Juan Núñez I de Lara y León (died Córdoba, April 1294), also known as "''el Gordo''" or "the Fat", was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

. He was the head of the

House of Lara The House of Lara (Spanish: ''Casa de Lara'') is a noble family from the medieval Kingdom of Castile. Two of its branches, the Duques de Nájera and the Marquesado de Aguilar de Campoo were considered Grandees of Spain. The Lara family gained n ...

, Lord of Lerma, Amaya, Dueñas, Palenzuela,

Tordehumos Tordehumos is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. (INE), the municipality has a population of 463 inhabitants. See also *Cuisine of the province of Valladolid The gastronomy of the province o ...

, Torrelobatón, and la Mota. He was further known as Señor de Albarracín through his first marriage with Teresa Álvarez de Azagra.

Family Origins

Juan was the son of Nuño González de Lara ''el Bueno'', head of the

and his wife, Teresa Alfonso de León, the granddaughter of King Alfonso IX of Leon. His paternal grandparents were Gonzalo Núñez de Lara and his wife, María Díaz de Haro y Azagra. He was the brother of Nuño González de Lara y León, lord of

Estella-Lizarra Estella (Spanish) or Lizarra (Basque) is a town located in the autonomous community of Navarre, in northern Spain. It lies south west of Pamplona, close to the border with La Rioja and Álava. The town was founded in 1090 when the place, lying by ...

and ricohombre of Castile, of Teresa Núñez de Lara y León who married Gil Gómez de Roa, and of María Núñez de Lara y León who married Diego Gómez de Roa.

Biography

Childhood and time during the reign of Alfonso X ''El Sabio''

Juan Núñez' exact date of birth is unknown. On 2 February 1266, was declared a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

of Santa María and the Señor de Albarracín. Together with his brother, Nuño González de Lara y León the brothers donated certain goods to Mayor Alfonso, the abbess of the Monasterio de Santa María y San Andrés A few months later on 25 July 1266 together with his brother Nuño González, he was confirmed in a document affirming the commitment of certain nobles of Caleruega to their donations to the 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 Ger ...

. These donations were made for the purpose of acquiring the Monastery at Caleruega and confirming that other ricoshombres with interests in Caleruega accepted this claim over the monastery. Juan Núñez I de Lara accompanied King Louis IX of France and

Theobald II of Navarre Theobald II or ''Thibaud'', es, Teobaldo (6/7 December 1239 – 4/5 December 1270) was King of Navarre and also, as Theobald V, Count of Champagne and Brie, from 1253 until his death. He was the son and successor of Theobald I and the second ...

during the

Eighth Crusade The Eighth Crusade was the second Crusade launched by Louis IX of France, this one against the Hafsid dynasty in Tunisia in 1270. It is also known as the Crusade of Louis IX against Tunis or the Second Crusade of Louis. The Crusade did not see any ...

and was with them in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

. He participated in this crusade without the consent of Alfonso X, but was nevertheless able to retain all of his lands and titles under his crown. During the revolts of the nobility of 1272–1273, in which Juan Núñez I supported the positions of his father and other rebel magnates against the

infante ''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to th ...

Philip of Castile Philip of Castile ( es, Felipe de Castilla y Suabia; 1231 – 28 November 1274) was an Infante of Castile and son of Ferdinand III, King of Castile and León, and his first queen, Beatrice of Swabia. He was Lord of Valdecorneja, and, according t ...

. Philip was the brother of Alfonso X of Castile. Juan Núñez tried to remain loyal to the king, who had at the beginning of the rebellion, given him a mission together with

Gonzalo Pérez Gudiel Gonzalo Pérez 'Gudiel' (1238/9–1299), simply Gonzalo Pérez during his life (''Gonzalbo Petrez'', غنصالبه نيطرص, in his native mozarab Arabic), and wrongly Gonzalo García Gudiel in later church tradition,Jean-Pierre Molénat, ...

