Duke of Medinaceli () is an hereditary title in the peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of

Grandee Grandee (; es, Grande de España, ) is an official royal and noble ranks, aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neith ...

. The

Catholic Monarchs The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being bot ...

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia from ...

and

Isabella I of Castile Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as List of Aragonese royal consorts, Queen consort ...

, created the title and awarded it on 31 October 1479 to Luis de la Cerda y de la Vega. He also held the title of 5th Count of

Medinaceli Medinaceli () is a municipality and town in the province of Soria, in Castile and León, Spain. The municipality includes other villages like Torralba del Moral. Etymology Its name derives from the Arabic 'madīnat salīm', which was named afte ...

, which was first awarded in 1368 to his ancestor, Bernal de Foix.

History

In 1368, the King of the

Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accessi ...

bestowed the title of Count of Medinaceli on Bernal de Foix, the second husband of

Isabel de la Cerda Isabel de la Cerda also known as ''Isabel de la Cerda Pérez de Guzmán'' (Seville c.1329 - after 1383) was the only surviving daughter of Luis de la Cerda and his first wife Leonor de Guzmán; she was Lady of Puerto de Santa María and titular Pri ...

. Their grandson Luis, 3rd Count of Medinaceli, eventually inherited the title and changed his family name to " de la Cerda". Later on, Queen

raised the title from Count to Duke in 1479 for Luis de la Cerda y de la Vega, 5th Count of Medinaceli.

Counts of Medinaceli

* Bernal de Foix, 1st Count of Medinaceli (d. 1381). He took the side of the royal bastard

Henry of Trastámara Henry II (13 January 1334 – 29 May 1379), called Henry of Trastámara or the Fratricidal (''el Fratricida''), was the first King of Castile and León from the House of Trastámara. He became king in 1369 by defeating his half-brother Peter the ...

in 1368 against Henry's legitimate half-brother, King

Peter of Castile Peter ( es, Pedro; 30 August 133423 March 1369), called the Cruel () or the Just (), was King of Castile and León from 1350 to 1369. Peter was the last ruler of the main branch of the House of Ivrea. He was excommunicated by Pope Urban V for ...

. A bastard of

Gaston III, Count of Foix Gaston Fébus (also spelt Phoebus) (30 April 1331 – 1391) was the eleventh count of Foix (as Gaston III) and twenty-fourth viscount of Béarn (as Gaston X) from 1343 until his death. Early life Gaston was born either in Orthez or Foix, the el ...

, Bernal de Foix chose to stay in Castile when Henry had King Peter executed in March 1369 at the Castle of Montiel. He was the second husband of the wealthy

, who was of legitimate royal descent from King

Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Germ ...

through her grandfather. *Gastón de Béarn y de la Cerda, 2nd Count of Medinaceli (c. 1371–1404). He was a courtier under King

John I of Castile John I ( es, Juan I; 24 August 1358 – 9 October 1390) was King of Castile and León from 1379 until 1390. He was the son of Henry II and of his wife Juana Manuel of Castile. Biography His first marriage, to Eleanor of Aragon on 18 June 1375, ...

and

Henry III of Castile Henry III of Castile (4 October 1379 – 25 December 1406), called the Suffering due to his ill health (, ), was the son of John I and Eleanor of Aragon. He succeeded his father as King of Castile in 1390. Birth and education Henry was born ...

. *Luis de la Cerda y Mendoza, 3rd Count of Medinaceli (bef. 1404 – after 1447). He was a courtier under King

John II of Castile John II of Castile ( es, link=no, Juan; 6 March 1405 – 20 July 1454) was King of Castile and León from 1406 to 1454. He succeeded his older sister, Maria of Castile, Queen of Aragon, as Prince of Asturias in 1405. Regency John was the ...

. *Gastón I de la Cerda, 4th Count of Medinaceli (1414–1454). He was a courtier of King

. *Luis de la Cerda y de la Vega, 5th Count of Medinaceli (c. 1442–1501). On 31 October 1479, he became the 1st Duke of Medinaceli.

