Manrique Pérez de Lara
Encyclopedia
Manrique Pérez de Lara was a magnate of the Kingdom of Castile
and its regent
from 1158 until his death. He was one of the most important counsellors and generals of three successive Castilian monarchs: Alfonso VII (1126–57), Sancho III
(1157–58) and Alfonso VIII (1158–1214). He was a leading figure of the House of Lara
and the ancestor and namesake of the Manrique branch of the family.
(died 1130). Of Pedro's rule and Manrique's succession to his position of honour and leadership in the Reconquista
, a contemporary writes:
Manrique's mother, Eva, has traditionally been called daughter of Pedro Fróilaz de Traba
, but there is no contemporary evidence that this was the fact, and it has been speculated that she may have been French, as the name she gave her son was of French origin (from Latin Almanricus/Amalricus, French Amaury). She had previously been married to count García Ordóñez
. The first mention of Manrique's parents' marriage dates from November 1127, and must have occurred after 1108. Manrique had three brothers: Álvaro
, Nuño
and Rodrigo. He had a younger full sister, Mayor, and three half-siblings, Elvira and Fernando, children of his father's liaison with Queen Urraca, and count García Garcés de Aza
, son of his mother's first marriage.
, that is, head of the military household, of Alfonso VII. This post was usually reserved for young noblemen with promising career prospects. In 1143 Manrique was granted the tenencia (or honor, a fief governed on behalf of the crown) of Atienza
, and in 1144 he received those of Ávila, Madrid
and Toledo
. Madrid he only governed until the next year (1145) and Ávila until 1150. On 21 August 1145 Manrique was made a count
, the highest rank in the kingdom, by Alfonso VII in the ancient capital city of León. A charter survives that reads: "Manrique the same day this charter was made was made a count". Although it was common for aristocratic sons to accede to the titles of their fathers on the latters' deaths, Manrique had to wait fifteen years to receive the comital title from the king. While he continued to rule Atienza and Toledo, he also received the tenencias of Medinaceli
in 1146. That year Alfonso sent him, Ponce Giraldo de Cabrera
, Ermengol VI of Urgell
, and Martín Fernández de Hita to help the king's Muslim ally Sayf al-Dawla regain the cities of Baeza
, Jaén
and Úbeda
. This they succeeded in doing, but they soon quarrelled with Sayf and fighting ensued, during which Sayf was defeated and his submission to Alfonso reinforced. In January 1147 Manrique played a key rôle in the capture of Calatrava
, a fact the king acknowledged in a charter drawn up on 9 January. In August Manrique took part in the reconquest of Almería
and its hinterland, which included the taking of Baeza, which he immediately received from the king as a tenencia. He is highly praised by the anonymous author of the Poema de Almería, who cites his splendour and generosity ahead of his wisdom and valour:
This emphasis was typical in the period, when generosity, munificence and prodigality were considered signs of greatness, and the rewarding of followers was essential to maintaining one's power. In Baeza, Manrique's rule can be traced for a decade, until 1157. In 1148 he received the tenencia of Segovia
. In November 1148 Manrique and others of his famiy donated some houses in Toledo, which he ruled at the time, to Gonzalo de Marañón
. It is a sign of the diversity of his interests that he owned urban properties in the most important city in the kingdom.
In 1149 Manrique was entrusted with the tutorship of the king's eldest son and heir, the future Sancho III, who was raised in his household. Some indication of the size of Manrique's household—court is perhaps the better word—is given by the fact that he employed at least two individuals, Gonzalo Peláez and García Díaz, in the post of alférez in 1153 and 1156 respectively. Manrique is also known to have a employed a chaplain (capellanus). In 1153 this office was filled by a certain Sebastian, who was also acting as Manrique's scribe when needed. By November 1155 he had hired a clerk named Sancho who signed his documents as "chancellor
".
