Marquess of Villena ( es, Marqués de Villena) is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, granted in 1445 by

John II John II may refer to: People * John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499) * John II Casimir Vasa of Poland (1609–1672) * John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1302) * John II Doukas of Thessaly (1303–1318) * John II Komnenos (1087–1 ...

Juan Pacheco Juan Pacheco, 1st Duke of Escalona (1419 – 1 October 1474), better known as Juan Pacheco, Marquess of Villena, was a Castilian noble of Portuguese descent who rose to power in the last years of the reign of Juan II of Castile and came to dom ...

, Grand Master of the

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; es, Orden de Santiago ), is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the Patron Saint of Spain, "Santiago" ( St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgr ...

and later also 1st

Duke of Escalona Duke of Escalona ( es, Duque de Escalona) is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1472 by Henry IV to Juan Pacheco, 1st Marquess of Villena. The title refers to the village Escalona ...

. It was originally founded as a seigniory in the thirteenth century by

Ferdinand III of Castile Ferdinand III ( es, Fernando, link=no; 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 Berenguela of ...

for his youngest son, Don Manuel. In 1369, the estate was elevated to a marquisate, the first such designation in Castile, and awarded to Don Alfonso of Aragorn. However, the title was not hereditary and in 1395 it reverted back to the crown of Castile. From that point, Villena had a complicated history of awards and reversions back to the crown until John II granted it as a hereditary title to Juan Pacheco in 1445. It was the first time the Marquisate was held outside of royalty. The 8th marquess,

Juan Manuel Fernández Pacheco ''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, t ...

, founded the

Royal Spanish Academy The Royal Spanish Academy ( es, Real Academia Española, generally abbreviated as RAE) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with ...

Marquesses of Villena

# Juan Pacheco, 1st Marquess of Villena (1419–1474) # Diego Lopez de Pacheco, 2nd Marquess of Villena (1456–1529) # Diego López Pacheco, 3rd Marquess of Villena (1506–1556) # Francisco Pacheco, 4th Marquess of Villena (1532–1574) # Juan Fernández Pacheco, 5th Marquess of Villena (1563–1615) # Felipe Fernández Pacheco, 6th Marquess of Villena (1596–1633) # Diego López Pacheco, 7th Marquess of Villena (1599–1653) # Juan Manuel López de Pacheco, 8th Marquess of Villena (1650–1725) # Mercurio López Pacheco, 9th Marquess of Villena (1679–1738) # Andrés Fernández Pacheco, 10th Marquess of Villena (1710–1746) # Juan López Pacheco, 10th Marquess of Villena (1746–1751) # Felipe Lopez-Pacheco de La Cueva, 12th Marquess of Villena (1727–1798) # Diego López Pacheco y Téllez-Girón, 13th Marquess of Villena (1754–1811) # Bernardino Fernández de Velasco, 14th Marquess of Villena (1783–1851) # Francisco de Borja de Martorell y Téllez-Girón, 15th Marquess of Villena (1839–1897) # Mariano Tellez-Giron y Fernandez de Cordoba, 16th Marquess of Villena (1887–1931) # Gabino de Martorell y Téllez-Girón, 17th Marquess of Villena (1894–1918) # María de La Soledad de Martorell y Castillejo, 18th Marchioness of Villena (1924–) # Ángela María Téllez-Girón y Duque de Estrada, 19th Marchioness of Villena (1961 –1966) # Francisco de Borja de Soto y Martorell, 20th Marquess of Villea (1966–1997) # Francisco de Borja de Soto y Moreno-Santamaría, 21st Marquess of Villena

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Villena, Marquess of Marquesses of Spain Lists of Spanish nobility Noble titles created in 1445

Marquesses of Villena

See also

References