María de Molina
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| María de Molina | |||||
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| Queen consort of Castile and León | |||||
| Reign | 1284–1295 | ||||
| Lady of Molina | |||||
| Reign | 1293–1321 | ||||
| Predecessor | Blanca Alfonso of Molina | ||||
| Successor | Alfonso XI of Castile | ||||
| Born | c. 1265 | ||||
| Died | 1 July 1321 Valladolid | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Spouse | Sancho IV of Castile | ||||
| Issue among others... | Isabella, Queen of Aragon Fernando IV of Castile Beatrice, Queen of Portugal | ||||
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| House | House of Burgundy | ||||
| Father | Alfonso of Molina | ||||
| Mother | Mayor Alfonso de Menezes | ||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||
María Alfonso Téllez de Menezes (c. 1265 – 1321), known as María de Molina, was the wife of Sancho IV of Castile. She was queen consort of Castile and León from 1284 to 1295, and served as regent for her minor son Ferdinand IV (1295 - c.1301) and later her grandson Alfonso XI of Castile (1312-1321).
Biography
María was the daughter of the infante Alfonso of Molina and Mayor Alfonso de Menezes. Her paternal grandparents were King Alfonso IX of León and Queen Berengaria of Castile.[1]
She married her second cousin Sancho IV of Castile in 1282, the second son of Alfonso X the Learned, although the matrimonial dispensation for kinship was not previously granted. Upon the death of Alfonso X, she became queen consort of Castile-León and was crowned alongside her husband in the cathedral of Toledo. Although the couple was pressured to separate by Rome and others, Sancho chose to honor his wife and delegated many responsibilities to her, including the regency of their son after his death. His reign was short since he died in 1295.
After the death of Sancho IV, he was succeeded by his eldest son Fernando IV, who was under age. Though according to the Crónica de Sancho IV, Sancho designated María as the sole regent,[2] she was forced to share the regency with Sancho's uncle, Infante Enrique El Senador (Henry of Castile the Senator), younger brother of Alfonso X. Fernando's rule was challenged by a coalition that included his uncle, Infante Juan, his cousins the infantes de la Cerda, sons of the infante Fernando de la Cerda, eldest son of Alfonso X, as well as King James II of Aragón and King Dionisio I de Portugal.[3][4]
Through marriage alliances, gifts of territories, and shrewd politics María was able to lead Fernando's cause to victory, though it did not come easily. María built her own coalition, relying on the Castilian Cortes to confirm her authority and playing the powerful family clan of Haro against the Lara clan, who supported the opposition. Civil war continued for several years, and María's coregent Enrique was often more of an antagonist than a defender of his great-nephew's cause. Around 1300 the alliance against Fernando began to crumble when one of his principal enemies, Juan Núñez de Lara, was captured and later reconciled to the young king. Portugal returned to allegiance with Fernando with the promise of a marriage between the Portuguese princess Constanza and the young king of Castile. María's victory for her son seemed sealed in 1301, when she finally received a papal bull from Pope Boniface VIII, legitimizing her marriage and her children. Eventually, only Aragón was left to support the claim of Alfonso de la Cerda and his brother, which was finally set aside in a treaty between Castile and Aragón a few years later.
María de Molina died in Valladolid in 1321.
Children
- Isabella of Castile (1283–1328). Married first James II of Aragon and secondly John III, Duke of Brittany.
- Ferdinand IV of Castile (1285–1312). Married Constance of Portugal.
- Alfonso (1286–1291)
- Henry (1288–1299)
- Peter (1290–1319). Married Maria of Aragon, daughter of James II of Aragon.
- Philip (1292–1327). Married his cousin Margarita de la Cerda, daughter of Ferdinand de la Cerda, Infante of Castile.
- Beatrice of Castile (1293–1359). Married Afonso IV of Portugal.
Ancestry
| Family of María de Molina |
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References
- ^ Carmona Ruiz, María (2005). María de Molina. Barcelona: Random House Mondadori.
- ^ Rosell, Cayetano (1875). Crónicas de los reyes de Castilla: Desde don Alfonso el Sabio, hasta los católicos don Fernando y doña Isabel. Madrid: Cárlos Bailly-Baillier.
- ^ De Loaysa, Jofré (1982). Crónica de los reyes de Castilla: Fernando III, Alfonso X, y Fernando IV (1248-1305). Murcia: Edición de la Academia Alfonso X el Sabio.
- ^ del Valle Curieses, Rafael (2000). María de Molina: El soberano ejercicio de la concordia. Madrid: Aldebarán Ediciones.
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