García Ramírez Of Navarre
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García Ramírez ( eu, Gartzea Remiritz), sometimes García IV, V, VI or VII ( 1112 – 21 November 1150), called the Restorer ( es, el Restaurador, eu, Basque: ''Berrezarlea''), was the
King of Navarre This is a list of the kings and queens of kingdom of Pamplona, Pamplona, later kingdom of Navarre, Navarre. Pamplona was the primary name of the kingdom until its union with Kingdom of Aragon, Aragon (1076–1134). However, the territorial desig ...
(Pamplona) from 1134. The election of García Ramírez restored the independence of the Navarrese kingdom after 58 years of political union with the
Kingdom of Aragon The Kingdom of Aragon ( an, Reino d'Aragón, ca, Regne d'Aragó, la, Regnum Aragoniae, es, Reino de Aragón) was a medieval and early modern kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon, ...
. After some initial conflict he would align himself with king
Alfonso VII of León and Castile Alfonso VII (1 March 110521 August 1157), called the Emperor (''el Emperador''), became the King of Galicia in 1111 and King of León and Castile in 1126. Alfonso, born Alfonso Raimúndez, first used the title Emperor of All Spain, alongside hi ...
, and as his ally take part in the
Reconquista The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...
.


Biography

García was born to Ramiro Sánchez, lord of Monzón, whose own father
Sancho 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/ ...
was an illegitimate son of king
García Sánchez III of Navarre García or Garcia may refer to: People * García (surname) * Kings of Pamplona/Navarre ** García Íñiguez of Pamplona, king of Pamplona 851/2–882 ** García Sánchez I of Pamplona, king of Pamplona 931–970 ** García Sánchez II of Pampl ...
. His mother was
Cristina Cristina is a female given name, and it is also a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Cristina (daughter of Edward the Exile), 11th-century English princess *Cristina (singer), Cristina Monet-Palaci (1956–2020), American s ...
, daughter of the Castilian nobleman Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, better known as
El Cid Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (c. 1043 – 10 July 1099) was a Castilian knight and warlord in medieval Spain. Fighting with both Christian and Muslim armies during his lifetime, he earned the Arabic honorific ''al-sīd'', which would evolve into El ...
. He succeeded his father as lord of
Monzón Monzón is a small city and municipality in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. Its population was 17,176 as of 2014. It is in the northeast (specifically the Cinca Medio district of the province of Huesca) and adjoins the rivers Cinca and ...
and also held
Logroño Logroño () is the capital of the province of La Rioja, situated in northern Spain. Traversed in its northern part by the Ebro River, Logroño has historically been a place of passage, such as the Camino de Santiago. Its borders were disputed b ...
. In 1134, a succession crisis arose in the united kingdoms of Navarre and Aragon. As a consequence of the 1076 murder of king Sancho IV of Navarre by his siblings, Navarre had been partitioned between Castile and Aragon, with the kings of the latter claiming the Navarrese crown. With the death of the childless warrior-king
Alfonso the Battler Alfonso I (''c''. 1073/10747 September 1134), called the Battler or the Warrior ( es, el Batallador), was King of Aragon and Navarre from 1104 until his death in 1134. He was the second son of King Sancho Ramírez and successor of his brother Pet ...
of Navarre and Aragon in 1134, the succession of both kingdoms fell into dispute. In his unusual will, Alfonso had left the combined kingdoms to three crusading orders, which effectively neutralized the
Papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
from exercising a role in selecting among the potential candidates. Immediately rejected the will, the nobility of Aragon favored Alfonso's younger brother Ramiro, a monk. The nobility of Navarre, skeptical of Ramiro having the necessary temperament to resist the incursions by their western neighbor, king
Alfonso VII of León and Castile Alfonso VII (1 March 110521 August 1157), called the Emperor (''el Emperador''), became the King of Galicia in 1111 and King of León and Castile in 1126. Alfonso, born Alfonso Raimúndez, first used the title Emperor of All Spain, alongside hi ...
, who was another claimant, and perhaps chafing under the continued Aragonese hegemony, initially favored a different candidate,
Pedro de Atarés Pedro de Atarés ( in Borja – 21 February 1151) was a Spanish noble and member of the House of Aragón. He founded the Veruela Abbey, the oldest Cistercian monastery in Aragon. Biography Family Pedro de Atarés was the son of García Sánch ...
, a grandson of Alfonso's illegitimate uncle,
Sancho Ramírez, Count of Ribagorza Sancho Ramírez (before 10431105/November 1110) was an illegitimate son of King Ramiro I of Aragon and Amuña, the firstborn and brother of his namesake who would inherit the throne and reign as Sancho Ramírez. Biographical sketch Even though ...
. A convocation of the bishops and nobility was convened at
Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...
to decide between Pedro and Ramiro, but were so alienated by Pedro's arrogance that they abandoned him in favor of García Ramírez, Lord of Monzón, a scion of their own dynasty, grandson of a brother of their murdered king Sancho IV. He was duly elected by the nobility and clergy of Navarre, while Ramiro was enthroned by that of Aragon and strongly opposed García's election in Navarre. In light of this, the
Bishop of Pamplona The Archdiocese of Pamplona y Tudela ( la, Pampilonen(sis) et Tudelen(sis)) is an archdiocese located in the cities of Pamplona and Tudela in Spain.
granted García his church's treasure to fund his government against Ramiro's pretensions. Among García's other early supporters were Lop Ennechones, Martinus de Leit, and Count Latro, who carried out negotiations on the king's behalf with Ramiro. Eventually, however, in January 1135 with the
Pact of Vadoluengo The Pact of Vadoluengo was an agreement between García V of Navarre and Ramiro II of Aragon signed in January 1135 at the hamlet of Vadoluengo, near Leyre. It subordinated Navarre to Aragon and defined their boundary. It was effective for five mo ...
