Ferdinand II of Castile
Encyclopedia
Gonzalo Fernández of Castile
Gonzalo Fernández was Count of Burgos and of Castile .Recorded for the first time in 899 as Count of Burgos, soon the region expanded to the eastern mountain valleys enabling Gonzalo to make his fort base in Lara, thus stretching his rule from the foot of the Cantabrian Mountains around Espinosa...
, who had been named count of Arlanza and the Duero around the year 900, and by tradition a descendant of semi-legendary judge Nuño Rasura
Nuño Rasura
Nuño Rasura was one of two legendary judges of Castile, the other being his son-in-law Laín Calvo. According to the Mocedades de Rodrigo, Nuño gained the nickname "Rasura" because "he took from Castile equal measures of wheat" to offer as a gift to Church of Saint James. English medievalist Richard A...
. His mother Muniadona
Gonzalo Fernández of Castile
Gonzalo Fernández was Count of Burgos and of Castile .Recorded for the first time in 899 as Count of Burgos, soon the region expanded to the eastern mountain valleys enabling Gonzalo to make his fort base in Lara, thus stretching his rule from the foot of the Cantabrian Mountains around Espinosa...
was so well remembered that the later Counts of Castile would sometimes be recorded by Iberian Muslim
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
scholars as Ibn Māma Duna (descendant of Muniadona).
Fernán González was a colourful character of legendary status in Iberia
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
, and founder of the dynasty that would rule a semi-autonomous Castile, laying the foundations for its status as an independent kingdom. In the year 930, Fernán's name appears with the title of count inside the administrative organization of eastern the Kingdom of León
Kingdom of León
The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in AD 910 when the Christian princes of Asturias along the northern coast of the peninsula shifted their capital from Oviedo to the city of León...
.
He grew up in the castle of Lara and inherited his father's title after the capture and death of his uncle, Nuño Fernández.
Burgos
Burgos is a city of northern Spain, historic capital of Castile. It is situated at the edge of the central plateau, with about 178,966 inhabitants in the city proper and another 20,000 in its suburbs. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León...
, Asturias
Asturias
The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...
, Santillana
Santillana
Santillana may refer to:*Santillana del Mar, a town in Spain*Carlos Alonso González, nicknamed Santillana, a Spanish footballer*Grupo Santillana, a Spanish publisher owned by PRISA...
, Lantaron
Lantarón
Lantarón is a town and municipality located in the province of Álava, in the Basque Country, northern Spain.-External links:*...
, Álava
Álava
Álava is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Álava. Its capital city is Vitoria-Gasteiz which is also the capital of the autonomous community...
, Castile
Castile (historical region)
A former kingdom, Castile gradually merged with its neighbours to become the Crown of Castile and later the Kingdom of Spain when united with the Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Navarre...
, and Lara. His military prowess came to prominence in the Battle of Simancas
Battle of Simancas
The Battle of Simancas was a military battle that started on July 19, 939, in the Iberian Peninsula between the troops of the Christian king Ramiro II of León and Muslim caliph Abd al-Rahman III near the walls of the city of Simancas...
in 939 and then at Sepulveda
Sepulveda
Sepúlveda is a name of families of Spanish descent. Sepúlveda, Segovia is the name of a village in Spain.The Sepúlveda family was prominent in the early days of Los Angeles, California and Orange County...
, where he wrested the region from the Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
and repopulated it. As his power increased, so did his independence from León. During this period he married Sancha, the sister of the king of Navarre, García Sánchez I. Sancha was a daughter of Sancho I of Pamplona
Sancho I of Pamplona
Sancho I Garcés was king of Pamplona from 905 to 925. He was a son of García Jiménez, who was king of "another part of the kingdom" of Pamplona and Dadildis de Pallars, his second wife...
, and Toda of Navarre
Toda of Navarre
Toda Aznárez, also Teuda de Larraun or Tota , was the queen-consort of Pamplona through her marriage to Sancho I, who reigned 905–925, and was regent of Pamplona, 931–934...
.
