Mécia Lopes de Haro
Encyclopedia
Mécia Lopes de Haro (Biscay
, c. 1215 – Palencia
, 1270) was Castilian/Biscayan noblewoman, the wife successively of count Álvaro Pérez de Castro and of King Sancho II of Portugal
. The subsequent annulment of her marriage by Pope Innocent IV has led to disagreement over whether she should be counted among the Queens consort
of Portugal
. She played a central role in the Portuguese political crisis of 1245.
. She was thus niece of the reigning king, Ferdinand III of Castile
.
, a kinsman of the powerful House of Lara
. These consanguineous
marriages were the cause of a dispute between Ferdinand III and Mecia's father Lope Diaz II Haro and husband, the monarch confiscating some of the groom's lands. It was peacefully resolved through the mediation of Queens Berengaria of Castile and Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen
, Ferdinand's mother and wife, respectively.
While the marriage proved childless, it did place Mécia in the midst of the struggles on the Cordoban frontier. After taking Cordoba, the king returned to Toledo, leaving Álvaro in charge of the stronghold of Martos
. The abandonment of agriculture due to the conflict led to a localized famine, and Álvaro was forced to journey to the royal court to plead for assistance. The king granted him the equivalent of viceregal
powers, as well as monetary support. However, in his absence his nephew, Tello, and the troops left behind decided to launch a military incursion into the territory of the enemy, leaving Mécia virtually unprotected in Martos. The Moorish ruler of Arjona
took advantage of this opportunity to invade the recently captured lands. In response, Mécia sent word to the missing troops, and according to Spanish historian Lafuente she then dress in soldiers' arms and paraded around the battlements. Having anticipated only facing women and not armed men, the Moors slowed their approach and took defensive measures, allowing the missing Christian troops under Tello to return. They then launched a directed attack under the command of Diego Perez de Vargas which broke through the center of the enemy lines, dispersing them. On hearing of the danger under which his wife had been placed, Álvaro made to return, but became ill and died of an unnamed disease at Orgaz
in 1239, or as some have it, 1240.
, son of Afonso II of Portugal
and his wife, Queen Urraca of Castile
. The legitimacy of this union has been contested, first by Portuguese historian António Brandão, who has been followed by several subsequent scholars in considering her a mistress, but that they married is documented by a papal bull
Sua nobis of Pope Innocent IV
, and is accepted by most historians. The date and place of the marriage is uncertain. It does not appear in the work of Rodrigo of Toledo, completed in March of 1243 but also omitting Portuguese royal marriages from the year before, while the papal bull mentions it in 1245, suggesting it should be placed between these dates.
. Further, since she was a widow and the king was her mother's first cousin, she deviated from the ideal of a virgin bride and tainted the marriage with consanguinity. She was not a royal princess and had no direct connections in either Portugal or Castile, whose king abandoned her after the death of her husband. She exacerbated her political isolation by surrounding herself with Castilian-raised servants and maids, making it difficult for Portuguese courtiers to use Mécia as an avenue for approaching the king. She was thus quickly rejected by nobility and populace. The degree of the discontent can be seen in the oft-repeated claim that the king was "bewitched by the arts of D. Mécia de Haro."
The problems in Portugal predated the arrival of Mécia. With the years of Christian conquests in the wars with the Moors, the king had taken some liberties as the country enjoyed peace and the king basked in the glow and pride of military success. However, the king then decided to replace the counselors of the royal court with his military companions, effectively instituting a military dictatorship. This change proved fatal, as it embroiled the council in conflicts that tarnished the image of the king, and led to what some historians have called an anarchy. Mécia thus entered the Portuguese stage at the start of a period of political instability, a civil war that eventually resulted in the deposition of her husband, and the coincidence led to her being blamed for his downfall. Later chroniclers have gone so far as to suggest that Sancho was a good king until his marriage, and his subsequent difficulties were due to her bad influences. However, such writings are biased by the need among his successors to justify his deposition.
and confirmed by Afonso II
.
Pope Innocent IV addressed a papal bull to Afonso, Count of Boulogne
, brother to the king and aspirant to the throne, in which he requested that Afonso raise troops from Boulogne
to assist the church in the Holy Land
. Given the plans of the Portuguese clergy and the pope, this seems simply to have been a pretext to allow Afonso to bring armed men to Lisbon.
