Urraca Of León And Castile
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Urraca ( León, 24 June 1081 – Saldaña, 8 March 1126), called the Reckless ''(La Temeraria)'', was Queen of León, Castile and Galicia from 1109 until her death. She claimed the imperial title as
suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...
''Empress of All Spain'' and ''Empress of All Galicia''. She is considered to be the first European queen to reign in her own right.


Early years

Urraca was born to King
Alfonso VI of León and Castile Alfonso VI (1 July 1109), nicknamed the Brave (''El Bravo'') or the Valiant, was king of Kingdom of León, León (10651109), Kingdom of Galicia, Galicia (10711109), and Kingdom of Castile, Castile (10721109). After the conquest of Toledo, Spai ...
and his second wife, Constance of Burgundy. Constance was closely related to the French royal family and the influential Burgundian abbot
Hugh of Cluny Hugh (13 May 1024 – 29 April 1109), sometimes called Hugh the Great or Hugh of Semur, was the Abbot of Cluny from 1049 until his death in 1109. He was one of the most influential leaders of the monastic orders from the Middle Ages. Biograph ...
was her maternal uncle. As Constance was also related to her husband's first wife, Agnes of Aquitaine,
Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII (; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. One of the great ...
only confirmed their marriage after Alfonso agreed to replace the traditional Mozarabic liturgy in his realms with the
Roman Rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity) ...
. The place and date of Urraca's birth are unknown, but she was born likely in Sahagún or León around 1080, probably in 1081. Although she was her parents' sole child, her childhood is poorly documented. She mentioned Presbyter Pedro and Domingo Falcóniz, two otherwise unknown clergymen, as her tutors in her royal diplomas. Her relationship with her paternal aunt Elvira was obviously close, as it is demonstrated by Elvira's appointment as guardian of Urraca's daughter
Sancha Raimúndez Sancha Raimúndez (c. 1095/110228 February 1159) was a Leonese people, Leonese infanta, the daughter of Queen Urraca of León and Castile and Raymond of Burgundy. She was the older sister of Alfonso VII of León. Biography Sancha Raimúndez of L ...
. A late source, Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada, claims that the powerful aristocrat Pedro Ansúrez and his wife Elo Alfónsez raised Urraca in their household, but no contemporaneous document confirms this report.


