List of Castilian counts
Encyclopedia
This is a list of counts of Castile
.
The County of Castile had its origin in a fortified march on the eastern frontier of the Kingdom of Asturias
. The earliest counts were not hereditary, being appointed as representatives of the Asturian king. From as early as 867, with the creation of the county of Alava, Castile was subdivided into several smaller counties that were not reunited until 931. In the later 10th century, while nominally in vassalage to the Kingdom of León
, the counts grew in autonomy and played a significant role in Iberian
politics, but the succession of a minor count in 1017 and his assassination in 1029 caused the county to fall back into the clutches of the Kingdoms of Pamplona
and León, until in 1037, count Ferdinand, a Pamplona prince, killed Bermudo III of León
and claimed his crown, in the process elevating Castile to royal status.
His acquisition of Castile resulted in reunion of Burgos with Castile, the two titles being used interchangeably thereafter
Jiménez Dynasty
With the death of Garcia, Sancho III of Navarre
, the feudal overlord, appointed his own son by Mayor
, sister of Garcia Sánchez, as count.
For Ferdinand and his successors, rulers of th Kingdom and Crown of Castile, see List of Castilian monarchs.
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...
.
The County of Castile had its origin in a fortified march on the eastern frontier of the Kingdom of Asturias
Kingdom of Asturias
The Kingdom of Asturias was a Kingdom in the Iberian peninsula founded in 718 by Visigothic nobles under the leadership of Pelagius of Asturias. It was the first Christian political entity established following the collapse of the Visigothic kingdom after Islamic conquest of Hispania...
. The earliest counts were not hereditary, being appointed as representatives of the Asturian king. From as early as 867, with the creation of the county of Alava, Castile was subdivided into several smaller counties that were not reunited until 931. In the later 10th century, while nominally in vassalage to 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...
, the counts grew in autonomy and played a significant role in Iberian
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...
politics, but the succession of a minor count in 1017 and his assassination in 1029 caused the county to fall back into the clutches of the Kingdoms of Pamplona
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 León, until in 1037, count Ferdinand, a Pamplona prince, killed Bermudo III of León
Bermudo III of León
Bermudo III , king of León , son of Alfonso V of León by his wife Elvira Mendes, was the last scion of Peter of Cantabria to rule in the Leonese kingdom...
and claimed his crown, in the process elevating Castile to royal status.
Elective Counts
- RodrigoRodrigo of CastileRodrigo was the first count of Castile, reigning from about 850 to his death. Some Iberian Muslim writers refer to a brother or brother-in-law of Ordoño I, while others assign the same role to a Ruderick without stating a relationship, and the references have been interpreted as referring to the...
(860–873), briefly count of Alava - 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....
(873–885)
Castile
(diminished territory)- Munio Núñez of Castrogeriz (c.899–c.901), brother-in-law of García I of LeónGarcía I of LeónGarcía I was the King of León from 910 until his death and eldest of three succeeding sons of Alfonso III the Great by his wife Jimena....
- Gonzalo Téllez (c.901–c.904), also count of Cerezo and Lantarón
- Munio Núñez of Castrogeriz (again, c.904–c.909)
- Gonzalo Fernández of CastileGonzalo Fernández of CastileGonzalo 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...
(c.909–915), cousin of Munio Núñez
Burgos
- Gonzalo Fernández of CastileGonzalo Fernández of CastileGonzalo 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...
(c.899–915)
His acquisition of Castile resulted in reunion of Burgos with Castile, the two titles being used interchangeably thereafter
Castile & Burgos
- Ferdinand Ansúrez (915–920), married Muniadona, widow of García I of LeónGarcía I of LeónGarcía I was the King of León from 910 until his death and eldest of three succeeding sons of Alfonso III the Great by his wife Jimena....
and sister of Munio Núñez. - Nuño Fernández of Amaya (920–926), brother of Gonzalo Fernández
- Ferdinand Ansúrez (again, 926–c.929)
- Gutier Núñez (c.929–931), probably son of Nuño Fernández
Cerezo & Lantarón
- Gonzalo Téllez (c.897–913), also briefly count of Castile
- Ferdinand Díaz (913–c.921), son of Diego Porcelos
- Álvaro Herrameliz (c.921–931), also count of Alava, married Sancha, widow of Ordoño II of LeónOrdoño II of LeónOrdoño II was king of Galicia from 910, and king of Galicia and León from 914 until his death. He was the second son of King Alfonso III the Great and his wife, Jimena of Pamplona....
and daughter of Sancho I of PamplonaSancho I of PamplonaSancho 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...
Alava
- RodrigoRodrigo of CastileRodrigo was the first count of Castile, reigning from about 850 to his death. Some Iberian Muslim writers refer to a brother or brother-in-law of Ordoño I, while others assign the same role to a Ruderick without stating a relationship, and the references have been interpreted as referring to the...
(c.867–870), count of Castile - Vela Jiménez (870–c.887), (said by some to have been brother of García Jiménez of PamplonaGarcía Jiménez of PamplonaGarcía Jiménez was king of a part of Pamplona in the late 9th century.The Jiménez dynasty that would later rule the kingdom of Navarre apparently originally held a territory within that realm distinct from that held by the descendants of Iñigo Arista...
) - Munio Velaz (c.887–c.921), son of Vela Jiménez
- Álvaro Herrameliz (c.921–931), also count of Cerezo and Lantarón
Beni Mamaduna
Following the appointment of Fernán González in 931 to succeed both Gutier Núñez and Álvaro Herrameliz, he reunited the divided counties of Castile, Burgos, Alava, Cerezo and Lantarón into what would become a single semi-autonomous hereditary county of Castile. Al Andalus sources referred to the family as the Beni Mamaduna, the descendants of Muniadona, mother of Fernán.- Fernán González (931–970), son of Gonzalo Fernández, married Sancha Sánchez, widow of Álvaro Herrameliz
- Ansur FernándezAnsur FernándezAnsur, Assur, or Asur Fernández was a powerful Castilian nobleman and military leader in the Kingdom of León during the reign of Ramiro II. He was the first Count of Monzón, probably from before 939, certainly by 943, and he was Count of Castile in 943–45 in opposition to the deposed Fernán González...
(944–947), son of Ferdinand Ansúrez, in opposition to Fernán González during the latter's rebellion, father-in-law of Sancho I of LeónSancho I of LeónSancho 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...
- Ansur Fernández
- García Fernández (970–995), son of Fernán González
- Sancho García (995–1017), son of García Fernández
- García Sánchez (1017–1029), son of Sancho García
Jiménez DynastyJiménez dynastyThe Jiménez or Ximenes were an Iberian ruling family from the 10th century to the 13th century. They were the first Europeanisers of Spain and brought her back within the wider European political scene while also giving her the political character and division that persisted until the end of the...
With the death of Garcia, Sancho III of NavarreSancho III of Navarre
Sancho III Garcés , called the Great , succeeded as a minor to the Kingdom of Navarre in 1004, and through conquest and political maneuvering increased his power, until at the time of his death in 1035 he controlled the majority of Christian Iberia, bearing the title of rex Hispaniarum...
, the feudal overlord, appointed his own son by Mayor
Mayor of Castile
Mayor of Castile was queen of Navarre. She was originally called Muniadona and is variously called Munia Mayor . In Spanish, she is called Muniadona de Castilla...
, sister of Garcia Sánchez, as count.
- Ferdinand I the GreatFerdinand I of LeónFerdinand I , called the Great , was the Count of Castile from his uncle's death in 1029 and the King of León after defeating his brother-in-law in 1037. According to tradition, he was the first to have himself crowned Emperor of Spain , and his heirs carried on the tradition...
(1029–37), on acquisition of the Kingdom of LeónKingdom of LeónThe 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...
in 1037, he took the royal title
For Ferdinand and his successors, rulers of th Kingdom and Crown of Castile, see List of Castilian monarchs.