While Alfonso was heir to Sancho, this could change at any time were the childless Mécia to produce an heir and so he set about separating the spouses. He focused on their consanguinity, both descending from Afonso I of Portugal, a relationship within a degree prohibited by the church but tolerated in the Iberian social context. Afonso took this to the pope, who issued a bull that decried the state of the kingdom, and backed by complaints from the Portuguese bishops, threatened that unless Sancho live up to his responsibilities, "appropriate measures" would be taken. Sancho refused to repudiate his wife, and the pope then carried through with his threat, annulling the marriage.
and snatched her from the royal bedchamber, taking her to the palace at Vila Nova de Ourém. Sancho, embarrassed at the kidnapping and finding himself powerless to recover his wife, abdicated and fled to Toledo
, dying in 1248. His will did not name his wife, suggesting that he may have thought her complicit in the kidnapping, a claim also hinted at by later chroniclers although no evidence is found in contemporary sources.
for Galicia, which seems unlikely. There is a surviving document, dating 24 February 1257, which while not specifying the location, reports Mécia and her relative Rodrigo Gonzalez acting as executors to Theresa Aires, making certain gifts to the convent of Benavides
, suggesting that at the time she resided in the area of Castile. An infante Ferdinand, who lived there, became sole heir of Mécia, and also disputed Sancho's inheritance. According to tradition, Mecia died in 1270 at Palencia, where she held lands, and she was buried at Nájera
in the Benedictine convent of Santa Maria, in the Chapel of the Cross. Her tomb, supported by four lions and bearing the arms of Portugal, features a woman in the dress of Biscay
.
Biscay
Biscay is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Biscay. Its capital city is Bilbao...
, c. 1215 – Palencia
Palencia
Palencia is a city south of Tierra de Campos, in north-northwest Spain, the capital of the province of Palencia in the autonomous community of Castile-Leon...
, 1270) was Castilian/Biscayan noblewoman, the wife successively of count Álvaro Pérez de Castro and of King Sancho II of Portugal
Sancho II of Portugal
Sancho II , nicknamed "the Pious" and "the Caped" or "the Capuched" , , fourth King of Portugal, was the eldest son of Afonso II of Portugal by his wife, Infanta Urraca of Castile...
. The subsequent annulment of her marriage by Pope Innocent IV has led to disagreement over whether she should be counted among the Queens consort
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
of Portugal
Kingdom of Portugal
The Kingdom of Portugal was Portugal's general designation under the monarchy. The kingdom was located in the west of the Iberian Peninsula, Europe and existed from 1139 to 1910...
. She played a central role in the Portuguese political crisis of 1245.
Birth
Mécia Lopes was daughter of Lope Díaz II de Haro, lord of Biscay, and of Urraca Alfonso of León. Her mother was an illegitimate daughter of Alfonso IX of LeónAlfonso IX of Leon
Alfonso IX was king of León and Galicia from the death of his father Ferdinand II in 1188 until his own death...
. She was thus niece of the reigning king, Ferdinand III of Castile
Ferdinand III of Castile
Saint Ferdinand III, T.O.S.F., was the King of Castile from 1217 and León from 1230. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguela of Castile. Through his second marriage he was also Count of Aumale. He finished the work done by his maternal grandfather Alfonso VIII and consolidated the...
.
First Marriage
Mécia was married on 29 September 1234 to Álvaro Pérez de Castro, a magnate involved in the expansion of the Castilian kingdom into the region of Cordoba, whose first marriage to Aurembiaix, Countess of Urgell had been annulled in 1228, while Mécia's sister Teresa married Nuño, Count of RousillonNuño Sánchez
Nuño Sánchez was a Catalan nobleman and statesman.Nuño was the son of Sancho, Count of Provence, Roussillon, and Cerdagne, and Sancha Núñez of the House of Lara. His father was dispossessed of Provence in 1185 but maintained Roussillon and Cerdagne until his death in 1223, handing control of them...
, a kinsman of the powerful 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...
. These consanguineous
Consanguinity
Consanguinity refers to the property of being from the same kinship as another person. In that respect, consanguinity is the quality of being descended from the same ancestor as another person...
marriages were the cause of a dispute between Ferdinand III and Mecia's father Lope Diaz II Haro and husband, the monarch confiscating some of the groom's lands. It was peacefully resolved through the mediation of Queens Berengaria of Castile and Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen
Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen
Beatrice of Swabia was Queen of Castile and Leon as the wife of King Ferdinand III...
, Ferdinand's mother and wife, respectively.
While the marriage proved childless, it did place Mécia in the midst of the struggles on the Cordoban frontier. After taking Cordoba, the king returned to Toledo, leaving Álvaro in charge of the stronghold of Martos
Martos
The city of Martos is located in the province of Jaén in the autonomous community of Andalusia in south-central Spain.It has a population of 24061 inhabitants, making Martos the fifth largest municipality in the province...
