“Making Lament”: Death, Grief, Memory, Identity

Abstract

Moreover, concerning the petition of Lady Blanche the illustrious queen of France, it is established by the Chapter General that a mass for the dead is to be said by each priest throughout the entire Order, for the celebrated memory of Lord Louis king of France her late husband, and for Lord Alfonso the late king of Castile her father, and for the lady queen her mother and for her sisters and other friends [amicis].¹ By 1251, when Blanche of Castile petitioned the Cistercian Chapter General for the memorial masses described above, she was the sole survivor of her natal family: her parents, sisters, and brothers were all dead, Berenguela most recently having died, in 1246. Blanche’s memorialization of her family—repeated in 1252, in anticipation of her own death—was proper and expected, consistent with her acts of filial piety throughout her long association with the Cistercian Order.² The petition exemplifies the link between memorialization—ensuring remembrance—and family identity. Blanche was a spouse, but also a daughter, a sister, and a friend. She fulfilled her obligations in remembering these people, including sisters born after she left Spain for France. The memorialization, sweeping in scope on first reading, is also noteworthy for whom it does not include: Blanche remembered neither her brothers, nor her own dead children in any specific way.