Eleanor of Scotland | |
---|---|
Archduchess consort of Austria | |
Tenure | 1449–1480 |
Born | 1433 |
Died | 20 November 1480 | (aged 46–47)
Burial | Stams Tyrol, Austria |
Spouse | Sigismund, Archduke of Austria |
House | Stewart |
Father | James I of Scotland |
Mother | Joan Beaufort |
Eleanor of Scotland (1433 – 20 November 1480) was an Archduchess of Austria by marriage to Sigismund, Archduke of Austria, a noted translator, and regent of Austria in 1455–58 and 1467. She was a daughter of James I of Scotland and Joan Beaufort.[1]
Eleanor was the sixth child of James I of Scotland and Joan Beaufort.[2] James I was known for his great love of literature which he passed on to Eleanor and her sister Margaret.[2]
Starting in 1445, Eleanor lived at the court of Charles VII of France, where it was suggested that she should marry Frederick, King of the Romans.[2][3] In 1447, she accompanied Marie of Anjou, Queen of France, on a pilgrimage on Mont Saint-Michel.[4]
In 1448 or 1449 the teenage Eleanor married Sigismund, a Habsburg Duke, then Archduke of Further Austria, and finally ruler of Tyrol (from 1446 to 1490).[2][3] Whilst travelling to her wedding she visited her sister Annabella of Scotland,[5] who was in Savoy due to her contracted marriage to Louis of Savoy, Count of Geneva.[6]
Eleanor served as regent for her husband from 1455 to 1458 and again in 1467.[3] In his absence she raised funds, purchased guns and sought mercenaries for his army and took over the administration of his estates.[7]
Eleanor was a great lover of books and became literate in several languages,[3] even though it is likely that she learned German after her marriage.[8] She was able to write in Latin, French, German and Scots.[9]
Eleanor translated The History of the King's Son of Galicia, named Pontus, and the beautiful Sydonia (Pontus and Sidonia) from French to German.[3] The French original passed through several editions between 1480 and 1550.[3] In addition to translating the work, Eleanor also revised it to increase the political power of women.[3] Only the courts with effective female advisors retained their political stability.[3] Based on the number of printings, it was a popular book.[3] A copy of the German translation, preserved in the library of Gotha, bears the date 1465.[4]
In 1473, the German humanist and translator Heinrich Steinhöwel dedicated his paraphrased and translated version of Boccaccio's[10] De Claris Mulieribus (Concerning Famous Women) to her.[8]
Eleanor and Elisabeth von Nassau-Saarbrücken are credited with introducing the prose novel to German literature.[3]
Eleanor died giving birth to her son Wolfgang at Innsbruck on 20 November 1480.[7] She was buried in the Cistercian Abbey at Stams, Tyrol, Austria.[7]