Juan Núñez I de Lara y León (died Córdoba, April 1294), also known as "''el Gordo''" or "the Fat", was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

. He was the head of the

House of Lara The House of Lara (Spanish: ''Casa de Lara'') is a noble family from the medieval Kingdom of Castile. Two of its branches, one of the Dukes of Nájera and one of the Marquises of Aguilar de Campoo were considered Grandees of Spain. The Lara fami ...

, Lord of Lerma, Amaya, Dueñas, Palenzuela, Tordehumos,

Torrelobatón Torrelobatón is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. In the 2004 census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating populat ...

, and la Mota. He was further known as Señor de Albarracín through his first marriage with Teresa Álvarez de Azagra.

Family Origins

Juan was the son of Nuño González de Lara ''el Bueno'', head of the

and his wife, Teresa Alfonso de León, the granddaughter of King Alfonso IX of Leon. His paternal grandparents were Gonzalo Núñez de Lara and his wife, María Díaz de Haro y Azagra. He was the brother of Nuño González de Lara y León, lord of

Estella-Lizarra Estella (Spanish language, Spanish) or Lizarra (Basque language, Basque) is a town located in the autonomous community of Navarre, in northern Spain. It lies south west of Pamplona, close to the border with La Rioja (autonomous community), La Rioj ...

and ricohombre of Castile, of Teresa Núñez de Lara y León who married Gil Gómez de Roa, and of María Núñez de Lara y León who married Diego Gómez de Roa.

Biography

Childhood and time during the reign of Alfonso X ''El Sabio''

Juan Núñez' exact date of birth is unknown. On 2 February 1266, was declared a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

of Santa María and the Señor de Albarracín. Together with his brother, Nuño González de Lara y León the brothers donated certain goods to Mayor Alfonso, the abbess of the Monasterio de Santa María y San Andrés A few months later on 25 July 1266 together with his brother Nuño González, he was confirmed in a document affirming the commitment of certain nobles of Caleruega to their donations to the King,

Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, ; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, Kingdom of León, León and Kingdom of Galicia, Galicia from 1 June 1252 until his death in 1284. During the April 1257 Imperial election, election of 1 ...

. These donations were made for the purpose of acquiring the Monastery at Caleruega and confirming that other ricoshombres with interests in Caleruega accepted this claim over the monastery. Juan Núñez I de Lara accompanied King

Louis IX of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis VI ...

and

Theobald II of Navarre Theobald II (6/7 December 1239 – 4/5 December 1270) was King of Navarre and also, as Theobald V, Count of Champagne and Brie (region), Brie, from 1253 until his death. He was the son and successor of Theobald I of Navarre, Theobald I and the s ...

during the

Eighth Crusade The Eighth Crusade was the second Crusade launched by Louis IX of France, this one against the Hafsid dynasty in Tunisia in 1270. It is also known as the Crusade of Louis IX Against Tunis or the Second Crusade of Louis. The Crusade did not see an ...

and was with them in

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

. He participated in this crusade without the consent of Alfonso X, but was nevertheless able to retain all of his lands and titles under his crown. During the revolts of the nobility of 1272–1273, in which Juan Núñez I supported the positions of his father and other rebel magnates against the

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 ...

Philip of Castile. Philip was the brother of Alfonso X of Castile. Juan Núñez tried to remain loyal to the king, who had at the beginning of the rebellion, given him a mission together with

Gonzalo Pérez Gudiel Gonzalo Pérez 'Gudiel' (1238/9–1299), simply Gonzalo Pérez during his life (''Gonzalbo Petrez'', غنصالبه نيطرص, in his native mozarab Arabic), and wrongly Gonzalo García Gudiel in later church tradition,Jean-Pierre Molénat, ' ...

, the bishop of Cuenca, to persuade the infante Philip and other magnates to break their agreements with the

Kingdom of Navarre The Kingdom of Navarre ( ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, with its northernmost areas originally reaching the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay), between present-day Spain and France. The me ...