the two monarchs reached a mutual accord of "adoption": García was deemed the "son" and Ramiro the "father" in an attempt to maintain both the independence of each kingdom and the ''de facto'' supremacy of the Aragonese one. In May 1135, García declared himself a vassal of
Alfonso VII Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
. This simultaneously put him under the protection and lordship of Castile and bought recognition of his royal status from Alfonso, who was a claimant to the Battler's succession. García's submission to Castile has been seen as an act of protection for Navarre that had the consequence of putting her in an offensive alliance against Aragon and, now that García had turned to Alfonso, forced Ramiro to marry and to produce an heir and to forge an alliance with
Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona Ramon Berenguer IV (; c. 1114 – 6 August 1162, Anglicized Raymond Berengar IV), sometimes called ''the Saint'', was the count of Barcelona who brought about the union of the County of Barcelona with the Kingdom of Aragon to form the Crown of Ara ...
. On the other hand, García may have been responding to Ramiro's marriage, which proved beyond a doubt that the king of Aragon was seeking another heir than his distant relative and adopted son. Before September 1135, Alfonso VII granted García
Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...
as a fief. Recently conquered from Aragon, this outpost of Castilian authority in the east was clearly beyond the military capacity of Alfonso to control and provided further reasons for recognition of García in Navarre in return for not only his homage, but his holding Zaragoza on behalf of Castile. In 1136, Alfonso was forced to do homage for Zaragoza to Ramiro and to recognise him as King of Zaragoza. In 1137, Zaragoza was surrendered to Raymond Berengar, though Alfonso retained suzerainty over it. By then, García's reign in Zaragoza had closed. Sometime after 1130, but before his succession, García married Margaret of L'Aigle. She was to bear him a son and successor, Sancho VI, as well as two daughters who each married kings. The elder, Blanche, born after 1133, was originally to marry Raymond Berengar IV as confirmed by a peace treaty in 1149, in spite of the count's existing betrothal to
Petronilla of Aragon Petronilla (29 June/11 August 1136 – 15 October 1173), whose name is also spelled Petronila or Petronella ( Aragonese: ''Peyronela'' or ''Payronella'', and ca, Peronella), was Queen of Aragon from the abdication of her father, Ramiro II, ...
, but García died before the marriage could be carried out. Instead she married
Sancho III of Castile Sancho III (c. 1134 – 31 August 1158), called the Desired (''el Deseado''), was King of Castile and Toledo for one year, from 1157 to 1158. He was the son of Alfonso VII of León and Castile and his wife Berengaria of Barcelona, and was suc ...
. The younger daughter,
Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...
, married
William I of Sicily William I (1120 or 1121May 7, 1166), called the Bad or the Wicked ( scn, Gugghiermu lu Malu), was the second king of Sicily, ruling from his father's death in 1154 to his own in 1166. He was the fourth son of Roger II and Elvira of Castile. Wi ...
. García's relationship with his first queen was, however, shaky. She supposedly took on many lovers and showed favouritism to her French relatives. She bore a second son named
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 ...
, whom her husband refused to recognise as his own. On 24 June 1144, in León, García married
Urraca Urraca (also spelled ''Hurraca'', ''Urracha'' and ''Hurracka'' in medieval Latin) is a female given name, first name. In Spanish language, Spanish, the name means magpie, derived perhaps from Latin ''furax'', meaning "thievish", in reference to the ...
, called ''La Asturiana'' (the Asturian), illegitimate daughter of Alfonso VII, to strengthen his relationship with his overlord. In 1136, García was obliged to surrender Rioja to Castile but, in 1137, he allied with
Alfonso I of Portugal Afonso I of PortugalOr also ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin version), sometimes rendered in English as ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', depending on the Spanish or French inf ...
and confronted Alfonso VII. They confirmed a peace between 1139 and 1140. He was thereafter an ally of Castile in the
Reconquista The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...
and was instrumental in the conquest of
Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city gr ...
in 1147. In 1146, he occupied
Tauste Tauste ( an, Taust) is a municipality located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. History Sights include the Mudéjar church of Santa María, begun in the late 13th century and finished in the 14th century. It has an octagonal tower, a ...
, which belonged to Aragon, and Alfonso VII intervened to mediate a peace between the two kingdoms. García died on 21 November 1150 in Lorca, near
Estella Estella may refer to: People * Diego de Estella (1524–1578) * Estella Sneider (born 1950) *Estella Warren (born 1978), Canadian actress *Estella, the ''nom de guerre'' of Italian labor leader Teresa Noce Fictional *Estella Havisham, a charact ...
, and was buried in the cathedral of Santa María la Real in Pamplona. He was succeeded by his eldest son. He left one daughter by Urraca: Sancha, who married successively
Gaston V of Béarn 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 ...
and Pedro Manrique de Lara. García left, as the primary monument of his reign, the monastery of
Santa María de la Oliva The abbey of Santa María la Real de la Oliva, or simply ''La Oliva'', is a Cistercian monastery in Carcastillo, Navarre, Spain. An example of Romanesque architecture, the buildings have been protected by a heritage listing since 1880,Heritag ...
in
Carcastillo Carcastillo is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, in the north of Spain. It is the site of the Cistercian monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic q ...
. It is a fine example of
Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this lat ...
.


