Nicolás Fernández de Córdoba y de la Cerda, 10th Duke of Medinaceli, GE (24 June 1682 – 19 March 1739) was a Spanish aristocrat. He was the 10th

Duke of Medinaceli Duke of Medinaceli () is an hereditary title in the peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee. The Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, created the title and awarded it on 31 October 1479 to ...

, an Ambassador of the King of Spain,

Majordomo A majordomo is a person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another. Typically, this is the highest (''major'') person of a household (''domūs'' or ''domicile'') staff, a head servant who acts on behalf of the owner of a large ...

and Stable master of the queen, 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 ...

Family

Nicolás Fernández de Córdoba y de la Cerda was born in Madrid on 24 June 1682. He was the second son of Luis Mauricio Fernández de Córdoba y Figueroa (1650–90), 7th Marquis of Priego and 7th

Duke of Feria Duke of Feria ( es, Duque de Feria) is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain accompanied by the dignity of Grandee, granted in 1567 by Philip II to Gómez Suárez de Figueroa, 5th Count of Feria. The name makes reference to the town of Fer ...

. His mother was Feliche de la Cerda y Aragón (1657–1709), sister of the 9th Duke of Medinaceli,

Luis Francisco de la Cerda Luis Francisco de la Cerda y Aragón, 9th Duke of Medinaceli (2 August 1660, in El Puerto de Santa María – 26 January 1711, in Pamplona), 9th Duke of Medinaceli, was a Spanish noble and politician. Biography Eldest son of Valido Don Jua ...

(1660–1711). His uncle was the last male descendant of the second line of the Cerda house, descendants of Prince

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 ...

(1255–75), first son of 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 ...

(1221–84). His older brother was Manuel Luis (1679–1700), 8th Marquis of Priego and 8th Duke of Feria, whom he succeeded in 1700. His other siblings were María Francisca (1677–99), María de la Encarnación (1696–1746), who married Vicente Álvarez de Toledo y Portugal, 10th Count of Oropesa, and Luis María (1708–1717).

Career

Before the death of his older brother, Nicolás served as the

page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...

of Queen

Maria Anna of Neuburg Maria Anna of Neuburg ( es, Mariana; 28 October 1667 – 16 July 1740), was a German princess and member of the Wittelsbach family, who became Queen consort of Spain in 1689 as the second wife of Charles II, last Habsburg King of Spain. Her m ...

(1667–1740), second wife of

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 ...

(1661–1700), and then served as the gentleman of the chamber of

Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mon ...

(1683–1746). He participated in the

Battle of Cádiz (1702) The Battle of Cádiz, fought in August/September 1702, was an Anglo-Dutch attempt to seize the southern Spanish port of Cádiz during the War of the Spanish Succession. The Andalusian city of Cádiz was the great European centre of the Spanish– ...

and in the defense of

El Puerto de Santa María EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

. In 1711 Nicolás succeeded his uncle Luis Francisco de la Cerda y Aragón, 9th Duke of Medinaceli, who had died without issue. He ordered the transfer to Madrid of the library created by

Antonio de la Cerda, 7th Duke of Medinaceli Antonio de la Cerda, 7th Duke of Medinaceli, Grandee of Spain, (in full, es, Don Antonio Juan de la Cerda y Toledo, séptimo duque de Medinaceli, sexto marqués de Cogolludo, segundo marqués de la Laguna de Camero Viejo, sexto conde del Puerto de ...

(1607–71) in

, which consisted of 1,474 works according to an inventory of 1673, and of the Seville library of what today is called the

Casa de Pilatos La Casa de Pilatos (Pilate's House) is an Andalusian palace in Seville, Spain, which serves as the permanent residence of the Dukes of Medinaceli. It is an example of an Italian Renaissance building with Mudéjar elements and decorations. It is con ...

, in order to create a centralized library. However, the collection was later sold to the friars of San Martin de Madrid by the Duchess of Cardona (possibly his wife). At the start of 1714, the King chose the palace of the Duke of Medinaceli to retire after the death of his first wife. The king appointed Nicolás as an Ambassador Extraordinary in charge of taking jewels to the intended new Queen

Elisabeth Farnese Elisabeth Farnese (Italian: ''Elisabetta Farnese'', Spanish: ''Isabel Farnesio''; 25 October 169211 July 1766) was Queen of Spain by marriage to King Philip V. She exerted great influence over Spain's foreign policy and was the ''de facto'' rule ...