. Following this unsuccessful attempt, Juan Núñez accompanied his father, Nuño González de Lara "el Bueno" when he and the rebellious magnates abandoned the Kingdom of Castile and Leon and sought refuge in the Nazarí

Emirate of Granada The Emirate of Granada, also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, was an Emirate, Islamic polity in the southern Iberian Peninsula during the Late Middle Ages, ruled by the Nasrid dynasty. It was the last independent Muslim state in Western ...

. During his stay 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 ...

and throughout the actual revolt, he participated together with his father in peace negotiations between the

Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Castile, Castile and Kingd ...

and the Kingdom of Granada and the nobles in rebellion. Alfonso X el Sabio en El libro de los juegos

At the beginning of 1273, Juan Núñez I de Lara, who had up until now acted as a mediating force together with the bishop of Cuenca between his father and the King, abandoned the Castilian crown and embraced his role as a rebellious noble. In winter of 1273, at the city of Tudela, the infante Philip of Castile, Lope Díaz III de Haro, Álvar Díaz de Asturias, Nuño González de Lara "el Bueno" and his sons, Juan Núñez I de Lara, and Nuño González de Lara y León amongst other magnates, gathered to pay homage and swear allegiance to Henry I of Navarre. It was here that Juan Núñez I offered the Navarese king a list of grievances that he and the other former Castilian nobles had against their former king, Alfonso X. The former Castillian nobles, in their succession, took new oaths to serve the Kingdom of Navarre as they had previously served the

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

King of Granada. Despite the betrayal of many of his nobles, it was Alfonso's wish to pursue his goal of attaining the ''Fecha del Imperio'' (title of the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

). With this goal in mind, he allowed some of the members of the royal family resume negotiations with the rebel nobles. Amongst these mediators were the infantes Ferdinand de la Cerda and Manuel of Castile, the queen, Violant of Aragon, and

Archbishop of Toledo The Archdiocese of Toledo () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Spain.

, Sancho de Aragón, son of

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( Catalan/Valencian: ''Jaume I or Jaume el Conqueridor''; Aragonese: ''Chaime I'' ''o Conqueridor''; ; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1 ...

. After much negotiation, Alfonso X, advised by his brother

Frederick of Castile Frederick of Castile, in Spanish Fadrique (1223–1277), was a younger son (''infante'') of King Ferdinand III of Castile by his first wife, Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen. He was born in Guadalajara. After the conquest of Seville, unhappy under the r ...

and Simón Ruiz de los Cameros, the Castilian monarch accepted most of the demands of the exiled nobles, presenting the final agreement to Nuño González de Lara "el Bueno", who in 1273, met with the queen, Violant of Aragon in the city of Córdoba. At the end of that same year, the exiled nobles returned to the

Kingdom of Castile The Kingdom of Castile (; : ) was a polity in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. It traces its origins to the 9th-century County of Castile (, ), as an eastern frontier lordship of the Kingdom of León. During the 10th century, the Ca ...

. At the same time, Muhammed II al-Faqih, the Sultan of Granada, declared himself and his kingdom, a vassal of Alfonso X, even though the chronicles of King Alfonso X erroneously state that this announcement did not come until 1274. In July 1273, Fernando Rodríguez de Castro, Simón Ruiz de los Cameros, and

Diego López V de Haro Diego López V de Haro, nicknamed '' el Intruso'' ( 1250 – 1310), was a Castilian noble of the House of Haro and held the title of the Lord of Biscay which he took from the pretender to the title, John of Castile. He further served in ...

, the younger brother of Lope Díaz III de Haro were all confirmed as being entered back into the royal diplomas. It was not until early the following year, 1274, when Nuño González de Lara "el Bueno" and his children, amongst other nobles, were allowed back onto the rolls themselves. Juan Núñez' father, Nuño González reappeared on the royal rolls on 24 January 1247 and was reinstated to privileges not received since 14 July 1272. According to the chronicles of Alfonso X, he was reinstated in early 1274 when he was named the

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 ...

