Arms of the House of Haro, Lords of Biscay

María Díaz II de Haro ( - 16 September 1348) was a Spanish noble of the House of Haro. She was the daughter of Juan de Castilla y Haro and his wife, Isabel of Portugal and was Lady of Biscay from 1334 until her death in 1348.

Family Origins

Daughter of Juan de Castilla y Haro and of Isabel of Portugal, she was the paternal granddaughter of infante John of Castile and of

María I Díaz de Haro Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...

, Lady of Biscay. Her maternal grandparents were the infante Afonso of Portugal and his wife, Violante Manuel.

Biography

In 1326, her father was assassinated in Toro by order of King

Alfonso XI of Castile Alfonso XI (13 August 131126 March 1350), called the Avenger (''el Justiciero''), was King of Castile and León. He was the son of Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. Upon his father's death in 1312, several disputes en ...

who also subsequently confiscated all her father's property. María Díaz II was taken to France where she lived in the city of

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...

. While at Bayonne, Juan Núñez III de Lara, head of the House of Lara and noble

Magnate The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

of the Kingdom of Castile and Leon solicited her hand in marriage. The two were married that same year. During the first part of the reign of Alfonso XI, her husband Juan Núñez III reclaimed from the king in her name, all properties that had previously belonged to her father. In the process, Juan Núñez III fought against the king on various occasions until his final definitive reconciliation with the king after his being besieged and defeated at Lerma. After the peace between her husband and the king, all parties were able to coexist peacefully with the Castilian-Leonese monarch. Alfonso XI ratified the possession of the Lordship of Biscay as belonging to María Díaz II and promised to not use the title himself in any way, something that he had previously done since 1332.

Death and Sepulcher

María Díaz II died on 16 September 1348 shortly after giving birth to her son, Nuño Díaz de Haro who went on to briefly inherit the Lordship of Biscay after the death of his father in 1350 at Burgos. She was buried at the Convento de San Francisco in Palencia. Today, the only remains on the site are those of the church. Upon his death,

Tello of Castile Tello Alfonso of Castile (1337 – October 1370) was the seventh of the ten illegitimate children of Alfonso XI of Castile and Eleanor of Guzman. He was a prince of Castile and First Lord of Aguilar de Campoo. In Spanish he is known as ''Tell ...

, the husband of María Díaz II's daughter

Juana de Lara Juana is a Spanish female first name. It is the feminine form of Juan (English John), and thus corresponds to the English names Jane, Janet, Jean, Joan, and Joanna. Juanita is a common variant. The name Juana may refer to: People *Juana I (14 ...

was also buried at the convent. The

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

of the church still contains the grave of Tello de Castilla who wrote in his will the desire to be buried in a silver coffin.Rodríguez García, Francisco (2002) 865 p. 64. Unfortunately the sepulcher belonging to María Díaz II de Haro has been lost to time, probably having been destroyed during the Peninsular War when the convent of San Francisco de Palencia was converted into a barracks billeting French troops. It could have also been lost when the Convent of San Francisco was sold in 1835.

Marriage and Descendants

In 1331, she married Juan Núñez III de Lara, the head of the House of Lara and the grandson of Alfonso X of Castile. The couple had the following children: * Juana de Lara - XV lady of the House of Lara and Lady of Biscay. Wife of the infante Tello de Castilla, she was assassinated in Seville at the age of 24 by order of King Peter of Castile * Isabel de Lara, lady of Lara and of Vizcaya (Biscay), from 1359 through 1361, she succeeded her younger brother in the possession of the Lordship of Biscay. In 1354, she married infante Juan de Aragón y Castilla, son of King Alfonso IV of Aragon. Her husband was later assassinated by his cousin, Peter I of Castile * Nuño Díaz de Haro, Lord of Lara and

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. One ...

. He was named the Lord of Biscay in 1350 at the age of 2. Nuño Díaz died in infancy in 1352, at the age of 4.

External links

Genealogy of María Díaz II de Haro. Fundación Casa ducal de Medinaceli (in Spanish)

References

* Much of the information on this page was translated from its Spanish equivalent.

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haro, Maria Diaz II de 1320 births 1348 deaths Lords of Biscay Maria Diaz II Maria Diaz II 14th-century Castilians 14th-century Spanish women