Stephanie Alfonso of Castile () (1139/1148 – 1 July 1180) was an illegitimate daughter of

Alfonso VII of León and Castile Alfonso VII (1 March 110521 August 1157), called the Emperor (''el Emperador''), became the King of Galicia in 1111 and King of León and Castile in 1126. Alfonso, born Alfonso Raimúndez, first used the title Emperor of All Spain, alongside h ...

and Urraca Fernández de Castro, widow of Count

Rodrigo Martínez Rodrigo Martínez () (died July 1138) was a Leonese nobleman, landowner, courtier, military leader, governor, and diplomat, "the most powerful lay figure in the region of the western Tierra de Campos," who "emerges as far and away the most regula ...

, who was Urraca's cousin or uncle. Her murder by her husband,

Fernando Rodríguez de Castro Fernando Rodríguez de Castro (1125–1185) was a Kingdom of Castile, Castilian nobleman, statesman and military leader who made his career in Kingdom of León, León. He was the leader of the House of Castro during the civil wars that followed t ...

, earned her the

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ) is a descriptive nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym in that it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name without the need for explanation; it may beco ...

Stephanie the Unfortunate (''Estefanía la Desdichada'').

Birth and Family

The wealthy and powerful

Pedro Ansúrez Pedro Ansúrez (''floruit'' 1065–1117; died probably 9 September 1118) was a Castilian nobleman, count of Liébana, Saldaña and Carrión in the closing decades of the eleventh century and the opening decades of the twelfth. He is considered ...

's wife, Elyo Alfonso, was a relative of the sisters, Tegridia and Sancha Fernandez, the wife of the powerful

Martín Flaínez Martín Flaínez (or Laíñez) (died May 1108) was "one of the most powerful and distinguished members" of the Leonese aristocracy during the reign of Alfonso VI (1065–1109), with which the length of his public life almost exactly coincided. From ...

. Another powerful nobleman,

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

had been married to either Tegridia Fernandez or Sancha and Martín's daughter Tegridia Martínez. Fernando García was the son of

García II of Galicia García or Garcia may refer to: People * García (surname) * Kings of Pamplona/Navarre ** García Íñiguez of Pamplona, king of Pamplona 851/2–882 ** García Sánchez I of Pamplona, king of Pamplona 931–970 ** García Sánchez II of P ...

, the son of Ferdinand II and

Sancha Sancha is a given name, the feminine version of the Spanish Sancho. Sanchia, Sancia, and Santina are variant feminine forms. People named Sancha include: * Sancha, Lady of Alenquer (1180–1279), feudal Lady of Alenquer *Sancha of Aragon (1478� ...

of León. Tegridia died bearing her husband two sons, and Fernando then married Pedro Ansúrez's daughter María Pérez's daughter with

Ermengol V, Count of Urgell Ermengol or Armengol V (1078–1102), called El de Mollerussa ("He of Mollerussa"), was the count of Urgell from 1092 to his death. He was the son of Ermengol IV and his first wife, Lucy (''Lucía'') of Pallars. He spent most of his life in Cas ...

, Stephanie of Urgell. Their daughter was Urraca Fernandez. Urraca was married to Martín and Sancha's son (her uncle or cousin),

, but he died. She then began a relationship with Alfonso VII, the son of

Urraca of León 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 collect ...

, who in turn was the daughter of

Alfonso VI 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. ...

, García II's brother, making Urraca and Alfonso VII second cousins. Stephanie's date of birth must have occurred between 1139, when the relationship between Alfonso and her mother began,Torres Sevilla-Quiñones de León (1999), p. 84 and 1148, the year in which Alfonso confers privileges in favor of Urraca and his daughter.Salazar y Acha (2006), p.42

Marriage

In 1157, Stephanie's father died while returning from an expedition and his kingdoms were partitioned between her legitimate half-brothers,

Sancho III of Castile Sancho III ( 1134 – 31 August 1158), called the Desired (''el Deseado''), was King of Castile and Toledo for one year, from 1157 to 1158. He was the son of Alfonso VII of León and Castile and his wife Berengaria of Barcelona, and was s ...

and Fernando II of León. Stephanie would marry

, head of the

House of Castro The House of Castro is an Iberian noble lineage, beginning mainly in the kingdoms of Castile, Galicia, and Portugal. Though its exact origins are disputed, the House of Castro became one of the most powerful families of the Spanish and Portug ...

. Fernando's father was Urraca's half-brother (son of Fernando and Tegridia),

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 ...

. Nicknamed "the Lion" in his native Castile, he was exiled as a consequence of his family's struggles with the Lara family and joined the service of Ferdinand II in León, where he was dubbed "the Castilian". Ferdinand would name him governor, at different times, of

Cuéllar Cuéllar () is a municipality in the Province of Segovia, within the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. The municipality had a population of 9,730 inhabitants according to the municipal register of inhabitants (INE) as of 1 Janu ...

, Dueñas,

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

Toro Toro may refer to: Places *Toro, Molise, a ''comune'' in the Province of Campobasso, Italy *Toro, Nigeria, a Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Nigeria *Toro, Shizuoka, an archaeological site in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan *Toro, Zamora, a ''m ...

and

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

, and he eventually became Ferdidand's ''

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 ...

''. He had divorced his first wife, Constanza Osorio, daughter of Count Osorio Martinez, who was killed fighting Castro at the

Battle of Lobregal The Battle of Lobregal took place in March 1160 between the House of Lara and its allies and the forces of the House of Castro under Fernando Rodríguez de Castro.Simon Barton (1997), ''The Aristocracy in Twelfth-Century León and Castile'' (Camb ...

in 1160. For his services, King Ferdinand rewarded him with Stephanie's hand, also granting them the ''infantazgo'' of León. She bore her husband a son,

Pedro Fernández de Castro Pedro Fernández de Castro (Algeciras, 1342), nicknamed ''el de la Guerra'' ('of the War'), was a Galician noble and military figure of the House of Castro, descended by illegitimate lines from the kings of Castile- Leon- Galicia. Pedro Ferna ...

Don Fernando Ruiz de Castro

(Opening stanzas from a poem in ''El Drama Universal'' by Ramón de Campoamor, with translation.) My wife Estefanía, who is in glory, / was of Alfonso VII a dear daughter; / after today you will know, upon listening to this story, / that there are disgraces without end in our life. // Jealous, I killed her; and if, reluctant, / I did not kill myself also that night, / it was to kill later, if it was necessary, / all who, like me, doubted her.

Death

On 1 July 1180, Stephanie was murdered by her husband, Fernando, who according to some sources listed, while others have left no record of the event, it is assumed that his wife had been unfaithful and murdered. When Fernando first heard about his wife's affair with an unknown man, he watched the lovers. He then later stabbed the man to death. Later, he entered the chambers of his wife and stabbed her to death. When Fernando realized what the situation had turned to, he begged for forgiveness from his brother-in-law the King. The King did not punish his brother-in-law for the murder. Stephanie was buried in the

basilica of San Isidoro In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East ...

de León. She left two young children.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephanie Alfonso of Castile 12th-century births 1180 deaths Murdered royalty Illegitimate children of Spanish monarchs Castilian House of Burgundy Burials in the Royal Pantheon at the Basilica of San Isidoro Year of birth uncertain Medieval murder victims 12th-century nobility from León and Castile 12th-century Spanish women Daughters of emperors Daughters of kings