In February 1152 Manrique encouraged the settlement of Balaguera and Cedillo
in the Extremadura
by dividing his property there amongst some settlers. Sometime before December 1153, Manrique married Ermessinde, daughter of Aimeric II of Narbonne and a cousin of Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona. She bore him eight children, four sons and four daughters: Aimerico
, Ermengarda, Guillermo (William), Manrique, María, Mayor (Amilia), Pedro
, Sancha and Elvira. His daughters married among the highest nobility: Mayor to Gómez González de Manzanedo
, and Elvira to Ermengol VIII of Urgell
, grandson of Ermengol VI, Manrique's fellow envoy of 1146 and the husband of his cousin Elvira Rodríguez. On 5 December 1153, in their first recorded action as husband and wife, Manrique and Ermessinde gave the village of Cobeta
to the Benedictine
monasteries of Arlanza
, San Salvador de Oña
and Santo Domingo de Silos
, and the cathedral of Santa María in Sigüenza
, at the time under construction according to a Benedictine plan. The charter of this donation was drawn up by Sebastian. It survives with tags which once attached a seal
, now lost. Manrique may have been the first member of the Castilian nobility to employ a seal to authenticate documents. The royal chancery had only been employing them from 1146, though episcopal chanceries had already adopted them under French influence (1140). Manrique's marital connexion with the rulers of Narbonne may have influenced his decision, and his seal was probably based on the type used in Languedoc
at the time. In 1163, when the chancery of the young Alfonso VIII adopted a seal, it was probably based on Manrique's. The earliest surviving aristocratic seal from Castile is one of Manrique's son Pedro, from document of 1179 drawn up at Calatayud
. A look at the earliest seals of Alfonso VIII and Pedro Manrique suggests that Manrique's own seal showed an armed, stylised, equestrian figure patterned after Anglo-French designs, but left-facing in the Mediterranean fashion.
On 21 April 1154 Manrique and Ermessinde issued a sweeping fuero
to the town of Molina de Aragón
. The document survives only in a thirteenth-century copy, and it may have been amended in light of later twelfth-century fueros, although much of its material has precedents in the early twelfth century. It lists the privileges of the inhabitants, the rents owed to Manrique, a list of officials who would serve on the municipal council and an extensive legal code. A large portion of the law deals with the formation of the local militia. Knights (caballeros) who lived in the town with their families for a certain period of the year were exempted from taxes. A fifth of the booty taken by the local militia in war was to go to Manrique, and those who skipped out on their military obligations were fined. Unprecedentedly (and perhaps suspiciously), a maintenance was paid to those who captured Muslim leaders in battle and had to temporarily support them before they were handed over to the king. The fuero also mandated watchtower duty, a medical allowance for wounds received in war, the use of battle standards, and standards of military equipment for both cavalry and infantry. Also without precedent is a law requiring all those with a certain amount of wealth to purchase a horse and serve in the militia as a knight. If the thirteenth-century copy is accurate to the original, the fuero of Molina marks a transition in the customary law martial law of the peninsula, especially of Castile and Aragon
. The semi-independent nature of the rule of Manrique and his successors at Molina has been likened to the rule of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar at Valencia two generations earlier and to the contemporary rule of Pedro Ruiz de Azagra
in Albarracín
. Manrique even used the formula Dei gratia comes ("count by the grace of God"), implying that his power did not derive from the king. When the lordship passed to the crown through the marriage of María de Molina
and Sancho IV
, Molina was retained as a subsidiary title until the time of Isabel II.
In November 1155 Manrique bought the vill
of Alcolea
from García Garcés de Aza for 1,000 maravedís, a sign of his wealth. It is a sign of his power influence that in 1156 he, as governor (tenente) of Baeza and its entire district, was, under exceptional circumstances, conceded by the king the right to make three grants of reconquered (and thus royal) land to his supporters in the region, as part of the programme of repopulation
. The charters, which did not require the confirmation of any members of the royal court, were drawn up by Manrique's scribe and authenticated with Manrique's seal. It is probable that the exceptional circumstances which led Alfonso to leave the function of the royal chancery in the hands of Manrique and his household staff was the pressing need to secure the region against the threatening Almohads.
