Rodrigo Martínez
Encyclopedia
Rodrigo Martínez (died July 1138) was a Leonese
nobleman, landowner, courtier, military leader, governor, and diplomat, "the most powerful lay figure in the region of the western Tierra de Campos
," who "emerges as far and away the most regular visitor to the court of Alfonso VII between 1127 and 1138." He was a member of the Flagínez family, who rose to the highest rank in the kingdom and met his end on the battlefield.
He was the eldest son of Martín Flaínez
and Sancha Fernández. Throughout his career he was closely associated with his brothers Pedro and Osorio Martínez
. All three Martínez brothers met their ends on the battlefield. Martín Flaínez is known to have donated a meadow, money, and some candles to the monastery of Santa Eugenia de Cordovilla because the monks had performed a successful exorcism
on the young Rodrigo.
. Between 1117 and 1136 he held the tenencia of Becilla de Valderaduey
. From 1125 to 1137 he held that of Aguilar de Campoo
. Queen Urraca died on 8 March 1126. When Alfonso VII finally took control of the "towers of León", the fortress that guarded the imperial capital of León, Rodrigo along with the other Leonese magnates came to do him homage. In 1134 he held that of Mayorga and in 1135 those of Atienza
and Medina del Campo
concurrently. In 1137 he held Calahorra
, and there is a reference to him ruling Calahorra in a charter mistakenly dated to 1140. In 1136–37 he was also governing the Tierra de Campos. At some point he seems to have ruled in Grajal de Campos
, since a charter of 1152 refers to both him and Ramiro Fróilaz
as having held the title of potentior of Grajal. Between 1126 and 1138 he held the towers of León for the crown. From 1120 to 1126 he held the tenencia of Melgar de Arriba
(or possibly Melgar de Fernamental
). It is possible that in 1126 he briefly held Somoza
, but the only charter referring to this is suspect. From 1123 to 1136 he ruled Villalobos
. From 1132 until his death he ruled Zamora
.
By the end of 1128 Rodrigo had attained comital rank
. In 1129 he was employing Pedro Manga as his majordomo. Pedro would later hold the tenencias of Luna and Valencia de Don Juan
from the crown. In 1131 a certain Fernando Menéndez was acting as Rodrigo's vicar
in Zamora.
In 1133 Rodrigo Martínez and Gutierre Fernández led an embassy to Rueda de Jalón
(Rota) to negotiate with the petty Muslim prince Sayf al-Dawla (Zafadola). They were "received honorably [and presented] with magnificent gifts." They accompanied Sayf back to León to meet with Alfonso VII. Rodrigo was rewarded by the emperor for his loyalty in June–July 1135 with some lands confiscated from the defeated Asturian rebel Gonzalo Peláez
. Between 1135 and 1137 Rodrigo purchased land at Castrillo.
monastery at Sahagún
. On 1 July 1131 Rodrigo donated an estate at Oteruelo to Gonzalo Alfonso and Teresa Peláez. Between 1130 and 1132 he had a dispute with Arias II, Bishop of León, over the property owned by one Pedro Peláez. On 29 March 1133 Alfonso VII granted immunity (Latin cautum, Spanish coto) to the count's estate at Castellanos
. This gave Rodrigo the right to collect taxes and the profits of justice, to call upon the male denizens for military service, and to refuse entry to royal officials such as the merino
and sayón
.
Rodrigo married Urraca Fernández, daughter of Fernando Garcés de Hita and Estefanía Armengol. The couple was betrothed while she was no more than ten years old, at which time (21 November 1129) Rodrigo granted her a bridewealth consisting in eleven villages in the Campos Góticos. The charter, carta de arras, noting this gift is in the archives of Valladolid
. In it Rodrigo refers to Urraca as Fernandi Garcie et infantisse domine Stephanie filie, "daughter of Fernando Garcés and the infantissa Doña Estefanía."
