Rodrigo Muñoz son of Count Munio González and Mayor Muñoz, was a Castilian

Old Castile

Old Castile is a historic region of Spain, which included territory that later corresponded to the provinces of Santander , Burgos, Logroño , Soria, Segovia, Ávila, Valladolid, Palencia....

 magnate in the kingdoms 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...

 and Castile

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...

. His tenancies were mostly in Cantabria

Cantabria

Cantabria is a Spanish historical region and autonomous community with Santander as its capital city. It is bordered on the east by the Basque Autonomous Community , on the south by Castile and León , on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.Cantabria...

, in the northern Castilian lands bordering the Basque country

Basque señoríos

The Basque señoríos were medieval hereditary land titles over an area called señorío , recognized by a king to former basque chieftains in relation to the concept of manorialism in exchange for sworn allegiance. The Basque term is jaurerria , means "lord's country" and usually relates to the...

.

Rodrigo is first mentioned in June 1085, when he and his sister Jimena made a pious donation to Santa María del Puerto. In July 1090 he and his brother Gutierre judged a lawsuit between the church and a certain Martín Cídez. He married a woman named Teresa sometime before March 1103, when they completed an exchange of properties (their land at Oreña for an estate in the Toranzo valley) with the monastery of Santillana del Mar

Santillana del Mar

Santillana del Mar is a historic town situated in Cantabria, Spain. Certain features of this historical town includes Altamira Caves and many historic buildings, attracting thousands of holiday-makers every year....

. As early as 1104 he was ruling Asturias de Santillana, the eastern part of Asturias

Asturias

The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...

, bordering northwestern Castile. Rodrigo's daughter, called Mayor or Guntroda, married Pedro Fróilaz de Traba

Pedro Fróilaz de Traba

Pedro Fróilaz de Traba was the most powerful secular magnate in the Kingdom of Galicia during the first quarter of the twelfth century. According to the Historia compostelana, he was "spirited ... warlike ... of great power .....

, a powerful Galician magnate, sometime before May 1105. By September 1105 Rodrigo had been appointed a 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 or consul) by Alfonso VI. This was the highest rank in Castile during the twelfth century. By February 1109 Rodrigo was also ruling Liébana

Liébana

Liébana is a comarca of Cantabria .It covers 570 square kilometers and is located in the southwest of Cantabria, bordering Asturias, León and Palencia...

 in the far west of Castile.

After the death of Alfonso VI, his daughter Urraca became queen. The day after the king's burial, 22 July 1109, Urraca confirmed all the privileges of the Diocese of León. Rodrigo was then present. In June 1110 Rodrigo signed the first document of Queen Urraca after her marriage to Alfonso the Battler

Alfonso the Battler

Alfonso I , called the Battler or the Warrior , was the king of Aragon and Navarre from 1104 until his death in 1134. He was the second son of King Sancho Ramírez and successor of his brother Peter I...

 in which she did not refer to him, simply calling herself "Queen of Spain" (Ispanie regina): a sign of Rodrigo's political allegiance. In January 1111 Rodrigo was again present at Urraca's court shortly after her husband had departed from it. On 11 August 1111, in a donation of Urraca to Santillana del Mar, he was cited as "Count Don Rodrigo of Asturias". By February 1112 he was governor of the Trasmiera

Trasmiera

Trasmiera is a historic comarca of Cantabria , located to the east of the Miera River , reaching the western side of the Asón...

, the Castilian lands north of the Miera river. He may have been displaced in Asturias by Rodrigo González de Lara

Rodrigo González de Lara

Rodrigo González de Lara was a Castilian nobleman of the House of Lara. Early in his career he ruled that half of Asturias allocated to Castile. He was faithful to the crown throughout the reign of Queen Urraca , during which time he was married to the queen's half-sister and ruled a large part of...

, although this may have been brief: there is a royal charter of January 1113 that records Rodrigo Muñoz as count in Asturias. In May 1112 a certain count Rodrigo confirmed two royal charters as ruling in castella, "in Castile", that is, Old Castile

Old Castile

Old Castile is a historic region of Spain, which included territory that later corresponded to the provinces of Santander , Burgos, Logroño , Soria, Segovia, Ávila, Valladolid, Palencia....

. This may have been either Rodrigo Muñoz or Rodrigo González. Another charter, from late 1110, calls Rodrigo Muñoz "Count of Castile", but its accuracy is questionable. The last record of Rodrigo ruling in Asturias dates from February 1116.

The last record of Rodrigo alive dates to July. One charter referring to comite Rodericus Munioz totius Asturiensis (count Rodrigo Muñoz of all Asturias) is misdated to 1082.