First marriage and widowhood

Urraca was married to Raymond of Burgundy. Unlike her mother, who was a member of the ruling house of the
Duchy of Burgundy The Duchy of Burgundy (; ; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity in north-western regions of historical Burgundy. It was a duchy, ruled by dukes of Burgundy. The Duchy belonged to the Kingdom of France, and was initially bordering th ...
, her husband descended from the rulers of the neighbouring
County of Burgundy The Free County of Burgundy (; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity ruled by a count from 982 to 1678. It became known as Franche-Comté (the ''Free County''), and was located in the modern region of Franche-Comté. It belonged to th ...
. Raymond was also the brother-in-law of Urraca's maternal cousin Duke Odo I of Burgundy and Odo's brother Henry. The Muslim Almoravids inflicted a heavy defeat on Alfonso VI at Sagrajas in 1086 and Urraca's marriage to Raymond was part of Alfonso's diplomatic strategy to attract cross-Pyrenees alliances. The first authentic document mentioning Urraca as Raymond's wife, a letter of grant to one Hermenegildo Rodríguez, was issued on 22 February 1093, but interpolated documents refer to them as husband and wife already before 1088. Historians Ángel Gordo Molina and Diego Melo Carrasco propose that Raymond wed Urraca likely before early 1090 when royal diplomas first present them as rulers of the "Land of Saint James", or Galicia. Raymond reached the age of majority by the time of the marriage, but Alfonso VI continued to control the administration of Galicia. His representative in Galicia, Pedro Vimaraz, died around the time of the wedding and Alfonso appointed Arias Diaz as his successor. A talented young clergyman, Diego Gelmírez, was made the "chancellor and secretary" of Raymond and Urraca with Alfonso's consent. On the other hand, Raymond and Urraca became involved in the administration of other provinces as well. For instance, they witnessed charters on the occasion of the repopulation of Ávila,
Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is located in the Meseta central, Inner Pl ...
,
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 ...
and Zamora. In 1093 Urraca's mother died and Alfonso's
Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...
concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...
Zaida of Seville gave birth to a son,
Sancho Alfónsez Sancho Alfónsez (or Adefónsez) (c. 1093 – 29 May 1108) was the only son of King Alfonso VI of Castile and León; his mother was the Moorish princess Zaida. Alfonso's heir from May 1107, he eventually co-ruled from Toledo. He predeceased his ...
. The birth of her illegitimate brother jeopardized Urraca's position as their father's sole heir. The power base of Raymond and Urraca weakened even more when Alfonso granted the " Land of Portugal" to his illegitimate daughter
Theresa Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; ) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Classical Greek, Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or rea ...
and her husband Henry of Burgundy around 1094. As a woman, Urraca was under the tutelage of her husband. Raymond was mentioned at the first place in almost all documents issued during his rule as Count of Galicia. Two documents, both confirming privileges of the burghers of
Santiago de Compostella Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedra ...
, referred to her as "Queen Urraca" in 1095 and 1105. The use of the title may have expressed her resentment at her inferior position, although , or royal princesses, were occasionally styled queens in this period. Sancho Alfónsez was regularly mentioned in royal diplomas from 1103, showing that Alfonso VI regarded his only son as his heir, although most clerics opposed the succession of an illegitimate child. By March 1107, Sancho was elected king on his father's initiative. Raymond made preparations for a succession crisis through an alliance with their brother-in-law Henry of Portugal. Their treaty was confirmed in the presence of a high-ranking monk from the
Abbey of Cluny Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with ...
late in 1105 or early in 1106. They agreed on the division of their father-in-law's realms without referring to Sancho's claims and Henry promised to rule his portion as Raymond's vassal. Raymond fell seriously ill and died in Grajal de Campos in September 1107. The widowed Urraca took full responsibility of the administration of Galicia. She styled herself "empress of whole Galicia" in her letter of grant to the Lugo Cathedral late in 1107 or early in 1108. The Galician clerics and aristocrats regarded Urraca's infant son by Raymond, Alfonso Raimúndez, as Raymond's lawful successor. The boy's position as his father's heir was confirmed in their presence at an assembly in León by Alfonso VI. The King also acknowledged his grandson's right to rule Galicia in case of Urraca's remarriage. Around this time Urraca began a love affair with the Castilian aristocrat Gómez González. Sancho Alfónsez died fighting against the Almoravids at Uclés on 29 May 1108. After her half-brother's unexpected death, Urraca became their father's sole heir. Her new position was ceremoniously confirmed at an assembly of "almost all nobles and counts of Spain" shortly before her father died on 30 June or 1 July 1108.