. The abandonment of agriculture due to the conflict led to a localized famine, and Álvaro was forced to journey to the royal court to plead for assistance. The king granted him the equivalent of viceregal
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...
powers, as well as monetary support. However, in his absence his nephew, Tello, and the troops left behind decided to launch a military incursion into the territory of the enemy, leaving Mécia virtually unprotected in Martos. The Moorish ruler of Arjona
Arjona, Spain
Arjona is a municipality in the province of Jaén, Spain....
took advantage of this opportunity to invade the recently captured lands. In response, Mécia sent word to the missing troops, and according to Spanish historian Lafuente she then dress in soldiers' arms and paraded around the battlements. Having anticipated only facing women and not armed men, the Moors slowed their approach and took defensive measures, allowing the missing Christian troops under Tello to return. They then launched a directed attack under the command of Diego Perez de Vargas which broke through the center of the enemy lines, dispersing them. On hearing of the danger under which his wife had been placed, Álvaro made to return, but became ill and died of an unnamed disease at Orgaz
Orgaz
Orgaz is a municipality located in the province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2006 census , the municipality has a population of 2732 inhabitants. El Greco's painting "The Burial of the Count of Orgaz" features Don Gonzalo Ruíz, native of Toledo and Señor of the town of...
in 1239, or as some have it, 1240.
Second Marriage
Mecía married again to King Sancho II of PortugalSancho II of Portugal
Sancho II , nicknamed "the Pious" and "the Caped" or "the Capuched" , , fourth King of Portugal, was the eldest son of Afonso II of Portugal by his wife, Infanta Urraca of Castile...
, son of Afonso II of Portugal
Afonso II of Portugal
Afonso II , or Affonso , Alfonso or Alphonso or Alphonsus , nicknamed "the Fat" , third king of Portugal, was born in Coimbra on 23 April 1185 and died on 25 March 1223 in the same city. He was the second but eldest surviving son of Sancho I of Portugal by his wife, Dulce, Infanta of Aragon...
and his wife, Queen Urraca of Castile
Urraca of Castile
Urraca was Queen regnant of León, Castile, and Galicia, and claimed the imperial title as suo jure Empress of All the Spains from 1109 until her death in childbirth, as well as Empress of All Galicia.- Childhood :...
. The legitimacy of this union has been contested, first by Portuguese historian António Brandão, who has been followed by several subsequent scholars in considering her a mistress, but that they married is documented by a papal bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
Sua nobis of Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV , born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was pope from June 25, 1243 until his death in 1254.-Early life:...
, and is accepted by most historians. The date and place of the marriage is uncertain. It does not appear in the work of Rodrigo of Toledo, completed in March of 1243 but also omitting Portuguese royal marriages from the year before, while the papal bull mentions it in 1245, suggesting it should be placed between these dates.
Life at the Portuguese court
From the start, there were several reasons for the marriage to be portrayed in a bad light. She brought with her from her foreign land the specter of domination by the powerful neighboring Kingdom of CastileKingdom 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...
. Further, since she was a widow and the king was her mother's first cousin, she deviated from the ideal of a virgin bride and tainted the marriage with consanguinity. She was not a royal princess and had no direct connections in either Portugal or Castile, whose king abandoned her after the death of her husband. She exacerbated her political isolation by surrounding herself with Castilian-raised servants and maids, making it difficult for Portuguese courtiers to use Mécia as an avenue for approaching the king. She was thus quickly rejected by nobility and populace. The degree of the discontent can be seen in the oft-repeated claim that the king was "bewitched by the arts of D. Mécia de Haro."
The problems in Portugal predated the arrival of Mécia. With the years of Christian conquests in the wars with the Moors, the king had taken some liberties as the country enjoyed peace and the king basked in the glow and pride of military success. However, the king then decided to replace the counselors of the royal court with his military companions, effectively instituting a military dictatorship. This change proved fatal, as it embroiled the council in conflicts that tarnished the image of the king, and led to what some historians have called an anarchy. Mécia thus entered the Portuguese stage at the start of a period of political instability, a civil war that eventually resulted in the deposition of her husband, and the coincidence led to her being blamed for his downfall. Later chroniclers have gone so far as to suggest that Sancho was a good king until his marriage, and his subsequent difficulties were due to her bad influences. However, such writings are biased by the need among his successors to justify his deposition.
