Gonzalo Ruiz Girón (died 1280) was a Spanish nobleman from

Palencia Palencia () is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Palencia. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in the northern half of ...

. He was Grand Master of the

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; ) is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the patron saint of Spain, ''Santiago'' ( St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgrims on the Way of S ...

, 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

Kingdom of Murcia After roughly two decades as a protectorate of the Crown of Castile, the territory of the Taifa of Murcia became the Kingdom of Murcia (, a territorial jurisdiction of the Crown of Castile) in the wake of its Conquest of Murcia (1265–66), conq ...

. Ruiz was killed at the Battle of Moclín. He was a member of the House of Girón.

Family Origins

He was the son of Gonzalo González Girón and

Teresa Arias Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; ) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or reap", or from θέ ...

. His paternal grandparents were Gonzalo Rodríguez Girón, a noble from Frechilla and Autillo de Campos, head mayordomo of King

Alfonso VIII of Castile 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 Alarc ...

and his first wife Sancha Rodríguez. They are credited with founding the Hospital de la Herrada in

Carrión de los Condes Carrión de los Condes () is a municipality in the province of Palencia, part of the Autonomous Community of Castile and León, Spain. Situated on the River Carrión, it is 40 kilometers upstream from the provincial capital of Palencia, on the F ...

. His maternal grandparents were Arias González de Quesada and María Froilaz. The family legend states that a noble named Rodrigo González de Cisneros saved the life of King

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. ...

by giving the king his horse and thus allowing him to escape what was apparently a battle lost to a Moorish Kingdom. He cut three pieces (jirones or girones, in Spanish) from the King's tunic and later asked the King to allow him to use these in his

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

. This legend has no foundations and the events are not mentioned by historians or in popular tradition. Most importantly, the use of coats of arms was unknown at the time of King Alfonso VI and it was not until a century later that this custom became common. Traditionally, the House of Girón was one of the most powerful families in the area of

Tierra de Campos Tierra de Campos ("Land of Fields") is a large historical and natural region or greater comarca that straddles the provinces of León, Zamora, Valladolid and Palencia, in Castile and León, Spain. It is a vast, desolate plain with practically ...

since the time 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 ...

Biography

He entered into the

de la Espada and was made commander of Ocaña, León, and Castile. In 1274, he gained ownership over the charter of

Montiel Montiel is a municipality of Spain located in the province of Ciudad Real, Castilla–La Mancha. The municipality spans across a total area of 271.22 km2 and, as of 1 January 2020, it has a registered population of 1,294. History On 5 March 122 ...

and the towns of Cózar and Alcubillas. In 1275, he was elected as Grand Master of the

, succeeding

Pelayo Pérez Correa D. Paio Peres Correia (1205 – January 1275) was a Portuguese warrior who played an important role in the thirteenth-century Reconquista.López Fernández, Manuel (2003)"Sobre la muerte y enterramientos de un Maestre santiaguista"in ''Revista de ...

. In that same here, Gonzalo was granted a lifelong title over areas in Montiel and was responsible for the repopulation, and the foundation of new localities.

Death

In 1280, Gonzalo died as a result of injuries received during the Battle of Moclín, which was fought on the 23rd of June of that year in the municipality of Moclín in

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

. More than 2,800 men died in that battle, including a large number of the members of the

. He was buried in the town of

Alcaudete Alcaudete is a city located in the province of Jaén, Andalusia, Spain. As of 2018, it has a population of 10,558. It is home to a 12th-14th century Moorish castle, located on the top of the hill commanding the town. Other sights include the ''Ig ...

in Jaén.

Marriage and Descendants

Gonzalo married Elvira Díaz de Castañeda, granddaughter of Alvar Díaz de Asturias and of Teresa Perez Girón, daughter of Diego Gómez de Castañeda. Gonzalo had at least two children with Elvira: * Gonzalo Rodríguez Girón y Castañeda y Rodrigo González, also known as Rodrigo González de San Román or Ruy González Girón * María Girón y Castañeda, who married

Alvar Pérez de Guzmán An alvar is a biological environment based on a limestone plain with thin or no soil and, as a result, sparse grassland vegetation. Often flooded in the spring, and affected by drought in midsummer, alvars support a distinctive group of prairie ...

, and was the eventual grandmother of Leonor de Guzmán and of

Alonso Meléndez de Guzmán Alonso Meléndez de Guzmán (b. ? - d. 1342) was a Spanish people, Spanish noble from León, Spain, León of the House of Guzmán. Alonso was the Grand Masters of the Order of Santiago, Grand Master of the Order of Santiago from 1338 to 1342. Fa ...

References

Bibliography