(1692–1766) in

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

and receiving her in the king's name. He served as the queen's Majordomo and Stable master. By Royal Decree of 10 January 1724 he was honored with the Collar of the Fleece, which was given to him by King

Louis I of Spain , predecessor = Philip V , successor = Philip V , reg-type1 = , regent1 = , spouse = , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Philip V of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy , birth_dat ...

(1707–24). Nicolás Fernández de Córdoba endowed many of his estates with churches, chapels and oratories. On 7 May 1727 he gave a license for the establishment of the

Capuchin Order The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM) ...

. He ordered construction of the granaries of

Montilla Montilla () is a town and municipality of Spain, located in the autonomous community of Andalusia. , the town had a population of 23,209, which makes it the fourth most populated municipality of the Province of Córdoba. It lies 32 miles south o ...

and

Aguilar de la Frontera Aguilar, or in full Aguilar de la Frontera, is a municipality and town in the province of Córdoba, Andalusia, southern Spain, near the small river Cabra, from the provincial capital, Córdoba, on the Córdoba-Málaga railway. As Ancient Ipag ...

. The Montilla granary is dated in 1722 and was designed by the Cordoban architect Juan Antonio Camacho de Saavedra. The same architect may have designed the Tercia de Aguilar for Nicolás, sometimes called the Tercia del Duque, which stands on the site of a previous building. He died in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

on 19 March 1739, and was buried at the

Monastery of Santa María de Huerta The Monastery of Santa María de Huerta (Spanish: ''Monasterio de Santa María de Huerta'') is a Cistercian monastery located in Santa María de Huerta, a town of the Spanish Province of Soria, within the autonomous community of Castile and Leó ...

in the

Province of Soria Soria is a Province (Spain), province of central Spain, in the eastern part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile-Leon, Castile and León. Most of the province is in the mountainous Sistema Ibérico area. Demogr ...

Marriage

On 30 September 1703 he married his first cousin, Jerónima María Spínola y de la Cerda (1687–1757), in the

San Sebastian Church, Madrid The Saint Sebastian Church or Iglesia de San Sebastián is a 16th-century church in central Madrid, Spain. It is located on Atocha street, #39. The name arises from a devotional chapel (ermita) which was found along the route to the Basilica o ...

. His wife was the daughter of Carlos Felipe Spínola y Colonna, Marquis of Los Balbases and Duke of Sexto, and of Isabel María de la Cerda y Aragón, daughter of

Juan Francisco de la Cerda, 8th Duke of Medinaceli Juan Francisco de la Cerda Enríquez de Ribera (Medinaceli, 4 November 1637 – Madrid, 20 February 1691), 8th Duke of Medinaceli, 7th Marquis de Cogolludo, 4th Marquis of Alcalá de la Alameda, 6th Duke of Alcalá de los Gazules, 9th Count ...

. Their children were: * Luis Antonio (1704–68), 11th Duke of Medinaceli, who married María Teresa de Moncada y Benavides, 7th Marquesa de Aytona (1707–56) * María Feliche (1705–48), who married José María de Guzmán Vélez de Ladrón de Guevara y Tassis, 12th Count of Oñate (died 1781) * Felipe Antonio (1708–17) * Teresa Francisca (1713–57), who married Antonio Álvarez de Toledo y Pérez de Guzmán,

Marquis of Molina Marquis of Molina is a Castilian noble title that the Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor granted to the heirs to the Marquis of Los Vélez. The title was given to Luis Fajardo, 2nd Marquis of los Vélez. For centuries "Marquis de Molina" was the c ...

, 10th Marquis of Villafranca del Bierzo (1716–73) * Joaquín (1715–17) * Nicolasa (born 1719) * Juan de Mata (1723–77), who married Mariana Sarmiento de Sotomayor, 6th Condesa de Salvatierra (1725–70) *

Buenaventura Fernández de Córdoba Spínola Buenaventura Fernández de Córdoba-Figueroa y Spínola de la Cerda (or Buenaventura Córdoba Espinosa de la Cerda; 23 February 1724 – 6 January 1777) was a Spanish aristocrat and Catholic priest who became Patriarch of the West Indies and a Car ...

(1724–77), Cardinal and Patriarch of the West Indies

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cordoba y Cerda, Nicolas Fernandez de 1682 births 1739 deaths Dukes of Medinaceli People from Madrid Marquesses of Priego