Aldonza Martínez de Silva ( Portuguese: Aldonça Martins da Silva; died after 1236) a Portuguese noblewoman, daughter of Martim Gomes da Silva and his wife Urraca Rodríguez, was one of the mistresses of King

Alfonso IX of León Alfonso IX (15 August 117123 or 24 September 1230) was King of León from the death of his father Ferdinand II in 1188 until his own death. He took steps towards modernizing and democratizing his dominion and founded the University of Salaman ...

and afterward, the wife of Diego Froilaz. She probably arrived in the

Kingdom of León The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 when the Christian princes of Kingdom of Asturias, Asturias along the Bay of Biscay, northern coast of the peninsula ...

in 1191 in the entourage of ''

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 the ...

'' Theresa of Portugal for her wedding with King Alfonso IX. She had very influential relatives in the

Kingdom of Portugal The Kingdom of Portugal was a Portuguese monarchy, monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also known as the Kingdom of Portugal a ...

, including her aunt, Estefanía da Silva and her husband Martim Fernandes de Riba de Vizela, who were the tutors of the future King

Sancho II of Portugal Sancho II (; 8 September 1207 – 4 January 1248), nicknamed Afonso the Cowled or Afonso the Capuched (), alternatively, Afonso the Pious (), was King of Portugal from 1223 to 1248. Sancho was born in Coimbra, the eldest son of Afonso II of ...

, and Estêvão Soares da Silva, the powerful

Archbishop of Braga The Archdiocese of Braga () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Portugal. It is known for its use of the Rite of Braga, a use of the liturgy distinct from the Roman Rite and other Latin liturgical ...

. In 1214 she became the lover of Alfonso IX in a relationship that lasted until 1218 when the king became involved with Teresa Gil de Soverosa. Afterwards, she married Diego Froilaz, a marriage probably arranged by the king who gave the couple several properties in Pesquera and Villamarín. These estates were later claimed in 1230 by King Ferdinand III of León but were returned to Aldonza and her husband in 1232 when it was confirmed that these had been donated by King Alfonso to his former mistress. She last appears in medieval charters in 1236 when, accompanied by her children, she donated several properties to the Monastery of Carracedo.

Issue

Before her affair with King Alfonso IX, she had a son named Fernando Johannis, who, according to his patronymic, would have been the son of an individual named Juan (John), perhaps someone from Galicia or León who was a member of the royal court. The children from her relationship with King Alfonso IX were: *

Rodrigo Rodrigo () is a Spanish, Portuguese and Italian name derived from the Germanic name ''Roderick'' ( Gothic ''*Hroþareiks'', via Latinized ''Rodericus'' or ''Rudericus''), given specifically in reference to either King Roderic (d. 712), the la ...

(ca. 1214ca. 1268), lord of Aliger and

Castro del Río Castro del Río is a city located in the Córdoba (Spanish province), province of Córdoba, Spain. According to the 2006 census (Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain), INE), the city has a population of 8,074 inhabitants. See also * List of mu ...

, and

Adelantado ''Adelantado'' (, , ; meaning 'advanced') was a title held by some Spain, Spanish nobles in service of their respective kings during the Middle Ages. It was later used as a military title held by some Spanish ''conquistadores'' of the 15th, 16th a ...

of the March of

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

, he married Inés Rodríguez, daughter of Rodrigo Fernández de Valduerna, Lord of Cabrera and ''

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 "knight" or "cavalier", and it was commonly Latinised ...

'' of King Alfonso IX. * Aldonza (died after 1267). Married Count Pedro Ponce de Cabrera, and had issue. They are the ancestors of the Ponce de León family. * Teresa Alfonso of León, the wife of Count Nuño González de Lara ''el Bueno''. After 1218, she married Diego Froilaz, son of Count Froila Ramírez and his wife Sancha Fernández. They had the following children: * Ramiro Díaz de Cifuentes (died after 1279), Lord of

Asturias de Santillana Asturias de Santillana is a historical ''comarca'' whose territory in large part corresponded to the central and western part of today's autonomous community of Cantabria, as well as the extreme east of Asturias. Most of the province of Asturias ...

, married Teresa Fernández de Lara, daughter of Fernando Álvarez de Lara and Teresa Rodríguez de Villalobos. * Sancha Díaz de Cifuentes, the wife of Rodrigo Álvarez de Lara, an illegitimate son of Álvaro Núñez de Lara and Teresa Gil de Osorno. * Estefanía Díaz * Urraca Díaz

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Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aldonza Martinez de Silva 12th-century births 13th-century deaths Mistresses of Spanish royalty 12th-century Spanish women 12th-century nobility from León and Castile 13th-century Spanish women 13th-century people from the Kingdom of León