Elisenda of Montcada
| Elisenda of Montcada | |
|---|---|
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| Queen consort of Aragon | |
| Tenure | 1322–1327 |
| Born | 1292 |
| Died | 19 July 1364 Monastery of Pedralbes |
| Burial | Monastery of Pedralbes |
| Spouse | James II of Aragon |
| House | House of Montcada |
| Father | Pere II Ramon of Montcada, Lord of Aitona and Soses |
| Mother | Elisenda de Pinos |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Elisenda de Montcada (c. 1292 – 19 June 1364) was queen consort of Aragon as the fourth and last spouse of James II of Aragon. She served as Regent or "Queen-Lieutenant" of Aragon during the absence of her spouse from 1324 until 1327. She was a daughter of Pere II Ramon de Montcada and Elisenda de Pinos. She and James II founded the Monastery of Pedralbes, a Franciscan convent of the Poor Clares. After James II's death in 1327, Elisenda lived adjacent to the monastery for the remaining 37 years of her life.
Elisenda de Montcada was believed to have been born in Aitona, the daughter of Pere II Ramon Montcada i d’Abarca, Baron of Aitona, and Elisenda de Pinos. She belonged to the lineage of Montcada, one of the most noble families of Catalonia, close with the monarchy. Elisenda had three brothers: Ot, heir to Aitona and a godfather of the future Peter IV of Aragon; Gastó, bishop of Huesca and later of Girona; and Guillem Ramón. Elisenda's great-grandmother was Constance, Lady of Aitona, an illegitimate daughter of Peter II of Aragon, making her and her husband second cousins once removed.
After James II was a widower by his third wife, Maria of Cyprus, he hurried to contract a new marriage. Just a month after the death of the unhappy queen, he went to obtain a dispensation of consanguinity in the third or fourth grade to arrange new nuptials. Interestingly, the king did not indicate the name of the chosen, but it was Elisenda of Montcada. The monarch seemed very animated with the idea and openly hastened the proceedings that were taken. [Citation needed]
Her marriage to James II took place in Tarragona on 25 December 1322. The king endowed the bride with income from Berga, Burriana, Tortosa, Morella, Torroella de Montgri, and Pals, and her brother Ot with the locations of Seròs and Mequinensa. She was 30 and he, who was widowed in 1319/1322, was about 55. She thus became stepmother to James' ten children by his second marriage to Blanche of Anjou; they had no children of their own. She favored the grandson of James II, the future Peter the Ceremonious.
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