, the bishop of Cuenca, to persuade the infante Philip and other magnates to break their agreements with the Kingdom of Navarre. Following this unsuccessful attempt, Juan Núñez accompanied his father, Nuño González de Lara "el Bueno" when he and the rebellious magnates abandoned the Kingdom of Castile and Leon and sought refuge in the Nazarí

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

. During his stay in Granada and throughout the actual revolt, he participated together with his father in peace negotiations between the Crown of Castile and the Kingdom of Granada and the nobles in rebellion. Alfonso X el Sabio en El libro de los juegos

Alfonso X el Sabio en El libro de los juegos

At the beginning of 1273, Juan Núñez I de Lara, who had up until now acted as a mediating force together with the bishop of Cuenca between his father and the King, abandoned the Castilian crown and embraced his role as a rebellious noble. In winter of 1273, at the city of Tudela, the infante

, Lope Díaz III de Haro, Álvar Díaz de Asturias, Nuño González de Lara "el Bueno" and his sons, Juan Núñez I de Lara, and Nuño González de Lara y León amongst other magnates, gathered to pay homage and swear allegiance to

Henry I of Navarre Henry the Fat (Basque: ''Henrike I.a, Gizena'', French: ''Henri le Gros'', Spanish: ''Enrique el Gordo'') (c. 1244 – 22 July 1274) was King of Navarre (as Henry I) and Count of Champagne and Brie (as Henry III) from 1270 until his death. E ...

. It was here that Juan Núñez I offered the Navarese king a list of grievances that he and the other former Castilian nobles had against their former king, Alfonso X. The former Castillian nobles, in their succession, took new oaths to serve the Kingdom of Navarre as they had previously served the Muslim King of Granada. Despite the betrayal of many of his nobles, it was Alfonso's wish to pursue his goal of attaining the ''Fecha del Imperio'' (title of the Holy Roman Emperor). With this goal in mind, he allowed some of the members of the royal family resume negotiations with the rebel nobles. Amongst these mediators were the infantes

Ferdinand de la Cerda Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

and

Manuel of Castile Manuel of Castile (1234 – 25 December 1283, The first Lord of Villena and Peñafiel, Cuéllar, and Escalona, was an ''Infante'', son of Ferdinand III of Castile and his wife Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen. Life Born in Carrión de los Condes, ...

, the queen,

Violant of Aragon Violant or Violante of Aragon, also known as Yolanda of Aragon (8 June 1236 – 1301), was Queen consort of Castile and León from 1252 to 1284 as the wife of King Alfonso X of Castile. Life Violant was born in Zaragoza, the daughter of King ...

, and

Archbishop of Toledo This is a list of Bishops and Archbishops of Toledo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Toletana).

, Sancho de Aragón, son of

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( es, Jaime el Conquistador, ca, Jaume el Conqueridor; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276; King of Majorca from 1231 to 1276; and Valencia from 1238 to 12 ...

. After much negotiation, Alfonso X, advised by his brother Frederick of Castile and Simón Ruiz de los Cameros, the Castilian monarch accepted most of the demands of the exiled nobles, presenting the final agreement to Nuño González de Lara "el Bueno", who in 1273, met with the queen, Violant of Aragon in the city of Córdoba. At the end of that same year, the exiled nobles returned to the

Kingdom of Castile The Kingdom of Castile (; es, Reino de Castilla, la, Regnum Castellae) was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region. It began in the 9th cent ...

. At the same time, Muhammed II al-Faqih, the

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

, declared himself and his kingdom, a vassal of Alfonso X, even though the chronicles of King Alfonso X erroneously state that this announcement did not come until 1274. In July 1273, Fernando Rodríguez de Castro, Simón Ruiz de los Cameros, and

Diego López V de Haro Diego López V de Haro, nicknamed '' el Intruso'' ( 1250 – 1310), was a Spanish noble of the House of Haro and held the title of the Lord of Biscay which he took from the pretender to the title, John of Castile. He further served in th ...

, the younger brother of Lope Díaz III de Haro were all confirmed as being entered back into the royal diplomas. It was not until early the following year, 1274, when Nuño González de Lara "el Bueno" and his children, amongst other nobles, were allowed back onto the rolls themselves. Juan Núñez' father, Nuño González reappeared on the royal rolls on 24 January 1247 and was reinstated to privileges not received since 14 July 1272. According to the chronicles of Alfonso X, he was reinstated in early 1274 when he was named the

Adelantado ''Adelantado'' (, , ; meaning "advanced") was a title held by Spanish nobles in service of their respective kings during the Middle Ages. It was later used as a military title held by some Spanish ''conquistadores'' of the 15th, 16th and 17th cen ...

Mayor de la Frontera de Andalucia. In 1273, Juan Núñez I de Lara formed part of the embassy sent by Alfonso X to

Pope Gregory X Pope Gregory X ( la, Gregorius X; – 10 January 1276), born Teobaldo Visconti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 September 1271 to his death and was a member of the Secular Franciscan Order. He was ...