After having fought with Ramiro II of León
Ramiro II of León
Ramiro II , son of Ordoño II, was King of León from 931 until his death. Initially titular king only of a lesser part of Asturias, he gained the crown of León after his brother Alfonso IV abdicated in 931...
against the Arabs, and after the Battle of Simancas
Battle of Simancas
The Battle of Simancas was a military battle that started on July 19, 939, in the Iberian Peninsula between the troops of the Christian king Ramiro II of León and Muslim caliph Abd al-Rahman III near the walls of the city of Simancas...
and the retreat of the Muslims, Fernán was dissatisfied because the king of León distributed his troops in the frontier towns and he rose in rebellion against him. He was, however, defeated and made prisoner in 944, which lasted for 3 years until he became reconciled with his sovereign, giving his daughter Urraca
Urraca Fernández
Urraca Fernández , infanta of Castile and daughter of Count Fernán González, was the queen consort of two Kings of León and one King of Navarre between 951 and 994...
in marriage to the king's son, Ordoño, who afterwards became King Ordoño III
Ordoño III of León
Ordoño III was the King of León from 951 to 956, son and successor of Ramiro II . He confronted Navarre and Castile, who supported his half-brother Sancho the Fat in disputing Ordoño's claim to the throne....
.
Notwithstanding this alliance, Fernán continued to foment trouble and discord in León. He later aided Sancho I
Sancho I of León
Sancho I , called the Fat, was the son of King Ramiro II of León. He succeeded his half-brother Ordoño III in 956 and reigned until his death, except for a two year interruption from 958 to 960, when Ordoño the Wicked usurped the throne...
against his brother Ordoño III, and then Ordoño IV
Ordoño IV of León
Ordoño IV, called the Wicked or the Bad , son of Alfonso IV of León and nephew of Ramiro II, was the king of León from 958 until 960, interrupting the reign of Sancho the Fat for a two year period...
, son of Alfonso IV
Alfonso IV of León
Alfonso IV , called the Monk, was King of León from 925 and King of Galicia from 929, until he abdicated in 931....
, against Sancho.
Upon the death of Ramiro II of León
Ramiro II of León
Ramiro II , son of Ordoño II, was King of León from 931 until his death. Initially titular king only of a lesser part of Asturias, he gained the crown of León after his brother Alfonso IV abdicated in 931...
in 951, the kingdom of León experienced a dynastic crisis that Fernán played out to his advantage.
Old Castile
Old Castile is a historic region of Spain, which included territory that later corresponded to the provinces of Santander , Burgos, Logroño , Soria, Segovia, Ávila, Valladolid, Palencia....
.
After his death the county was left to his son García Fernández, while Urraca returned to the Pamplona court before remarrying to William Sancho of Gascony
William II Sánchez of Gascony
William II Sánchez , Duke of Gascony from circa 961 at least until 996, was the younger illegitimate son of duke Sancho IV and successor, around 961, of his childless elder brother, duke Sancho V. He united the County of Bordeaux with the Gascony...
. His remains were buried in the monastery of San Pedro of Arlanza.
His life and feats are recorded in an anonymous poem, The Poem of Fernán González
Poema de Fernán González
The Poema de Fernán González is a Castilian epic poem, specifically, a cantar de gesta of the Mester de Clerecía. Composed in a metre called the cuaderna vía, it narrates the deeds of the historical Count of Castile, Fernán González. It was written between 1250 and 1266 by a monk of San Pedro de...
, written between 1250 and 1271 and conserved as an incomplete copy from the fifteenth century.
Issue
By Sancha of Navarre, he had the following children:- Gonzalo, who married Fronilde Gómez, suggested to have been granddaughter of count Diego Rodríguez PorcelosDiego Rodríguez PorcelosDiego Rodríguez Porcelos , son and successor of Rodrigo, count of Castile, was the repopulator of Burgos and Ubierna. He did not succeed his father in Álava, however; that went to Vela Jiménez....
- Sancho, named in a charter of his paternal grandmother
- Munio
- García, his eventual successor
- UrracaUrraca FernándezUrraca Fernández , infanta of Castile and daughter of Count Fernán González, was the queen consort of two Kings of León and one King of Navarre between 951 and 994...
, twice queen of León as wife of Ordoño IIIOrdoño III of LeónOrdoño III was the King of León from 951 to 956, son and successor of Ramiro II . He confronted Navarre and Castile, who supported his half-brother Sancho the Fat in disputing Ordoño's claim to the throne....
and Ordoño IVOrdoño IV of LeónOrdoño IV, called the Wicked or the Bad , son of Alfonso IV of León and nephew of Ramiro II, was the king of León from 958 until 960, interrupting the reign of Sancho the Fat for a two year period...
, and then of Pamplona, having married Sancho IISancho II of PamplonaSancho II Garcés Abarca was King of Pamplona from 970 until his death. He was the son of García Sánchez I and Andregota, daughter of Galindo Aznárez II, Count of Aragon... - Muniadona, wife of Gómez Díaz, count of Saldaña, of the powerful Beni Gómez clan
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