Mayor de la Frontera de Andalucia. In 1273, Juan Núñez I de Lara formed part of the embassy sent by Alfonso X to

Pope Gregory X Pope Gregory X (; – 10 January 1276), born Teobaldo Visconti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 September 1271 to his death and was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis. He was elected at the ...

. During this trip, the Castilian monarch attempted unsuccessfully to convince the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

to support his claims to the Imperial Roman throne. Instead, the pope attempted to convince Alfonso X to drop this ambition. He was further present at the Cortes de Toledo of 1275, where he assisted his father and brother in their goals and where Alfonso X entrusted the government of his kingdom to his firstborn son, the infante Ferdinand de la Cerda. The king announced his decision to travel to France and Germany where he would seek to be crowned officially as the

. During the absence of

, Juan Núñez I accompanied the infante Ferdinand de la Cerda as he carried out his official duties. On 25 July 1275, the infante Ferdinand de la Cerda died in

Ciudad Real Ciudad Real (, ) is a municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha, capital of the province of Ciudad Real. It is the 5th most populated municipality in the region. It was founded as Villa Real in 1255 as a ro ...

whilst awaiting reinforcements in a fight against the

Marinid Dynasty The Marinid dynasty ( ) was a Berbers, Berber Muslim dynasty that controlled present-day Morocco from the mid-13th to the 15th century and intermittently controlled other parts of North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) and of the southern Iberian P ...

Andalucía 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 ...

. Before his death, Ferdinand asked Juan Núñez I to work in his interests to protect the succession rights of his children, the infantes,

Alfonso de la Cerda Alfonso de la Cerda, (Valladolid 1270 - Ávila 1333), called "the Disinherited", was the elder son of Ferdinand de la Cerda and his wife Blanche of France, and was a grandson of Alfonso X of Castile. Alfonso and his brother Fernando were ca ...

, and Ferdinand de la Cerda, known as the Infantes de la Cerda, for Ferdinand knew that their succession would be in doubt given his young age and their weak standing at the time of his death. After Ferdinand de la Cerda's death, Juan Núñez I joined the caravan that conducted the infante's cadaver to the

Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas The Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas is a monastery of Cistercian nuns located approximately 1.5 km west of the city of Burgos in Spain. The word , which usually refers to "labour strikes" in modern Spanish, refers in this case ...

where he was interred. Miniature Philippe III Courronement

After the death of Ferdinand de la Cerda, the infante

Sancho The name Sancho () is an Iberian name of Basque origin (Santxo, Santzo, Santso, Antzo, Sans). Sancho stems from the Latin name Sanctius. Feminine forms of the name are Sancha, Sancia, and Sanchia (), and the common patronymic is Sánchez and ...

, the oldest living son of

and Lope Díaz III de Haro,

Lord of Biscay The Lordship of Biscay (, Basque: ''Bizkaiko jaurerria'') was a region under feudal rule in the region of Biscay in the Iberian Peninsula between 1040 and 1876, ruled by a political figure known as the Lord of Biscay. One of the Basque ''señor� ...

arrived at the

. Lope Díaz III agreed to help Sancho obtain his claim to the throne of Castile and supplant the Cerda infantes in return for protection of his interests. Lope Díaz III gathered his vassals at Ciudad Real to announce his decision to support Sancho's claim to the throne as Alfonso X's legitimate successor. The group also vowed to defend the kingdom against Muslim attackers at Castile's borders. In early September 1275, Nuño González de Lara "el Bueno", Juan Núñez I's father died at the Battle of Écija where Castilian forces were defeated by forces of the

who had invaded

. His father's head was sent by the Marinid King of Granada to Córdoba in a move he apparently considered to be a gesture of goodwill as Nuño González had previously been in the service of the

