Gómez González
Encyclopedia
Gómez González called de Lara or de Candespina, was a Castilian
nobleman and military leader who had some claim to being Count of Castile. He was the eldest son and successor of Gonzalo Salvadórez
and his wife Sancha, and thus kinsman of the Lara family
. Like his father, he perished in battle.
Gómez first appears in 1084, a year after his father's death. There exists a forged charter purporting to show Gómez, with the title Count, making a donation to the monastery of San Salvador de Oña
in 1087. Donations to the same monastery by the same man, recorded in 1084, 1094, and 1099, are potentially authentic. It is unknown when he took a wife, but by 1107 he was married to a woman named Urraca Muñoz. She gave him two daughters and two sons: Diego, Stephanie (Estefanía), Rodrigo
, and Sancha.
In 1090 he was given the government of the fiefdom
s (tenencias) of Cerezo de Riotirón and Pancorbo
, both of which he held until his death, and Petralata, which he held until 1106. By November 1092 Gómez had succeeded as royal alférez
or armiger
of Alfonso VI
, a post he held until April 1099. By the beginning of 1099 he carried the high title of count
(Latin comes), which was typically attained by a young nobleman after a stint as alférez. In 1097 he briefly appears with the fief of Poza and towards the end of his life (1110) he held Avià
. His most significant fief was the Bureba, an important frontier zone bordering Navarre
, and which his father had held before him. He was granted it in 1102 and held it until 1107. In 1107 Gómez made an endowment to the parish church of Busto.
In the summer of 1108, following the deaths of Raymond of Galicia (1107) and the heir apparent Sancho Alfónsez
(at the Battle of Uclés in 1108, where Gómez may have been present), a marriage between Gómez and the new heir apparent, Raymond's widow, Urraca, was proposed by a faction of bishops and nobles opposed to the king's plan to marry his heiress to Alfonso the Battler
, the king of neighbouring Navarre and Aragon
. At some point, perhaps as early as 1108, Gómez had an affair Urraca that produced a son, Domingo Gómez, who was later to introduce the Premonstratensian
s into Spain when he founded a monastery at Montesacro c.1146, an establishment that was later moved by Alfonso VII to La Vid
in 1152.
Gómez was one of the magnates who witnessed the first recorded act of Urraca as queen, on 22 July 1109, and implicitly acknowledged her claim to have been granted "the whole kingdom" (regnum totum) by her father, Alfonso VI, shortly before his death. This important document Gómez signed as castellanorum comes (literally, "count of the Castilians"), a title he had sometimes used in royal charters of Alfonso VI but which was mostly honorific
, as the old County of Castile had become the Kingdom of Castile
and was partitioned into several counties, with Gómez's zone of influence lying along the Navarrese frontier. His frontier position may explain his own opposition to Urraca's marriage, since he would have competed with the Aragonese when it came to expansion (reconquista
) south of the river Ebro
at the expense of the Almoravids
.
In early 1110, Gómez was present with Urraca and the king of Aragon at the monastery of Santa María de Valbanera, where he confirmed a pair of donation charters drawn up in the Aragonese format. By the middle of the year he was openly supporting Urraca against her husband. Though he is last mentioned in a document of 15 October 1110, he was killed over a year later by Henry of Portugal
, who had allied with the king of Aragon, at the Battle of Candespina
, where he was leading Urraca's forces, on 26 October 1111. His death was a major blow to the queen's partisans. The short account of the battle in the Annales complutenses reads: "the Aragonese king Alfonso and count Henry killed the lord count Gómez in the field of Spina." An even shorter account in the Annales compostellani
states simply that "they" killed count Gómez.
Gómez was replaced as Urraca's lover by his kinsman Pedro González de Lara
.
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...
nobleman and military leader who had some claim to being Count of Castile. He was the eldest son and successor of Gonzalo Salvadórez
Gonzalo Salvadórez
Gonzalo Salvadórez , "called Cuatro Manos on account of his great valour", was one of the most powerful Castilian noblemen of his era, a kinsman of the Lara family, and by tradition, descendant of the Counts of Castile...
and his wife Sancha, and thus kinsman of the Lara family
House of Lara
The House of Lara or Casa de Lara are a noble family, known from the medieval Kingdom of Castile.Two of its branches, those from the Duke of Nájera and from the Marquis of Aguilar de Campoo were considered Grandees of Spain...
