Dom Dom or DOM may refer to: People and fictional characters * Dom (given name), including fictional characters * Dom (surname) * Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto * Dom people, an et ...

Rui Gomes da Silva (in Spanish, Ruy Gómez de Silva), 1st Prince of Eboli (27 October 1516 in

Chamusca Chamusca () is a municipality in Santarém District in Portugal. The population in 2021 was 8,530, in an area of 746.01 km². The present Mayor is Paulo Queimado, elected by the Socialist Party (Portugal), Socialist Party. The municipal holi ...

– 29 July 1573 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 ...

), was a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

noble and one of King

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

's main advisers.

Earlier life

Rui Gomes da Silva was born in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and was the second son of Dom Francisco da Silva, Lord of Ulme and Chamusca. In March 1526, he escorted ''Infanta''

Isabel of Portugal Isabella of Portugal (24 October 1503 – 1 May 1539) was the empress consort and queen consort of her cousin Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, and Duke of Burgundy. She was Queen of Spain and Germany, and La ...

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 ...

where she married

Charles I of Spain Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fro ...

. He remained in Spain living within Isabel's entourage. In 1527, when

was born, Rui became his

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 mal ...

. An enormous friendship linked the two boys during their entire lives. In 1554 when his eldest brother John died, Rui inherited the lordship of Ulme and Chamusca.

Ascension to power

When Philip inherited the Spanish throne in 1556, as Philip II, Rui, who had been close to one of the more influential ministers, received several honors, among them, ''prince of

Éboli Eboli ( Ebolitano: ) is a town and ''comune'' of Campania, southern Italy, in the province of Salerno. An agricultural centre, Eboli is known mainly for olive oil and for its dairy products, among which the famous buffalo mozzarella from the ...

'' and

Sumiller de Corps The Sumiller de Corps was the Officer of the Royal Household and Heritage of the Crown of Spain in charge of the more intimate and inner rooms of the King of Spain. He was responsible of the most immediate service to the Monarch. This Office was s ...

to the King. As a minister of Philip II, Rui Gomes da Silva had a remarkable importance within the Spanish politics, and Philip II granted him the highest nobility title,

Grandee of Spain Grandee (; es, Grande de España, ) is an official aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ha ...

. In April 1559, he was one of the signatories of the

Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...

which ended the

Italian Wars The Italian Wars, also known as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts covering the period 1494 to 1559, fought mostly in the Italian peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and the Mediterranean Sea. The pr ...

with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Ebolist party

Due to his influence in the Spanish

Court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...

, Rui was known among foreign ambassadors as "Rey Gomes" (King Gomes), instead of his Hispanicized name "Ruy Gomes". His biggest political adversary was

Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba (29 October 150711 December 1582), known as the Grand Duke of Alba (, pt, Grão Duque de Alba) in Spain and Portugal and as the Iron Duke ( or shortly 'Alva') in the Netherlands, was a Sp ...

. They had differing views concerning Spain's government. The

Duke of Pastrana Duke of Pastrana ( es, Duque de Pastrana) is a hereditary title in the Spanish nobility, Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1572 by Philip II of Spain, Philip II to Ruy Gómez de Silva, 1st Prince of Éboli, R ...

defended a much more federalist and compromise-oriented system, while the Duke of Alba was for the centralization of the power within a unified and martial monarchy.

Marriage and issue

In 1552, Rui became engaged to 12-year-old Ana de Mendoza, daughter of Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, 1st Duke of Francavilla, as per suggestion and request by

Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...

. The formal wedding promise took place on 18 April 1553. They had ten children: *Jose da Silva Gomes III (c. 1558–1563) * Ana da Silva e Mendonça, Duchess of Medina Sidonia (1560–1610) *Rodrigo da Silva e Mendonça (1562–1596), 2nd Duke of Pastrana *Pedro da Silva e Mendonça (c. 1563) *Diego da Silva e Mendonça (1564–1630),

Viceroy of Portugal The Viceroy of Portugal was the political chief of the Kingdom of Portugal and the highest representative of the King of Portugal during the period of the Iberian Union, when a personal union existed between the monarchies of Portugal and Spain ...

(1615–1621), 1st Marquis of Alenquer *Ruy da Silva e Mendonça (1565–?), 1st marquis of La Eliseda *Fernando da Silva e Mendonça (10 February 1570 – 23 July 1639)

Bishop of Sigüenza A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

(1623–1639) *Maria da Silva e Mendonça (c. 1570) *Ana da Silva e Mendonça (1573–1614)

Titles

In the

Kingdom of Portugal The Kingdom of Portugal ( la, Regnum Portugalliae, pt, Reino de Portugal) was a monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also kno ...

, Rui Gomes da Silva was styled as: * Rui Gomes da Silva, Lord of Ulme and of Chamusca In the

Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accessi ...

, Rui Gomes da Silva was styled as: * Ruy Gómez de Silva, Prince of Éboli,

, Duke of Estremera, Count of Melito

Sources

*Boyden, James M. (1995). ''The Courtier and the King: Ruy Gómez de Silva, Phillip II, and the Court of Spain''. University of California Press. * *''Mother Love in the Renaissance: The Princess of Éboli's Letters to Her Favorite Son'' by Helen H. Reed, pags 152-176 in ''Power and Gender in Renaissance Spain'', edit. by prof. Helen Nader. University of Illinois Press (2003). *''Eboli. Secretos de la vida de Ana de Mendoza'' by Ignacio Ares, Algaba Ediciones (2005).
Ana de Mendoza y la Cerda (1540-1592)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Rui Gomes Da 1516 births 1573 deaths Grandees of Spain Portuguese nobility Spanish princes 16th-century Portuguese people People from Santarém District