. Nuño González was buried along with the rest of his body at the Convento de San Pablo de Palencia After the death of his father, Juan Núñez I inherited the title of the Head of the

and became the preeminent defender of the rights to the throne of the infantes de la Cerda as he had promised Philip of Castile. His principal rival, Lope Díaz III de Haro,

, became the principal defender of the claims of Sancho of Castile. Juan Núñez I abandoned the

in September 1276 to join the service of

Philip III of France Philip III (1 May 1245 – 5 October 1285), called the Bold (), was King of France from 1270 until his death in 1285. His father, Louis IX, died in Tunis during the Eighth Crusade. Philip, who was accompanying him, returned to France and wa ...

. He was joined in his French exile by his brother, Nuño González de Lara y León. Whilst in France, the two brothers became the primary defenders of the Cerda line of succession within the French kingdom. In the Treaty of Vitoria of November 1276, signed by

and

, Alfonso X promises to return all lands confiscated from Juan Núñez I de Lara and give them back to him and his heirs although the clauses of this part of the treaty were not vigorously stated. After Alfonso X and

Peter III of Aragon Peter III of Aragon (In Aragonese, ''Pero''; in Catalan, ''Pere''; in Italian, ''Pietro''; November 1285) was King of Aragon, King of Valencia (as ), and Count of Barcelona (as ) from 1276 to his death. At the invitation of some rebels, he con ...

came to an agreement at Vistas de Campillo that the Aragonese monarch would renounce his rights over the Señorío de Albarracín, the infante Sancho IV, who had become an enemy of his father on the issue of the Cerda infantes, solicited the Aragonese monarch to support his claims to the Castilian throne in return for his reinstatement to lordship over Albarracin. In 1283, Juan Núñez I, together with his son, Álvaro Núñez de Lara, the infante James of Castile, Lord of Cameros, and Juan Alfonso de Haro, continued to wage war against the infante

. The three Cerda supporters along with their vassals had taken power over the municipality of Treviño. Upon hearing this, Sancho sent Lope Diaz III de Haro along with his army to Treviño to confront them. Regardless, no battle took place there between these forces. On 4 April 1284, King

died in the city of

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

. He was succeeded to the throne by his eldest son,

Sancho IV of Castile Sancho IV of Castile (12 May 1258 – 25 April 1295) called the Brave (''el Bravo''), was the king of Castile, León and Galicia (now parts of Spain) from 1284 to his death. Following his brother Ferdinand's death, he gained the s ...

, the enemy of Juan Núñez I and his interests.

Actions during the reign of Sancho IV ''El Bravo'' (1276–1294)

On 29 September 1284, after many months of siege by the Aragonese troops of King

on the city of

Albarracín Albarracín () is a Spanish town, in the province of Teruel, part of the autonomous community of Aragon. According to the 2007 census (INE), the municipality had a population of 1075 inhabitants. Albarracín is the capital of the mountainous Si ...

gave in and was occupied by the Aragonese troops. After the Siege of Albarracín, the Aragonese monarch gave the city and the lordship of Albarracín to Fernando de Aragón, his illegitimate son by Inés Zapata. After the capitulation of Albarracín, Juan Núñez I continued to serve

. In 1285, the troops of the

were defeated by the Aragonese. In 1287, his eldest son, Álvaro Núñez de Lara died. Álvaro Núñez was Juan Núñez I's firstborn son although some of the chronicles of Alfonso X and Sancho IV refer to him as Juan's brother. In 1288,

assassinated his former vassal, Lope Díaz III de Haro, the

and ordered the imprisonment of his brother, John of Castile whose had only been spared by intervention of their mother, the Queen Violant of Aragon. John of Castile was imprisoned in

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

by order of the king. Sancho IV of Castile

In 1289, after coming to an agreement with Sancho IV over the towns of Moya and Cañete, Juan Núñez I returned to the

and sent his daughter, Juana Núñez de Lara to

María de Molina María Alfonso Téllez de Meneses (c. 1265 – 1321), known as María de Molina, was queen consort of Kingdom of Castile, Castile and Kingdom of León, León from 1284 to 1295 by marriage to Sancho IV of Castile, and served as regent for her min ...