That same year (1156), Manrique was entrusted with the tenencia of Burgo de Osma, which he subinfeudated to his vassal Diego Pérez as alcalde
. Manrique was also governing the Mediterranean port city of Almería (near Alcolea) in January 1157. Later that year both Almería and Baeza were lost to the Almohads. In August that year, Alfonso VII died. According to the De rebus Hispaniae
, written by a Navarrese cleric, Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada
, a century later, the division of Alfonso VII's empire between his heirs was a result of the evil counsel of Manrique Pérez de Lara and Fernando Pérez de Traba (possibly Manrique's maternal uncle), who together "aimed to sow the seed of discord". Alfonso's elder son, Sancho, succeeded in Castile and Toledo
, while his second son, Ferdinand II
, succeeded in León
and Galicia
. Sancho died on 31 August 1158 and Manrique became regent and guardian of the child king Alfonso VIII. At least one later account with a pro-Leonese bias, the Chronicon mundi of Lucas de Tuy
, asserts that Ferdinand II became regent and protector of Alfonso VIII, but this is a fabrication.
, returned to confront the Laras and their allies in the Battle of Lobregal
. The Castros were victorious, and Manrique's brother Nuño was captured, but the Laras were not displaced. By March 1161 the guardianship of the young Alfonso, initially held by Gutierre Fernández, followed by García Garcés de Aza, was being exercised by Manrique, who was styled nutritius regis ("nurturer of the king") and manente super negotia regni ("manager over the affairs of the kingdom"). In 1162 Manrique lost the tenencias of Atienza and Toledo and was placed in San Esteban de Gormaz
.
Manrique was killed by Fernando Rodríguez at the Battle of Huete
, a repeat of the disaster of Lobregal, in 1164, but the day of this battle is uncertain. The Anales toledanos primeros date it to 9 July and note Manrique's death: "They killed Count Manrique on the ninth day of the month of July in the Era
1202[ AD
1164]." There is a charter dated 21 June 1164, an earlier source than the Anales, that places the battle on 3 June:
Manrique was buried in the Cistercian abbey of Santa María de Huerta
, founded by Alfonso VII in 1147 and destined to be heavily patronised by the Lara family. His widow, Ermessinde, was still alive as late as 1175, when she donated property in Molina de Aragón to her grandson García Pérez and to the Order of Calatrava
. She also made many donations to Santa María de Huerta and to the Praemonstratensian monastery of Santa María de La Vid. Besides Calatrava, she patronised the Knights Hospitaller
. She founded a Praemonstratensian convent at Brazacorta
.
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 its regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
from 1158 until his death. He was one of the most important counsellors and generals of three successive Castilian monarchs: Alfonso VII (1126–57), Sancho III
Sancho III of Castile
Sancho III was King of Castile and Toledo for one year, from 1157 to 1158. During the Reconquista, in which he took an active part, he founded the Order of Calatrava...
(1157–58) and Alfonso VIII (1158–1214). He was a leading figure of the House of Lara
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...
and the ancestor and namesake of the Manrique branch of the family.
Parentage
Manrique's father was Pedro González de LaraPedro 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...
(died 1130). Of Pedro's rule and Manrique's succession to his position of honour and leadership in the 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...
, a contemporary writes:
He took after his father in everything that he did. His father was Count Pedro of Lara, who ruled his own land for many years. The son also follows in all his father's footsteps. Still in the flower of youth, but enriched with honour and respected by the Emperor as is his nature, he was the upholder of the law, the worst scourge of the Moors.
Manrique's mother, Eva, has traditionally been called daughter of Pedro Fróilaz de Traba
Pedro Fróilaz de Traba
Pedro Fróilaz de Traba was the most powerful secular magnate in the Kingdom of Galicia during the first quarter of the twelfth century. According to the Historia compostelana, he was "spirited ... warlike ... of great power .....
, but there is no contemporary evidence that this was the fact, and it has been speculated that she may have been French, as the name she gave her son was of French origin (from Latin Almanricus/Amalricus, French Amaury). She had previously been married to count García Ordóñez
García Ordóñez
García Ordóñez , called de Nájera or de Cabra and in the epic literature Crispus or el Crespo de Grañón, was a Castilian magnate who ruled the Rioja from Nájera from 1080 until his death. He is famous in literature as the rival of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, the Cid, whose high position at court he...
. The first mention of Manrique's parents' marriage dates from November 1127, and must have occurred after 1108. Manrique had three brothers: Álvaro
Álvaro Pérez de Lara
Álvaro Pérez de Lara was a nobleman of the Lara family. He was the youngest son of Pedro González de Lara. His mother was Eva, who may have been a daughter of Pedro Froilaz de Traba, or perhaps a Frenchwoman. She was originally married to García Ordóñez, but was married to Pedro by November 1127...
