Kissing cousins (1)

Much of Western Europe in the thirteenth century was governed by one big family: the royal houses of France, England, Castile, Aragon, Navarre, Sicily and Provence were closely related to each other. When a quarrel broke out between individual members of the clan, everyone tended to get dragged in.

Pamplona

In July 1274 the king of Navarre, Enrique el Gordo - Henry the Fat - died with no male heir. His baby son had died tragically when his nurse accidentally dropped him over the battlements of the Navarrese castle at Estella. Enrique left a daughter, Jeanne, just eighteen months old. The ensuing scramble for power resembled the Maid of Norway situation in Scotland sixteen years later. To protect his daughter, Enrique had agreed to marry her to Edward I of England’s heir, Prince Henry. In the marriage treaty it was explained that both kings wished to suppress disorder in Navarre, which had been so frequent. The two kings also promised to give each other aid against all other men save their overlord, the king of France: this clause is exactly the same as other treaties of the period, such as the Turnberry Band or the Treaty of Radnor between Roger Mortimer and Prince Llywelyn of Wales.

Philip III

The treaty was soon rendered null and void. At the time of Enrique’s death, Edward had just crossed the English Channel on his way to be crowned at Westminster. Soon afterwards his heir, Henry, died unexpectedly, and Navarre was threatened by civil war. Enrique’s widow, Queen Blanche, was also threatened by the pretensions of the kings of Castile and Aragon, who wanted to grab the kingless realm of Navarre for themselves; again there are distinct similarities between Edward’s opportunistic behaviour in Scotland.

Blanche fled with her daughter for protection to the court of Philip III in Paris. The girl was betrothed to Philip’s second son, and as her guardian the king took possession of Blanche’s lands of Champagne and Brie. He also sent the seneschal of Toulouse, Eustace de Beaumarchais, to take the homage of the Navarrese. Eustace installed a French garrison in the citadel of Pamplona, and set about abusing the rights and privileges of the Navarrese people. The result was a full-scale revolt in favour of the king of Castile. Eustace soon found himself besieged inside the citadel by an army of Navarrese nobles.

He sent a messenger to King Philip, who ordered the Comte d’Artois to raise an army in the seneschalries of Toulouse, Carcassone, Beaucaire and Périgeux, and march to the relief of Pamplona. Artois and his men dashed across the Pyrenees and laid siege to the Navarrese who had laid siege to the French. At this point the Navarrese nobles decided it was all far too confusing, and ran away under cover of darkness. The citizens of Pamplona and the rest of Navarre then submitted to the French.