The House of Castro is an

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese language, Aragonese and Occitan language, Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a pe ...

n noble lineage present in the since the Middle Ages in the kingdoms of Castile,

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

, and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

. Though its exact origins are disputed, the House of Castro became one of the most powerful families of the Spanish and

Portuguese nobility Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

History

The first clearly identified member of the family was early-12th century count

Fernando García de Hita Fernando García de Hita (or de Fita; ''floruit'' 1097–1125) was a Castilian nobleman, traditionally considered the founder of the noble House of Castro. He governed the lordships of Hita and Guadalajara, and frequently attended the royal court ...

, a kinsman and vassal of

Urraca of León and Castile Urraca (also spelled ''Hurraca'', ''Urracha'' and ''Hurracka'' in medieval Latin) is a female first name. In Spanish, the name means magpie, derived perhaps from Latin ''furax'', meaning "thievish", in reference to the magpie's tendency to coll ...

. This kinship, along with his patronymic, have led to him being considered illegitimate son of Urraca's uncle

García II of Galicia García II (1041/April 104322 March 1090), King of Galicia, was the youngest of the three sons and heirs of Ferdinand I, King of Castile and León, and Sancha of León, whose Leonese inheritance included the lands García would be given. Garcia ...

. More recently, it has been suggested that he was the son of count

García Ordóñez García Ordóñez (died 29 May 1108), called de Nájera or de Cabra and Crispus or el Crespo de Grañón in the epic literature, was a Castilian magnate who ruled the Rioja, with his seat at Nájera, from 1080 until his death. He is famous in li ...

by the ''

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 ...

'' Urraca Garcés of Navarre, and perhaps scion of the

Banu Gómez The Banu Gómez (Beni Gómez) were a powerful but fractious noble family living on the Castilian marches of the Kingdom of León from the 10th to the 12th centuries. They rose to prominence in the 10th century as counts in Saldaña, Palencia, Sald ...

clan.Salazar Acha, 33–68. During the reign of

Alfonso VIII Alfonso VIII (11 November 11555 October 1214), called the Noble (''El Noble'') or the one of Las Navas (''el de las Navas''), was King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. After having suffered a great defeat with his own army at ...

, the Castro family, under Gutierrez Fernandez, rivaled another major Castilian family, the

House of Lara The House of Lara (Spanish: ''Casa de Lara'') is a noble family from the medieval Kingdom of Castile. Two of its branches, the Duques de Nájera and the Marquesado de Aguilar de Campoo were considered Grandees of Spain. The Lara family gained n ...

, for power in the kingdom of Castile. The lack of heirs in the senior line resulted in the rise of a cadet branch seated in Galicia. This branch became the most powerful of the Galician nobility, and one of the most powerful in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. Traditionally linked to the county of Lemos, the most illustrious representatives were the " Great Count of Lemos" and his uncle, Cardinal Rodrigo de Castro Osorio. Another scion,

Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro 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 ...

is still well remembered in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

The House of Castro became one of the most powerful families of the Spanish and Portuguese nobility. The House of Castro went into decline because of their lack of offspring, with the county of Lemos passing to the House of Alba. The coat of the Galician branch of the House of Castro were six blue roundels on a silver field. The Portuguese branch used a variant that included thirteen roundels on gold.

Notes

References

* ''Libro becerro de las behetrías. Estudio y texto crítico por Gonzalo Martínez Díez'', León: Centro de Estudios e Investigación San Isidoro, 1981. 3 volúmenes. Colección Fuentes y Estudios de Historia Leonesa, nº 24–26. . Signatura de la Biblioteca del CIDA: nº 1998. Estudio y Texto crítico * Martinez García, Mónica ''Pedro Fernández de Castro, O Gran Conde de Lemos'', Santiago de Compostela, 2005.. *Salazar Acha, Jaime de. "El linaje castellano de Castro en el siglo XII: consideraciones e hipótesis sobre su origin." ''Anales de la Real Academia Matritense de Heráldica y Genealogía'', 1:33–68 (1991). * Vázquez, Germán ''Historia de Monforte y su Tierra de Lemos'', . {{DEFAULTSORT:House Of Castro Portuguese noble families Spanish noble families