The Lordship of Torre de Canals was a lordship in the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

located in and around the town of Torre de Canals. The town is located in the present day

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

and no longer exists as a lordship.

History

Originally created by King

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( Catalan/Valencian: ''Jaume I or Jaume el Conqueridor''; Aragonese: ''Chaime I'' ''o Conqueridor''; ; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1 ...

as a reward for Count

Denis of Hungary Denis of Hungary (, , , , ; ''c''. 1210 – 1268/72), was a Hungarian-born Aragonese knight and nobleman in the 13th century. Born into a prominent family in the Kingdom of Hungary, he escorted Queen Violant of Hungary to the Kingdom of Aragon i ...

, the title would eventually be inherited by a minor branch of the House of Borja (the main branch in the early- to mid-14th century, being based in

Xàtiva Xàtiva (; ) is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right (western) bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia, Spain, Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways. It is located 25 km ...

). This minor branch would soon grow to eclipse the family's main branch with the ascension of two popes,

Calixtus III Pope Callixtus III (, , ; 31 December 1378 – 6 August 1458), born Alonso de Borja (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 April 1455 to his death, in August 1458. Borgia spent his early career as a professor ...

and

Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Kingdom of Valencia, Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death ...

. Throughout their reign, the Borjas or Borgias maintained a base of power from the Torre de Canals and the greater Valencia region. A tower from their former palace still stands today. Calixtus III himself was actually born in this same palace, as it had belonged to his father,

Juan Domingo de Borja y Doncel Juan Domingo de Borja y Doncel (c. 1357 – ?) was the father of Pope Callixtus III. He held the title over the Barony La Torre de Canals. He was a member of the House of Borja. He was born in the Spanish village of the same name, Borja. Biogra ...

. In 1506, the Señorío was sold to the nearby city of Xàtiva, and the lands and fortifications of the Señorío fell into disrepair.

List of title holders over Torre de Canals

The following is an incomplete list of the lords of Torre de Canals: * 1244 - Conde

- Granted by order of King

* 1318 - Gizpert, Viscount of Castellnou * 1325 -

Pedro de Urrea 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 ...

, the bishop-elect of Tarazona * ? -

Juan de Urrea ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philippi ...

* 1350 -

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV (Catalan: ''Pere IV d'Aragó;'' Aragonese; ''Pero IV d'Aragón;'' 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''El Cerimoniós''; Aragonese: ''el Ceremonioso''), was from 1336 until his death the king of ...

- Control reverts to the king after the deaths of Juan de Urrea and his wife Elvira Cornel. * ? - Beautriu de Borja * ? -

, father of Pope

* 1506 - City of

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Senorio de Torre de Canals History of the Valencian Community Former countries in Europe States and territories disestablished in 1509

History

List of title holders over Torre de Canals

See also

References