Fernando Díaz
Encyclopedia
Fernando Díaz was a Spanish nobleman and military leader in the Kingdom of León
, the most powerful Asturian magnate of the period. He held the highest rank in the kingdom, that of count
(Latin comes), from at least 24 September 1089. He was the last Count of Asturias de Oviedo
and was succeeded by a castellan
, a novus homo
, perhaps in an ecclesiastical–royal effort to curtail the power of the Asturian aristocracy.
Fernando was the second son of Diego Rodríguez and his second wife, Cristina Fernández, daughter of Fernando Gundemáriz. His father and his elder brother Rodrigo before him were also counts of Asturias. His younger sister Jimena
was the wife of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, el Cid. Fernando's first wife was Goto González, the eldest daughter of Gonzalo Salvadórez
and his first wife, Elvira Díaz. Goto was dead by July 1087 when Fernando, as an executor of her will, made a donation to San Salvador de Oña of the land in Hermosilla inherited by Goto from her father and her uncle, Álvaro Salvadórez. By 31 July 1096, Fernando was married to Enderquina (Henderquina) Muñoz, a daughter of count Munio González. As her arras (special gift of a husband to a wife) she received the monastery of Santa María in Oviedo on 17 April 1097. The carta de arras (charter granting the arras) names Rodrigo Díaz el Cid as a witness. On 20 September 1120 the "children of count Fernando and countess Lady Enderquina" made a donation of the monastery of Santa Cruz de Castañeda to the Abbey of Cluny "for the souls" of their grandfather Munio and his wife Mayor. The names of Fernando's children with Enderquina were Diego, Munio, Sancha, Jimena, Aldonza, and María.
Fernando is first mentioned in a charter kept at the monastery of San Pedro de Eslonza and dated 15 October 1071. There is a highly dubious reference to Fernando with the title of count, an act of Alfonso VI, dated 8 May 1080, but the first secure reference to Count Fernando dates to 1089. A document of 18 January 1086 preserved in the cartulary of San Vicente de Oviedo is the earliest reference to his holding the tenencia of Asturias de Oviedo, which he had until at least the 7 February 1104. In April 1098 Fernando and Enderquina donated the monasteries of San Andrés de Agüera and San Esteban de Villar de Cobos to a certain priest named Juan Peláez of Belmonte de Miranda
.
According to the cartulary of the monastery of Sahagún
, Fernando visited the Holy Land
and Jerusalem in 1100. While this is usually taken to refer to a pilgrimage after the success of the First Crusade
, it may indicate that Fernando was one of the few Spaniards who participated in the Crusade. According to the Crónicas anónimas de Sahagún
, in 1101 Alfonso VI received a decorated cross made from the wood of the True Cross
from the Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus. The king proceeded to donate it to the abbey of Sahagún. It has been thought that Fernando probably brought the present back from Constantinople
after his pilgrimage. Around 1104, Fernando and Enderquina were engaged in lawsuits with the bishop Pelagius of Oviedo
concerning episcopal seignory
in Asturias. These also involved the abbot of Corias
, Munio, who had previously settled a division of serf
s and properties with Fernando and Enderquina in 1097 and 1099. In 1104, Fernando and Enderquina exchanged the villa of Reconco for that of Laureda with the abbey of Corias. Fernando does not appear in any documents after 19 March 1106, and it has been speculated he died at the Battle of Uclés in May 1108.
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 most powerful Asturian magnate of the period. He held the highest rank in the kingdom, that of count
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...
(Latin comes), from at least 24 September 1089. He was the last Count of Asturias de Oviedo
Asturias de Oviedo
Asturias de Oviedo is one of the historical comarcas in the Kingdom of Asturias. It extended from the Eo River in the west to the Deva River in the east, and from the Bay of Biscay in the north to the Cordillera Cantábrica in the south...
and was succeeded by a castellan
Castellan
A castellan was the governor or captain of a castle. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle". Also known as a constable.-Duties:...
, a novus homo
Novus homo
Homo novus was the term in ancient Rome for a man who was the first in his family to serve in the Roman Senate or, more specifically, to be elected as consul...
, perhaps in an ecclesiastical–royal effort to curtail the power of the Asturian aristocracy.