, wife of Sancho IV so that she could be raised in the court as agreed by the agreement aforementioned. After his return to the capital, Sancho IV named Juan Núñez I, the new

as the ''Frontero'' de

Aragón Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to south): Huesca, Zaragoza, a ...

with the stipulation that he fight Diego López IV de Haro, the new Lord of Biscay and

Alfonso III of Aragon Alfonso III (4 November 1265 – 18 June 1291), called the Liberal (''el Liberal'') and the Free (also "the Frank", from ''el Franc''), was king of Aragon and Valencia, and count of Barcelona (as ) from 1285 until his death. He conquered the ...

who had declared war against Sancho IV. Nevertheless, before starting his post as ''Frontero'', Juan Núñez I inspected his lands in Burgos which had been attacked by Pedro Díaz de Castañeda and his brother, Nuño Díaz de Castañeda, supporters of the Lord of Biscay. In revenge, Juan Núñez I proposed to devastate the region of Asturias de Santillana where the family of Pedro Díaz possessed many areas even though Sancho IV strictly ordered him not to do so as the

House of Castañeda A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...

was powerful in

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 ...

. Juan Núñez I continued his war against the

Kingdom of Aragon The Kingdom of Aragon (; ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Monarchy, kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain. It became a part of the larger ...

and against Diego Lopez IV de Haro who died in 1289. In April 1290, Juan Núñez I was with the king at

when some members of the court alienated the lord of Lara by telling him that Sancho IV was plotting his death. They informed him that if he returned to the palace that he would be assassinated. For this reason, the Lord of Lara retired with his knights to the municipality of San Andrés de Arroyo. Once he was there, both the king and the queen attempted to assure him that they did not wish him any harm. Nevertheless, Lara decided against returning to court although he did accept a meeting with the queen,

in the city of

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 ...

. Initially it seemed as if the king and the Lord of Lara had reached a quick agreement, however this was quickly thrown into confusion when the king agreed to truce with

, the sworn enemy of the

. Juan Núñez I again abandoned the court and fled to the

and afterwards to the

. Shortly after moving to the Kingdom of Aragon, Juan Núñez I began to dedicate himself to the recuperation of the señorío de Albarracín. Together with his troops, he invaded the Kingdom of Castile and attacked the area of Cuenca and Alarcón. Once there, the Aragonese-Leonese troops reached him commanded by Esteban Fernández de Castro, the Lord of Lemos, Ruy Gil de Villalobos, and Juan Fernández de León "Cabellos de Oro" illegitimate grandson of

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 head

Majordomo A majordomo () is a person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another. Typically, this is the highest (''major'') person of a household (''domūs'' or ''domicile'') staff, a head servant who acts on behalf of the owner of a larg ...

. In the battle that followed, the soldiers of Juan Núñez I routed the Castilian-Leonese troops. After this victory, the Lord of Lara returned to Aragon where on August 22, 1290, in the city of

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, he paid homage to

along with his son, Juan Núñez II de Lara. Juan Núñez I vowed to aid Alfonso III of Aragon in his fight against Sancho IV and to give refuge in his castles to the Aragonese monarch and his troops. By the end of 1290, Juan Núñez I had become angry with the King of Aragon for although he had been promised the return of lordship over Albarracín, it became evident that this deal would never happen. Eventually, Juan Núñez I accepted repeated offers by Sancho IV and returned to the Kingdom of Castile. Before his return to Castile, he had his son, Juan Núñez II, marry Isabel Alfonso de Molina, daughter of Alfonso Fernández de Castilla and Blanca Alfonso de Molina who was the daughter of the queen,

and Juan Fernández "Cabellos de Oro" to safeguard against any ill will by either Sancho IV or the kingdom's nobility. The marriage was celebrated upon Juan Núñez I's return to Castile. Isabel Alfonso de Molina was also the heiress by part of her mother, of the Real Señorío de Molina, a title which had long before belonged to the

