Urraca Alfonso (1133 – ), also known as Urraca the Asturian (''La Asturiana''), illegitimate daughter of
Alfonso VII of León
Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
, was
Queen Consort of Navarre
This is a list of those men and women who have been royal consorts of the Kingdom of Navarre. Because the laws of Navarre did not prohibit women from inheriting the crown, on a number of occasions, the Kingdom was inherited or transmitted via heir ...
by her marriage to
García Ramírez. After becoming a widow, she returned to her homeland and was the regent of Asturias from 1153 to 1165. Urraca was involved in a rebellion against her half-brother, King Ferdinand II of León and with her second husband,
Álvaro Rodríguez de Castro attempted to secure the independence of
Asturias
Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in nor ...
.
Early life and family
An illegitimate daughter of King Alfonso VII and his mistress
Gontrodo Pérez Gontrodo Pérez (26 June 1186), called ''Gontrodo Petri'' in contemporary charters, was the mistress of King Alfonso VII of León with whom she had Urraca ''la Asturiana'', queen consort of Pamplona by her marriage to King García Ramírez.
Famil ...
, Urraca was born in 1133 in
Pelúgano, one year after her parents had a relationship while the king was still married to
Berengaria of Barcelona
Berengaria of Barcelona (1116 – January 15, 1149), called in Spanish Berenguela de Barcelona and also known as Berengaria of Provence, was Queen consort of Castile, León and Galicia. She was the daughter of Ramon Berenguer III, Count of B ...
and coinciding with the rebellion of Count
Gonzalo Peláez
Gonzalo Peláez (died March 1138) was the ruler of the Asturias from 1110 to 1132, during the reigns of Queen Urraca (1109–26) and her son, Alfonso VII (1126–57). He held high military posts under the latter, but in 1132 he began a five-year re ...
, and one year before the birth of the legitimate heir,
Sancho
The name Sancho is an Iberian name of Basque origin (Santxo, Santzo, Santso, Antzo, Sans). Sancho stems from the Latin name Sanctius.Eichler, Ernst; Hilty, Gerold; Löffler, Heinrich; Steger, Hugo; Zgusta, Ladislav: ''Namenforschung/Name Studies/ ...
, born in 1134. Her maternal grandparents were members of the highest ranks of the Asturian nobility, her maternal grandfather, Pedro Díaz de Valle, being a descendant of several counts and his wife, María Ordóñez, a direct descendant of the
Infante
''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to t ...
s
Ordoño Ramírez and his wife
Cristina Bermúdez
Cristina Bermúdez (Help:IPA for Spanish, pronunciation: ristina beɾmudeθ ( 982-Cornellana, 1051/1067), was an Infante, infanta of Kingdom of León, León, daughter of King Bermudo II of León, Bermudo IIHer filiation, as the daughter of Kin ...
. Her mother Gontrodo separated from Alfonso and joined a convent a year after Urraca's birth, and Urraca was raised in the court by her paternal aunt, ''
Infanta
''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to th ...
''
Sancha Raimúndez.
Queen consort of Navarre
Urraca was first married in
León on 24 June 1144 to
García Ramírez of Navarre
García Ramírez ( eu, Gartzea Remiritz), sometimes García IV, V, VI or VII ( 1112 – 21 November 1150), called the Restorer ( es, el Restaurador, eu, Basque: ''Berrezarlea''), was the King of Navarre (Pamplona) from 1134. The election of Gar ...
. This was a second marriage for Garcia as his first troubled marriage to
Marguerite de l'Aigle had ended with her death just a month before Garcia's second marriage to Urraca that was arranged to strengthen Garcia's relationship with his overlord, Urraca's father. The couple were married for only six years before Garcia's death on 21 November 1150. Garcia was succeeded by his son with Marguerite de l'Aigle,
Sancho VI of Navarre
Sancho Garcés VI ( eu, Antso VI.a; 21 April 1132 - 27 June 1194), called the Wise ( eu, Jakituna, es, el Sabio) was King of Navarre from 1150 until his death in 1194. He was the first monarch to officially drop the title of ''King of Pamplona'' ...
. Urraca's half-sister
Sancha
is a district of Setagaya, Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area ...
married Sancho and succeeded her as queen consort of Navarre.
Regent of Asturias
The queen dowager Urraca returned to her homeland after her husband Garcia's death in 1150, being sent by her father to govern
Asturias
Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in nor ...
. In
Oviedo
Oviedo (; ast, Uviéu ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city. Oviedo is located ap ...
, Urraca took up residence in the Palace of
Alfonso II of Asturias
Alfonso II of Asturias (842), nicknamed the Chaste ( es, el Casto), was the king of Asturias during two different periods: first in the year 783 and later from 791 until his death in 842. Upon his death, Nepotian, a family member of undeterm ...
, which was next to the
Cathedral of Oviedo
The Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Saviour or Cathedral of San Salvador ( es, Catedral Metropolitana Basílica de San Salvador, la, Sancta Ovetensis) is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica in the centre of Oviedo, in the Astur ...
. Her father gave her properties, including the lordship of
Aller
Aller may refer to:
Places Rivers
* Aller (Germany), a major river in North Germany
*Aller (Asturian river), a river in Asturias, Spain
*River Aller, a small river on Exmoor in Somerset, England
Inhabited places in the United Kingdom
*Aller, Devo ...
. Queen Urraca ruled Asturias from 1153 until 1165; she even retained power after the death of her father in 1157.
