Alonso de Aragón or Alfonso de Aragón (1468 – 24 February 1520) was

Archbishop of Zaragoza The Archdiocese of Saragossa ( la, Archidioecesis Caesaraugustana) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory located in north-eastern Spain, in the Provinces of Spain, province of Zaragoza (province), Zaragoza (Saragossa in English), part of t ...

, Archbishop of Valencia and Lieutenant General of Aragon. Born in

Cervera Cervera () is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Segarra, in the province of Lleida, Autonomous Community of Catalonia, Spain. The title Comte de Cervera is a courtesy title, formerly part of the Crown of Aragon, that has been revived for Leonor ...

, he was an illegitimate son of Ferdinand II of Aragon by a Catalan noblewoman called Aldonza Ruiz de Ivorra (1452–1516). In his youth his tutor was Antonio Geraldini, brother of the humanist scholar

Alessandro Geraldini Alessandro Geraldini (''also Gerardini or Gueraldini'') (1455 – March 8, 1524) was a Renaissance humanist scholar at the Spanish court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. He is known for his support of Christopher Columbus. He served as tut ...

Ecclesiastical career

Alonso was more a politician than a clergyman. His ecclesiastical career was determined by his father when he was five years old; his half-uncle, Juan de Aragón, Archbishop of Zaragoza and illegitimate son of King

John II of Aragon John II ( Spanish: ''Juan II'', Catalan: ''Joan II'', Aragonese: ''Chuan II'' and eu, Joanes II; 29 June 1398 – 20 January 1479), called the Great (''el Gran'') or the Faithless (''el Sense Fe''), was King of Aragon from 1458 until his death ...

, died. Ferdinand II decided that Alonso would succeed him, but Pope Sixtus IV thought that he was too young and appointed Ausías de Puggio. By 1478, the Pope couldn't withstand the pressure any more and appointed Alonso as new Archbishop on 14 August. However, he was not ordained as a priest until 7 November 1501, a day before being ordained as a bishop. On 23 January 1512, Alonso was appointed Archbishop of Valencia. He was enthroned as such on 4 April 1512.

Political career

His father made him Lieutenant General of the Kingdom of Naples in 1507, to replace

Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba (1 September 1453 – 2 December 1515) was a Spanish general and statesman who led successful military campaigns during the Conquest of Granada and the Italian Wars. His military victories and widespread p ...

. In 1512, he was in command of the troops that conquered Tudela in the

Spanish conquest of Iberian Navarre The Spanish conquest of the Iberian part of Navarre was initiated by Ferdinand II of Aragon and completed by his grandson and successor Charles V in a series of military campaigns lasting from 1512 to 1524. Ferdinand was both the king of Aragon a ...

. When his father died in 1516, the Archbishop was appointed by his will as Lieutenant General of Aragon and de facto ruler of Aragon, due to the insanity of his half-sister, Queen Joanna, who inherited the crown. When Joanna's son and co-ruler,

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, arrived in November 1518, the Archbishop was confirmed as Lieutenant General of Aragon. He died two years later in Lécera. Aragón also realised important modifications on the La Seo Cathedral, where he was buried.

Issue

Despite being Archbishop, Alonso had seven children with Ana de Gurrea (1470–1527), including: *

Juan ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, ...

(1498–1530), next Archbishop of Zaragoza * Hernando (1498–1575), also Archbishop of Zaragoza and

Viceroy of Aragón This is a list of viceroys (or lieutenants) of the Kingdom of Aragon. *Alonso de Aragón, bishop of Zaragoza 1517-1520 * Juan de Lanuza y Torrellas 1520-1535 *Beltrán de la Cueva, 3rd Duke of Alburquerque 1535-1539 * Pedro Manrique de Luna y de ...

* Antonio (died 1552), Lord of Quinto * Juana (died 1520), married to

Juan de Borja, 3rd Duke of Gandía ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

and mother of Saint

Francis Borgia Francis Borgia ( ca-valencia, Francesc de Borja; es, Francisco de Borja; 28 October 1510 – 30 September 1572) was a Spanish Jesuit priest. The great-grandson of Pope Alexander VI, he was Duke of Gandía and a grandee of Spain. After t ...

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

, Lord of Argavieso * Ana, married the

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...

and the 6th Duke of Medina Sidonia

Arms

File:Arms of Alonso of Aragon.svg, Former arms of Alonso of Aragon File:Coat of Arms of Archbishop Alonso of Aragon.svg, Arms as archbishop
(and Lieutenant General)

References

ancestry.com: Alonso of ARAGON
*
Fundación Casa Ducal de Medinaceli: Alonso de Aragón "Gran Bastardo de Aragón"
*
rodovid.org: Alonso de Aragón y Ruiz de Ivorra n. 1470 d. 24 febrero 1520
* Aldonza de Ivorra - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre
PhiloBiblon: Alfonso de Aragón y Ruiz de Ivorra

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alonso De Aragon 1470 births 1520 deaths Illegitimate children of Spanish monarchs Archbishops of Zaragoza Archbishops of Valencia Aragonese regents Viceroys of Aragon Alonso House of Trastámara Sons of kings