Eleanor of Scotland


Eleanor of Scotland 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.

Early life

Eleanor was the sixth child of James I of Scotland and Joan Beaufort. James I was known for his great love of literature which he passed on to Eleanor and her sister Margaret.
Starting in 1445, Eleanor lived at the court of Charles VII of France. In 1447, she accompanied Marie of Anjou, Queen of France, on a pilgrimage on Mont Saint-Michel.

Marriage

In 1448 or 1449 the teenage Eleanor married Sigismund, a Habsburg Duke, then Archduke of Further Austria, and finally ruler of Tyrol.
and his betrothed Radegonde of Valois and successive wives Eleanor of Scotland and Catherine, Archduchess of Austria.
Eleanor served as regent for her husband from 1455 to 1458 and again in 1467.
Heinrich Steinhöwel dedicated his translation of Boccaccio's On Famous Women to Eleanor.

Translation

Eleanor was a great lover of books and literate in several languages. She translated The History of the King's Son of Galicia, named Pontus, and the beautiful Sydonia from French to German. The French original passed through several editions between 1480 and 1550.
In addition to translating the work, Eleanor also revised it to increase the political power of women. Only the courts with effective female advisors retained their political stability.
Based on the number of printings, it was a popular book. A copy of the German translation, preserved in the library of Gotha, bears the date 1465.
Eleanor and Elisabeth von Nassau-Saarbrücken are credited with introducing the prose novel to German literature.

Death

Eleanor died in childbirth with her son Wolfgang on 20 November 1480 and was buried in Stams.

Ancestry