. Like his father, he perished in battle.
Gómez first appears in 1084, a year after his father's death. There exists a forged charter purporting to show Gómez, with the title Count, making a donation to the monastery of San Salvador de Oña
San Salvador de Oña
San Salvador de Oña is a monastery in Oña, in the province of Burgos, central Spain.It was founded in 1011 by Sancho García, count of Castile, for his daughter Tigridia. In 1033 it was assigned to the Cistercian Order. In 1506 it went to the Benedictines of Valladolid. It was damaged during the...
in 1087. Donations to the same monastery by the same man, recorded in 1084, 1094, and 1099, are potentially authentic. It is unknown when he took a wife, but by 1107 he was married to a woman named Urraca Muñoz. She gave him two daughters and two sons: Diego, Stephanie (Estefanía), Rodrigo
Rodrigo Gómez
Rodrigo Gómez was a Castilian nobleman and military leader under Alfonso VII. He governed large parts of Asturias and northern Castile, was involved in the politics with neighbouring Navarre, to whose royal family he was related by marriage, and took part in the Reconquista...
, and Sancha.
In 1090 he was given the government of the fiefdom
Fiefdom
A fee was the central element of feudalism and consisted of heritable lands granted under one of several varieties of feudal tenure by an overlord to a vassal who held it in fealty in return for a form of feudal allegiance and service, usually given by the...
s (tenencias) of Cerezo de Riotirón and Pancorbo
Pancorbo
Pancorbo is a municipality located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 464 inhabitants....
, both of which he held until his death, and Petralata, which he held until 1106. By November 1092 Gómez had succeeded as royal alférez
Alférez
Alférez is a junior officer rank also used in Spain, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. The variant Alferes is used in Portugal and was formerly also used in Brazil. A naval variant, Frigate Alférez, is used in Spain, Dominican Republic and Peru. "Alférez" is often translated as ensign...
or armiger
Armiger
In heraldry, an armiger is a person entitled to use a coat of arms. Such a person is said to be armigerous.-Etymology:The Latin word armiger literally means "armour-bearer". In high and late medieval England, the word referred to an esquire attendant upon a knight, but bearing his own unique...
of Alfonso VI
Alfonso VI of Castile
Alfonso VI , nicknamed the Brave or the Valiant, was King of León from 1065, King of Castile and de facto King of Galicia from 1072, and self-proclaimed "Emperor of all Spain". After the conquest of Toledo he was also self-proclaimed victoriosissimo rege in Toleto, et in Hispania et Gallecia...
, a post he held until April 1099. By the beginning of 1099 he carried the high title of count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
(Latin comes), which was typically attained by a young nobleman after a stint as alférez. In 1097 he briefly appears with the fief of Poza and towards the end of his life (1110) he held Avià
Avià
Avià is a municipality in the comarca of Berguedà, in Catalonia. Its population in 2007 was 2108 inhabitants.The municipality is made up of three towns: Avià, Graugés and La Plana....
. His most significant fief was the Bureba, an important frontier zone bordering Navarre
Kingdom of Navarre
The Kingdom of Navarre , originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, was a European kingdom which occupied lands on either side of the Pyrenees alongside the Atlantic Ocean....
, and which his father had held before him. He was granted it in 1102 and held it until 1107. In 1107 Gómez made an endowment to the parish church of Busto.
In the summer of 1108, following the deaths of Raymond of Galicia (1107) and the heir apparent Sancho Alfónsez
Sancho Alfónsez
Sancho Alfónsez was the only son of Alfonso VI of Castile and León and his heir from May 1107, eventually co-ruling from Toledo. He predeceased his father, being killed while trying to escape the field of the Battle of Uclés...
(at the Battle of Uclés in 1108, where Gómez may have been present), a marriage between Gómez and the new heir apparent, Raymond's widow, Urraca, was proposed by a faction of bishops and nobles opposed to the king's plan to marry his heiress to Alfonso the Battler
Alfonso the Battler
Alfonso I , called the Battler or the Warrior , was the king of Aragon and Navarre from 1104 until his death in 1134. He was the second son of King Sancho Ramírez and successor of his brother Peter I...
, the king of neighbouring Navarre and Aragon
Kingdom of Aragon
The Kingdom of Aragon was a medieval and early modern kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain...