. During this trip, the Castilian monarch attempted unsuccessfully to convince the

Pope 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 ...

to support his claims to the Imperial Roman throne. Instead, the pope attempted to convince Alfonso X to drop this ambition. He was further present at the Cortes de Toledo of 1275, where he assisted his father and brother in their goals and where Alfonso X entrusted the government of his kingdom to his firstborn son, the infante

. The king announced his decision to travel to France and Germany where he would seek to be crowned officially as the Holy Roman Emperor. During the absence of

, Juan Núñez I accompanied the infante Ferdinand de la Cerda as he carried out his official duties. On 25 July 1275, the infante Ferdinand de la Cerda died in Ciudad Real whilst awaiting reinforcements in a fight against the Marinid Dynasty in Andalucía. Before his death, Ferdinand asked Juan Núñez I to work in his interests to protect the succession rights of his children, the infantes,

Alfonso de la Cerda Alfonso de la Cerda, (Valladolid 1270 - Ávila 1333), called "the Disinherited", was the elder son of Ferdinand de la Cerda and his wife Blanche of France, and was a grandson of Alfonso X of Castile. Alfonso and his brother Fernando were ca ...

, and

, known as the Infantes de la Cerda, for Ferdinand knew that their succession would be in doubt given his young age and their weak standing at the time of his death. After Ferdinand de la Cerda's death, Juan Núñez I joined the caravan that conducted the infante's cadaver to the Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas where he was interred. Miniature Philippe III Courronement

After the death of Ferdinand de la Cerda, the infante

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/ ...

, the oldest living son of

and Lope Díaz III de Haro,

Lord of Biscay The Lordship of Biscay ( es, Señorío de Vizcaya, Basque: ''Bizkaiko jaurerria'') was a region under feudal rule in the region of Biscay in the Iberian Peninsula between 1040 and 1876, ruled by a political figure known as the Lord of Biscay. On ...

arrived at the Ciudad Real. Lope Díaz III agreed to help Sancho obtain his claim to the throne of Castile and supplant the Cerda infantes in return for protection of his interests. Lope Díaz III gathered his vassals at Ciudad Real to announce his decision to support Sancho's claim to the throne as Alfonso X's legitimate successor. The group also vowed to defend the kingdom against Muslim attackers at Castile's borders. In early September 1275, Nuño González de Lara "el Bueno", Juan Núñez I's father died at the Battle of Écija where Castilian forces were defeated by forces of the Marinid Dynasty who had invaded Andalucía. His father's head was sent by the Marinid King of Granada to Córdoba in a move he apparently considered to be a gesture of goodwill as Nuño González had previously been in the service of the

. Nuño González was buried along with the rest of his body at the Convento de San Pablo de Palencia After the death of his father, Juan Núñez I inherited the title of the Head of the

and became the preeminent defender of the rights to the throne of the infantes de la Cerda as he had promised

. His principal rival, Lope Díaz III de Haro,

, became the principal defender of the claims of Sancho of Castile. Juan Núñez I abandoned the

in September 1276 to join the service of

Philip III of France Philip III (1 May 1245 – 5 October 1285), called the Bold (french: le Hardi), was King of France from 1270 until his death in 1285. His father, Louis IX, died in Tunis during the Eighth Crusade. Philip, who was accompanying him, returned ...

. He was joined in his French exile by his brother, Nuño González de Lara y León. Whilst in France, the two brothers became the primary defenders of the Cerda line of succession within the French kingdom. In the Treaty of Vitoria of November 1276, signed by

and

, Alfonso X promises to return all lands confiscated from Juan Núñez I de Lara and give them back to him and his heirs although the clauses of this part of the treaty were not vigorously stated. After Alfonso X and Peter III of Aragon came to an agreement at Vistas de Campillo that the Aragonese monarch would renounce his rights over the Señorío de Albarracín, the infante Sancho IV, who had become an enemy of his father on the issue of the Cerda infantes, solicited the Aragonese monarch to support his claims to the Castilian throne in return for his reinstatement to lordship over Albarracin. In 1283, Juan Núñez I, together with his son, Álvaro Núñez de Lara, the infante James of Castile, Lord of Cameros, and Juan Alfonso de Haro, continued to wage war against the infante

. The three Cerda supporters along with their vassals had taken power over the municipality of Treviño. Upon hearing this, Sancho sent Lope Diaz III de Haro along with his army to Treviño to confront them. Regardless, no battle took place there between these forces. On 4 April 1284, King

died in the city of

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

. He was succeeded to the throne by his eldest son, Sancho IV of Castile, the enemy of Juan Núñez I and his interests.

