Articles by CaraBeth

About CaraBeth

I love reading and writing about the royals of medieval Europe- especially the women. My interest was first started by the Plantagenet dynasty, but I decided to dive deeper, and discovered that there were many more fascinating royal dynasties in medieval Europe. Other dynasties I like reading and writing about are; the Capets, and their Angevin branch in Naples and Hungary, the Luxembourgs, the early Hapsburgs, the Arpads, the Piasts, the Premyslids and many more!

Ida of Austria and the Crusade of 1101

Thursday, 24 May 2018, 7:00 CaraBeth 0

After writing about Florine of Burgundy, I thought it would be interesting to look at Ida of Austria, another high-ranking noblewoman who took part in the early crusades. Like Florine, finding information on Ida is difficult, and there are conflicting results. Ida’s Background Margravine Ida of Austria was said to have been one of the [read more]

The legend of Florine of Burgundy

Saturday, 5 May 2018, 7:00 CaraBeth 1

There were many women who played a part in the crusades. There are even some records as women leading armies, such as Florine of Burgundy. But there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding Florine. Even her existence is disputed. This is not an in-depth study on whether or not Florine of Burgundy existed, but a [read more]

Elisabeth-Richeza of Poland – Twice a Queen of Bohemia

Tuesday, 17 April 2018, 7:00 CaraBeth 0

Throughout history, there are several examples of a king’s widow marrying her husband’s successor. In these situations, the marriage to the Queen dowager was believed to strengthen the new King’s claim to the throne. One such woman who married two different kings of the same kingdom was Elisabeth-Richeza of Poland. Both of her marriages were [read more]

The illegitimate daughters of Henry I of England

Saturday, 7 April 2018, 20:00 CaraBeth 0

King Henry I of England (r.1100-1135) holds the record for an English monarch with the most acknowledged illegitimate children. He is estimated to have had between 20 and 25 illegitimate children, most of them daughters. Unfortunately, not much is written of these daughters. The chroniclers seemed to care more about his illegitimate sons, especially Robert, [read more]

Helena of Serbia – The executioner

Saturday, 17 March 2018, 7:00 CaraBeth 1

For the most part, very few medieval Hungarian queens played a role in politics. One exception is Helena of Serbia, also known as Helena of Rascia. Helena was born around 1109, to Uros I, Grand Prince of Serbia, and Anna Diogenissa. Between 1127 and 1130, she married Bela of Hungary. Of the Eastern Orthodox faith [read more]

Adelaide del Vasto – First female regent of Sicily

Sunday, 18 February 2018, 0:00 CaraBeth 0

From 1130, the Italian island of Sicily was a kingdom. What most don’t know, it was a county before it became a kingdom. The island was conquered by the Normans in 1071, and Roger de Hauteville, a minor Norman noble became Count Roger I of Sicily. He married three times, and it was his third [read more]