Suero de Quiñones (c. 1409 – 11 July 1456), called ("he of the pass"), was a Leonese

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

, nobleman, and author in the

Kingdom of León The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 when the Christian princes of Kingdom of Asturias, Asturias along the Bay of Biscay, northern coast of the peninsula ...

(then part of 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 ...

). He gained fame for his ''Paso Honroso'', a '' pas d'armes'' (passage of arms), at the Órbigo River in 1434.

Early life

Suero was born in 1409 in the

, the second of ten children of wealthy Leonese landowner Diego Fernández de Quiñones, known as ''El Afortunado'' (The Fortunate One) and scion of the House of Quiñones, and his wife María de Toledo. By the 1420s, Suero and his elder brother Pedro de Quiñones were active participants in Castilian political life as members of the court of Constable of Castile Álvaro de Luna.

Adulthood

In 1431, Suero participated in Battle of La Higueruela, during which the forces 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 ...

, led by Álvaro de Luna, attempted to take

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 ...

as part of the Spanish Reconquista.

Paso Honoroso

Suero's renown grew in 1434, when he established the Paso Honoroso, a '' pas d'armes'' (passage of arms), at the Hospital de Órbigo over the Órbigo River in 1434. From July 10 to August 9, Suero and ten companions encamped in a field beside the bridge over the Órbigo River, in the northwest of Castile. They challenged each knight who wished to cross the bridge to a

joust Jousting is a medieval and renaissance martial game or hastilude between two combatants either on horse or on foot. The joust became an iconic characteristic of the knight in Romantic medievalism. The term is derived from Old French , ultim ...

. This road was on the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage route leading to the shrine to Saint James the Great at

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...

. At this point in the summer, thousands of pilgrims from across Europe would cross the bridge. Suero and his men swore to "break 300

lance The English term lance is derived, via Middle English '' launce'' and Old French '' lance'', from the Latin '' lancea'', a generic term meaning a wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generic term meaning a spear">wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generi ...

s" before moving from the spot. After 166 battles, Suero and his men were so injured they could not continue and declared the mission complete. Town notary Don Luis Alonso Luengo kept a detailed first-hand chronicle of the events, later published as ("Book of the Passage of Honor"), bringing Suero and his men even wider fame in Europe.

Later years

In 1449, to avoid paying off a debt to a Jewish lender, Suero reportedly rallied the Christian population of León against the city's Jews, inspired by the claim that the Jews were collectively responsible for Jesus's death. On

Maundy Thursday Maundy Thursday, also referred to as Holy Thursday, or Thursday of the Lord's Supper, among other names,The day is also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries. is ...

and

Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

, Suero and his companions attacked the Jewish quarter and killed many Jews, including the lender to whom Suero owed money. To celebrate the pogrom, Suero and his supporters drank wine. According to Margarita Torres, this incident may be the root of the '' matar judíos'' tradition in Spain, whereby revelers drink Leonese lemonade during

Holy Week Holy Week () commemorates the seven days leading up to Easter. It begins with the commemoration of Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, marks the betrayal of Jesus on Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednes ...

Legacy

Suero became legendary in Spanish history and was mentioned by protagonist Don Quixote de la Mancha in the legendary 1605 Spanish novel ''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'' by

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelist ...

Early life

Adulthood

Paso Honoroso

Later years

Legacy

References

Further reading