María De Molina
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María Alfonso Téllez de Meneses (c. 1265 – 1321), known as María de Molina, was queen consort of Castile and León from 1284 to 1295 by marriage to
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 ...
, and served as regent for her minor son Ferdinand IV (1295 - c.1301) and later her grandson
Alfonso XI of Castile Alfonso XI (11 August 131126 March 1350), called the Avenger (''el Justiciero''), was King of Castile and León. He was the son of Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. Upon his father's death in 1312, several disputes ...
(1312-1321).


Queenship

María was the daughter of the ''infante'' Alfonso of Molina and Mayor Alfonso de Meneses. Her paternal grandparents were King
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 Queen
Berengaria of Castile Berengaria (Castilian language, Castilian: ''Berenguela''), nicknamed the Great (Castilian: la Grande) (1179 or 1180 – 8 November 1246), was Queen of CastileThe full title was ''Regina Castelle et Toleti'' (Queen of Castile and Toledo). for ...
. She married her first cousin-once removed
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 ...
in 1282, although the matrimonial dispensation for kinship was not previously granted. Upon the death of his father,
Alfonso X Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, ; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1 June 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Germany on 1 Ap ...
, the couple became king and queen of Castile and León. She was crowned alongside her husband in the cathedral of Toledo. Although the couple was pressured to separate by Rome and others, Sancho chose to honor his wife and delegated many responsibilities to her, including the regency of their son after his death. His reign was short since he died in 1295.


First regency

After the death of Sancho IV, he was succeeded by their eldest son Ferdinand IV, who was under age. Though according to the Crónica de Sancho IV, Sancho designated María as the sole regent, she was forced to share the regency with Sancho's uncle,
Henry the Senator Henry of Castile (March 1230 – 8 August 1303), called the Senator (''el Senador''), was a Kingdom of Castile, Castilian ''infante'', the fourth son of Ferdinand III of Castile by his first wife, Elisabeth of Swabia, Beatrice of Swabia. Youth a ...
, younger brother of Alfonso X. Ferdinand's rule was challenged by a coalition that included his uncle, John, his cousins the infantes de la Cerda, sons of the infante Ferdinand de la Cerda, eldest son of
Alfonso X Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, ; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1 June 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Germany on 1 Ap ...
, as well as King James II of Aragón and 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 ...
. Through marriage alliances, gifts of territories, and shrewd politics María was able to lead Ferdinand's cause to victory, though it did not come easily. María built her own coalition, relying on the Castilian Cortes to confirm her authority and playing the powerful family of Haro against the Laras, who supported the opposition. Civil war continued for several years, and María's coregent Henry was often more of an antagonist than a defender of his great-nephew's cause. Around 1300, the alliance against Ferdinand began to crumble when one of his principal enemies, Juan Núñez de Lara, was captured and later reconciled to the young king. Portugal returned to allegiance with Ferdinand with the promise of a marriage between the Portuguese princess Constance and the young king of Castile. María's victory for her son seemed sealed in 1301, when she finally received a papal bull from Pope
Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII (; born Benedetto Caetani; – 11 October 1303) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 until his death in 1303. The Caetani family was of baronial origin with connections to the p ...
, legitimizing her marriage and her children. Eventually, only Aragon was left to support the claim of Alfonso de la Cerda and his brother, which was finally set aside in a treaty between Castile and Aragon a few years later. María's son died in 1312 and was succeeded by his son,
Alfonso XI Alfonso XI (11 August 131126 March 1350), called the Avenger (''el Justiciero''), was King of Castile and León. He was the son of Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. Upon his father's death in 1312, several disputes en ...
. As the new king was a minor, Maria became regent again. She died in
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 ...
in 1321.


Infancy of Ferdinand IV (1295-1301)