. At some point, perhaps as early as 1108, Gómez had an affair Urraca that produced a son, Domingo Gómez, who was later to introduce the Premonstratensian
Premonstratensian
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines, or in Britain and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg...
s into Spain when he founded a monastery at Montesacro c.1146, an establishment that was later moved by Alfonso VII to La Vid
La Vid de Bureba
La Vid de Bureba is a municipality located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 30 inhabitants....
in 1152.
Gómez was one of the magnates who witnessed the first recorded act of Urraca as queen, on 22 July 1109, and implicitly acknowledged her claim to have been granted "the whole kingdom" (regnum totum) by her father, Alfonso VI, shortly before his death. This important document Gómez signed as castellanorum comes (literally, "count of the Castilians"), a title he had sometimes used in royal charters of Alfonso VI but which was mostly honorific
Honorific
An honorific is a word or expression with connotations conveying esteem or respect when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term is used not quite correctly to refer to an honorary title...
, as the old County of Castile had become the Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...
and was partitioned into several counties, with Gómez's zone of influence lying along the Navarrese frontier. His frontier position may explain his own opposition to Urraca's marriage, since he would have competed with the Aragonese when it came to expansion (reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
) south of the river Ebro
Ebro
The Ebro or Ebre is one of the most important rivers in the Iberian Peninsula. It is the biggest river by discharge volume in Spain.The Ebro flows through the following cities:*Reinosa in Cantabria.*Miranda de Ebro in Castile and León....
at the expense of the Almoravids
Almoravids
The Almoravids were a Berber dynasty of Morocco, who formed an empire in the 11th-century that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus. Their capital was Marrakesh, a city which they founded in 1062 C.E...
.
In early 1110, Gómez was present with Urraca and the king of Aragon at the monastery of Santa María de Valbanera, where he confirmed a pair of donation charters drawn up in the Aragonese format. By the middle of the year he was openly supporting Urraca against her husband. Though he is last mentioned in a document of 15 October 1110, he was killed over a year later by Henry of Portugal
Henry, Count of Portugal
Henry of Burgundy, Count of Portugal was Count of Portugal from 1093 to his death. He was brother of Hugh I, Duke of Burgundy, and Odo I, Duke of Burgundy, all sons of Henry, the heir of Robert I, Duke of Burgundy. His name is Henri in modern French, Henricus in Latin, Enrique in modern Spanish...
, who had allied with the king of Aragon, at the Battle of Candespina
Battle of Candespina
The Battle of Candespina was fought on 26 October 1111 between the forces of Alfonso I of Aragon and those of his estranged wife, Urraca of León and Castile, in the Campo de la Espina near Sepúlveda. Alfonso was victorious, as he would be again in a few weeks at the Battle of Viadangos.The battle...
, where he was leading Urraca's forces, on 26 October 1111. His death was a major blow to the queen's partisans. The short account of the battle in the Annales complutenses reads: "the Aragonese king Alfonso and count Henry killed the lord count Gómez in the field of Spina." An even shorter account in the Annales compostellani
Annales Compostellani
The Annales Compostellani or Anales castellanos terceros are a set of Latin annals found in, and named after, Santiago de Compostela...
states simply that "they" killed count Gómez.
Gómez was replaced as Urraca's lover by his kinsman Pedro González de Lara
Pedro González de Lara
Pedro González de Lara was a Castilian magnate. He served Alfonso VI as a young man, and later became the lover of Alfonso's heiress, Queen Urraca. He may have joined the First Crusade in the following of Raymond IV of Toulouse, earning the nickname el Romero...
.
Further reading
- There is a full study of Gómez's life and family by José María Canal Sánchez-Pagín (2003), "El conde Gómez González de Candespina: su historia y su familia", Anuario de estudios medievales, 33(1):37–68.
- For Gómez's family and the government of Bureba in his time, cf. F. Fernández Sagredo, "Los condes de Bureba en la documentación de la segunda mitad del siglo XI", Estudios sobre la sociedad hispánica en la Edad Media, Cuadernos de Historia, 6 (1975), 91–119, and idem, "La tenencia de Bureba en la primera mitad del siglo XII", Homenaje a Fray Justo Pérez de Urbel, OSB, 2 vols. (Santo Domingo de Silos, 1976–77), I, 197–217.
- There is a brief genealogical notice at the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy's Medieval Lands Project website.