Dukes of Medinaceli

Biographies

1st Duke of Medinaceli

Luis de la Cerda y de la Vega, 1st Duke of Medinaceli (c. 1442–1501), Count in 1454 and Duke in 1479, was the first person awarded the title of "Duke of Medinaceli". He fought in battles against Portugal and the Moorish

Kingdom of Granada ) , common_languages = Official language:Classical ArabicOther languages: Andalusi Arabic, Mozarabic, Berber, Ladino , capital = Granada , religion = Majority religion:Sunni IslamMinority religions:Roman C ...

2nd Duke of Medinaceli

Duke Juan I de la Cerda y Vique, the 2nd Duke of Medinaceli, was a bastard who was legitimated with

by the Spanish Crown in 1520. He was a courtier under Queen

, her daughter Queen

Joanna of Castile Joanna (6 November 1479 – 12 April 1555), historically known as Joanna the Mad ( es, link=no, Juana la Loca), was the nominal Queen of Castile from 1504 and Queen of Aragon from 1516 to her death in 1555. She was married by arrangement to Phi ...

, and her son King

Charles I of Spain Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fro ...

. He took part in the battles for the "incorporation" of the

Kingdom of Navarre The Kingdom of Navarre (; , , , ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona (), was a Basque kingdom that occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, alongside the Atlantic Ocean between present-day Spain and France. The medieval state took ...

on behalf of Ferdinand II of Aragon, the grandfather of King Charles I of Spain.

3rd Duke of Medinaceli

Duke

Gastón de la Cerda y Portugal Gaston is a masculine given name of French origin and a surname. The name "Gaston" may refer to: People First name *Gaston I, Count of Foix (1287–1315) *Gaston II, Count of Foix (1308–1343) *Gaston III, Count of Foix (1331–1391) *Gaston I ...

, died without issue. He married María Gómez Sarmiento, daughter of the 3rd Count of Salinas and Count of Ribadeo.

4th Duke of Medinaceli

Juan de la Cerda, 4th Duke of Medinaceli Juan de la Cerda y Silva, 4th Duke of Medinaceli (c. 1514 – 1575), Grandee of Spain, was a Spanish nobleman. He was the son of Don Juan de la Cerda, 2nd Duke of Medinaceli, by second wife María de Silva. In 1552 Juan de la Cerda inherited the ...

, was

Viceroy of Sicily This is a list of viceroys of Sicily: Aragonese direct rule 1409–1516 * John of Aragon, Duke of Peñafiel, later king John II of Aragon, 1458–1479, acted 1409–1416. * Domingo Ram y Lanaja, Bishop of Lleida 1416–1419 * Antonio de Cardona ...

(1556–1564), and Captain General of Sicily. He was later

Viceroy of Navarra This is a list of Spanish Viceroys of Navarre from 1512 to 1840, when the function was abolished. *1512 : Diego Fernández de Córdoba y Arellano, marqués de Comares *1515 : Fadrique de Acuña, Conde de Buendía *1516 : Antonio Manrique de L ...

(1567–1572). He married Juana Manuel de Portugal (ca. 1520-1568), daughter of Sancho I de Noronha Portugal, 2nd

Count of Faro Count of Faro (in Portuguese ''Conde de Faro'') was a Portuguese title of nobility granted by royal decree issued on 22 May 1469, by King Afonso V of Portugal, to Don (honorific), D. Afonso de Braganza, 1st Count of Faro, Afonso of Braganza, the t ...

on 7 April 1541, at Ocaña.

5th Duke of Medinaceli

Duke Juan III Luis de la Cerda y Manuel de Portugal, 5th Duke of Medinaceli, was an Ambassador in Portugal and a

Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

. He was married four times. His first wife,

Isabella d'Aragona Isabella of Aragon (2 October 1470 – 11 February 1524), also known as Isabella of Naples, was by marriage Duchess of Milan and ''suo jure'' Duchess of Bari. A member of the Neapolitan branch of the House of Trastamara, her life was characteri ...

(bef. 1543 - August 1578) was the daughter of Antonio d'Aragona, (1506–1543). His second wife was Duca di Montalto and after 1578, he married Juana de la Lama. His 4th wife was Marquesa de la Adrada, daughter of Gonzalo Fernández de la Lama.

