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Ermengarde de Beaumont (c. 1170 – 12 February 1233/1234) was Queen of Alba as the consort of William the Lion. She is reported to have exerted influence over the affairs of state as queen, though the information on her is lacking in detail. Her paternal grandmother was Constance FitzRoy, illegitimate daughter of Henry I of England.

Life

Ermengarde was born c. 1170 to a minor French noble, Richard I, Viscount of Beaumont-le-Vicomte, Fresnay and Ste-Suzanne, and Lucie de l'Aigle [fr] (died aft. 1217).

Ermengarde married King William I of Scotland at the royal chapel at Woodstock Palace, near Oxford, in England on 5 September 1186, performed by Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury. The marriage was arranged under terms of the Treaty of Falaise by King Henry II of England, who was at the time the acknowledged overlord of Scotland. William considered her status beneath him, but agreed after Henry offered to pay for the entire wedding, land valued at 100 merks and 40 knight's fees, and to return the castles that he had forfeited as her dowry, one of them being Edinburgh. After the wedding she was escorted to Scotland by Scottish nobles and Jocelin, Bishop of Glasgow.

The chronicler Walter Bower described Ermengarde as 'an extraordinary woman, gifted with a charming and witty eloquence'. Though William had many lovers before his marriage, the aging monarch was reportedly never unfaithful to her after their wedding. The relatives of Ermengarde benefited from her status as queen. She is recorded to have presided with the Bishop of St. Andrews over a complex court case. In 1207, there was a complaint by a canon that a royal chaplain obtained the bishopric of Glasgow by bribing the King and the Queen. Queen Ermengarde is credited with mediating a renegotiation of the 1209 treaty, probably due to her husband's incapacity. Due to the illness of William, Ermengarde took over some of his duties during his later years, and there is evidence that she wielded considerable influence in public affairs. In 1212, she accompanied William with their children to King John of England to secure the succession of their son Alexander.

Ermengarde was described as distraught and lethargic over her husband's death, on 4 December 1214. As queen dowager, she devoted her time to the foundation of a Cistercian abbey at Balmerino in Fife. It was completed in 1229, and she often visited it as a guest with her son Alexander. She stayed at the abbey many times.

She died on 12 February 1233/1234, and was buried at St Edward of Balmerino Abbey, Fife.

Children

Eremendgarde and William the Lion, King of Scotland had:

• Margaret of Scotland (1193–1259). Married Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent
• Isabella of Scotland (1195–1253). Married Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk.
• Alexander II of Scotland (1198–1249).
• Marjorie of Scotland (1200–1244). Married Gilbert Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke.

References

1. Pollock 2015, p. 132.
2. ^ Panton, Kenneth J. (15 October 2023). Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 598. ISBN 978-1-5381-7577-4.
3. ^ Scott, W. W. (2004). "Ermengarde [Ermengarde de Beaumont] (d. 1233), queen of Scots, consort of William I". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/49356. Retrieved 14 September 2024. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
4. ^ Parsons 1977, p. 43.
5. Connolly, Sharon Bennett (30 May 2020). Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England. Pen and Sword History. ISBN 978-1-5267-4528-6.
6. ^ Pollock 2015, p. xiv.
7. Frojmovic, Eva; Karkov, Catherine E. (16 March 2017). Postcolonising the Medieval Image. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-351-86724-5.
8. "William I [known as William the Lion] (c. 1142–1214), king of Scots". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/29452. Retrieved 14 September 2024. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
9. "Margaret, countess of Kent (1187x95–1259), princess". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/49377. Retrieved 14 September 2024. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

Sources

• Parsons, John Carmi (1977). The Court and Household of Eleanor of Castile in 1290. Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies. p. 77.
• Pollock, M.A. (2015). Scotland, England and France after the Loss of Normandy, 1204-1296. The Boydell Press.
• Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy
• "The Kings and Queens of Scotland" edited by Richard Oram
• "Scottish Queens 1034-1714" by Rosalind K. Marshall
• "British Kings and Queens" by Mike Ashley

• Scottish royal consorts
• House of Dunkeld
• 1170s births
• 1230s deaths
• 12th-century Scottish women
• 13th-century Scottish women
• 12th-century Scottish people
• 13th-century Scottish people
• 12th-century French women
• 13th-century French women
• 12th-century French nobility
• 13th-century French nobility
• Scottish queen mothers