Sancha of León (8 November 1067
) was ''infanta'' and queen of
León. She was married to
Ferdinand I, the
Count of Castile
This is a list of counts of Castile.
The County of Castile had its origin in a fortified march on the eastern frontier of the Kingdom of Asturias. The earliest counts were not hereditary, being appointed as representatives of the Asturian king. F ...
who later became King of León after having killed Sancha's brother in battle. She and her husband commissioned the
Crucifix of Ferdinand and Sancha.
Life
Sancha was a daughter of
Alfonso V of León
Alfonso V (c. 9947 August 1028), called the Noble, was King of León from 999 to 1028. Like other kings of León, he used the title emperor () to assert his standing among the Christian rulers of Spain. He succeeded his father, Bermudo II, in 9 ...
by his first wife,
Elvira Menéndez. She became a secular abbess of the
Monastery of San Pelayo.
In 1029, a
political marriage
A marriage of state is a diplomatic marriage or union between two members of different nation-states or internally, between two power blocs, usually in authoritarian societies and is a practice which dates back to ancient times, as far back as ear ...
was arranged between her and count
García Sánchez of Castile. However, having traveled to León for the marriage, García was assassinated by a group of disgruntled vassals. In 1032, Sancha was married to García's nephew and successor,
Ferdinand I of Castile, when the latter was 11 years old.
At the
Battle of Tamarón in 1037 Ferdinand killed Sancha's brother
Bermudo III of León
Bermudo III or Vermudo III ( 1015– 4 September 1037) was the king of León from 1028 until his death. He was a son of Alfonso V of León by his first wife Elvira Menéndez (died 1022), Elvira Menéndez, and was the last Astur-Leonese dynasty, s ...
, making Sancha the heir and allowing Ferdinand to have himself crowned King of León. Sancha's own position as queen of León is unclear and contradictory. She succeeded to the throne of León as the heir of her brother and in her "own right" but despite this, she is not clearly referred to as
queen regnant
A queen regnant (: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank, title and position to a king. She reigns ''suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a kingdom; as opposed to a queen consort, who is married to a reigning ...
, and after the death of her husband the throne passed to her son, despite the fact that she was still alive.
Following Ferdinand's death in 1065 and the division of her husband's kingdom, she is said to have played the futile role of peacemaker among her sons.
She was a devout Catholic, who, with her husband, commissioned the
crucifix that bears their name as a gift for the
Basilica of San Isidoro.
Children
Sancha had five children:
*
Urraca of Zamora
*
Sancho II of León and Castile
The name Sancho () is an Iberian name of Basque origin (Santxo, Santzo, Santso, Antzo, Sans). Sancho stems from the Latin name Sanctius. Feminine forms of the name are Sancha, Sancia, and Sanchia (), and the common patronymic is Sánchez and ...
*
Elvira of Toro
*
Alfonso VI of León and Castile
Alfonso VI (1 July 1109), nicknamed the Brave (''El Bravo'') or the Valiant, was king of Kingdom of León, León (10651109), Kingdom of Galicia, Galicia (10711109), and Kingdom of Castile, Castile (10721109).
After the conquest of Toledo, Spai ...
*
García II of Galicia
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 P ...
Death and burial
She died in the city of
León on 8 November 1067.
She was interred in the Royal Pantheon of the
Basilica of San Isidoro,
along with her parents, brother, husband, and her children Elvira, Urraca and García.
The following Latin inscription was carved in the tomb in which were deposited the remains of Queen Sancha:
"H. R. SANCIA REGINA TOTIUS HISPANIAE, MAGNI REGIS FERDINANDI UXOR. FILIA REGIS ADEFONSI, QUI POPULAVIT LEGIONEM POS DESTRUCTIONEM ALMANZOR. OBIIT ERA MCVIIII. III N. M."
Which translates to:
"Here lies Sancha, Queen of All Spain, wife of the great king Ferdinand and daughter of king Alfonso, who populated León after the destruction of Almanzor. Died in the one thousand one hundred eighth era on the third nones of May May 1071"
References
Bibliography
*Blanco Lozano, Pilar. ''Colección diplomática de Fernando I'' (1037–1065). León: Centro de Estudios e Investigación «San Isidoro» (CSIC-CECEL) y Archivo Histórico Diocesano, 1987. .
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sancha of Leon
Astur-Leonese dynasty
House of Jiménez
11th-century Spanish women
Galician queens consort
Spanish royal saints
11th-century people from the Kingdom of León
1010s births
1067 deaths
Burials in the Royal Pantheon at the Basilica of San Isidoro
Leonese infantas
Spanish beatified people
Daughters of kings
Mothers of Castilian monarchs
Leonese queen mothers
Year of birth uncertain
Mothers of emperors
Spanish countesses