Historical sketches of old Charing. / The hospital and chapel of Saint Mary Roncevall. Eleanor of Castile, Queen of England, and the monuments erected in her memory.

by Sir James Galloway

Eleanor journeys to the Holy Land with Edward.

There must have been, therefore, a great sense of relief to many within the land when, in the year 1270, Edward, having taken the Cross, entrusted his children and all his possessions to his uncle Richard and departed to join the French King on crusade to the Holy Land. The dangers from pestilence and sword besetting such expeditions to the East were perfectly well understood—repeated and painful experience had brought them home to all, both of high and of low degree. With this full knowledge Eleanor made the momentous decision to accompany her husband and to share the trials and dangers of the crusade.

Before they had actually left France on their journey to the East, intelligence was received of the death of Louis of France, the leader of this crusade, in Tunis, and although it must have been clear to Edward that the chance of a successful issue of the crusade was much diminished, nevertheless, accompanied by his comparatively small English force, he went on towards Palestine.

The next two years were spent in the East. The crusade ended in failure, scarcely relieved by the exploits of Edward in raising the siege of Acre, at the battle of Nazareth, and in one or two smaller engagements. From among the incidents of the crusade, the attempted assassination of Edward by an emissary of one of the Sultan’s emirs stands out most clearly. During the struggle Edward was badly wounded in his arm. The wound suppurated, the arm swelled, and threatened to become gangrenous. At this juncture the physician in the household of the Master of the Temple was called in to advise, and stated his opinion that the only chance of recovery was by means of free incision of the affected arm. Edward decided that this should be done. On hearing the decision of her husband, the Princess, worn out with anxiety, broke down completely, and had to be conveyed from the tent in charge of her brother-in-law, Edmund, and John De Vescy.[^[24]] The operation was then performed, and Edward made a satisfactory recovery. During his convalescence, he must have owed much to the devoted care of his wife and to the skill of his medical attendants. It was during these three years of close association, while Edward had to bear the trial of repeated disappointments in addition to the severe hardships and imminent perils of foreign warfare, that a bond of firm comradeship was formed between the future King and Queen.

[24]. Hemingford, Walter: Historiae Angliae Scriptores. Gale; ii, p. 591, Oxford, 1687. Hemingburgh, Walterus de: Hamilton, H. C., Eng. Hist. Soc., ii, p. 335.

Eleanor had three children before leaving England, and during her years of travel in the East and in France, two, if not three, more had been born; of these, Joan of Acre, of romantic memory, and a son Alphonso, for some years heir to the English crown, survived. It can hardly be a matter of doubt that the number of her children added to the hardships of her long journeys, and the almost certain incidence of disease had an adverse influence on the health of the future Queen.