n, yet the
marriage bore fruits in a second generation, of which it would be
difficult to exaggerate the importance; for it was the blood of the
Plantagenets, that flowed in the veins of Berenguela, their daughter,
one of the true heroines of Spain."

In this instance, as in the case of the good Constance of Burgundy, we
see that Spain has been sobered and steadied by an infusion of foreign
blood. Constance, it is true, was a fanatic who cared little for the
national desires, and thought little of adapting herself to the national
conditions of life, so long as she could further her own ends, which
were those of the pope at Rome; and so stern and strict was her view of
life, and so rigid was her discipline, that it was impossible for her to
reconcile the lighter-minded Spaniards to her mode of thinking. For a
short time, by drastic methods, she subdued to some extent the frivolous
temper of her people; but she was so unlovable in her ways, and so
unloved by the people at large, that the sum total of her influence upon
Spanish life, apart from the somewhat questionable advantage which she
gave to Rome as the result of her activity, amounted to very little.
Even her own daughter, Urraca, in spite of the fact that she undoubtedly
inherited more from her father than she did from her mother, was, beyond
peradventure, rendered more wayward and more reckless by the mother's
narrow view of life. The gracious Eleanor, on the other hand, was more
liberal-minded, did everything in her power to get into touch with her
subjects, and by her kindliness and strength of character was able to
aid her husband in no mean degree in quieting civil discord and in
consolidating the interests of the country.

Her daughter Berenguela, brought up in the midst of these influences,
developed a strong and self-reliant character which early in her career
gave proof of its existence. In accord with that policy which has so
often obtained in the monarchies of Europe, it was decided that a
foreign alliance with some strong ruling house would redound to
advantage; and so great was the prestige of Castile at this time, that
Alfonso found no difficulty in arranging a marriage with Conrad, Count
of Suabia, the son of the great Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. As might
have been expected, this marriage was nothing but a political
arrangement which was to benefit Castile, and in which the will of
Berenguela, the person most interested, had not been consulted in