Urraca never bore him any children of whom we have record, but the couple were active in property acquisitions. Together they acquired properties scattered throughout the Campos from Carrión
in the east to León in the west to Zamora in the south (de Carrione usque in Legionem et Cemorem et per totos Campos). These acquisitions (gananciales) were bought by Alfonso VII after Rodrigo's death. On 21 January 1139 the emperor granted Amusco
and an estate at Vertavillo
to Urraca in exchange for Manganeses and "all those purchases and gains, which she made with her husband Rodrigo Martínez" (totis illis comparationibus et gananzes, quas fecit cum marito suo Roderico Martinez). At some point after Rodrigo's death Urraca began an affair with Alfonso VII, eventually giving birth to a daughter by him, Estefanía, who married Fernando Rodríguez de Castro
. Alfonso's purchase of her and Rodrigo's gananciales may have been designed to provide for this daughter. Urraca conducted a number of property transactions with Alfonso between 1139 and 1148.
and Rodrigo
, and their kinsman Bertrán de Risnel
, Alfonso VII called upon Rodrigo and Osorio Martínez to attack Pedro Díaz, a supporter of the rebels, in his castle at Valle. According to the Chronica Adefonsi, Rodrigo and Osorio surrounded the castle and sent reports to Alfonso about the insults the garrison was hurling at them because of their failed assaults. The king came and the castle was taken and razed. Reportedly Pedro Díaz, upon surrendering, said to Alfonso, "My Lord and King, I stand at fault; I earnestly beg you, for the love of God who always aids you, do not hand me or my family over to Count Rodrigo. Instead, you yourself take vengeance upon me as you see fit." Rodrigo's reputation for ill treatment of his prisoners is also recorded in the Chronica:
On the orders of its rebel leader, Gimeno Íñiguez, the town of Coyanza also surrendered to the king to avoid falling into Rodrigo's hands.
Rodrigo died at the Siege of Coria
, where he was assisting the emperor with his own knightly retinue (mesnada), in July 1138. The siege was the culmination of a summer razzia deep into al-Andalus
. The razzia had begun in May under the command of Alfonso, Rodrigo Martínez, and Rodrigo Fernández de Castro. Rodrigo Martínez died during an assault on the city walls, described in the Chronica Adefonsi:
The siege was lifted the next day, and Rodrigo's body was immediately conducted to its burial place in León by his brother Osorio "accompanied by his own military force and by that of his brother". Rodrigo was buried in the family mausoleum beside his parents, in a church next to the Cathedral of Santa María
, possibly the monastery of San Pedro de los Huertos, which his parents had received by a royal grant of Urraca of Zamora
and Elvira of Toro in 1099. Osorio succeeded Rodrigo as count and received his tenencias of Aguilar, the Campos, León, and Zamora.
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...
nobleman, landowner, courtier, military leader, governor, and diplomat, "the most powerful lay figure in the region of the western Tierra de Campos
Tierra de Campos
Tierra de Campos is a large historical region or greater comarca that straddles the provinces of León, Zamora, Valladolid and Palencia, in Castile and León, Spain...
," who "emerges as far and away the most regular visitor to the court of Alfonso VII between 1127 and 1138." He was a member of the Flagínez family, who rose to the highest rank in the kingdom and met his end on the battlefield.
He was the eldest son of Martín Flaínez
Martín Flaínez
Martín Flaínez was "one of the most powerful and distinguished members" of the Leonese aristocracy during the reign of Alfonso VI , with which the length of his public life almost exactly coincided...
and Sancha Fernández. Throughout his career he was closely associated with his brothers Pedro and Osorio Martínez
Osorio Martínez
Osorio Martínez was a magnate from the Province of León in the Empire of Alfonso VII. He served the emperor militarily throughout his long career, which peaked in 1138–41. Besides the documentary sources, which are somewhat meagre at times after his fall from royal favour, he is mentioned in two...
. All three Martínez brothers met their ends on the battlefield. Martín Flaínez is known to have donated a meadow, money, and some candles to the monastery of Santa Eugenia de Cordovilla because the monks had performed a successful exorcism
Exorcism
Exorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...
on the young Rodrigo.
On behalf of the Crown: governor and diplomat
The first record of Rodrigo's public career dates to 1 May 1110. In 1117 he was governing the tenencia of CastroverdeCastroverde
Castroverde is a municipality in Lugo province, Spain.Castroverde is located in the mid-northeast of the autonomous community of Galicia.Castroverde is very rural area; the main economic activity is milk and meat production. There are also a few rabbit and poultry farms. Rural tourism has some...
. Between 1117 and 1136 he held the tenencia of Becilla de Valderaduey
Becilla de Valderaduey
Becilla de Valderaduey is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 362 inhabitants....
