Juan Alonso de Guzmán, 1st Duke of Medina Sidonia
Encyclopedia
Juan Alonso de Guzmán y Suárez de Figueroa Orozco, 1st Duke of Medina Sidonia and 3rd Count de Niebla (in full) (c. 1405 – December 1468) was a Spanish
nobleman and military figure of the Reconquista
.
Juan Alonso de Guzmán was the son of Enrique de Guzmán, 2nd Count of Niebla and of Teresa Suárez de Figueroa y Orozco, Lady of Escamilla and Santa Olalla. He was awarded the title of Duke of Medina Sidonia by King John II of Castile
on February 1445. This first Duke of Medina Sidonia married Doña Maria de la Cerda y de Sarmiento, daughter of Luis de la Cerda y Mendoza, 3rd Count de Medinaceli. It seems there was no legal male issue. He had however more than one illegitimate child with an Isabel de Menezes y Fonseca, apparently also marrying Doña Elvira de Guzmán, daughter of Don Alvaro de Guzmán, 6th Señor de Orgáz, who is reported as marrying his son, Martin to Violante Martinez de Aragón.
This was apparently not the first time however that the title of Duke of Medina Sidonia was awarded. King Henry II of Castile (c.1334-1379), had a illegitimate son named Enrique de Castilla y de Sousa with a Juana de Sousa, but after being made a Duke by his father, he died in 1404, without a successor. The title then returned to the Crown under King Henry III of Castile
, until it was awarded again in 1445 by Henry III's son, King John II of Castile
, to the Guzmán family. The addition of "El Bueno" to the family name of Guzmán was used much later than the ends of the 13th century by several members of the house, proud of their Nordic background by then, which included many statesmen, generals and colonial viceroy
s.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
nobleman and military figure of 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...
.
Juan Alonso de Guzmán was the son of Enrique de Guzmán, 2nd Count of Niebla and of Teresa Suárez de Figueroa y Orozco, Lady of Escamilla and Santa Olalla. He was awarded the title of Duke of Medina Sidonia by King John II of Castile
John II of Castile
John II was King of Castile from 1406 to 1454.He was the son of Henry III of Castile and his wife Catherine of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster by Constance of Castile, daughter of King Peter of Castile.-Regency:He succeeded his father on 25 December 1406, at the age of...
on February 1445. This first Duke of Medina Sidonia married Doña Maria de la Cerda y de Sarmiento, daughter of Luis de la Cerda y Mendoza, 3rd Count de Medinaceli. It seems there was no legal male issue. He had however more than one illegitimate child with an Isabel de Menezes y Fonseca, apparently also marrying Doña Elvira de Guzmán, daughter of Don Alvaro de Guzmán, 6th Señor de Orgáz, who is reported as marrying his son, Martin to Violante Martinez de Aragón.
This was apparently not the first time however that the title of Duke of Medina Sidonia was awarded. King Henry II of Castile (c.1334-1379), had a illegitimate son named Enrique de Castilla y de Sousa with a Juana de Sousa, but after being made a Duke by his father, he died in 1404, without a successor. The title then returned to the Crown under King Henry III of Castile
Henry III of Castile
Henry III KG , sometimes known as Henry the Sufferer or Henry the Infirm , was the son of John I and Eleanor of Aragon, and succeeded him as King of the Castilian Crown in 1390....
, until it was awarded again in 1445 by Henry III's son, King John II of Castile
John II of Castile
John II was King of Castile from 1406 to 1454.He was the son of Henry III of Castile and his wife Catherine of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster by Constance of Castile, daughter of King Peter of Castile.-Regency:He succeeded his father on 25 December 1406, at the age of...
, to the Guzmán family. The addition of "El Bueno" to the family name of Guzmán was used much later than the ends of the 13th century by several members of the house, proud of their Nordic background by then, which included many statesmen, generals and colonial viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
s.