Álvaro Pérez de Castro "the Castilian" (died at

Orgaz Orgaz is a municipality located in the Toledo (province), province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2012 census, the municipality had a population of 2804 inhabitants, but it has since declined. Burial of the Count of Orgaz ...

in 1240) was a Castilian nobleman.

Biography

He was the son of Pedro Fernández de Castro and Jimena Gomez, daughter of Gómez González de Manzanedo. He served as Mayordomo mayor and lieutenant of King

Alfonso IX of León Alfonso IX (15 August 117123 or 24 September 1230) was King of León from the death of his father Ferdinand II in 1188 until his own death. He took steps towards modernizing and democratizing his dominion and founded the University of Salaman ...

on several occasions.
In 1225 Álvaro Pérez de Castro, now in the service of the Muslim rules of Jaén, participated with 160 Christian knights in the successful defence of Jaén against an army under

Ferdinand III of Castile Ferdinand III (; 1199/120130 May 1252), called the Saint (''el Santo''), was King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230 as well as King of Galicia from 1231. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berengaria of Castile. Through his ...

. After the siege, Álvaro Pérez de Castro negotiated a truce between Castile and Granada, sealed with the release of 1,300 Christian prisoners. This gained him the favour of Ferdinand of Castile. From then on he served Ferdinand of Castile, who entrusted him with the possession of the strengths of Andújar and Martos and subsequently appointed him King's representative in the border fortresses of Andalusia and in the city of Cordoba, which he helped to conquer in 1236. He also commanded the Christian forces which defeated the Muslims at the

Battle of Jerez The Battle of Jerez (, ) took place in 1231 near the southern Spanish city of Jerez de la Frontera during the Reconquista. King Ferdinand III of Castile and León's troops fought against those of Emir Ibn Hud of the taifa of Murcia. The Castil ...

, fought in 1231.

Marriages

He married for the first time in 1212 with

Aurembiaix Aurembiaix (or Aurembiax) (1196–1231) was the Countess of Urgell from 1208, the last of her dynasty. She was the only child of Ermengol VIII and Elvira of Subirats. In 1206, Ermengol asked Peter II of Aragon to defend the right of his daughter ...

, future Countess of Urgel and the daughter of Count

Ermengol VIII of Urgell Ermengol or Armengol VIII (1158–1208), known as el de Sant Hilari ("the one from Sant Hilari") was the count of Urgell from 1184 until his death. He was a son of Ermengol VII and Dulce, daughter of Roger III of Foix. In 1178, he married Elvi ...

, but the marriage was annulled in 1228. He married a second time with Mencía López de Haro, future queen of Portugal, daughter of Lope Díaz II de Haro, Lord of Vizcaya, and his wife Urraca Alfonso de León, daughter of

. He died without leaving any offspring of his two marriages and was buried in the Monastery of Santa María de Valbuena, in which his father had been buried.

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez de Castro, Alvaro 1240 deaths 12th-century nobility from León and Castile Spanish untitled nobility 13th-century Castilian nobility House of Castro