. From 1125 to 1137 he held that of Aguilar de Campoo
Aguilar de Campoo
Aguilar de Campoo is a town in the province of Palencia, autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is close to the River Pisuerga.-History:In 1255 Alfonso X the Wise declared it Villa Realenga...
. Queen Urraca died on 8 March 1126. When Alfonso VII finally took control of the "towers of León", the fortress that guarded the imperial capital of León, Rodrigo along with the other Leonese magnates came to do him homage. In 1134 he held that of Mayorga and in 1135 those 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 Medina del Campo
Medina del Campo
Medina del Campo is a town located in the middle of the Spanish Meseta Central, in the province of Valladolid, Castile-Leon autonomous region, 45 km from Valladolid. It is the capital of a farming area, far away from the great economic centres.-History:...
concurrently. In 1137 he held Calahorra
Calahorra
Calahorra, , La Rioja, Spain is a municipality in the comarca of Rioja Baja, near the border with Navarre on the right bank of the Ebro. During ancient Roman times, Calahorra was a municipium known as Calagurris.-Location:...
, and there is a reference to him ruling Calahorra in a charter mistakenly dated to 1140. In 1136–37 he was also governing the Tierra de Campos. At some point he seems to have ruled in Grajal de Campos
Grajal de Campos
Grajal de Campos , Grayal de Campos in Leonese language, is a municipality located in the province of León, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2010 census , the municipality has a population of 246 inhabitants....
, since a charter of 1152 refers to both him and Ramiro Fróilaz
Ramiro Fróilaz
Ramiro Fróilaz was a Leonese magnate, statesman, and military leader. He was a dominant figure in the kingdom during the reigns of Alfonso VII and Ferdinand II. He was primarily a territorial governor, but also a court figure, connected to royalty both by blood and by marriage...
as having held the title of potentior of Grajal. Between 1126 and 1138 he held the towers of León for the crown. From 1120 to 1126 he held the tenencia of Melgar de Arriba
Melgar de Arriba
Melgar de Arriba is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 271 inhabitants....
(or possibly Melgar de Fernamental
Melgar de Fernamental
Melgar de Fernamental is a municipality lying by the Pisuerga river, located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2008 census , the municipality has a population of 1,898 inhabitants.- Former Municipalities :...
). It is possible that in 1126 he briefly held Somoza
Somoza
The Somoza family was an influential political dynasty who ruled Nicaragua as an hereditary dictatorship. Their influence exceeded their combined 43 years in the de facto presidency, as they were the power behind the other presidents of the time through their control of the National Guard...
, but the only charter referring to this is suspect. From 1123 to 1136 he ruled Villalobos
Villalobos
Villalobos is a municipality located in the province of Zamora, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 295 inhabitants. Surname of Villalobos come from town of Villalobos, Spain....
. From 1132 until his death he ruled Zamora
Zamora, Spain
Zamora is a city in Castile and León, Spain, the capital of the province of Zamora. It lies on a rocky hill in the northwest, near the frontier with Portugal and crossed by the Duero river, which is some 50 km downstream as it reaches the Portuguese frontier...
.
By the end of 1128 Rodrigo had attained comital rank
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...
. In 1129 he was employing Pedro Manga as his majordomo. Pedro would later hold the tenencias of Luna and Valencia de Don Juan
Valencia de Don Juan
Valencia de Don Juan is a municipality located in the province of León, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 4,165 inhabitants.It's well known by its medieval castle....
from the crown. In 1131 a certain Fernando Menéndez was acting as Rodrigo's vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
in Zamora.
In 1133 Rodrigo Martínez and Gutierre Fernández led an embassy to Rueda de Jalón
Rueda de Jalón
Rueda de Jalón is a municipality located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 360 inhabitants....
(Rota) to negotiate with the petty Muslim prince Sayf al-Dawla (Zafadola). They were "received honorably [and presented] with magnificent gifts." They accompanied Sayf back to León to meet with Alfonso VII. Rodrigo was rewarded by the emperor for his loyalty in June–July 1135 with some lands confiscated from the defeated Asturian rebel Gonzalo Peláez
Gonzalo Peláez
Gonzalo Peláez was the ruler of the Asturias from 1110 to 1132, during the reigns of Queen Urraca and her son, Alfonso VII . He held high military posts under the latter, but in 1132 he began a five-year rebellion against Alfonso, punctuated by three brief reconciliations...