Fernando was the second son of Diego Rodríguez and his second wife, Cristina Fernández, daughter of Fernando Gundemáriz. His father and his elder brother Rodrigo before him were also counts of Asturias. His younger sister Jimena
Jimena Díaz
Doña Ximena Díaz was the wife of El Cid from 1074 and her husband's successor as ruler of Valencia from 1099 to 1102.-References:*...
was the wife of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, el Cid. Fernando's first wife was Goto González, the eldest daughter of Gonzalo Salvadórez
Gonzalo Salvadórez
Gonzalo Salvadórez , "called Cuatro Manos on account of his great valour", was one of the most powerful Castilian noblemen of his era, a kinsman of the Lara family, and by tradition, descendant of the Counts of Castile...
and his first wife, Elvira Díaz. Goto was dead by July 1087 when Fernando, as an executor of her will, made a donation to San Salvador de Oña of the land in Hermosilla inherited by Goto from her father and her uncle, Álvaro Salvadórez. By 31 July 1096, Fernando was married to Enderquina (Henderquina) Muñoz, a daughter of count Munio González. As her arras (special gift of a husband to a wife) she received the monastery of Santa María in Oviedo on 17 April 1097. The carta de arras (charter granting the arras) names Rodrigo Díaz el Cid as a witness. On 20 September 1120 the "children of count Fernando and countess Lady Enderquina" made a donation of the monastery of Santa Cruz de Castañeda to the Abbey of Cluny "for the souls" of their grandfather Munio and his wife Mayor. The names of Fernando's children with Enderquina were Diego, Munio, Sancha, Jimena, Aldonza, and María.
Fernando is first mentioned in a charter kept at the monastery of San Pedro de Eslonza and dated 15 October 1071. There is a highly dubious reference to Fernando with the title of count, an act of Alfonso VI, dated 8 May 1080, but the first secure reference to Count Fernando dates to 1089. A document of 18 January 1086 preserved in the cartulary of San Vicente de Oviedo is the earliest reference to his holding the tenencia of Asturias de Oviedo, which he had until at least the 7 February 1104. In April 1098 Fernando and Enderquina donated the monasteries of San Andrés de Agüera and San Esteban de Villar de Cobos to a certain priest named Juan Peláez of Belmonte de Miranda
Belmonte de Miranda
Belmonte de Miranda is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by Salas, on the east by Grado, to the south by Somiedo and Teverga, and on the west by Tineo....
.
According to the cartulary of the monastery of 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...
, Fernando visited 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...
and Jerusalem in 1100. While this is usually taken to refer to a pilgrimage after the success of the First Crusade
First Crusade
The First Crusade was a military expedition by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the Levant, ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem...
, it may indicate that Fernando was one of the few Spaniards who participated in the Crusade. According to the Crónicas anónimas de Sahagún
Crónicas anónimas de Sahagún
The Crónicas anónimas de Sahagún are two short chronicles composed by the monks of Sahagún two centuries apart. They survive only in sixteenth-century Spanish translations....
, in 1101 Alfonso VI received a decorated cross made from the wood of the True Cross
True Cross
The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which, by a Christian tradition, are believed to be from the cross upon which Jesus was crucified.According to post-Nicene historians, Socrates Scholasticus and others, the Empress Helena The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which, by a...
from the Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus. The king proceeded to donate it to the abbey of Sahagún. It has been thought that Fernando probably brought the present back from Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
after his pilgrimage. Around 1104, Fernando and Enderquina were engaged in lawsuits with the bishop Pelagius of Oviedo
Pelagius of Oviedo
Pelagius of Oviedo was a medieval ecclesiastic, historian, and forger who served the Diocese of Oviedo as an auxiliary bishop from 1098 and as bishop from 1102 until his deposition in 1130 and again from 1142 to 1143. He was an active and independent-minded prelate, who zealously defended the...
concerning episcopal seignory
Seignory
In English law, Seignory or seigniory , the lordship remaining to a grantor after the grant of an estate in fee simple....
in Asturias. These also involved the abbot of Corias
San Juan Bautista de Corias
San Juan Bautista de Corias is a former Benedictine monastery in Corias on the right bank of the Narcea dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. It was founded in 1032 on his own land by Count Piñolo Jiménez and his wife Aldonza Muñoz, wealthy Leonese aristocrats...
, Munio, who had previously settled a division of serf
SERF
A spin exchange relaxation-free magnetometer is a type of magnetometer developed at Princeton University in the early 2000s. SERF magnetometers measure magnetic fields by using lasers to detect the interaction between alkali metal atoms in a vapor and the magnetic field.The name for the technique...
s and properties with Fernando and Enderquina in 1097 and 1099. In 1104, Fernando and Enderquina exchanged the villa of Reconco for that of Laureda with the abbey of Corias. Fernando does not appear in any documents after 19 March 1106, and it has been speculated he died at the Battle of Uclés in May 1108.