This is a list of counts of Castile. The County of Castile had its origin in a fortified

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...

on the eastern frontier of the

Kingdom of Asturias The Kingdom of Asturias ( la, Asturum Regnum; ast, Reinu d'Asturies) was a kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula founded by the Visigothic nobleman Pelagius. It was the first Christian political entity established after the Umayyad conquest of ...

. The earliest counts were not hereditary, being appointed as representatives of the Asturian king. From as early as 867, with the creation of the

County of Álava The County of Álava ( eu, Arabako konderria) was one of the Basque ''señoríos'', a feudal territory during the 9th and 13th centuries that corresponds to present-day Álava, in the Basque Country. Until the final invasion and incorporation in ...

, Castile was subdivided into several smaller counties that were not reunited until 931. In the later 10th-century, while nominally in vassalage to the Kingdom of León, the counts grew in autonomy and played a significant role in Iberian politics. After the assassination in 1029 of Count García Sánchez of Castile, King

Sancho III of Pamplona Sancho Garcés III ( 992-996 – 18 October 1035), also known as Sancho the Great ( es, Sancho el Mayor, eu, Antso Gartzez Nagusia), was the King of Pamplona from 1004 until his death in 1035. He also ruled the County of Aragon and by marriage ...

, because of his marriage to Muniadona, García's sister, governed the county although he never held the title of count: it was his son, Ferdinand Sánchez, the future King

Ferdinand I of León Ferdinand I ( 1015 – 24 December 1065), called the Great (''el Magno''), was the count of Castile from his uncle's death in 1029 and the king of León after defeating his brother-in-law in 1037. According to tradition, he was the first to have h ...

who inherited the county from his mother. Near the end of 1063, Fernando I convened the '' Curia regis'' to announce his testamentary dispositions pursuant to which he had decided to divide his dominions among his sons. His firstborn, Sancho, became the first king of the former county and reigned as Sancho II of Castile.

Counts of Castile

The early, non-hereditary counts

Rodrigo Rodrigo is a Spanish, Portuguese and Italian name derived from the Germanic name ''Roderick'' (Gothic ''*Hroþareiks'', via Latinized ''Rodericus'' or ''Rudericus''), given specifically in reference to either King Roderic (d. 712), the last Vis ...

(860–873),. He could have also been count in

Álava Álava ( in Spanish) or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Álava, former medieval Catholic bishopric and now Latin titular see. Its c ...

Diego Rodríguez Porcelos Diego Rodríguez Porcelos (governed 873 – c. 885), was the second Count of Castile, succeeding his father Rodrigo. He did not govern Álava, however, as his father had done, since this responsibility fell on Count Vela Jiménez. Between 882 an ...

(873–885) *

Munio Núñez Munio Núñez, Count of Castile (899– and c. 904–c. 909), was a nobleman who was almost certainly the son of Nuño Muñoz, who would have been the son of Munio Núñez de Brañosera who in 824, with his wife Argilo, granted the '' Carta Pueb ...

(c.899–c.901) *

Gonzalo Téllez Gonzalo Téllez (died 915) was a nobleman who was Count of Lantarón and Cerezo de Río Tirón, Cerezo (c. 897–c. 915) and is also mentioned in a document dated 903 as List of Castilian counts, Count of Castile. He and his wife were the founders ...

(903), mentioned only once, in 903, as Count of Castile. He was also count in Cerezo and

Lantarón Lantarón (Basque: ''Landaran'') is a town and municipality located in the province of Álava, in the Basque Country, northern Spain. Villages * Alcedo(Altzeta) * Bergüenda(Bergoiandia) * Caicedo de Yuso(Kaitzeo) * Comunión * Fontecha (O ...

* Munio Núñez (again, c.904–c.909) *

Gonzalo Fernández of Castile Gonzalo Fernández was Count of Burgos (ca. 899-915) and of List of Castilian counts, Castile (c. 909-915). Recorded for the first time in 899 as Count of Burgos, soon the region expanded to the eastern mountain valleys enabling Gonzalo to make h ...

(c. 912–c. 916), "...most probably Gonzalo was Count of Burgos from 899 to 915 and, as from 912 until 915, also Count of Castile". He probably died after 915, when he still appears governing the county, and before 13 November 917 when a Fernando is recorded as Count of Castile. * Ferdinand (917). Appears without a patronymic. Could have been

Fernando Díaz Fernando Díaz (''floruit'' 1071–1106) was a Spanish nobleman and military leader in the Kingdom of León, the most powerful Asturian magnate of the period. He held the highest rank in the kingdom, that of count (Latin ''comes''), from at least ...

, who on 8 January 918 confirms a charter as Fredinandus Didazi, comes, or Ferdinand Ansúrez who appears in 929 with this title. *

Nuño Fernández Nuño Fernández (''fl''. 920–27) was a nobleman of the Kingdom of León. He held both the counties of Burgos (from c. 920) and Castile (from before 926) in the east of the kingdom. Nuño was probably the brother of Gonzalo Fernández, who wa ...

(c. 922–c. 926) On 13 September 922 appears as Count of Burgos and on 25 February 926 appears as ''Comite Nunu Fredinandiz in Castella''. Although there is no documentary evidence, Nuño was probably the brother of Gonzalo Fernández of Castile. * Ferdinand Ansúrez (c.926–c.929) Recorded as Count of Castile on 1 October and 24 November 929. *

Gutier Núñez Gutier Núñez (or Gutierre Núñez) was the Count of Burgos in the tenth century, from between 927 and 929 until 931. Based on his patronymic, Núñez, meaning son of Nuño, he was probably a son of Nuño Fernández, who is known to have been Co ...

(931), probably son of Nuño Fernández, appears as Count of Burgos on 1 March 931.

''Beni Mamaduna''

Following the appointment of Fernán González in 931 to succeed both Gutier Núñez and

Álvaro Herraméliz Álvaro Herraméliz (fl. 923–931), was a Spanish noble and the count of Lantarón and of Álava in the region that today would be considered the Basque Country in northern Spain. Biography Count Álvaro was the son of Herramel, a noble wh ...

, he reunited the divided counties of Castile, Burgos, Álava, Cerezo and Lantarón into what would become a single semi-autonomous hereditary county of Castile. Al Andalus sources referred to the family as the ''Beni Mamaduna'', the descendants of Muniadona, Fernán's mother. *

Fernán González Fernan or Fernán is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Fernán Blázquez de Cáceres, Spanish nobleman * Fernán Caballero (1796–1877), Spanish novelist * Fernando Fernán Gómez (1921–2007), Spanish actor ...

(931–970), son of Gonzalo Fernández, married Sancha Sánchez, widow of Álvaro Herrameliz. **

Ansur Fernández Ansur, Assur, or Asur Fernández (died 947/50) was a powerful Castilian nobleman and military leader in the Kingdom of León during the reign of Ramiro II. He was the first Count of Monzón, probably from before 939, certainly by 943, and he was ...

(944–947), son of Ferdinand Ansúrez, in opposition to Fernán González during the latter's rebellion, father-in-law of

Sancho I of León Sancho I of León, nicknamed Sancho the Fat (c. 932 – 19 December 966) was a king of León twice. He was succeeded in 958 by Ordoño IV and, on his death, by his son Ramiro. Reign He was the son of Ramiro II of León and his second wife ...

* García Fernández (970–995), son of Fernán González * Sancho García (995–1017), son of García Fernández * García Sánchez (1017–1029), son of Sancho García.

Jiménez Dynasty The Jiménez dynasty, alternatively called the Jimena, the Sancha, the Banu Sancho, the Abarca or the Banu Abarca,Alberto Cañada Juste, "¿Quién fue Sancho Abarca?, ''Príncipe de Viana'', 73: 79-132. was a medieval ruling family from the 9th c ...

With the death of Garcia Sánchez, the county of Castile passed to the family of his eldest sister, Muniadona of Castile, wife of Sancho III of Pamplona. Sancho thus became ''de facto'' ruler of Castile, though he was never its count, nominating his younger son to succeed Garcia. * Ferdinand Sánchez (1029-1065), who continued to serve as count of Castile after he became king Ferdinand I of León. On his death, Castile was elevated to a kingdom for his firstborn son, Sancho, who ruled as

Sancho II of Castile The name Sancho is an Iberian name of Basque origin (Santxo, Santzo, Santso, Antzo, Sans). Sancho stems from the Latin name Sanctius.Eichler, Ernst; Hilty, Gerold; Löffler, Heinrich; Steger, Hugo; Zgusta, Ladislav: ''Namenforschung/Name Studies/ ...

Notes

References

Bibliography

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