Annulment of her marriage to Sancho
The Portuguese clergy rose against the marriage, not so much because of direct opposition but as an indirect way of embarrassing the king in order to hasten his fall. Their contempt for the king arose from various perceived injustices, such as the revocation of a grant to the monastery of Bouco made by Afonso I of PortugalAfonso I of Portugal
Afonso I or Dom Afonso Henriques , more commonly known as Afonso Henriques , nicknamed "the Conqueror" , "the Founder" or "the Great" by the Portuguese, and El-Bortukali and Ibn-Arrik by the Moors whom he fought, was the first King of Portugal...
and confirmed by Afonso II
Afonso II of Portugal
Afonso II , or Affonso , Alfonso or Alphonso or Alphonsus , nicknamed "the Fat" , third king of Portugal, was born in Coimbra on 23 April 1185 and died on 25 March 1223 in the same city. He was the second but eldest surviving son of Sancho I of Portugal by his wife, Dulce, Infanta of Aragon...
.
Pope Innocent IV addressed a papal bull to Afonso, Count of Boulogne
Afonso III of Portugal
Afonso III , or Affonso , Alfonso or Alphonso or Alphonsus , the Bolognian , the fifth King of Portugal and the first to use the title King of Portugal and the Algarve, from 1249...
, brother to the king and aspirant to the throne, in which he requested that Afonso raise troops from Boulogne
Count of Boulogne
The county of Boulogne was a historical region in the Low Countries. It consisted of a part of the present-day French département of the Pas-de-Calais , in parts of which there is still a Dutch-speaking minority....
to assist the church in the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
. Given the plans of the Portuguese clergy and the pope, this seems simply to have been a pretext to allow Afonso to bring armed men to Lisbon.
While Alfonso was heir to Sancho, this could change at any time were the childless Mécia to produce an heir and so he set about separating the spouses. He focused on their consanguinity, both descending from Afonso I of Portugal, a relationship within a degree prohibited by the church but tolerated in the Iberian social context. Afonso took this to the pope, who issued a bull that decried the state of the kingdom, and backed by complaints from the Portuguese bishops, threatened that unless Sancho live up to his responsibilities, "appropriate measures" would be taken. Sancho refused to repudiate his wife, and the pope then carried through with his threat, annulling the marriage.
Deposition of king and the kidnapping of the queen
On 24 July and 1 August 1245, two bulls were promulgated, the first addressed to the barons of the kingdom, the second to the clergy, which decreed the deposition of the king. The king sought help from his brother Alfonso, the very man whose maneuvering had led to the deposition. There then occurred an event that directly involved Mécia. A nobleman named Raimundo Viegas de Portocarreiro, accompanied by the men of the Count of Boulogne, entered the royal palace at CoimbraCoimbra
Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
and snatched her from the royal bedchamber, taking her to the palace at Vila Nova de Ourém. Sancho, embarrassed at the kidnapping and finding himself powerless to recover his wife, abdicated and fled to 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:...
, dying in 1248. His will did not name his wife, suggesting that he may have thought her complicit in the kidnapping, a claim also hinted at by later chroniclers although no evidence is found in contemporary sources.
Life in Ourém, exile and death
Following her kidnapping, Mécia took up residence in Ourém. There is documentation of Mécia making several donations there, and she was protected by troops of the court, with which she retained good relations. The alcaide of the town, Inigo de Ortiz, has a Biscayan name, suggesting that she had appointed him. According to tradition, she held lands at Torres Novas, Santa Eulália and Ourém, and a marginal note in a contemporary document indicates that they were held by Mécia. Then her fate becomes less certain. Rui de Pina, the chronicler of Sancho II, says that she left OurémOurém
Ourém is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 416.6 km² and a total population of 49,269 inhabitants. The city itself has a population of about 12,000.The municipality is composed of 18 parishes, and is located in the district of Santarém...
for Galicia, which seems unlikely. There is a surviving document, dating 24 February 1257, which while not specifying the location, reports Mécia and her relative Rodrigo Gonzalez acting as executors to Theresa Aires, making certain gifts to the convent of Benavides
Benavides, León
Benavides is a municipality in the province of León, Spain. It's part of the route of St. James....
, suggesting that at the time she resided in the area of Castile. An infante Ferdinand, who lived there, became sole heir of Mécia, and also disputed Sancho's inheritance. According to tradition, Mecia died in 1270 at Palencia, where she held lands, and she was buried at Nájera
Nájera
Nájera is a small town located in the "Rioja Alta" region of La Rioja, Spain on the river Najerilla. Nájera is a stopping point on the Way of St James.-History:...
in the Benedictine convent of Santa Maria, in the Chapel of the Cross. Her tomb, supported by four lions and bearing the arms of Portugal, features a woman in the dress of Biscay
Biscay
Biscay is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Biscay. Its capital city is Bilbao...
.