Reign


Second marriage

Urraca succeeded her father as the first
queen regnant A queen regnant (: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank, title and position to a king. She reigns ''suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a kingdom; as opposed to a queen consort, who is married to a reigning ...
in European history. Her earliest extant diploma, issued in favour of the León Cathedral a day after her father's funeral, referred to her as "queen of whole Spain". Prominent Leonese, Castilian and Galician aristocrats and twelve bishops witnessed the document, showing that her realm's elite acknowledged her as lawful monarch. Two early sources—the '' Chronicle of Sahagún'' and the —attribute the proposal about Urraca's marriage to Alfonso I,
King of Aragon This is a list of the kings and queens of Aragon. The Kingdom of Aragon was created sometime between 950 and 1035 when the County of Aragon, which had been acquired by the Kingdom of Navarre in the tenth century, was separated from Navarre in ...
and
Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...
, to the Leonese aristocrats. They were reportedly convinced that a female monarch would be unable to rule and defend the kingdom against the Almoravids and forced Urraca to marry to "the bloodthirsty and cruel Aragonese tyrant" against her will. Bernard of Sédirac,
Archbishop of Toledo The Archdiocese of Toledo () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Spain.
, raised objections against the marriage, emphasising that Urraca and Alfonso were cousins. In contrast with the two chronicles, Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada writes that Alfonso VI started the negotiations about his heir's marriage with Alfonso I because he wanted to prevent Urraca's marriage with her lover, Gómez González. Gordo Molina and Melo Carrasc propose that both reports could be reliable, because the selection of a suitable husband for his daughter and heir was the elderly King's most important task before his death. Alfonso I married Urraca in the castle of Monzón in October or November 1109. In December, Urraca granted her "whole land that used to be" her father's to her husband whom she mentioned as "lord and my spouse". In the same document, she stipulated that Alfonso should respect her "like a good husband his good wife" and he could not request the
annulment Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning alm ...
of their marriage referring to their kinship or
excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in Koinonia, communion with other members o ...
. The document confirmed the right of Urraca's son by her first marriage to inherit León in case the couple died without issue. The Galician aristocrats' traditional desire for independence awakened and they used the defense of Alfonso Raimúndez's right to rule Galicia and succeed his mother as a pretext for a rebellion. After their leader Pedro Fróilaz de Traba announced that Urraca had lost her claim to rule Galicia when remarrying, they proclaimed Alfonso Raimúndez king. Pedro Arias, Pedro Gudestéiz and other Galician nobles who remained loyal to Urraca formed a brotherhood against Pedro Fróilaz and his allies. They offered the leadership to Diego Gelmírez, who had been elevated to Bishop of Compostella, but Gelmírez remained neutral in the conflict. Alfonso I and Urraca invaded Galicia and seized the important castle of Monterroso, but reports of the cruelty of the Aragonese troops outraged the Leonese aristocrats. The relationship between Alfonso I and the high clergy grew tense. The bishop of Palencia was imprisoned, the
archbishop of Toledo The Archdiocese of Toledo () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Spain.
, the bishops of Burgos and León and the abad of Sahagún were forced to flee. The marriage proved unfortunate. Alfonso's prejudice against women is well documented and he disliked Urraca's son. She disdained her husband for his superstitious nature, in particular for his fear of ravens and crows, and he killed a Galician noble who had sought Urraca's protection in Monterroso during their campaign in Galicia. Her husband regularly shamed her in the royal court and often went as far as beating and kicking her in public. Urraca's letter of grant to the Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos is the earliest attestation to her will to get rid of her husband's tutelage. In the document, she styled herself as "queen of whole Spain and daughter of Emperor Alfonso" on 13 June 1110. The exact circumstances of Urraca's separation from her husband are uncertain. According to contemporaneous sources, she left Alfonso after consulting with her advisors. Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada writes that Alfonso repudiated her for her infidelity leaving her "free to do whatever she pleased". The last document mentioning Urraca in her second husband's company was issued on 22 May 1112. The marriage of Urraca and Alfonso almost immediately sparked rebellions in Galicia and scheming by her illegitimate half-sister
Theresa Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; ) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Classical Greek, Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or rea ...
and brother-in-law Henry, the countess and count of Portugal. Also, they believed that the new marriage of Urraca could put in jeopardy the rights of the son of her first marriage, Alfonso Raimúndez. One of the first acts of the new spouses was to sign a pact under which the monarchs granted to each other ''soberana potestas'' over the other's kingdom, declaring heir of both their future children, and in the case that the union was childless, the surviving spouse would succeed the other one in the throne. From the start, the Galician faction was divided in two tendencies: one headed by Archbishop Diego Gelmírez of
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 ...
(who defended the position of Alfonso Raimúndez as Urraca's successor) and another led by Count Pedro Fróilaz de Traba, tutor of the young prince (who was inclined to the complete independence of Galicia under the rule of Alfonso). A third group of opposition to the royal marriage was at the court and was headed by Count Gómez González, whose motivation against Urraca and Alfonso I of Aragon could have been his fear of losing power, a sensation soon confirmed when Alfonso I appointed Aragonese and Navarrese nobles for important public posts and as holders of fortresses. From Galicia, the count of Traba began the first aggressive movement against the monarchs reclaiming the hereditary rights of Alfonso Raimúndez. In response to the Galician rebellion, Alfonso I of Aragon marched with his army to Galicia and in 1110, reestablished the order there after defeating the local troops in Monterroso Castle. The Galician rebellion against the royal power was only the beginning of a series of political and military conflicts which, with the complete opposite personalities of Urraca and Alfonso I and their mutual dislike, gave rise to a continuous civil war in the Hispanic kingdoms over the following years. Urraca did not share the governance of her realms with her husband. As their relationship soured, Urraca accused Alfonso of
physical abuse Physical abuse is any intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person or animal by way of bodily contact. In most cases, children are the victims of physical abuse, but adults can also be victims, as in cases of domestic violence or ...
, and by May 1110 she separated from Alfonso. In addition to her objections to Alfonso's handling of rebels, the couple had a falling-out over his execution of one of the rebels who had surrendered to the queen, to whom the queen was inclined to be merciful. Additionally, as Urraca was married to someone many in the kingdom objected to, the queen's son and heir became a rallying point for opponents to the marriage. Estrangement between husband and wife escalated from discrete and simmering hostilities into open armed warfare between the Leonese-Castilians and the Aragonese. An alliance between Alfonso of Aragon and Henry of Portugal culminated in the 1111 Battle of Candespina in which Urraca's lover and chief supporter Gómez González was killed. He was soon replaced in both roles by another count, Pedro González de Lara, who took up the fight and would father at least two further children by Urraca. By the fall of 1112 a truce was brokered between Urraca and Alfonso with their marriage annulled. Though Urraca recovered Asturias, Leon, and Galicia, Alfonso occupied a significant portion of Castile (where Urraca enjoyed large support), while her half-sister Theresa and her husband Count Henry of Portugal occupied Zamora and
Extremadura Extremadura ( ; ; ; ; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is a landlocked autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, Spain, Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central- ...
. Recovering these regions and expanding into Muslim lands would occupy much of Urraca's foreign policy. Despite the annulment of their marriage (on the grounds of consanguinity), Alfonso continued his efforts for political control. While Urraca was engaged in this battle, she also had to contend with the schemes of her sister, who promoted a plan to replace the queen by her son. This particular incident, ended in a compromise between the two sisters where Theresa was granted a vast territory in Leon in exchange for agreeing that she was Urraca's vassal. According to author Bernard F. Reilly, the measure of success for Urraca's rule was her ability to restore and protect the integrity of her inheritance – that is, the kingdom of her father – and transmit that inheritance in full to her own heir. Policies and events pursued by Alfonso VI – namely legitimizing her brother and thereby providing an opportunity for her illegitimate half-sister to claim a portion of the patrimony, as well as the forced marriage with Alfonso I of Aragon – contributed in large part to the challenges Urraca faced upon her succession. Additionally, the circumstance of Urraca's gender added a distinctive role-reversal dimension to diplomacy and politics, which Urraca used to her advantage.