. Between 1135 and 1137 Rodrigo purchased land at Castrillo.
Private transactions: marriage and property
On 7 October 1123 he made a donation to the BenedictineBenedictine
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...
monastery at Sahagún
Sahagún
Sahagún can refer to:*Sahagún, Spain, a town and monastery in Léon, Spain. Cradle of the Mudéjar architecture*Sahagún, Córdoba, the second town in population in Córdoba Department, Colombia, also called "The Cultural City of Cordoba"People...
. On 1 July 1131 Rodrigo donated an estate at Oteruelo to Gonzalo Alfonso and Teresa Peláez. Between 1130 and 1132 he had a dispute with Arias II, Bishop of León, over the property owned by one Pedro Peláez. On 29 March 1133 Alfonso VII granted immunity (Latin cautum, Spanish coto) to the count's estate at Castellanos
Castellanos
Castellanos is a village in the Canelones Department of southern Uruguay. It is located on the intersection of Route 6 with Route 65, about south of San Ramón.-Population:In 2004 it had a population of 579....
. This gave Rodrigo the right to collect taxes and the profits of justice, to call upon the male denizens for military service, and to refuse entry to royal officials such as the merino
Merindad
Merindad is a Mediaeval Spanish administrative term that refers to a country subdivision smaller than a province but larger than a municipality. It was roughly approximate to the English count or bailiff...
and sayón
Saio
A , also known as "Itsuki no Miko", was an unmarried female relative of the Japanese emperor, sent to Ise to serve at Ise Grand Shrine from the late 7th century until the 14th century. The Saiō's residence, Saikū , was approximately 10 km north-west of the shrine...
.
Rodrigo married Urraca Fernández, daughter of Fernando Garcés de Hita and Estefanía Armengol. The couple was betrothed while she was no more than ten years old, at which time (21 November 1129) Rodrigo granted her a bridewealth consisting in eleven villages in the Campos Góticos. The charter, carta de arras, noting this gift is in the archives of Valladolid
Valladolid
Valladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales...
. In it Rodrigo refers to Urraca as Fernandi Garcie et infantisse domine Stephanie filie, "daughter of Fernando Garcés and the infantissa Doña Estefanía."
Urraca never bore him any children of whom we have record, but the couple were active in property acquisitions. Together they acquired properties scattered throughout the Campos from Carrión
Carrión de los Condes
Carrión de los Condes is a municipality in the province of Palencia, part of the Autonomous Community of Castile and León, Spain.It is 40 kilometers from Palencia, on the Way of Saint James.-History:...
in the east to León in the west to Zamora in the south (de Carrione usque in Legionem et Cemorem et per totos Campos). These acquisitions (gananciales) were bought by Alfonso VII after Rodrigo's death. On 21 January 1139 the emperor granted Amusco
Amusco
Amusco is a municipality located in the province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 507 inhabitants....
and an estate at Vertavillo
Vertavillo
Vertavillo is a municipality located in the province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 216 inhabitants....
to Urraca in exchange for Manganeses and "all those purchases and gains, which she made with her husband Rodrigo Martínez" (totis illis comparationibus et gananzes, quas fecit cum marito suo Roderico Martinez). At some point after Rodrigo's death Urraca began an affair with Alfonso VII, eventually giving birth to a daughter by him, Estefanía, who married Fernando Rodríguez de Castro
Fernando 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...
. Alfonso's purchase of her and Rodrigo's gananciales may have been designed to provide for this daughter. Urraca conducted a number of property transactions with Alfonso between 1139 and 1148.
Military activities and death
During the rebellion of 1130 led by the González de Lara brothers, PedroPedro 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...
and Rodrigo
Rodrigo González de Lara
Rodrigo González de Lara was a Castilian nobleman of the House of Lara. Early in his career he ruled that half of Asturias allocated to Castile. He was faithful to the crown throughout the reign of Queen Urraca , during which time he was married to the queen's half-sister and ruled a large part of...
