Gontrodo Pérez (26 June 1186), called ''Gontrodo Petri'' in contemporary charters, was the mistress of King

Alfonso VII 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. ...

with whom she had Urraca ''la Asturiana'', queen consort of

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

by her marriage to King García Ramírez.

Family relations

She was the daughter of the Asturian

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

Pedro Díaz de Valle and María Ordóñez. Gontrodo's paternal grandparents were Diego Gutiérrez and Gotina Pérez,and the maternal ones Ordoño Álvarez — ''

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 ...

'' and descendant of ''

Infante 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 ...

Ordoño Ramírez Ordoño Ramírez, called "the Blind" ( 981–before 1024) was the son of King Ramiro III of León and Sancha Gómez, grandson of Sancho I of León and Queen Teresa Ansúrez and, on the maternal side, of Gómez Díaz, Count of Saldaña and Counte ...

— and Gontrodo "Sol" Rodríguez. Her father, Pedro Díaz de Valle, was '' tenente'' of the Towers of León and of the valley of Mansilla Accordingly, her parents were not, as asserted by several historians, simply members of the local nobility of Asturias. She had several siblings, including Diego Pérez ''Obregón'' the ancestor of the lineage Álvarez de las Asturias whose members include Cardenal

Ordoño Álvarez Ordoño Álvarez () (Asturias, – 21 December 1285) was an Asturian clergyman, abbot at the Abbey of Santa María de Husillos, bishop of Salamanca, archbishop of Braga and cardenal of the Roman Catholic Church. Family origins Ordoño Álvar ...

and

Rodrigo Álvarez de las Asturias Rodrigo Álvarez de Asturias (died 1334) was a Spanish nobleman and lord of Noreña, Gijón, and County of Trastámara. He was the son of another Rodrigo Alvarez de Asturias and grandson of Pedro Álvarez de Asturias. He married Juana Fernandez ...

from whom King

Henry II of Castile Henry II (13 January 1334 – 29 May 1379), called Henry of Trastámara or the Fratricidal (''el Fratricida''), was the first List of Castilian monarchs, King of Castile and List of Leonese monarchs, León from the House of Trastámara. He became ...

inherited the lordship of

Noreña Noreña is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is surrounded by the municipality of Siero. It is the smallest municipality in Asturias and the second smallest in Spain, and one of the ones with th ...

Descendants

Gontrodo was married to Gutierre Sebastiániz ''potestas'' or '' tenente'' of Aguilar, a fortress near the city of

Oviedo Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...

. Gutierre appears for the last time in 1137 in a charter from the Monastery of San Salvador in Celorio. Three children were born of this marriage: * Sebastián Gutiérrez * Diego Gutiérrez * Aldonza Gutiérrez While still married, Gontrodo had an affair and became the

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...

of King Alfonso VII. This relationship began in 1132 when the king was in Asturias trying to quash one of the many uprisings of Count

Gonzalo Peláez Gonzalo Peláez (died March 1138) was the ruler of the Asturias from 1110 to 1132, during the reigns of Queen Urraca (1109–26) and her son, Alfonso VII (1126–57). He held high military posts under the latter, but in 1132 he began a five-year r ...

. In 1133, a daughter was born, Urraca, who became the wife of King García Ramírez.

Foundation of the Monastery of Santa María de la Vega and her last years

On 13 October 1153, Gontrodo founded the Monastery of Santa María de la Vega in Oviedo. Her daughter, the widowed queen Urraca, who was already back in Asturias, confirmed the monastery's foundational charter which was also confirmed by King Alfonso VII. All the properties that she gave the monastery were hers, either given to her by the king or inherited from her parents. Pursuant to her wishes, the monastery was first ruled by the Order of Fontevrault which was not very common in medieval

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 ...

. By 1283, the monastery had adopted the

Rule of Saint Benedict The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' () is a book of precepts written in Latin by St. Benedict of Nursia (c. AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up in the motto of th ...

. Gontrodo became a nun in this monastery where she lived the rest of her life until her death on 26 June 1186. She was buried in a sarcophagus engraved with birds and dogs, stems and leaves. The monastery was abandoned on 31 July 1854 and the few nuns that were living there moved to the

Monastery of Saint Pelagius The Monastery of Saint Pelagius (; ) is a Benedictine convent for women in the city of Oviedo in Spain. The monastery was founded by King Alfonso II of Asturias () and was initially dedicated to John the Baptist. It was only rededicated to Saint ...

in Oviedo, taking with them the sarcophagus of Gontrodo. The tombstone covering the sarcophagus is exhibited at the

Archaeological Museum of Asturias The Archaeological Museum of Asturias (Spanish language, Spanish: Museo Arqueológico de Asturias; Asturian language, Asturian: Muséu Arqueolóxicu d'Asturies) is housed in the 16th century Benedictine monastery of San Vicente de Oviedo, Saint ...

Gontrodo in some medieval charters

* On 11 March 1143, Gontrodo Petri donated Ambás and half of her inheritance in Tedaga on the condition that these properties could not be sold or lent. Charter confirmed by: (1st column) Diego, Ordoño, Gonzalo, and Rodrigo Pérez (her brothers); (2nd column) Sebastián Gutiérrez, Diego Gutiérrez, Urraca, and Aldonza Gutiérrez (her children). * On 17 April 1147, she donated Entrático, which had been given to her by King Alfonso VII. Charter confirmed by: (1st column) Sebastián, Diego, and Aldonza Gutiérrez; (2nd column) ''regina Urraca Adefonsi''. * On 13 October 1153, accompanied by her daughter Urraca, founded the Monastery of Santa María de la Vega which was to be ruled by the congregation of Fontevrault. According to professor Margarita Torres Sevilla-Quiñones de León, "...such primacy of these unknown Gutiérrez (Sebastián, Diego, and Aldonza) over their uncle Suero Ordóñez and her brothers (...) is not possible unless they are the children of Gontrodo Pérez".

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Oviedo Enciclopedia, article on the Monastery of Santa María de la Vega

Baroque plant of the Monastery of Santa María de la Vega in Oviedo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pérez, Gontrodo 12th-century births 1186 deaths 12th-century nobility from León and Castile 12th-century Spanish women People from Asturias Mistresses of Spanish royalty