. Shortly after, Juan Núñez I was with King Sancho IV at the city of Toledo after having accompanied him to Cuenca. It was there that the Lord of Lara was informed by a knight that the Castilian king was again plotting his death. The king quickly sent word to Lara that the accusation was false and named the person who delivered this message to Juan Núñez I a false knight in the presence of the entire court. Sancho IV Tarifa

Soon after this incident, Juan Núñez I allied himself with Juan Alfonso de Meneses, Lord of Alburquerque against Sancho IV and the two of them persuaded the king to release his brother, the infante John of Castile who had been in prison since 1288 when he and Lope Díaz III de Haro were uncovered in a plot. Haro was assassinated by order of the king for his role in this plot. By 1291, Sancho IV and Juan Núñez I agreed that Juana Núñez de Lara, Juan Núñez I's daughter, would marry the infante Alfonso de Castilla y Molina, the son of King Sancho IV. However, the infante Alfonso died in 1291 in

at the age of 5. Due to the past agreement between Sancho IV and the Lord of Lara,

James II of Aragon James II (Catalan: ''Jaume II''; Aragonese: ''Chaime II;'' 10 April 1267 – 2 or 5 November 1327), called the Just, was the King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. He was also the King of Sicily (as James I) f ...

, the new King of Aragon and brother of

, desisted for the moment in his policy of support for the succession claims of

. In 1292, Juan Núñez I once again became the enemy of

and fled the

. He again went to France where he took refuge in the service of

Philip IV of France Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. Jure uxoris, By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre and Count of Champagne as Philip&n ...

. After an embassy sent by Sancho IV to Philip IV however, the French monarch stopped supporting the Cerda brothers' claim to the throne and also stopped his support for Juan Núñez I, all of whom were refuging in France. In August 1292, Isabel Alfonso de Molina, the daughter in law of Juan Núñez I with his son, Juan Núñez II de Lara, and the daughter of Sancho IV, died. His familial obligations to Sancho IV officially cut off, Juan Núñez I's son, Juan Núñez II de Lara wasted no time and joined his father in rebellion against the king together with the king's brother, John of Castile. During the following conflict, Juan Núñez II and John of Castile were defeated. The king's brother fled to 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 ...

and Juan Núñez II was obliged to seek reconciliation with Sancho IV. Shortly after, Juan Núñez I returned to the Kingdom of Castile and offered his services to Sancho IV to fight against his former ally, John of Castile who together with Juan Alfonso de Meneses, lord of Alburquerque, had invaded the kingdom. While Sancho IV made his way to the front to meet with

, Juan Núñez I began fighting John of Castile who defeated him and made him prisoner in a battle that took place in the municipality of Zamorano de Peleas. Shortly after this defeat, Juan Núñez II de Lara who had accompanied the king to meet with James II of Aragon, abandoned the royal caravan and left for the

to solicit the release of his father. For his part, Juan Núñez I who had been held prisoner by John of Castile, persuaded John that he would aid him in his recuperation of the

Lordship of Biscay The Lordship of Biscay (, Basque language, Basque: ''Bizkaiko jaurerria'') was a region under feudal rule in the region of Biscay in the Iberian Peninsula between 1040 and 1876, ruled by a political figure known as the Lord of Biscay. One of the ...

