Ordoño Álvarez () (

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 ...

, – 21 December 1285) was an Asturian

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

man, abbot at the Abbey of Santa María de

Husillos Husillos is a municipality located in the province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census ( INE), the municipality had a population of 208 inhabitants. Geography and population Husillos is a little municipality in ...

, bishop of

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

, archbishop of

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

and cardenal of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Family origins

Ordoño Álvarez was a member of the House of Noreña, often referred to as the House of Nava, one of the most noble and ancient houses of

, descendant of 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 ...

s Ordoño Ramírez and Cristina Bermúdez. His father was Álvar Díaz who accompanied King

Ferdinand III of Castile Ferdinand III (; 1199/120130 May 1252), called the Saint (''el Santo''), was King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230 as well as King of Galicia from 1231. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berengaria of Castile. Through his ...

in the

siege of Seville The siege of Seville (July 1247 – November 1248) was a 16-month successful investment during the ''Reconquista'' of Seville by forces of Ferdinand III of Castile. Although perhaps eclipsed in geopolitical importance by the rapid capture of Có ...

in 1248 and governed several tenancies including

Siero Siero is a municipality of the autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain. With a population of 52,194 as of 2023, Siero is the fourth most populous municipality in Asturias. It has a total of 29 parishes, with the largest being Lugones ...

, Nava, Aguilar and other localities. Ordoño's paternal grandfather was his namesake, Ordoño Álvarez de las Asturias, an important magnate during the reign of 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 ...

who participated in the conquest of

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

in 1236, and who was appointed mayor of Jaén and in charge of the ''repartimiento'', or distribution of the conquered land. Álvar had married Teresa Pérez Girón, daughter of Pedro Rodríguez Girón and his wife Sancha Peres de Lumiares, daughter of the Portuguese noble Pedro Afonso de Ribadouro, ''tenente'' of

Neiva Neiva () is the capital and most populated city of the Department of Huila, south central Colombia. It is located in the valley of the Magdalena River with a municipal population of 388,299. It is one of the most important cities in southern Co ...

(1187) and Trancoso (1184), and his wife Urraca Afonso, an illegitimate daughter of

Afonso I of Portugal Dom Afonso IOr also ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician languages, Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin version), sometimes rendered in English as ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', depending on th ...

. One of Ordoño's brothers was Pedro Álvarez de las Asturias, the father of

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 ...

, count of Noreña, tutor of 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 ...

who 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 ...

Ecclesiastical career

He was appointed abbot of Santa María de Husillos on 1 July 1273 by

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 ...

and held this post until 13 July 1281. In this capacity, he attended the

Second Council of Lyon The Second Council of Lyon was the fourteenth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, convoked on 31 March 1272 and convened in Lyon, Kingdom of Arles (in modern France), in 1274. Pope Gregory X presided over the council, called to ...

in 1274. Ordoño was

Archbishop of Braga The Archdiocese of Braga () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Portugal. It is known for its use of the Rite of Braga, a use of the liturgy distinct from the Roman Rite and other Latin liturgical ...

from 1275 to 1278 and is also recorded as the bishop of Salamanca in 1281. On 12 March 1278, he was created cardinal by

Pope Nicholas III Pope Nicholas III (; Wiktionary:circa, c. 1225 – 22 August 1280), born Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 November 1277 to his death on 22 August 1280. He was a Roman nobleman who h ...

and appointed Suburbicarian Bishop of Frascati, participating in the

papal conclave A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around ...

s of 1280 and 1285 when

Martin IV Pope Martin IV (; born Simon de Brion; 1210/1220 – 28 March 1285), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1281 until his death in 1285. He was the last French pope to hold his court in Rome before ...

and

Honorius IV Pope Honorius IV (born Giacomo Savelli; — 3 April 1287) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 April 1285 to his death on 3 April 1287. His election followed the death of Pope Martin IV and was notable for its spe ...

were elected popes.

Death and burial

Álvarez died in Rome in 1285 and was probably buried in the cloister of the

Old Cathedral of Salamanca The Cathedral of Santa María (Spanish: ''Catedral Vieja de Santa María''), known as the Old Cathedral, is one of the two cathedrals in Salamanca, Castile and León, Spain. Founded by Bishop Jerome of Périgord, its construction began in the fir ...

, as recorded in several documents.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, Ordono Deans of the College of Cardinals Spanish cardinals Cardinal-bishops of Frascati Roman Catholic archbishops of Braga 13th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Portugal 1230 births 1285 deaths 13th-century cardinals 13th-century Spanish clergy