, Nuño
Nuño Pérez de Lara
Nuño Pérez de Lara was a Castilian nobleman, politician and military leader. He began his career at the court of the Emperor Alfonso VII, during whose reign he took part in the repoblación of the Extremadura and the defence of the Almohad frontier...
and Rodrigo. He had a younger full sister, Mayor, and three half-siblings, Elvira and Fernando, children of his father's liaison with Queen Urraca, and count García Garcés de Aza
García Garcés de Aza
García Garcés de Aza was a Castilian magnate "renowned for his wealth and dullness", yet "a prominent figure in the later Andalusian campaigns of the Emperor between 1150 and 1157"...
, son of his mother's first marriage.
Count and tenente (1145–1158)
Between 26 December 1134 and 2 June 1137 Manrique served as alférezAlférez
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...
, that is, head of the military household, of Alfonso VII. This post was usually reserved for young noblemen with promising career prospects. In 1143 Manrique was granted the tenencia (or honor, a fief governed on behalf of the crown) of Atienza
Atienza
Atienza is a municipality located in the province of Guadalajara, Spain. According to the 2006 census , the municipality has a population of 437 inhabitants.There were ancient Celtiberian settlements in the Cerro del Padrastro.- Geology :...
, and in 1144 he received those of Ávila, Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
. Madrid he only governed until the next year (1145) and Ávila until 1150. On 21 August 1145 Manrique was made a 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...
, the highest rank in the kingdom, by Alfonso VII in the ancient capital city of León. A charter survives that reads: "Manrique the same day this charter was made was made a count". Although it was common for aristocratic sons to accede to the titles of their fathers on the latters' deaths, Manrique had to wait fifteen years to receive the comital title from the king. While he continued to rule Atienza and Toledo, he also received the tenencias of Medinaceli
Medinaceli
Medinaceli is a municipality and town in the province of Soria . Its name derives from the Arabic toponym madīnat sālim . The town is named after one Salim bin Waral, head of a Masmuda Berber family which settled there in the 8th century....
in 1146. That year Alfonso sent him, Ponce Giraldo de Cabrera
Ponce Giraldo de Cabrera
Ponce Giraldo de Cabrera , called Ponç Guerau in Catalan, was a Catalan nobleman who came to León in the entourage of Berenguela, daughter of Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona, when she married Alfonso VII of León and Castile at Saldaña in November 1127. Immediately after his arrival, Ponce...
, Ermengol VI of Urgell
Ermengol VI of Urgell
Ermengol VI , called el de Castilla, was the Count of Urgell from 1102 to his death. He was the son and successor of Ermengol V and María Ansúrez.He was born in Valladolid, whence his nickname comes...
, and Martín Fernández de Hita to help the king's Muslim ally Sayf al-Dawla regain the cities of Baeza
Baeza
Baeza is a town of approximately 16,200 inhabitants in Andalusia, Spain, in the province of Jaén, perched on a cliff in the Loma de Baeza, a mountain range between the river Guadalquivir on the south and its tributary the Guadalimar on the north. It is chiefly known today as having many of the...
, Jaén
Jaén, Spain
Jaén is a city in south-central Spain, the name is derived from the Arabic word Jayyan, . It is the capital of the province of Jaén. It is located in the autonomous community of Andalusia....
and Úbeda
Úbeda
Úbeda is a town in the province of Jaén in Spain's autonomous community of Andalusia, with some 35,600 inhabitants. Both this city and the neighboring city of Baeza benefited from extensive patronage in the early 16th century resulting in the construction of a series of Renaissance style palaces...
. This they succeeded in doing, but they soon quarrelled with Sayf and fighting ensued, during which Sayf was defeated and his submission to Alfonso reinforced. In January 1147 Manrique played a key rôle in the capture of Calatrava
Calatrava
-Spain:* Calatrava la Vieja , Spanish medieval town* Calatrava la Nueva, Spanish medieval castle and convent-Philippines:* Calatrava, Negros Occidental, a municipality in the Philippines...