On April 25, 1295, King Sancho IV passed away, leaving the infant Fernando as the heir. The king was buried in the Cathedral of Toledo, María de Molina withdrew to the original Alcázar of Toledo to observe a nine day mourning period. The queen was in charge of exercising his guardianship during her son’s childhood, who was only nine years old. Due to the illegitimacy of her son Ferdinand, caused by the illegitimate marriage of her parents, the queen had to overcome many difficulties to get her son to stay on the throne. To the never-ending struggles with the Castilian nobility, commanded by Prince Juan of Castile of Tarifa, who claimed the throne from his brother Sancho IV, and by Prince Enrique of Castile the Senator, son of Fernando III of Castile and uncle of Fernando IV, who claimed the guardianship of the king, joined in the fight with Princes of the Cerda, supported by France and Aragon and by their queen grandmother, Violant of Aragon, widow of Alfonso X. On top of this were the problems with Aragon, Portugal, and France, who attempted to take advantage of the kingdom of Castile’s instability for their own benefit. At the same time, Diego López V of Haro, Lord of Vizcaya, Nuño González of Lara, and Juan Núñez of Lara, among many others, spread confusion and anarchy in the kingdom. In the Courts of Valladolid in 1295, Prince Enrique of Castile the Senator was named guardian of the king, but the queen obtained custody of her son through the support of the cities with a vote in the Courts. While the Courts of Valladolid in 1295 were being held, Prince Juan of Castile of Tarifa left Granada and attempted to occupy the city of Badajoz, but after failing in his attempt, he seized Coria and the castle of Alcántara. Later he went to the kingdom of Portugal, where he pressured King Dionisio I of Portugal to declare war on the kingdoms of Castile and Leon and, at the same time, to give him support in his claims to the Castilian-Leonese throne. In the summer of 1295, the Valladolid Courts of that year ended, Queen María of Molina and Prince Enrique met in Ciudad Rodrigo with King Dionisio I of Portugal, to whom the Queen gave several squares next to the Portuguese border. In the Ciudad Rodrigo meeting it was agreed that Ferdinand IV would marry the Infanta Constanza of Portugal, the King of Portugal’s daughter, and that the Infanta Beatriz of Castile, Ferdinand IV's sister, would marry Prince Alfonso, the heir to the Portuguese throne. At the same time, Diego López V de Haro had possession of the lordship of Vizcaya confirmed, and the infant Juan, who momentarily accepted Fernando IV as sovereign in private, had his properties restored. Shortly after, Jaime II de Aragon returned the Infanta Isabel de Castilla to the Castilian court, without having married her, and declared war on the kingdom of Castilla y León. At the beginning of 1296, Prince Juan of Castile of Tarifa, who had rebelled against Fernando IV, took Astudillo, Paredes de Nava and Dueñas, while his son Alfonso de Valencia took control of Mansilla. In April 1296, Alfonso of the Cerda invaded the kingdom of Castilla and León accompanied by Aragon troops, and went to the city of León, where Prince Juan was proclaimed the King of León, Seville, and Galicia. Directly after, Prince Juan accompanied Alfonso of the Cerda to Sahagún, where he was proclaimed king of Castile, Toledo, Córdoba, Murcia, and Jaén. Soon after Alfonso of the Cerda and Prince Juan were crowned, both surrounded the Valladolid municipality of Mayorga, Prince Enrique left at the same time for the Nasrid kingdom of Granada to reach peace between the Granada monarch and Fernando IV, because at the time the Granadans attacked the lands of the king throughout Andalusia, which were defended, among others, by Alonso Pérez de Guzmán. On August 25, 1296, Prince Pedro of Aragón died, a victim of the plague, while he was in command of the Aragonese army that laid siege to the city of Mayorga, with Prince Juan, where he lost one of his defenders. Due to the death that spread among the besiegers of Mayorga, their commanders were forced to lift the siege. While Prince Juan of Castilla of the Tarifa and Juan Núñez of Lara waited for the arrival of the King of Portugal with his troops to join them at the site where they planned to subdue the city of Valladolid, where they found the Queen María of Molina and Fernando IV, the Aragonese king attacked Murcia and Soria, and King Dionisio of Portugal attacked along the line of the Duero River, while Diego López V of Haro spread disorder in his Vizcaya domain.


Children

* Isabella of Castile (1283–1328). Married first
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 ...
and secondly
John III, Duke of Brittany John III ''the Good'' (in Breton ''Yann III'', in French ''Jean III''; 8 March 128630 April 1341) was Duke of Brittany, from 1312 to his death and 5th Earl of Richmond from 1334 to his death. He was the son of Arthur II, Duke of Brittany, and ...
. *
Ferdinand IV of Castile Ferdinand IV of Castile (6 December 1285 – 7 September 1312) called the Summoned (''el Emplazado''), was King of Castile and King of León, León from 1295 until his death. Ferdinand's upbringing and personal custody was entered to his mother ...
(1285–1312). Married
Constance of Portugal Constance of Portugal (pt: ''Constança''; 3 January 1290 – Sahagún, 18 November 1313; ), was Queen of Castile by her marriage to Ferdinand IV. She was the eldest child and only daughter of King Denis of Portugal and his wife Elizab ...
. * Alfonso (1286–1291) * Henry (1288–1299) * Peter (1290–1319). Married Maria of Aragon, daughter of
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 ...
. *
Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...
(1292–1327). Married his cousin Margarita de la Cerda, daughter of
Ferdinand de la Cerda, Infante of Castile Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...
. * Beatrice of Castile (1293–1359). Married
Afonso IV of Portugal Afonso IVEnglish: ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', or ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese), ''Alfonso'' or ''Alphonso'' ( Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin). (; 8 February 129128 May 1357), called the Brave (), was King of Portugal from 1325 ...
.


References


Further reading

*Pepin, Paulette Lynn. ''María de Molina, Queen and Regent: Life and Rule in Castile-León, 1259–1321''. Lexington Books, 2016. , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Molina, Maria De 1260s births 1321 deaths Castilian House of Burgundy Queens consort of Castile Queens consort of Leon Galician queens consort 13th-century women regents 13th-century regents Castilian queen mothers 13th-century Castilians 14th-century Castilians Leonese infantas Regents of Castile 14th-century women rulers Leonese queen mothers Year of birth uncertain 13th-century queens consort 13th-century ladies regnant