6th Duke of Medinaceli

Duke Juan Luis de la Cerda y Aragón, 6th Duke of Medinaceli (20 May 1569 - 24 November 1607) was a

. He was an Ambassador to Germanic countries. He married twice, the first time in 1564, to Ana de la Cueva, daughter of the 5th Duque de Albuquerque, Gabriel de la Cueva, Governor of the Duchy of Milano (Italy). He got married for a second time in 1606, to Antonia Dávila y Colonna (d. 29 October 1625), daughter of Gómez Dávila y de Toledo, the 2nd Marqués de Velada (d. 30 January 1599), tutor of King

Philip III of Spain Philip III ( es, Felipe III; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621) was King of Spain. As Philip II, he was also King of Portugal, Naples, Sicily and Sardinia and Duke of Milan from 1598 until his death in 1621. A member of the House of Habsburg, Phi ...

7th Duke of Medinaceli

Duke Antonio Juan de la Cerda y Toledo (25 October 1607 – 7 March 1671), 7th Duque de Medinaceli,

Grandee of Spain Grandee (; es, Grande de España, ) is an official aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ha ...

, and Captain General of Valencia in 1641. He was married at the age of seventeen to Ana Francisca Luisa Enriquez de Ribera y Portocarrero, who was thirteen years of age. The marriage took place on November 28, 1625, in

Dos Hermanas Dos Hermanas () is a Spanish city south of Seville in Andalusia, with a population of 131,317 as of 2015. History The city's name, which means "two sisters", dates from its founding in 1248 by King Ferdinand III of Castile and honours Elvira ...

province of Sevilla The Province of Seville ( es, Sevilla) is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by the provinces of Málaga, Cádiz in the south, Huelva in the west, Badajoz in the north and ...

. Ana Francisca Luisa Enríquez de Ribera y Portocarrero (bef. 19 September 1613 - 21 May 1645) was later granted the title of hereditary 5th Duquesa de Alcalá de los Gazules, as daughter of Pedro Enríquez Girón de Ribera, a Knight of the Military Order of Santiago.

8th Duke of Medinaceli

Juan Francisco de la Cerda ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish language, Spanish and Manx language, Manx versions of ''John (given name), John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronoun ...

y Portocarrero, 8th Duke of Medinaceli, (4 November 1637– 20 February 1691) was a Knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

. He was the Prime Minister of King

Charles II of Spain Charles II of Spain (''Spanish: Carlos II,'' 6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700), known as the Bewitched (''Spanish: El Hechizado''), was the last Habsburg ruler of the Spanish Empire. Best remembered for his physical disabilities and the War o ...

. Medinaceli's strategies "produced fierce antipathy" between Marie-Louise of Orleans, the new Queen of Spain. He firmly believed in the rivalry of France and Spain and considered France the enemy. Therefore, he tried to isolate the young Queen from any french influence. In 1681, Medinaceli managed to have the Marquis of Villars, the french ambassador, removed from the spanish court. In 1685 he fell from power and was replaced by Manual Joaquín Álvarez de Toledo, 8th Count of Oropesa. He was married at the age of sixteen to eighteen-year-old Catalina Antonia de Aragón y Folch de Cardona, 9th Duchess of Cardona, 5th Duchess of Lerma, 8th Duchess of Segorbe, on 1 May 1653 in

Lucena Lucena, officially the City of Lucena ( fil, Lungsod ng Lucena), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Calabarzon region of the Philippines. It is the capital city of the province of Quezon where it is geographically situated but, in t ...

, Province of Córdoba.

9th Duke of Medinaceli

Duke Luis Francisco Tomás de la Cerda y de Aragón - Folch de Cardona, (1654 - in prison, in Pamplona fortress, 1711), was the 9th Duque de Medinaceli, 10th

Duque de Cardona Duke of Cardona ( es, Duque de Cardona) is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1482 by Ferdinand II to Juan Ramón Folch de Cardona, 5th Count of Cardona, as an elevation to dukedom ...

, 6th Duque de Lerma, 7th Duque de Alcalá de los Gazules, and 9th Duque de Segorbe.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medinaceli, Duke of Dukedoms of Spain Noble titles created in 1479