Actions during the reign of Sancho IV ''El Bravo'' (1276–1294)

On 29 September 1284, after many months of siege by the Aragonese troops of King Peter III of Aragon on the city of

Albarracín Albarracín () is a Spanish town, in the province of Teruel, part of the autonomous community of Aragon. According to the 2007 census (INE), the municipality had a population of 1075 inhabitants. Albarracín is the capital of the mountainous Sier ...

gave in and was occupied by the Aragonese troops. After the Siege of Albarracín, the Aragonese monarch gave the city and the lordship of Albarracín to Fernando de Aragón, his illegitimate son by Inés Zapata. After the capitulation of Albarracín, Juan Núñez I continued to serve

. In 1285, the troops of the

were defeated by the Aragonese. In 1287, his eldest son, Álvaro Núñez de Lara died. Álvaro Núñez was Juan Núñez I's firstborn son although some of the chronicles of Alfonso X and Sancho IV refer to him as Juan's brother. In 1288, Sancho IV of Castile assassinated his former vassal, Lope Díaz III de Haro, the

and ordered the imprisonment of his brother, John of Castile whose had only been spared by intervention of their mother, the Queen

. John of Castile was imprisoned in

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of ...

by order of the king. Sancho IV of Castile

In 1289, after coming to an agreement with Sancho IV over the towns of Moya and Cañete, Juan Núñez I returned to the

and sent his daughter,

Juana Núñez de Lara Juana Núñez de Lara (1286 – 1351) was a daughter of Juan Núñez de Lara ''the Fat'' and his wife Teresa Díaz II de Haro of the lordship of Biscay. Juana is also known as la Palomilla or Lady of Lara. Life Juana was first married to Infan ...

María de Molina María Alfonso Téllez de Meneses (c. 1265 – 1321), known as María de Molina, was queen consort of Castile and León from 1284 to 1295 by marriage to Sancho IV of Castile, and served as regent for her minor son Ferdinand IV (1295 - c.1301) ...

, wife of Sancho IV so that she could be raised in the court as agreed by the agreement aforementioned. After his return to the capital, Sancho IV named Juan Núñez I, the new

as the ''Frontero'' de

Aragón Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises th ...

with the stipulation that he fight

Diego López IV de Haro Diego López IV de Haro (died 1289) was a Spanish noble and the Lord of Biscay from 1288 to his death in 1289. Family Origins A member of the House of Haro, Diego López was the son of Lope Díaz III de Haro, from whom he inherited the titl ...

, the new Lord of Biscay and

Alfonso III of Aragon Alfonso III (4 November 1265, in Valencia – 18 June 1291), called the Liberal (''el Liberal'') or the Free (also "the Frank," from ''el Franc''), was the king of Aragon and Valencia, count of Roussillon, Cerdanya and Barcelona (as ) from 12 ...

who had declared war against Sancho IV. Nevertheless, before starting his post as ''Frontero'', Juan Núñez I inspected his lands in Burgos which had been attacked by Pedro Díaz de Castañeda and his brother,

Nuño Díaz de Castañeda (Spanish) or ( Catalan) is a masculine given name of Latin origin (, , , and so on). Its Portuguese form is . Its patronymic is (). Already in the Middle Ages the name was being confused with the similar but distinct name Munio. The meaning of ...

, supporters of the Lord of Biscay. In revenge, Juan Núñez I proposed to devastate the region of Asturias de Santillana where the family of Pedro Díaz possessed many areas even though Sancho IV strictly ordered him not to do so as the House of Castañeda was powerful in

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensiv ...

. Juan Núñez I continued his war against the Kingdom of Aragon and against Diego Lopez IV de Haro who died in 1289. In April 1290, Juan Núñez I was with the king at

when some members of the court alienated the lord of Lara by telling him that Sancho IV was plotting his death. They informed him that if he returned to the palace that he would be assassinated. For this reason, the Lord of Lara retired with his knights to the municipality of San Andrés de Arroyo. Once he was there, both the king and the queen attempted to assure him that they did not wish him any harm. Nevertheless, Lara decided against returning to court although he did accept a meeting with the queen,

in the city of

Valladolid Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...

