Urraca of León, Queen of León, Castile, and Galicia

Female 1079 - 1126  (~ 46 years)


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  • Name Urraca of León 
    Suffix Queen of León, Castile, and Galicia 
    Born Apr 1079  Burgos, Provincia de Burgos, Castilla y León, Spain Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Female 
    Died 08 Mar 1126  Saldaña, Provincia de Burgos, Castilla y León, Spain Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Buried Basilica Of San Isidoro, León, Provincia de León, Castilla y León, Spain Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Notes 
    • Wikipedia
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urraca_of_Le%C3%B3n

      Born in Burgos, Urraca was the eldest and only surviving child of Alfonso VI of León with his second wife Constance of Burgundy; for this, she was heiress presumptive of the Kingdoms of Castile and León until 1107, when her father recognized his illegitimate son Sancho as his heir.

      Urraca?s place in the line of succession made her the focus of dynastic politics, and she became a child bride at age eight (1087) to Raymond of Burgundy, a mercenary adventurer. Author Bernard F. Reilly suggests that, rather than a betrothal, the eight-year-old Urraca was fully wedded to Raymond of Burgundy, as he almost immediately appears in protocol documents as Alfonso VI's son-in-law, a distinction that would not have been made without the marriage. Reilly doubts that the marriage was consummated until Urraca was 13, as she was placed under the protective guardianship of a trusted magnate. Her pregnancy and stillbirth at age 14 suggest that the marriage was indeed consummated when she was 13 or 14 years old.

      Urraca's marriage to Raymond was part of Alfonso VI's diplomatic strategy to attract cross-Pyrenees alliances, and she gave birth two children: a daughter, Sancha Raimúndez and a son, Alfonso Raimúndez, who would become Alfonso VII. However, Raymond died in 1107, leaving Urraca a widow with two small children.

      Urraca became again an heiress presumptive after the death of her brother Sancho at the Battle of Uclés in 1108. Alfonso VI reunited the nobles of the Kingdom in Toledo and announced that his widowed daughter was the chosen one to succeeded him.

      The nobles agreed with the royal designation but demanded that Urraca should marry again. Several candidates for the hand of the heiress to the thrones of León and Castile appeared immediately. Alfonso VI feared that the rivalries between Castilian and Leonese nobles would be increased if she married any of these suitors and decided that his daughter should wed Alfonso I of Aragon, known as the Battler, opening the opportunity for uniting León-Castile with Aragon.

      Marriage negotiations were still underway when Alfonso VI died on 29 June/1 July 1109 and Urraca became queen. Many of Alfonso VI?s advisers and leading magnates in the kingdom formed a ?quiet opposition? to the marriage of the queen to the King of Aragon. According to Bernard F. Reilly, these magnates feared the influence the King of Aragon might attempt to wield over Urraca and over Leonese politics.

      Urraca protested against the marriage but honored her late father's wishes (and the Royal Council's advice) and continued with the marriage negotiations, though she and her father's closest advisers were growing weary of Alfonso I's demands. Despite the advisers' opposition, the prospect of Count Henry of Portugal filling any power vacuum led them to go ahead with the marriage which took place in early October 1109 at the Castle of Monzón de Campos. As events unfolded, these advisers underestimated Urraca's political prowess, and later advised her to end the marriage.

      The marriage of Urraca and Alfonso I almost immediately sparked rebellions in Galicia and scheming by her illegitimate half-sister Theresa and brother-in-law Henry, the Countess and Count of Portugal. Also, they believed that the new marriage of Urraca could put in jeopardy the rights of the son of her first marriage, Alfonso Raimúndez.

      The Galician rebellion against the royal power was only the beginning of a series of political and military conflicts which, with the complete opposite personalities of Urraca and Alfonso I and their mutual dislike, gave rise to a continuous civil war in the Hispanic kingdoms over the following years.

      As their relationship soured, Urraca accused Alfonso of physical abuse, and by May 1110 she separated from Alfonso. Additionally, as Urraca was married to someone many in the kingdom objected to, the queen's son and heir became a rallying point for opponents to the marriage.

      Estrangement between husband and wife escalated from discrete and simmering hostilities into open armed warfare between the Leonese-Castilians and the Aragonese. By the fall of 1112 a truce was brokered between Urraca and Alfonso with their marriage annulled. Though Urraca recovered Asturias, Leon, and Galicia, Alfonso occupied a significant portion of Castile (where Urraca enjoyed large support), while her half-sister Theresa and her husband Count Henry of Portugal occupied Zamora and Extremadura. Recovering these regions and expanding into Muslim lands would occupy much of Urraca's foreign policy.

      She is characterized in her contemporary history Historia Compostelana as prudent, modest, and with good sense. But this source also attributes her "failings" to her gender, "the weakness and changeability of women, feminine perversity, and calls her a Jezebel" for her liaisons with her leading magnates, with at least one relationship producing an illegitimate son. The measure of success for Urraca?s rule was her ability to restore and protect the integrity of her inheritance, that is, the kingdom of her father, and transmit that inheritance in full to her own heir.
    Person ID I36113  Master File
    Last Modified 16 Sep 2016 

    Father Alfonso VI of León and Castile, King of León, Castille and Galicia,   b. ca 1047, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Jul 1109, Toledo, Castilla, Spain Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 62 years) 
    Mother Constance of Burgundy, Queen of Castile and Léon,   b. 08 May 1046, County of Burgundy, France Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1093, Castilla y León, Spain Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 46 years) 
    Family ID F14892  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Raymond of Burgundy,   b. ca 1070, Besançon, County of Burgundy, France Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 24 May 1107, Grajal de Campos, Provincia de León Castilla y León, Spain Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 37 years) 
    Children 
     1. Alfonso VII Raimúndez of León, King of Galicia, King of León and Castille,   b. 01 Mar 1105, Caldas de Reis, Galicia, Spain Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 21 Aug 1157, Muradel Pass, Sierra Morena mountains, Spain Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 52 years)
    Last Modified 16 Sep 2016 
    Family ID F14891  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart