Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index



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  • Title: Sarcophagus of Doña Berenguela (or Berengaria)
  • Creator:
  • Description: Doña Berenguela was the daughter of Ferdinand III of Castile and a nun at Las Huelgas. She commissioned this tomb for her grandmother, Berenguela of Castile, queen and regent who was the daughter of Alfonso VIII of Castile. The sarcophagus for the queen depicts the Coronation of the Virgin at the head and the Dormition at the foot. On the basin the Virgin again figures prominently in the scene of the Adoration of the Magi. The Massacre of the Innocents is also depicted on the basin. The lid (not clearly visible) displays scenes from the Life of Christ, moving from the Annunciation to the Flight into Egypt. The theme of royal motherhood represented on the tomb in part celebrates the power that Berenguela of Castile exercised and passed on to her descendants. Though the sarcophagus was completed it is likely that the queen's body may have been buried there only for a short time. Her body was returned to the simple tomb she had ordered prior to her death. Her granddaughter was buried in this tomb upon her death around 1286.
  • Source: Wikimedia Commons
  • Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license
  • Subject (See Also): Berenguela of Castile, Queen-Consort of Alfonso IX of Leon Burgos, Burgos, Spain- Monastery of Las Huelgas Burials Jesus Christ, Infancy Mary, Virgin, Saint- Coronation Mary, Virgin, Saint- Dormition Massacre of the Innocents Patronage, Artistic Queens
  • Geographic Area: Iberia
  • Century: 13
  • Date: circa 1251
  • Related Work: See more detailed images of the tomb sculpture from this page about Las Huelgas created by Paradoxplace: http://www.paradoxplace.com/Photo%20Pages/Spain/Camino_de_Santiago/Burgos/SM_Real_Huelgas/Huelgas_Sarcophagi/Huelgas_Sarcophagi.htm
  • Current Location: Burgos, Monasterio de Santa María la Real de las Huelgas
  • Original Location: Burgos, Monasterio de Santa María la Real de las Huelgas
  • Artistic Type (Category): Digital images; Sculptures
  • Artistic Type (Material/Technique): Stone
  • Donor: Female religious; Infanta Berenguela, a nun at Las Huelgas, and a daughter of Ferdinand III and granddaughter of Berenguela of Castile
  • Height/Width/Length(cm): //
  • Inscription:
  • Related Resources: Miriam Shadis. Berenguela of Castile (1180-1246) and Political Women in the High Middle Ages. Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. Pages 163-164.