. Initially it seemed as if the king and the Lord of Lara had reached a quick agreement, however this was quickly thrown into confusion when the king agreed to truce with

, the sworn enemy of the

. Juan Núñez I again abandoned the court and fled to the Kingdom of Navarre and afterwards to the Kingdom of Aragon. Shortly after moving to the Kingdom of Aragon, Juan Núñez I began to dedicate himself to the recuperation of the señorío de Albarracín. Together with his troops, he invaded the Kingdom of Castile and attacked the area of Cuenca and Alarcón. Once there, the Aragonese-Leonese troops reached him commanded by Esteban Fernández de Castro, the Lord of Lemos, Ruy Gil de Villalobos, and Juan Fernández de León "Cabellos de Oro" illegitimate grandson of

Alfonso IX of León Alfonso IX (15 August 117123 or 24 September 1230) was King of León and Galicia 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 Universit ...

and head Majordomo of Sancho IV of Castile. In the battle that followed, the soldiers of Juan Núñez I routed the Castilian-Leonese troops. After this victory, the Lord of Lara returned to Aragon where on August 22, 1290, in the city of

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

, he paid homage to

along with his son, Juan Núñez II de Lara. Juan Núñez I vowed to aid Alfonso III of Aragon in his fight against Sancho IV and to give refuge in his castles to the Aragonese monarch and his troops. By the end of 1290, Juan Núñez I had become angry with the King of Aragon for although he had been promised the return of lordship over Albarracín, it became evident that this deal would never happen. Eventually, Juan Núñez I accepted repeated offers by Sancho IV and returned to the Kingdom of Castile. Before his return to Castile, he had his son, Juan Núñez II, marry Isabel Alfonso de Molina, daughter of Alfonso Fernández de Castilla and Blanca Alfonso de Molina who was the daughter of the queen,

and Juan Fernández "Cabellos de Oro" to safeguard against any ill will by either Sancho IV or the kingdom's nobility. The marriage was celebrated upon Juan Núñez I's return to Castile. Isabel Alfonso de Molina was also the heiress by part of her mother, of the Real Señorío de Molina, a title which had long before belonged to the

. Shortly after, Juan Núñez I was with King Sancho IV at the city of Toledo after having accompanied him to Cuenca. It was there that the Lord of Lara was informed by a knight that the Castilian king was again plotting his death. The king quickly sent word to Lara that the accusation was false and named the person who delivered this message to Juan Núñez I a false knight in the presence of the entire court. Sancho IV Tarifa

Soon after this incident, Juan Núñez I allied himself with Juan Alfonso de Meneses, Lord of Alburquerque against Sancho IV and the two of them persuaded the king to release his brother, the infante John of Castile who had been in prison since 1288 when he and Lope Díaz III de Haro were uncovered in a plot. Haro was assassinated by order of the king for his role in this plot. By 1291, Sancho IV and Juan Núñez I agreed that

, Juan Núñez I's daughter, would marry the infante Alfonso de Castilla y Molina, the son of King Sancho IV. However, the infante Alfonso died in 1291 in

at the age of 5. Due to the past agreement between Sancho IV and the Lord of Lara,

James II of Aragon James II (Catalan: ''Jaume II''; Spanish: ''Jaime II;'' 10 April 1267 – 2 or 5 November 1327), called the Just,, an, Chaime lo Chusto, es, Jaime el Justo. was the King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. He ...

, the new King of Aragon and brother of

, desisted for the moment in his policy of support for the succession claims of

. In 1292, Juan Núñez I once again became the enemy of Sancho IV of Castile and fled the

. He again went to France where he took refuge in the service of Philip IV of France. After an embassy sent by Sancho IV to Philip IV however, the French monarch stopped supporting the Cerda brothers' claim to the throne and also stopped his support for Juan Núñez I, all of whom were refuging in France. In August 1292, Isabel Alfonso de Molina, the daughter in law of Juan Núñez I with his son, Juan Núñez II de Lara, and the daughter of Sancho IV, died. His familial obligations to Sancho IV officially cut off, Juan Núñez I's son, Juan Núñez II de Lara wasted no time and joined his father in rebellion against the king together with the king's brother, John of Castile. During the following conflict, Juan Núñez II and John of Castile were defeated. The king's brother fled to the Kingdom of Portugal and Juan Núñez II was obliged to seek reconciliation with Sancho IV. Shortly after, Juan Núñez I returned to the Kingdom of Castile and offered his services to Sancho IV to fight against his former ally, John of Castile who together with Juan Alfonso de Meneses, lord of Alburquerque, had invaded the kingdom. While Sancho IV made his way to the front to meet with

, Juan Núñez I began fighting John of Castile who defeated him and made him prisoner in a battle that took place in the municipality of Zamorano de Peleas. Shortly after this defeat, Juan Núñez II de Lara who had accompanied the king to meet with James II of Aragon, abandoned the royal caravan and left for the Kingdom of Portugal to solicit the release of his father. For his part, Juan Núñez I who had been held prisoner by John of Castile, persuaded John that he would aid him in his recuperation of the

Lordship of Biscay The Lordship of Biscay ( es, Señorío de Vizcaya, Basque: ''Bizkaiko jaurerria'') was a region under feudal rule in the region of Biscay in the Iberian Peninsula between 1040 and 1876, ruled by a political figure known as the Lord of Biscay. On ...

