Eleanor of Woodstock

Name

Eleanor of Woodstock (18 June 1318 – 22 April 1355) was an English princess and Duchess consort of Guelders by marriage. She was regent of Guelders as the guardian of her minor son from 1343 until 1344.

Eleanor was born at Woodstock Palace in Oxfordshire to King Edward II of England and his queen Isabella of France. She was a younger sister of Edward III of England and the second wife of Reginald II of Guelders, "the Black". Eleanor's maternal grandfather was King Philip the Fair of France.

Life

Early life

Eleanor was named after her paternal grandmother, Eleanor of Castile. £333 was given for her churching by her father. In 1324 she was taken into care by her cousin Eleanor de Clare then sent to the care of Ralph de Monthermer and Isabella Hastings with her younger sister Joan of the Tower at Pleshey. In 1325, there were negotiations between England and Castile for Eleanor to be betrothed to Alphonso XI of Castile, but this fell through due to the dowry.

Eleanor was reunited with her mother and in 1330 negotiations were made by her mother for her and her brother John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall to marry a son and daughter of her relative Philip VI of France, however they fell through also.

Duchess of Guelders

In May 1332 Eleanor married the reigning Count of Guelders, Reinoud II "the black" (English: Reginald), of the House of Wassenberg (born c. 1287), a marriage arranged by her mother's cousin Joan of Valois. The groom, quite dark of colour and character, was a widower with four daughters. He was known for having imprisoned his father for over six years.

As Eleanor sailed from Sandwich, her wedding trousseau included a wedding gown of Spanish cloth, caps, gloves, shoes, a bed, rare spices and loaves of sugar. She was well received in Guelders.

Due to her unhappy childhood, Eleanor grew nervous and over-eager to please her husband, who tired of her. She was sent from court in 1336 under the pretext that she had leprosy. Her husband was reportedly under the influence of the priest Jan Moliart, who had been active in her exile and the false pretence of her alleged leprosy. During her exile, she stayed in Deventer, where she was active as the protector of the Franciscan Friars, and a financier of their new church.

Her husband then tried to annul the marriage. Eleanor turned up in Court in Nijmegen to contest the annulment, and proceeded to strip down, proving she was no leper, and thus forcing her husband to take her back. He died from a fall from his horse on 12 October 1343.

Regency

When she was widowed, Eleanor became the regent of Guelders for her nine-year-old son Reginald. Having assumed power, she had her old enemy Jan Moliart arrested and imprisoned. Her regency was formally recognised, but she was forced to confront a relative of her late husband, Jan van Valkenburg, who demanded his right to share the regency with her. The situation was soon so difficult that she was forced to resign her post of regency, and her son was formally declared of legal majority and therefore of no need of a regency at the age of eleven in 1344.

After her resignation she formally retired under the title Lady of Veluwe (after the name of her dowry), and spent her time acting as a benefactor of convents, particular the beggar convents such as the Order of Saint Clare.

During the 1350s, she and Reginald came in conflict over making peace with his younger brother Edvard, and he confiscated her lands.

Death and burial

On 22 April 1355, twelve years after she became a widow, Eleanor died in a Cistercian convent aged 36. She had been too proud to ask her brother Edward III for help and was buried in Deventer Abbey. Her tombstone had the simple inscription ELEANOR on it; however, in England, on the south side of Queen Philippa of Hainault's tomb in Westminster Abbey there is an image of her and her husband.

Issue

Eleanor had two sons:

• Reinald III "the fat" (1333–1371)
• Edward, Duke of Guelders (1336–1371).

Eleanor of Woodstock Tombstone at the Broederenchurch in Deventer