Sancha Ramírez (born 1045, died 1097) was an
Aragonese princess, the daughter of King
Ramiro I and Queen
Ermesinda. She was the
countess of Urgell
This is a list of the counts of Urgell, a county of the Principality of Catalonia in the 10th through 13th centuries.
c. 798–870 Counts appointed by the Carolingians
*798–820 Borrell, count of Urgell and Cerdanya
*820–824 Aznar Galíndez I ...
from 1063 until 1065 as the wife of Count
Ermengol III. Her brothers
Sancho Ramírez
Sancho Ramírez ( 1042 – 4 June 1094) was King of Aragon from 1063 until 1094 and King of Pamplona from 1076 under the name of Sancho V ( eu, Antso V.a Ramirez). He was the eldest son of Ramiro I and Ermesinda of Bigorre. His father was the f ...
and
García Ramírez
García or Garcia may refer to:
People
* García (surname)
* Kings of Pamplona/Navarre
** García Íñiguez of Pamplona, king of Pamplona 851/2–882
** García Sánchez I of Pamplona, king of Pamplona 931–970
** García Sánchez II of Pampl ...
became king of Aragon and
bishop of Pamplona
The Archdiocese of Pamplona y Tudela ( la, Pampilonen(sis) et Tudelen(sis)) is an archdiocese located in the cities of Pamplona and Tudela in Spain. , respectively. During her brother's reign she played an important role in consolidating the Kingdom of Aragon, which had been founded by her father in 1035.
Marriage
Around 1063, when she was only about 18 years old, Sancha married the much older count of Urgell. She was his fourth wife and he had been count since 1038. He died after only a few years of marriage in 1065. As a twenty-year-old widow, Sancha remained for a while in
Urgell, appearing in acts beside her stepson Count
Ermengol IV
Ermengol (or Armengol) IV (1056–1092), called ''el de Gerb'' or ''Gerp'', was the Count of Urgell from 1066 to his death. He was the son of Ermengol III and Adelaide, whose family is not known, even if some scholars made her daughter of Guillem ...
. On 12 April 1065, she made a donation for the sake of her late husband's soul.
Convent
When Sancha finally returned to Aragon she entered the convent
Santa María of
Santa Cruz de la Serós
Santa Cruz de la Serós (in Aragonese: Santa Cruz d'as Serors) is a village in the province of Huesca
Huesca ( an, Uesca, ca, Osca), officially Huesca/Uesca, is a province of northeastern Spain, in northern Aragon. The capital is Huesca.
Po ...
, the oldest house of nuns in Aragon, founded in 922. Her sister Urraca was already a nun there, having entered at their father's request in 1061. Her other sister, Theresa, later also entered the monastery, probably on her brother Sancho's orders because no suitable husband could be found for her. Sancha does not appear to have become a nun, but to have instead acted as administrator of the convent. She was a beneficiary of her brother's donations, and her estates formed almost an
apanage
An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much o ...
(''infantazgo'') of the royal family. They would form the nucleus of the monastery's later territory.
On 27 October 1070 in the atrium of the abbey of Santa Cruz, before the abbess and the nuns,
Sancha de Aibar, the mother of King Ramiro, gave to her granddaughter and namesake, Countess Sancha, the monastery of
Santa Cecilia de Aibar with its appurtenances and revenues, the Villa Miranda in the
Cinco Villas and the estate of
San Pelayo de Atés. The elder Sancha had received the estate at Aibar with the monastery from Queen
Jimena Fernández Jimena Fernández (970-1045) was queen of León and Navarre as the wife of García Sánchez II of Pamplona.Martín Duque, Ángel J; Pavón Benito, Julia (2014). Reinas de Navarra - Jimena Fernández (c. 970-c. 1045) esposa de García Sánchez. Madri ...
, the grandmother of Ramiro. From Ramiro her son she received Miranda and San Pelayo after he became king. After her gift to her granddaughter she entered the convent of Santa Cruz. The younger Sancha was to enjoy the profits of her acquisitions until her own death, when they would pass to Santa Cruz. This donation and its stipulations is evidence that Sancha, although quite young, had no intention of remarrying as of 1070.
In 1078, Sancha, acting on behalf of Santa Cruz, exchanged some land with the
monastery of Leire
The Monastery of San Salvador of Leyre ( eu, Leireko San Salbatore monasterioa; es, Monasterio de San Salvador de Leire) is a religious complex to the south of the Sierra of Leyre, in northern Navarre, Spain, representing one of the most importa ...
. In 1079, she made a similar exchange of properties with
San Juan de la Peña, this time accompanied by the abbess of Santa Cruz, Mindonia. She also administered the
abbey of San Pedro de Siresa
The Abbey of San Pedro de Siresa ( an, Monesterio de Sant Per de Ciresa, es, Monasterio de San Pedro de Siresa) is a monastery in the Valle de Hecho, ( Aragon, Spain). It was constructed between the 9th and 13th centuries, and is the northernmost ...
. In 1080, she witnessed the will of Count
Sancho Galíndez.
Policy
Sancha had the confidence of her brother. She judged cases along with the king and queen, and confirmed royal diplomas. In 1082, during a dispute between her brothers, the king gave the administration of the diocese of Pamplona and its revenues to Sancha. She managed it until the election of a new bishop,
Pedro de Roda
Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter.
The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...
, in 1083. In her administration of both the abbey of Santa Cruz and the diocese of Pamplona, Sancha worked to further the
Gregorian reforms
The Gregorian Reforms were a series of reforms initiated by Pope Gregory VII and the circle he formed in the papal curia, c. 1050–80, which dealt with the moral integrity and independence of the clergy. The reforms are considered to be nam ...
. She was possibly the most important ally
Pope Gregory VII
Pope Gregory VII ( la, Gregorius VII; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana ( it, Ildebrando di Soana), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint ...
had in the Iberian peninsula at the time.
Sancha was present on 4 December 1094 when the church of San Juan de la Peña was consecrated and the body of her brother Sancho was interred. On 17 December 1096, she and her nephew King
Peter I Peter I may refer to:
Religious hierarchs
* Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus
* Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint
* Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholico ...
confirmed the donation made by Pedro de Roda, newly made
bishop of Huesca
The Diocese of Huesca (Latin, ''Oscensis'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church located in north-eastern Spain, in the province of Huesca, part of the autonomous community of Aragón. The Diocese of Huesca ...
, to the monastery of
Saint-Pons-de-Thomières after the conquest of the city of
Huesca. On 5 April 1097, she confirmed her nephew's donation of the
cathedral of Huesca to the church.
Notes
Sources
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{{Infantas of Aragon
1040s births
1097 deaths
11th-century Spanish women
11th-century people from the Kingdom of Aragon
Daughters of kings