, a fact the king acknowledged in a charter drawn up on 9 January. In August Manrique took part in the reconquest of Almería
Almería
Almería is a city in Andalusia, Spain, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the capital of the province of the same name.-Toponym:Tradition says that the name Almería stems from the Arabic المرية Al-Mariyya: "The Mirror", comparing it to "The Mirror of the Sea"...
and its hinterland, which included the taking of Baeza, which he immediately received from the king as a tenencia. He is highly praised by the anonymous author of the Poema de Almería, who cites his splendour and generosity ahead of his wisdom and valour:
Count Manrique, a sincere friend of Christ, valiant in warfare, is placed in charge of all these towns[ AndújarAndújarAndújar is a Spanish municipality of 38,539 people in the province of Jaén, in Andalusia. The municipality is divided by the Guadalquivir River. The northern part of the municipality is where the Natural Park of the Sierra de Andújar is situated. To the south are agricultural fields and...
, BañosBañosBaños de Agua Santa , commonly referred to as Baños, is a city in eastern Tungurahua Province, in central Ecuador. Baños is the second most populous city in Tungurahua, after Ambato, the capital, and is a major tourist center...
, Bayona and Baeza]. He was liked by all, just as he was liked by the Emperor, so that he shone among the Saracens and Christians alike. Illustrious in reputation and beloved by all, bountiful and generous, he was niggardly to no man. He was skilled in arms, he possessed the mind of a sage, he delighted in battle and was a master of the science of war.
This emphasis was typical in the period, when generosity, munificence and prodigality were considered signs of greatness, and the rewarding of followers was essential to maintaining one's power. In Baeza, Manrique's rule can be traced for a decade, until 1157. In 1148 he received the tenencia of Segovia
Segovia
Segovia is a city in Spain, the capital of Segovia Province in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is situated north of Madrid, 30 minutes by high speed train. The municipality counts some 55,500 inhabitants.-Etymology:...
. In November 1148 Manrique and others of his famiy donated some houses in Toledo, which he ruled at the time, to Gonzalo de Marañón
Gonzalo de Marañón
Gonzalo de Marañón was a Castilian magnate during the reigns of Alfonso VII , Sancho III , and Alfonso VIII . By January 1174 he had attained the rank of count , the highest in the kingdom. He was one of the earliest members of the Spanish nobility to adopt a toponymic as a family name...
. It is a sign of the diversity of his interests that he owned urban properties in the most important city in the kingdom.
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
".
In February 1152 Manrique encouraged the settlement of Balaguera and Cedillo
Cedillo
Cedillo is a municipality located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. According to the 2008 census , the municipality has a population of 518 inhabitants.- Languages :...
in the Extremadura
Extremadura
Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. Its component provinces are Cáceres and Badajoz. It is bordered by Portugal to the west...
by dividing his property there amongst some settlers. Sometime before December 1153, Manrique married Ermessinde, daughter of Aimeric II of Narbonne and a cousin of Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona. She bore him eight children, four sons and four daughters: Aimerico
Aimerico Manrique de Lara
Aimerico Manrique de Lara was the co-Viscount of Narbonne from 1167 and Duke of Narbonne from 1172. His name can be spelled Aimeric or Aymeric, and is sometimes Gallicised as Aimery, but he is not usually numbered among the others of his name who ruled Narbonne.-Origins:Aimeric is first mentioned...
, Ermengarda, Guillermo (William), Manrique, María, Mayor (Amilia), Pedro
Pedro Manrique de Lara
Pedro Manrique de Lara , commonly called Pedro de Molina and usually known in French sources as Pierre de Lara, was a Castilian nobleman and military leader of the House of Lara...
, Sancha and Elvira. His daughters married among the highest nobility: Mayor to Gómez González de Manzanedo
Gómez González de Manzanedo
Gómez González de Manzanedo was a Castilian magnate who governed Calahorra and defended the border with Navarre in the 1150s and 1160s. He spent three periods in the neighbouring Kingdom of León.Gómez's parentage is unknown...
, and Elvira to Ermengol VIII of Urgell
Ermengol VIII of Urgell
Ermengol VIII , known as el de Sant Hilari, was the Count of Urgell from 1184 to his death. He was a son of Ermengol VII and Dulce, daughter of Roger III of Foix....