, which his wife,

María II Díaz de Haro Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

and

were fighting for control over. The Lord of Lara further proposed to John of Castile that the

King of Portugal This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portugal, Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Thro ...

should rubricate any agreement between them. Further, after he was set free by the infante John, Juan Núñez I solicited the protection of King

Denis of Portugal Denis (, ; 9 October 1261 – 7 January 1325), called the Farmer King (''Rei Lavrador'') and the Poet King (''Rei Poeta''), was King of Portugal from 1279 until his death in 1325. Dinis was the eldest son of Afonso III of Portugal by his second ...

, who helped him return to the

. After returning to Castile, Sancho IV absolved him any oath paid to John of Castile and the Lord of Lara traveled to his lands in Castile. Shortly after,

sent Juan Núñez I to

to defend the frontier against the armies of Muhammed II al-Faqih who had allied himself with the

King of Morocco The king of Morocco (; ) is the monarch and head of state of Morocco. The kings of Morocco are members of the Alawi dynasty. It is one of the country's most powerful offices. Mohammed VI ( Sidi Mohammed bin Hassan al-Alawi) is the current kin ...

Death and Sepulcher

Juan Núñez I de Lara died in Córdoba in April 1294. His body was transferred to the city of

where he was buried at the Convento de San Pablo de Burgos, a convent belonging to the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

. His remains disappeared together with his sepulcher when the convent was sacked and destroyed by French forces during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

. Later, the ruins of the convent which were still standing, were demolished by the army in 1870 to build a barracks.

Marriage and Descendants

Juan's first marriage occurred sometime before the year 1260 with Teresa Álvarez de Azagra.Historia del Señorío de Albarracín (José Luis Castán Esteban)
/ref> She was the daughter of Álvaro Pérez de Azagra, Vassal of Santa María and lord of

, and his wife, Inés, the illegitimate daughter of King

Theobald I of Navarre Theobald I (, ; 30 May 1201 – 8 July 1253), also called the Troubadour and the Posthumous, was Count of Champagne (as Theobald IV) from birth and King of Navarre from 1234. He initiated the Barons' Crusade, was famous as a trouvère, and was the ...

. One son was born to the couple: * Álvaro Núñez de Lara ( – 1287). His second marriage was with Teresa de Haro, daughter of Diego López III de Haro,

, and his wife, Constanza de Bearne. Four children were born from this marriage: * Juan Núñez II de Lara (c. 1276 – 1315). * Nuño González de Lara (c. 1284 – 1296). * Juana Núñez de Lara (1285–1351). * Teresa Núñez de Lara y Haro (c. 1280 - c. 1314).

Historical Controversy

Luis de Salazar y Castro, a 17th-century writer focusing on historical genealogy, was mistaken in his chronicling of the House of Lara in naming four separate people named Juan Núñez de Lara. He mistakenly created two "Juan Núñez I"s, one who died in 1294 and another who died in 1276. In actuality the two are one and the same. Juan Núñez I died in 1294 but was exiled to France in 1276, an event which Castro misinterpreted as a death. In his writings, Salazar y Castro attributes to the second fictitious "Juan Núñez", a marriage with Teresa Álvarez de Azagra from which matrimony are born Juan Núñez II de Lara A.K.A. ''el Mozo'' and Juana Núñez de Lara. This marriage and its offspring were products of the Juan Núñez I of which this article writes about and historically it has only been proven that three Juan Núñez de Laras ever existed, heading the House of Lara from 1275 to 1350. This position is backed by a majority of historians.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * *
Sánchez de Mora, Antonio; ''La nobleza castellana en la plena Edad Media: el linaje de Lara (ss. XI-XIII)''; Tesis Doctoral en el Departamento de Historia Medieval y Ciencias y Técnicas Historiográficas, Facultad de Geografía e Historia; Universidad de Sevilla (España); 2003. Revisión crítica, fundada en documentos y análisis socio-económico, de los hechos e hipótesis sobre la Casa de Lara
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lara, Juan Nunez I de 1294 deaths Lords in Spain

Juan ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of '' John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philip ...

Castilian nobility Year of birth unknown