  With just one small son and five growing daughters to his credit, Edward I needed to marry again.  He wasn't able to make that decision until 1299, when he married Margaret of France years after Eleanor's death and the poignant tributes her husband planned in her honor.  Margaret would give Edward two boys who would live to have children of their own.  Then, finally, a little girl named Eleanor, 1306-1310.