, which his wife, María II Díaz de Haro and

were fighting for control over. The Lord of Lara further proposed to John of Castile that the King of Portugal should rubricate any agreement between them. Further, after he was set free by the infante John, Juan Núñez I solicited the protection of King Denis of Portugal, who helped him return to the

. After returning to Castile, Sancho IV absolved him any oath paid to John of Castile and the Lord of Lara traveled to his lands in Castile. Shortly after, Sancho IV of Castile sent Juan Núñez I to Andalucía to defend the frontier against the armies of Muhammed II al-Faqih who had allied himself with the

King of Morocco This is the list of rulers of Morocco, since the establishment of the state in 789. The common and formal titles of these rulers has varied, depending on the time period. Since 1957, the designation King has been used. The present King of Moroc ...

Death and Sepulcher

Juan Núñez I de Lara died in Córdoba in April 1294. His body was transferred to the city of

where he was buried at the Convento de San Pablo de Burgos, a convent belonging to the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of ...

. His remains disappeared together with his sepulcher when the convent was sacked and destroyed by French forces during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

. Later, the ruins of the convent which were still standing, were demolished by the army in 1870 to build a barracks.

Marriage and Descendants

Juan's first marriage occurred sometime before the year 1260 with Teresa Álvarez de Azagra.Historia del Señorío de Albarracín (José Luis Castán Esteban)
/ref> She was the daughter of Álvaro Pérez de Azagra, Vassal of Santa María and lord of

, and his wife, Inés, the illegitimate daughter of King

Theobald I of Navarre Theobald I (french: Thibaut, es, Teobaldo; 30 May 1201 – 8 July 1253), also called the Troubadour and the Posthumous, was Count of Champagne (as Theobald IV) from birth and King of Navarre from 1234. He initiated the Barons' Crusade, was famou ...

. One son was born to the couple: * Álvaro Núñez de Lara ( – 1287). His second marriage was with Teresa de Haro, daughter of

Diego López III de Haro Diego López III de Haro (b. ? – d. October 4, 1254, Bañares). Was the eldest son of Lope Díaz II de Haro and of Urraca Alfonso de León, the illegitimate daughter of King Alfonso IX of León. Diego succeeded his father as the Lord of Bisc ...

, and his wife, Constanza de Bearne. Four children were born from this marriage: * Juan Núñez II de Lara (c. 1276 – 1315). * Nuño González de Lara (c. 1284 – 1296). *

(1285–1351). * Teresa Núñez de Lara y Haro (c. 1280 - c. 1314).

Historical Controversy

Luis de Salazar y Castro, a 17th-century writer focusing on historical genealogy, was mistaken in his chronicling of the House of Lara in naming four separate people named Juan Núñez de Lara. He mistakenly created two "Juan Núñez I"s, one who died in 1294 and another who died in 1276. In actuality the two are one and the same. Juan Núñez I died in 1294 but was exiled to France in 1276, an event which Castro misinterpreted as a death. In his writings, Salazar y Castro attributes to the second fictitious "Juan Núñez", a marriage with Teresa Álvarez de Azagra from which matrimony are born Juan Núñez II de Lara A.K.A. ''el Mozo'' and

. This marriage and its offspring were products of the Juan Núñez I of which this article writes about and historically it has only been proven that three Juan Núñez de Laras ever existed, heading the House of Lara from 1275 to 1350. This position is backed by a majority of historians.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * *
Sánchez de Mora, Antonio; ''La nobleza castellana en la plena Edad Media: el linaje de Lara (ss. XI-XIII)''; Tesis Doctoral en el Departamento de Historia Medieval y Ciencias y Técnicas Historiográficas, Facultad de Geografía e Historia; Universidad de Sevilla (España); 2003. Revisión crítica, fundada en documentos y análisis socio-económico, de los hechos e hipótesis sobre la Casa de Lara
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lara, Juan Nunez I de 1294 deaths Lords of Spain

Juan ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, ...

Castilian nobility Year of birth unknown