Álvaro Herraméliz
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Álvaro Herraméliz (
fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...
923–931), was a Spanish noble and the count of Lantarón and of
Álava Álava () or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a Provinces of Spain, province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, heir of the ancient Basque señoríos#Lords of Álava, Lordship ...
in the region that today would be considered the Basque Country in northern
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
.


Biography

Count Álvaro was the son of Herramel, a noble who was active in the
Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...
and in the repopulation of lands in Álava,
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, and
La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community and provinces of Spain, province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other List of municipalities in La Rioja, cities and towns in the ...
where two towns bear his name, Herramel and Herramélluri. In 923, Álvaro participated in the conquest of Nájera and
Viguera Viguera is a municipality in La Rioja, Spain. It includes the villages Castañares de las Cuevas, El Puente, and Panzares. History The earliest documentary evidence is in the Berber historian Ajbar Machmua, who told that Abd ar-Rahman I recove ...
alongside king Ordoño II of León and on 20 October of that same year, he confirmed the foundational charter of the monastery at Santa Coloma, La Rioja. Even though it was not until 28 September 929 that he is recorded in charters for the first time as Count of Álava, he could have held the title at an earlier date. After the defeat of the armies of the kingdoms of León and
Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...
on 26 July 920 at the Battle of Valdejunquera, King Ordoño could have replaced
Munio Vélaz Munio Vélaz or Vigílaz (died before 931) was the Count of Álava and probably also of Biscay. The exact dates of his countship are unknown. Only one document, dated 18 May 919 in the cartularies of Valpuesta, names Munio as count in Álava. He r ...
— who confirms as Count of Álava for the last time on 18 May 919 — and named Álvaro in his stead. He was also count in Lantarón as evidenced by the dating of a charter on 28 August 929, "...reigning King Alfonso in León and count Álvaro Herraméliz in Lantarón". On 11 January 931, he witnessed his last charter as "Count Álvaro Herraméliz in Álava" (''comes Alvaro Arramelliz in Alava''). In the summer of that year, King Alfonso IV abdicated after the death of his wife Oneca, who was also Alvaro's sister-in-law. He was succeeded by his brother Ramiro II. King Alfonso, who had become a monk in the Monastery of Sahagún, repented afterwards and in the winter of that year made his first attempt to regain the throne, making his second attempt in the summer of 932. It is not known if Álvaro, who for family reasons had probably supported Alfonso IV, was killed during the war between the two brothers, Alfonso IV and Ramiro II, of if he was replaced by the latter who entrusted the governance of the county to Fernán González of Castile. He died no later than 932 since his widow and her new husband appear on 5 August 935 together for the first time and two children, Gonzalo and Sancho, had been born by then.


Marriage and descendants

He married Sancha Sánchez of Pamplona, daughter of King Sancho Garcés I and queen Toda, and the widow of Ordoño II. Sancha was the sister of Oneca, the wife of King Alfonso IV of León, and of Velasquita, married to Count Munio Vélaz of Álava. After Álvaro's death, she would later marry Fernán González of Castile. At least two sons, both documented, who lived and developed their activities in the Kingdom of León, were born of this marriage: * Herramel Álvarez, documented from 956 to 995, who went on to found the town of Villarramiel. He was probably the father of another Álvaro Herraméliz who appears often in contemporary sources and succeeded count Gonzalo Menéndez as the '' alférez'' of Vermudo II of León in 996. * Fortún Álvarez, who appears in several charters in the monastery of Sahagún confirming documents with his brother and other Basque-Navarrese magnates in the court of Ramiro II of León. Another possible son is Vela Álvarez who appears in 947 accompanying Fernán González, and who, according to
Ramón Menéndez Pidal Ramón Menéndez Pidal (; 13 March 1869 – 14 November 1968) was a Spanish philologist and historian."Ramon Menendez Pidal", ''Almanac of Famous People'' (2011) ''Biography in Context'', Gale, Detroit He worked extensively on the history of t ...
, could have been the unidentified Count Vela who was dispossessed of his dominions by the Castilian count.


References


Sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvaro Herrameliz Year of birth unknown 930s deaths Counts of Álava Reconquista