Character

Urraca is characterized in the '' Historia Compostelana'' as prudent, modest, and with good sense. According to Reilly, the chronicle also attributes her failings to "the weakness and changeability of women, feminine perversity", and calls her a
Jezebel Jezebel ()"Jezebel"
(US) and
for her liaisons with her leading magnates, with at least one relationship producing an illegitimate son. Her son Alfonso Raimúndez likewise decried the political turmoil caused by her extramarital affairs. Modern historians have given a more critical outlook to these observations, with Reilly noting that the queen was nevertheless in control of events, in contrast with earlier writers who had described her suitors as the real rulers.


Death and legacy

According to the twelfth-century "Chronicon Compostellanum", Urraca died in adulterous childbirth on 8 March 1126 in the castle of Saldaña. As queen, she rose to the challenges presented to her, and her solutions were seen by Reilly as pragmatic ones. Her delaying the accession of her son Alfonso VII nevertheless led to a turbulent transition of power, as the new king would have to face the rebellion of her lover Pedro González upon her death, followed by an attempted invasion by the king of Aragon, and the resumption of Galician revolts.


Family

Urraca's firstborn child by Raymond, Sancha, was born before 11 November 1095. She was named for Urraca's paternal grandmother Sancha of León who transmitted the claim to rule 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 ...
to her children. A diploma issued in Monastery of San Xulián de Samos on 24 October 1102 refers to the "children" of Raymond and Urraca, implying that their second child, Alfonso, had been born, but two nearly contemporaneous sources—the and the —dates Alfonso's birth to 1105. He was named for Urraca's father. Urraca had two illegitimate children with her lover Pedro González de Lara: Fernando Pérez Hurtado (c.1114-1156), and Elvira Pérez de Lara (c.1112-1174), who is mentioned in the ''Historia Compostelana'' in connection with her donation of the village of Arquillinos to Diego Gelmírez. Elvira would twice wed, first to García Pérez de Traba, lord of Trastámara and son of Pedro Fróilaz de Traba, then to count Beltrán de Risnel.


References


Sources

* * * * * * *


Further reading

*


External links

*Reilly, Bernard F. ''The Medieval Spains'', 1993. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Urraca of Leon 1081 births 1126 deaths 12th-century Castilian monarchs House of Jiménez Leonese infantas Castilian infantas 12th-century Galician monarchs 12th-century Leonese monarchs Queens regnant in Europe Navarrese royal consorts 12th-century Spanish women 12th-century queens regnant Burials in the Royal Pantheon at the Basilica of San Isidoro Deaths in childbirth Daughters of emperors Daughters of kings Empresses regnant in Europe