, grandson of Ermengol VI, Manrique's fellow envoy of 1146 and the husband of his cousin Elvira Rodríguez. On 5 December 1153, in their first recorded action as husband and wife, Manrique and Ermessinde gave the village of Cobeta
Cobeta
Cobeta is a municipality located in the province of Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 108 inhabitants....
to the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monasteries of Arlanza
Arlanza
The River Arlanza rises in the Sierra de la Demanda, near Quintanar de la Sierra in an area known as Fuente Sanza. As it flows through the province of Burgos, Spain, it passes through the municipalities of Castrovido, Salas de los Infantes, Covarrubias and Lerma...
, 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...
and Santo Domingo de Silos
Santo Domingo de Silos
Santo Domingo de Silos is a municipality located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 292 inhabitants....
, and the cathedral of Santa María in Sigüenza
Sigüenza
Sigüenza is a city in the province of Guadalajara in Spain.-History:The site of the ancient Segontia of the Celtiberian Arevaci, now called Villavieja , is half a league distant from the present Sigüenza...
, at the time under construction according to a Benedictine plan. The charter of this donation was drawn up by Sebastian. It survives with tags which once attached a seal
Seal (device)
A seal can be a figure impressed in wax, clay, or some other medium, or embossed on paper, with the purpose of authenticating a document ; but the term can also mean the device for making such impressions, being essentially a mould with the mirror image of the design carved in sunken- relief or...
, now lost. Manrique may have been the first member of the Castilian nobility to employ a seal to authenticate documents. The royal chancery had only been employing them from 1146, though episcopal chanceries had already adopted them under French influence (1140). Manrique's marital connexion with the rulers of Narbonne may have influenced his decision, and his seal was probably based on the type used in Languedoc
Languedoc
Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...
at the time. In 1163, when the chancery of the young Alfonso VIII adopted a seal, it was probably based on Manrique's. The earliest surviving aristocratic seal from Castile is one of Manrique's son Pedro, from document of 1179 drawn up at Calatayud
Calatayud
Calatayud is a city and municipality in the province of Zaragoza in Aragón, Spain lying on the river Jalón, in the midst of the Sistema Ibérico mountain range. It is the second-largest city in the province after the capital, Zaragoza, and the largest town in Aragón other than the three provincial...
. A look at the earliest seals of Alfonso VIII and Pedro Manrique suggests that Manrique's own seal showed an armed, stylised, equestrian figure patterned after Anglo-French designs, but left-facing in the Mediterranean fashion.
On 21 April 1154 Manrique and Ermessinde issued a sweeping fuero
Fuero
Fuero , Furs , Foro and Foru is a Spanish legal term and concept.The word comes from Latin forum, an open space used as market, tribunal and meeting place...
to the town of Molina de Aragón
Molina de Aragón
Molina de Aragón is a municipality located in the province of Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2009 census , the municipality has a population of 3,671 inhabitants...
. The document survives only in a thirteenth-century copy, and it may have been amended in light of later twelfth-century fueros, although much of its material has precedents in the early twelfth century. It lists the privileges of the inhabitants, the rents owed to Manrique, a list of officials who would serve on the municipal council and an extensive legal code. A large portion of the law deals with the formation of the local militia. Knights (caballeros) who lived in the town with their families for a certain period of the year were exempted from taxes. A fifth of the booty taken by the local militia in war was to go to Manrique, and those who skipped out on their military obligations were fined. Unprecedentedly (and perhaps suspiciously), a maintenance was paid to those who captured Muslim leaders in battle and had to temporarily support them before they were handed over to the king. The fuero also mandated watchtower duty, a medical allowance for wounds received in war, the use of battle standards, and standards of military equipment for both cavalry and infantry. Also without precedent is a law requiring all those with a certain amount of wealth to purchase a horse and serve in the militia as a knight. If the thirteenth-century copy is accurate to the original, the fuero of Molina marks a transition in the customary law martial law of the peninsula, especially of Castile 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...