Marriage and family

García Ramírez married Margaret of L'Aigle, granddaughter of
Geoffrey II, Count of Perche Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095–c. 1155), clergyman and one of the m ...
. They had four children, but only the first three were recognised by García Ramírez: * Sancho Garcés, nicknamed ''the Wise'', who ruled as
King of Navarre This is a list of the kings and queens of kingdom of Pamplona, Pamplona, later kingdom of Navarre, Navarre. Pamplona was the primary name of the kingdom until its union with Kingdom of Aragon, Aragon (1076–1134). However, the territorial desig ...
from 1150 until his death in 1194. He would be the first monarch to use the title "of Navarre". He married Sancha of Castile, daughter of
Alfonso VII of León Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
,
King of Galicia Galicia is an autonomous community and historical nationality in modern-day northwestern Spain on the Iberian Peninsula, which was a major part of the Roman province known as Gallaecia prior to 409. It consists of the provinces of A Coruña, ...
, León and Castile. * Blanche, married in 1151 to
Sancho III of Castile Sancho III (c. 1134 – 31 August 1158), called the Desired (''el Deseado''), was King of Castile and Toledo for one year, from 1157 to 1158. He was the son of Alfonso VII of León and Castile and his wife Berengaria of Barcelona, and was suc ...
,
King of Castile This is a list of kings and queens of the Kingdom and Crown of Castile. For their predecessors, see List of Castilian counts. Kings and Queens of Castile Jiménez dynasty House of Ivrea The following dynasts are descendants, in the ma ...
. *
Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...
, married to
William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087 ...
,
King of Sicily The monarchs of Sicily ruled from the establishment of the County of Sicily in 1071 until the "perfect fusion" in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1816. The origins of the Sicilian monarchy lie in the Norman conquest of southern Italy which occ ...
, and who ruled as Queen regent of Sicily. *
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 ...
, later known as Henry, made Count of Montescaglioso by his sister, Margaret, Queen regent of Sicily. On 24 June 1144 he married
Urraca of Castile Urraca (also spelled ''Hurraca'', ''Urracha'' and ''Hurracka'' in medieval Latin) is a female first name. In Spanish, the name means magpie, derived perhaps from Latin ''furax'', meaning "thievish", in reference to the magpie's tendency to collect ...
, illegitimate daughter of King
Alfonso VII of León and Castile Alfonso VII (1 March 110521 August 1157), called the Emperor (''el Emperador''), became the King of Galicia in 1111 and King of León and Castile in 1126. Alfonso, born Alfonso Raimúndez, first used the title Emperor of All Spain, alongside hi ...
and his mistress
Gontrodo Pérez Gontrodo Pérez (26 June 1186), called ''Gontrodo Petri'' in contemporary charters, was the mistress of King Alfonso VII of León with whom she had Urraca ''la Asturiana'', queen consort of Pamplona by her marriage to King García Ramírez. Famil ...
. They were the parents of: *Sancha (1148–1176), married first to
Gaston V of Béarn 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 ...
and secondly to Pedro Manrique de Lara,
Viscount of Narbonne The viscount of Narbonne was the secular ruler of Narbonne in the Middle Ages. Narbonne had been the capital of the Visigoth province of Septimania, until the 8th century, after which it became the Carolingian Viscounty of Narbonne. Narbonne was n ...
and Lord of Molina


Notes


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia Ramirez of Navarre 1110s births 1150 deaths 12th-century Navarrese monarchs House of Jiménez