Leonor López De Córdoba
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Leonor López de Córdoba y Carrillo (
Calatayud Calatayud (; 2014 pop. 20,658) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Province of Zaragoza, within Aragón, Spain, lying on the river Jalón (river), Jalón, in the midst of the Sistema Ibérico mountain range. It is the second-largest ...
, ca. 1362-1363 Córdoba, July 1430) wrote what is supposed to be the first
autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
in Castilian, titled ''Memorias'' by one of its editors, after being banished from the Castilian Court where she was an advisor and confidant of Queen Catalina of Castile, wife of King Henry III.


Biographical information

According to ''Memorias,'' Leonor López de Córdoba was born circa 1362 in
Calatayud Calatayud (; 2014 pop. 20,658) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Province of Zaragoza, within Aragón, Spain, lying on the river Jalón (river), Jalón, in the midst of the Sistema Ibérico mountain range. It is the second-largest ...
at the home of
Peter of Castile Peter (; 30 August 133423 March 1369), called Peter the Cruel () or the Just (), was King of Castile and León from 1350 to 1369. Peter was the last ruler of the main branch of the House of Ivrea. He was excommunicated by Pope Urban V for h ...
. Since her godmothers were daughters of the King, she spent her childhood at the court, along with her mother, Sancha Carrillo, who was Pedro's kinswoman, Alfonso XI’s niece. After her mother’s early death, Leonor’s father, , "maestre" rand masterof the chivalric orders of Calatrava and
Alcántara Alcántara () is a municipality in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain, on the Tagus, near Portugal. The toponym is from the Arabic word ''al-Qanṭarah'' (القنطرة) meaning "the bridge". History Archaeological findings have atte ...
, promised her in marriage to Ruy Gutiérrez de Henestrosa, son of Juan Fernández de Henestrosa, King Pedro's head valet and head majordomo of Queen Blanche of Bourbon. Following their marriage, Ruy and Leonor moved to Carmona, a fortified city in the south of Spain, near
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, ...
with the rest of the family. While they lived there, Peter I was killed by his half-brother, who assumed the crown as
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 ...
, and besieged Carmona, because Martín López and his family were partisans of the murdered king. After several attempts to capture the city, Martín López finally surrendered to Enrique in 1371 under a promise of safe conduct out of the country. However, the king did not keep his promise and killed the ''maestre'' and imprisoned his family in the Atarazanas Reales of Seville. Leonor was only nine years old at the time she and her family were imprisoned. After eight years of hardship, all of her relatives except her husband had died in prison. They were finally set free by a provision in Henry II's will. Leonor then went to the house of her aunt, María García Carrillo, in Córdoba, while her husband tried in vain to recover their lost properties. On her husband's return after seven years of wandering, having recovered nothing, Leonor asked her aunt for a place of her own to dwell. It was in that place that she built both a home and a chapel. According to historical record, Leonor was the mother of at least three sons and one daughter. When the
Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...
struck Córdoba, in 1392, Leonor and her family fled to Santaella and later to Aguilar, where, per ''Memorias'', one of her sons died of the plague after tending to her adopted son, a Jewish boy who had likely been orphaned as a result of the Córdoba pogrom in 1392. Afraid of becoming infected, her aunt's family asked her to leave, and Leonor returned to Córdoba. In the years after 1403, Leonor dwelt at the court of
Henry III of Castile Henry III of Castile (4 October 1379 – 25 December 1406), called the Suffering due to his ill health (, ), was the son of John I and Eleanor of Aragon. He succeeded his father as King of Castile in 1390. Birth and education Henry was bor ...
and his queen Catherine of Lancaster, to whom she became a close advisor. The chronicle of
John II of Castile John II of Castile (; 6 March 1405 – 20 July 1454) was King of Castile and León from 1406 to 1454. He succeeded his older sister, Maria of Castile, Queen of Aragon, as Prince of Asturias in 1405. Regency John was the son of King Henry ...
's reign writes of Leonor that "Catalina trusted her so much, and loved her in such a way, that nothing was done without her advice” (Estow, 35). Eventually, however, around 1412, Leonor lost the queen's favour and was banished from the court, under threat of being burnt at the stake if she ever returned. She lived in Córdoba until her death in 1420.


Work

''Memorias'' (Memoirs) are at present considered the earliest extant autobiography in Spanish. The original manuscript, formerly at Cordova, is lost. The text has been transcribed and published from eighteenth century copies, one of which is today at the Biblioteca Capitular y Colombina at Seville. It is a short narrative of around nine pages, cast as a notarial document (“Sepan cuantos esta escriptura vieren ”Let those who see this writing know , and although she claims to be the writer of the text, the abundance of legal terms suggests she dictated it to a notary. Written after her fall from favour at court, the narrative is cast as a testimony of devotion, in which she shows the
efficacy of prayer The efficacy of prayer has been studied since at least 1872, generally through experiments to determine whether prayer or Intercession, intercessory prayer has a Scientific evidence, measurable effect on the health of the person for whom prayer i ...
to the
Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
. It is also an apology for her father’s and her own actions. What begins as an act of piety develops into a defense of her family's good name. The prayers included in the ''Memorias'' are intended to certify the veracity of Leonor's story, as the favours with which the Virgin Mary has rewarded them must argue that her father's disgrace, imprisonment and death must be unjust, recasting family shame in the light of subsequent divine protection. The story of physical and spiritual survival in the ''Memorias'' constitutes a form of cultural testimony. They may also constitute an ''alegato'' (legal pleading) for lost family property.


References


General references

*Ayerbe-Chaux, Reinaldo. "Las Memorias de doña Leonor López de Córdoba." ''Journal of Hispanic Philology'' 2 (1977–1978): 11–33. *Estow, Clara. “Leonor Lopez de Cordoba: Portrait of a Medieval Courtier.” ''Fifteenth Century Studies'' 5 Michigan (1982), 23–46. *Mirrer, Louise. ''Women, Jews, and Muslims in the Texts of Reconquest Castile.'' Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1996. *Stanton, Domna C. ''The Female Autograph.'' NY: NY Literary Forum, 1984. * Trend, J.B. ''Spain From The South.'' London: Methuen, 1928.


External links


Bellido Bello, Juan Félix. “Leonor López de Córdoba (1362-1430)”. ''Escritoras y Pensadoras Europeas.'' Octubre 2006. Universidad de Sevilla.López de Córdoba, Leonor. ''Memorias''. A guided-reading edition of Leonor López de Córdoba’s autobiography dictated in Córdoba c.1401-1404. Spanish modernized by María-Milagros Rivera Garretas. Guided-reading edition prepared by Christopher C. Oechler.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez de Cordoba, Leonor Spanish women writers Spanish memoirists 15th-century Castilian writers 1360s births 1430 deaths Year of birth uncertain Spanish women memoirists People from Calatayud