. The semi-independent nature of the rule of Manrique and his successors at Molina has been likened to the rule of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar at Valencia two generations earlier and to the contemporary rule of Pedro Ruiz de Azagra
Pedro Ruiz de Azagra
Pedro Ruiz de Azagra was a Navarrese nobleman and soldier who established the independent Lordship of Albarracín, which lasted until 1284. He was the second son of Rodrigo Pérez de Azagra...
in Albarracín
Albarracín
Albarracín is Spanish town, in the province of Teruel, part of the autonomous community of Aragon. According to the 2007 census , the municipality had a population of 1075 inhabitants...
. Manrique even used the formula Dei gratia comes ("count by the grace of God"), implying that his power did not derive from the king. When the lordship passed to the crown through the marriage of María de Molina
María de Molina
María de Molina was the wife of Sancho IV of Castile. She was queen consort of Castile and León from 1284 to 1295 and then regent until the coming of age of her son Ferdinand IV.- Biography :...
and Sancho IV
Sancho IV of Castile
Sancho IV the Brave was the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1284 to his death. He was the second son of Alfonso X and Yolanda, daughter of James I of Aragon.-Biography:...
, Molina was retained as a subsidiary title until the time of Isabel II.
In November 1155 Manrique bought the vill
Vill
Vill is a term used in English history to describe a land unit which might otherwise be described as a parish, manor or tithing.The term is used in the period immediately after the Norman conquest and into the late medieval. Land units in Domesday are frequently referred to as vills, although the...
of Alcolea
Alcolea
-External links: - Diputación Provincial de Almería...
from García Garcés de Aza for 1,000 maravedís, a sign of his wealth. It is a sign of his power influence that in 1156 he, as governor (tenente) of Baeza and its entire district, was, under exceptional circumstances, conceded by the king the right to make three grants of reconquered (and thus royal) land to his supporters in the region, as part of the programme of repopulation
Repoblación
The Repoblación was the ninth-century repopulating of a large region between the River Duero and the Cantabrian Cordillera which had been depopulated in the early years of the Reconquista....
. The charters, which did not require the confirmation of any members of the royal court, were drawn up by Manrique's scribe and authenticated with Manrique's seal. It is probable that the exceptional circumstances which led Alfonso to leave the function of the royal chancery in the hands of Manrique and his household staff was the pressing need to secure the region against the threatening Almohads.
That same year (1156), Manrique was entrusted with the tenencia of Burgo de Osma, which he subinfeudated to his vassal Diego Pérez as alcalde
Alcalde
Alcalde , or Alcalde ordinario, is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An alcalde was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian cabildo and judge of first instance of a town...
. Manrique was also governing the Mediterranean port city of Almería (near Alcolea) in January 1157. Later that year both Almería and Baeza were lost to the Almohads. In August that year, Alfonso VII died. According to the De rebus Hispaniae
De rebus Hispaniae
De rebus Hispaniae or Historia gothica is a history of the Iberian peninsula written in Latin by Archbiship of Toledo Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada en the first half of the thirteenth century on behalf of King Ferdinand III of Castile....
, written by a Navarrese cleric, Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada
Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada
Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada was a Navarrese-born Castilian Roman Catholic bishop and historian....
, a century later, the division of Alfonso VII's empire between his heirs was a result of the evil counsel of Manrique Pérez de Lara and Fernando Pérez de Traba (possibly Manrique's maternal uncle), who together "aimed to sow the seed of discord". Alfonso's elder son, Sancho, succeeded in Castile and Toledo
Kingdom of Toledo
The Kingdom of Toledo was the juridical definition of a Christian medieval kingdom in what is now central Spain, created after Alfonso VI of León's capture of Toledo in 1085.-Background:...
, while his second son, Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II of Leon
Ferdinand II was King of León and Galicia from 1157 to his death.-Life:Born in Toledo, Castile, he was the son of King Alfonso VII of León and Castile and of Berenguela, of the House of Barcelona. At his father's death, he received León and Galicia, while his brother Sancho received Castile and...
, succeeded in 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...
and Galicia
Kingdom of Galicia
The Kingdom of Galicia was a political entity located in southwestern Europe, which at its territorial zenith occupied the entire northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Founded by Suebic king Hermeric in the year 409, the Galician capital was established in Braga, being the first kingdom which...
