Elisenda of Montcada

Who was Elisenda of Montcada?

Elisenda de Montcada was a daughter of Pere de Montcada and his wife Elisenda de Pinos. She was Queen consort of Aragon by her marriage.

Elisenda's great-grandmother was Constance, Lady of Aitona, an illegitimate daughter of Peter II of Aragon, making her and her husband second cousins once removed.

In 1322 Elisenda became the fourth and last wife of James II of Aragon, thirty years her senior. Elisenda became stepmother to James' ten children by his second marriage to Blanche of Naples. The marriage lasted for only five years before James died in November 1327, they had no children.

In 1326, James and Elisenda had founded the Monastery of Pedralbes. A year after she was widowed, she retired to the monastery of Pedralbes palace immediately. Although she was never a nun, she was endowed with wide powers over the internal workings of the monastery. Elisenda remained there for the rest of her life.

Elisenda died in 1364. Her tomb is an example of Catalan Gothic, showing the side of the church and Queen Elisenda dressed along the cloister as a penitent.