Sometime before 1163, Urraca remarried to Álvaro Rodríguez de Castro, son of
Rodrigo Fernández de Castro
Rodrigo Fernández de Castro (died after 1144), called the Bald (''el Calvo''), was a Castilian nobleman and soldier. One of the founders of the House of Castro, he was the second son of Fernando García de Hita and Tegridia (or Trigidia), sister ...
and Elo Álvarez. Álvaro was seigneur of
Chantada
Chantada, is a municipality in the province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain.
Chantada is situated on the left bank of the Río Asma, a small right-hand tributary of the Minho river, and on the main road from Ourense, 29 km S. by W., to Lugo, 45&nbs ...
and governor of Asturias between 1150 and 1171, of
Sarria
Sarria is a municipality in the province of Lugo, northwestern Spain, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Sarria is the most populous town on the French Way in Galicia, with 13,700 inhabitants. It is head of the region and the most popular ...
, and of the towers of León, as well as the ''
alférez
In medieval Iberia, an ''alférez'' (, ) or ''alferes'' (, ) was a high-ranking official in the household of a king or magnate. The term is derived from the Arabic ('' al-fāris''), meaning "horseman" or "cavalier", and it was commonly Latinised ...
'' of King Fernando II and later his ''
mayordomo mayor {{short description, High Steward of Spain
The Mayordomo mayor (High Steward) was the Officer of the Royal Household and Heritage of the Crown of Spain in charge of the person and rooms of the King of Spain. The Office of “Mayordomo mayor” wa ...
''. A charter from the
Monastery of San Vicente de Oviedo
San Vicente de Oviedo is a church and monastery in Oviedo, Spain. Its foundation, in 761, is recorded in a charter known as the ''Pacto monástico de Oviedo'' ("Monastic Pact of Oviedo") a copy made in the 12th century of the original that is date ...
in 1163 is dated: ''Alvaro Roderici cum uxore sua regina Urraca Asturias imperante'' ("Alvaro Rodríguez with his wife Urraca governing Asturias") and another charter from 1165 from the
Monastery of San Salvador in
Celorio also mentions that Queen Urraca was governing Asturias with her husband Álvaro.
Urraca and Álvaro were involved in an uprising to secure the independence of Asturias as attested in a charter from the Monastery of Santa María de Otero de las Dueñas which mentions "...when Queen doña Urraca and don Álvaro Roderici wanted King Fernando II to lose Asturias". In the early months of 1164, King Fernando II thanked the Bishop of Oviedo for the aid provided to quash the uprising in Asturias.
This period was highlighted by their generosity with the Church in Asturias, to which they made numerous donations, notably those at the Cathedral of Oviedo, as well as those made to the monastery of San Pelayo de Oviedo. Urraca collaborated with her mother in founding the monastery of Santa María de la Vega in the outskirts of Oviedo where Gontrodo was eventually buried in a tomb the marker of which is currently preserved in the Archaeological Museum of the Asturias.
Death
Urraca died at
Palencia
Palencia () is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Palencia.
Located in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in the northern half o ...
sometime after 1164 but the exact date of her death is unknown. Some chroniclers placed her death on October 26, 1164, but this is impossible, since she appeared with her second husband in 1165 in a charter in the Monastery of San Salvador de Celorio, and then again on 25 February 1178 at the
Monastery of Santa María de Sandoval
Santa María de Sandoval was a Roman Catholic monastery of the Cistercian Order in Spain from the 12th century until 1835. The oldest part was built in the Romanesque style, but later additions are Gothic. Today its ruins lie in Villaverde de San ...
when she made a donation and asked to be buried there. Although other sources place her death in 1189, according to the ''
Anales toledanos {{italictitle
The ''Anales toledanos'' (Annals of Toledo) are a series of three Old Spanish annals covering the medieval history of the Kingdom of Toledo: the ''primeros'' (I) begin with the County of Castile and carry their history forward to 1219, ...
'' she died in 1179. Queen Urraca was finally buried in the chapel of Santa María Magdalena in the Cathedral of Palencia. The reason could have been the fact that members of the
House of Castro
The House of Castro is an Iberian Nobility, noble lineage present in the since the Middle Ages in the kingdoms of Kingdom of Castile, Castile, Kingdom of Galicia, Galicia, and Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal. Though its exact origins are disputed, t ...
, of which her second husband was a member, had governed several places, including the city of Palencia.
Issue
From her first marriage to King García Ramiréz was born:
*Sancha (1148–1176), married first to
Gaston V of Béarn
Gaston is a masculine given name of French origin and a surname. The name "Gaston" may refer to:
People
First name
*Gaston I, Count of Foix (1287–1315)
*Gaston II, Count of Foix (1308–1343)
*Gaston III, Count of Foix (1331–1391)
*Gaston I ...
and secondly to
Pedro Manrique de Lara,
Viscount of Narbonne The viscount of Narbonne was the secular ruler of Narbonne in the Middle Ages. Narbonne had been the capital of the Visigoth province of Septimania, until the 8th century, after which it became the Carolingian Viscounty of Narbonne. Narbonne was nom ...
and Lord of
Molina
Only one son was born of her second marriage to Álvaro Rodríguez de Castro:
*Sancho Álvarez de Castro (c. 1164 – after 1196) who appears on 23 July 1196 at the Monastery of San Pelayo in Oviedo as ''Dominante Asturias Sancius Alvari filius regina Urrace'' (Governing Asturias Sancho Álvarez, son of Queen Urraca.
Notes
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Urraca Of Castile
1133 births
People from Aller, Asturias
Castilian House of Burgundy
Illegitimate children of Spanish monarchs
Navarrese royal consorts
1179 deaths
12th-century women rulers
12th-century nobility from the Kingdom of Navarre
12th-century Spanish women
Daughters of emperors
Daughters of kings