. Sancho died on 31 August 1158 and Manrique became regent and guardian of the child king Alfonso VIII. At least one later account with a pro-Leonese bias, the Chronicon mundi of Lucas de Tuy
Lucas de Tuy
Lucas de Tuy was a Leonese cleric and intellectual, remembered best as a historian. He was Bishop of Tuy from 1239 until his death....
, asserts that Ferdinand II became regent and protector of Alfonso VIII, but this is a fabrication.
Regency of Castile (1158–1164)
In the dispute over Alfonso VIII's regency that followed Sancho's death, the Lara family forced the Castro family into exile, igniting a civil war. Rodrigo Jiménez, perhaps relying on a popular legend, states that Manrique had the body of Gutierre Fernández de Castro disinterred and held as a ransom. In January 1160 he took over the government of the Extremadura on behalf of the crown, all the while continuing to hold Atienza and Toledo. In March 1160 the exiled Castro leader, Fernando RodríguezFernando Rodríguez de Castro
Fernando Rodríguez de Castro was a Castilian nobleman, statesman and military leader who made his career in León. He was the leader of the House of Castro during the civil wars that followed the death of Sancho III of Castile and the succession of the infant Alfonso VIII...
, returned to confront the Laras and their allies in the Battle of Lobregal
Battle of Lobregal
The Battle of Lobregal took place in March 1160 between the House of Lara and its allies and the forces of the House of Castro under Fernando Rodríguez de Castro...
. The Castros were victorious, and Manrique's brother Nuño was captured, but the Laras were not displaced. By March 1161 the guardianship of the young Alfonso, initially held by Gutierre Fernández, followed by García Garcés de Aza, was being exercised by Manrique, who was styled nutritius regis ("nurturer of the king") and manente super negotia regni ("manager over the affairs of the kingdom"). In 1162 Manrique lost the tenencias of Atienza and Toledo and was placed in San Esteban de Gormaz
San Esteban de Gormaz
San Esteban de Gormaz is a municipality in the province of Soria in the autonomous community of Castile-Leon, Spain. Its population is approximately 3,500...
.
Manrique was killed by Fernando Rodríguez at the Battle of Huete
Battle of Huete
The Battle of Huete took place in 1164 between the Lara family and its allies, and the Castro family and its supporters. It was part of the civil war which engulfed the Kingdom of Castile following the death of Sancho III , wherein competing factions sought control of his minor son and successor,...
, a repeat of the disaster of Lobregal, in 1164, but the day of this battle is uncertain. The Anales toledanos primeros date it to 9 July and note Manrique's death: "They killed Count Manrique on the ninth day of the month of July in the Era
Spanish era
The Spanish era, Hispanic era or Caesar era refers to the dating system used in Hispania until the 14th century, when the Anno Domini system was adopted. It began with year one in what is 38 BC, probably the date of a new tax imposed by the Roman Republic on the subdued population of Iberia....
1202
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
1164]." There is a charter dated 21 June 1164, an earlier source than the Anales, that places the battle on 3 June:
. . .in the year this charter was written when Fernando Rodríguez with those of Toledo and of Huete fought with the count Don Manrique and this same count Don Manrique was killed, and many other Castilians [with him]. . . This charter was made on the fifth day of the week, the eleventh kalends of July [Thursday, 21 June]. Under the Era 1202 [AD 1164]. Fifteen and three days before this charter was made [3 June] Count Don Manrique and his knights were killed.
Manrique was buried in the Cistercian abbey of Santa María de Huerta
Santa María de Huerta
Santa María de Huerta is a municipality located in the province of Soria, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 419 inhabitants....
, founded by Alfonso VII in 1147 and destined to be heavily patronised by the Lara family. His widow, Ermessinde, was still alive as late as 1175, when she donated property in Molina de Aragón to her grandson García Pérez and to the Order of Calatrava
Order of Calatrava
The Order of Calatrava was the first military order founded in Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bull confirming the Order of Calatrava as a Militia was given by Pope Alexander III on September 26, 1164.-Origins and Foundation:...
. She also made many donations to Santa María de Huerta and to the Praemonstratensian monastery of Santa María de La Vid. Besides Calatrava, she patronised the Knights Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
. She founded a Praemonstratensian convent at Brazacorta
Brazacorta
Brazacorta is a municipality located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 88 inhabitants....
.