, and their kinsman Bertrán de Risnel
Bertrán de Risnel
Beltrán or Bertrán de Risnel was an Aragonese or Occitan statesman and general. He was a nephew or cousin of Alfonso the Battler and represented his interests in León and Castile during the reigns of Urraca and Alfonso VII. His main activities took place in these kingdoms, where he held titles and...
, Alfonso VII called upon Rodrigo and Osorio Martínez to attack Pedro Díaz, a supporter of the rebels, in his castle at Valle. According to the Chronica Adefonsi, Rodrigo and Osorio surrounded the castle and sent reports to Alfonso about the insults the garrison was hurling at them because of their failed assaults. The king came and the castle was taken and razed. Reportedly Pedro Díaz, upon surrendering, said to Alfonso, "My Lord and King, I stand at fault; I earnestly beg you, for the love of God who always aids you, do not hand me or my family over to Count Rodrigo. Instead, you yourself take vengeance upon me as you see fit." Rodrigo's reputation for ill treatment of his prisoners is also recorded in the Chronica:
Count Rodrigo captured other knights. He sent some of these to prison until they surrendered all their possessions to him. He made others serve him for several days without any compensation. Those who had been insulting him he yoked with oxen to plow and feed on grass like cattle. He also made them eat straw from a manger. After he had stripped them of all their riches, he allowed the pathetic prisoners to go their way.
On the orders of its rebel leader, Gimeno Íñiguez, the town of Coyanza also surrendered to the king to avoid falling into Rodrigo's hands.
Siege of Coria (1138)
The short first Siege of Coria by Alfonso VII of León took place in July 1138, on the heels of a successful razzia deep into al-Andalus . The main source for the siege is the second book of the contemporary Chronica Adefonsi imperatoris.Coria had previously been reconquered just after 1085 by...
, where he was assisting the emperor with his own knightly retinue (mesnada), in July 1138. The siege was the culmination of a summer razzia deep into al-Andalus
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...
. The razzia had begun in May under the command of Alfonso, Rodrigo Martínez, and Rodrigo Fernández de Castro. Rodrigo Martínez died during an assault on the city walls, described in the Chronica Adefonsi:
The Emperor summoned the commanders and ordered them to mobilize the war engines in preparation for the assault on the city. He left with his hunters for the mountains then in search of deer, boar and bear. In the morning the assault was begun. Consul Rodrigo Martínez himself climbed one of the wooden towers. Many knights, archers and slingers went up the tower with him. Then one of the enemy by pure chance shot an arrow at the tower which the consul had climbed. Because of our sins, the arrow hit its target on the other side of the wickerwork. The iron point of the arrow struck the neck of the Consul. It pierced his headpiece and corselet and wounded him. Nevertheless, after the Consul realized that he was wounded, he quickly grasped the point of the arrow and, removed it. At once he began to hemorrhage. Neither the conjurers nor the physicians could stop the bleeding. Finally Rodrigo said to those around him, "Take off my arms, for I am extremely disheartened." Immediately they removed his arms and carried him to his tent. Throughout the entire day they attempted to cure his wound. Around sunset all hope in medicine was lost, and he died. As soon as the news had spread through the camp, there was tremendous mourning—more than anyone had imagined. Upon returning from the mountains, the Emperor was informed of the Consul's death. He learned the cause upon entering the camp. Alfonso gathered all of his advisors, and in their presence, he appointed Osorio, Rodrigo's brother, to be consul in his place.
The siege was lifted the next day, and Rodrigo's body was immediately conducted to its burial place in León by his brother Osorio "accompanied by his own military force and by that of his brother". Rodrigo was buried in the family mausoleum beside his parents, in a church next to the Cathedral of Santa María
León Cathedral
Santa María de León Cathedral, also called The House of Light or the Pulchra Leonina is situated in the city of León in north-western Spain. It was built on the site of previous Roman baths of the 2nd century which, 800 years later, king Ordoño II converted into a palace.The León Cathedral,...
, possibly the monastery of San Pedro de los Huertos, which his parents had received by a royal grant of Urraca of Zamora
Urraca of Zamora
Urraca was a Leonese infanta, one of the five children of Ferdinand I the Great, who received the city of Zamora as her inheritance and exercised palatine authority in it...
and Elvira of Toro in 1099. Osorio succeeded Rodrigo as count and received his tenencias of Aguilar, the Campos, León, and Zamora.