Portrait of a Youth

Portrait of a youth c.1550 by Giorgione. Such lovely detail!

Isabella II of Jerusalem...a sad story??

Doing some research on the middle ages, I came across Isabella II Jerusalem (also known as Yolande of Brienne) who was the wife of Fredrick II, King of Germany and Sicily. Born in c.1212 she was the daughter Maria of Montferrat, the heiress to the kingdom of Jerusalem. Isabella's mother died merely days after her birth, which meant the infant Isabella was pronounced Queen. Her father, John, did not have a direct claim to the throne, therefore he ruled as regent.

Fredrick II had sent troops to the Fifth crusade that started in 1213, however did not accompany them himself because he had to consolidate his position in Italy and Germany before going away on a Crusade. Following his coronation as Holy Roman Emperor in 1220 by Pope Honorius II, he was urged to go once more and in 1223, during a meeting with John and Pope Honorius Fredrick finally decided to go and join his troops on the crusade...but only as the legitimate King of Jerusalem. Isabella's fate was sealed and the young Queen was betrothed. 2 years later, in August 1225 the two were married by proxy and several days later the 13 year old girl was crowned Queen. Towards the end of the same year, Isabella was sent to Italy. She would not see Jerusalem again.

The ceremony took place in the Cathedral of Brindisi, on 9th of November 1225. With the advantageous union complete, Fredrick declared himself King of Jerusalem, which allowed him to dispossess Isabella's father and have his rights carried over to himself. Despite this, he continued to putting the crusade off , for which he was later excommunicated by Pope Gregory IX.

As for the teenage Isabella -having no say as to what became of her- was kept in seclusion by her husband.She spent her time in her husband's harem at Palermo and in 1226 gave birth to her first child, a girl who died the following year. Isabella, like her mother before her, succumbed to the perils that many women faced during childbirth and died shortly after the birth of her son, Conrad in 1227.

I do not know, but to me stories like these have always seemed rather tragic. Isabella, despite probably being one of the most well-born girls of the time, got the usual Medieval women's lot in life. She was manipulated by power-hungry men, married off for political advantage and was seen as little more than chattel in the end. Today, the young Queen is largely forgotten, a meager Wikipedia article is almost all I have managed to find on her. While voices silenced by time, especially those of women, are pretty common I cannot help but wish there was the young woman's own side of the story to be told...

Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp

Right here is a wedding portrait of the future Queen consort to Charles XIII of Sweden,Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp (1759-1818). Hedvig Elisabeth was 15 when she left her home at Eutin to marry the 28 year old Prince Charles of Sweden. She arrived in Wismar on the 3rd of June, where the first ceremony took place. The wedding celebration were believed to be luxurious, with one of the most notable events being a masquerade at Kungsträdgården in Stockholm. It was hoped that she would provide an heir to the throne-as king Gustav IV's marriage with Queen Sophia Magdalena of Denmark was believed to be unconsummated after 9 years. In January 1775, less than a year after her marriage, Hedvig showed signs of pregnancy; however these proved false.

Hedvig achieved personal success at the royal court with one observer noting:  "One can not imagine anything more lively and cheerful. She is joy itself. Her greatest pleasure is to make up jokes and foolishness. It would be a good thing, if she introduced that custom, as our by nature somewhat melancholic nation could need some cheering up". In fact, the young girl became renowned for her wittiness and jovial nature, outshining the timid Queen Sophia. It is said that her waist measured a mere 19 inches which would have been ideal for her day, in fact, her beauty was just as well noted as her vivacity. Her gorgeous wedding dress still survives (See Left).
 
One of the young Royal Duchess's loves was for the theater and she actively participated in performances at court, both as an actress and a dancer in amateur productions. This was quite acceptable for young women of the court, with plays being an important and popular form of entertainment. However, 'actress' and 'prostitute' were still almost synonymous during the late 18th century. Hedvig ceased her acting pursuits in around 1783.

Despite her apparent popularity, Hedvig's relationship with her husband was distant. Both were believed to have had extramarital affairs.She had two children in the late 1790's who, sadly both died in infancy. Although she denied it herself, Hedvig Elisabeth was believed to have some political influence after she became Queen in 1809.

Hello Everyone!
My name is Lina. I am an aspiring writer, pianist student, singer and a complete and utter history fanatic! For a long time now, I have browsed through numerous wonderful blogs and have spent many an hour reading through most fascinating stories and facts, learning so much in the process. What especially interests me is social history, in particular the lives of children and adolescents (likely because I am now the latter) and it never ceases to amaze me what fascinating, terrifying, harsh, wonderful-and just very different- lives people of the past had. What I want to know more about are the early lives of people: rich or poor, famous or forgotten to both assist with my research and just for interest's sake. It would be most helpful to keep a blog such as this to keep track of what I find and hopefully some of you readers will find it interesting also. :)