Urraca of Portugal, Queen of León

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urraca_of_Portugal

She was was an Infanta of Portugal, daughter of Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, and his wife, Queen Maud of Savoy. She was queen consort of León as the wife of King Ferdinand II and the mother of Alfonso IX.

In May or June of 1165, she married Ferdinand II, becoming the first infanta of Portugal to have married a Leonese monarch. The only son of this marriage, Alfonso IX, was born in Zamora on 15 August 1171. This marriage failed to prevent her father Afonso I from declaring war on Ferdinand after he became his son-in-law. This short war culminated in disaster when Afonso was captured in Badajoz.

The marriage of Ferdinand II and Urraca was annulled in 1171 or 1172 by Pope Alexander III the two being second cousins, great-grandchildren of Alfonso VI of León and Castile. Urraca then became a nun joining the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem and retired to live in the estates that her former husband had given her in the Carta de Arras (wedding tokens) in Zamora. Later, she retired in the Monastery of Santa María de Wamba which belonged to the aforementioned order.

On 25 May 1176, Queen Urraca donated land and villas to the Order of Saint John, probably coinciding with her joining the order. These properties included Castroverde de Campos and Mansilla in León and Salas and San Andrés in Asturias.

She was present in 1188 at the coronation of her son Alfonso IX who inherited the throne after his father's death on 22 January 1188 and, in that same year, on 4 May, both confirmed the privileges granted by the former king to the Order of Santiago. Her presence is registered for the last time in medieval charters in 1211 when she donated the village of Castrotorafe that she had received from her husband the king in 1165 as a wedding gift to the Cathedral of Zamora.

Queen Urraca was buried at the Monastery of Santa María de Wamba in what is now the province of Valladolid, that belonged to the Order of Saint John. In the interior of the Church of Santa María, the only part remaining of the ancient monastery, is the Chapel of the Queen where a plaque that was placed there subsequently mentions that Queen Urraca of Portugal had been interred in this church.

Urraca married Ferdinand II of León. Ferdinand (son of Alfonso VII Raimúndez of León, King of Galicia, King of León and Castille and Berenguela (Berengaria) of Barcelona, Queen of Castille, León and Galicia) was born ca 1137, Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain; died 22 Jan 1188, Benavente, Zamora, Spain; was buried , Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela Provincia da La Coruña Galicia, Spain. [Group Sheet]

1. Alfonso IX of León was born 15 Aug 1171, Zamora, Castilla y León, Spain; died 23/24 September 1230, Villanueva de Sarria, Spain; was buried , Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela Provincia da La Coruña Galicia, Spain.

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afonso_I_of_Portugal

Nicknamed "the Conqueror,""the Founder," or "the Great" by the Portuguese, he was the first King of Portugal. He achieved the independence of the southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia, the County of Portugal, from Galicia's overlord, the King of León, in 1139, establishing a new kingdom and doubling its area with the Reconquest, an objective that he pursued until his death, in 1185, after forty-six years of wars against the Moors.

Afonso I was the son of Henry of Burgundy and Theresa, the natural daughter of King Alfonso VI of León and Castile. The pair reigned jointly as Count and Countess of Portugal until Henry's death, after which Theresa reigned alone. Afonso was about three years old when his father Count Henry, died on 12 May 1112 during the siege of Astorga. In an effort to pursue a larger share in the Leonese inheritance, his mother Theresa married Fernando Pérez, Count of Trava, the most powerful count in Galicia.

The Portuguese nobility disliked the alliance between Galicia and Portugal and rallied around the infant Alfonso.
In 1122, Afonso turned fourteen, the adult age in the 12th century. He made himself a knight on his own account in the Cathedral of Zamora, raised an army, and proceeded to take control of his mother's lands.

In 1128, near Guimarães, at the Battle of São Mamede Afonso and his supporters overcame troops under his stepfather Count Fernando Peres de Trava of Galicia. Afonso exiled his mother to Galicia, and took over rule of the County of Portugal. Thus the possibility of re-incorporating Portugal (up to then known as Southern Galicia) into a Kingdom of Portugal and Galicia as before was eliminated and Afonso became sole ruler following demands for independence from the county's church and nobles. He also vanquished his mother's nephew, Alfonso VII of León, who came to her rescue, and thus freed the country from political dependence on the crown of his cousin of León. On 6 April 1129, Afonso Henriques dictated the writ in which he proclaimed himself Prince of Portugal.

Afonso then turned his arms against the persistent problem of the Moors in the south. His campaigns were successful and, on 25 July 1139, he obtained an overwhelming victory in the Battle of Ourique, and straight after was unanimously proclaimed King of the Portuguese by his soldiers, establishing his equality in rank to the other realms of the Peninsula. The first assembly of the Portuguese Cortes convened at Lamego.

Independence from Alfonso VII of León, however, was not a thing he just could achieve militarily. The County of Portugal still had to be acknowledged diplomatically by the neighboring lands as a kingdom and, most importantly, by the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope. Afonso wed Mafalda of Savoy, daughter of Amadeus III, Count of Savoy, and sent ambassadors to Rome to negotiate with the Pope. He succeeded in renouncing the control of his cousin, Alfonso VII of León, becoming instead a vassal of the papacy, as the kings of Sicily and Aragon had done before him.

In Portugal he built several monasteries and convents and bestowed important privileges to religious orders. He is notably the builder of Alcobaça Monastery, to which he called the Cistercian Order of his uncle Bernard of Clairvaux of Burgundy. In 1143, he wrote to Pope Innocent II to declare himself and the kingdom servants of the church, swearing to pursue driving the Moors out of the Iberian Peninsula. Bypassing any king of León, Afonso declared himself the direct liege man of the papacy. Afonso continued to distinguish himself by his exploits against the Moors, from whom he wrested Santarém and Lisbon in 1147 (see Siege of Lisbon). He also conquered an important part of the land south of the Tagus River, although this was lost again to the Moors in the following years.

Meanwhile, King Alfonso VII of León (Afonso's cousin) regarded the independent ruler of Portugal as nothing but a rebel. Conflict between the two was constant and bitter in the following years. In 1169 the now old Dom Afonso was disabled in an engagement near Badajoz by a fall from his horse, and made prisoner by the soldiers of the king of León Ferdinand II also his son-in-law. Portugal was obliged to surrender as his ransom almost all the conquests Afonso had made in Galicia in the previous years.

In 1179 the privileges and favours given to the Roman Catholic Church were compensated. Pope Alexander III acknowledged Afonso as king and Portugal as an independent crown with the right to conquer lands from the Moors. With this papal blessing, Portugal was at last secured as a kingdom.

In 1184, in spite of his great age, he still had sufficient energy to relieve his son Sancho, who was besieged in Santarém by the Moors. Afonso died shortly after, on 6 December 1185. The Portuguese revere him as a hero, both on account of his personal character and as the founder of their nation.

In July 2006, the tomb of the king (which is located in the Santa Cruz Monastery in Coimbra) was to be opened for scientific purposes by researchers from the University of Coimbra (Portugal) and the University of Granada (Spain). The opening of the tomb provoked considerable concern among some sectors of Portuguese society and the Portuguese State Agency for Architectural Patrimony. The government halted the opening, requesting more protocols from the scientific team because of the importance of the king in the nation's formation.

Afonso married in 1146 Mafalda of Savoy (1125-1158), daughter of Amadeo III, Count of Savoy, and Mahaut of Albon and they had the following children:

1. Urraca who married Ferdinand II of León.

2. Sancho I, succeeded him as the 2nd King of Portugal

3. Teresa, married successively Philip I of Flanders and Odo III, Duke of Burgundy.

and at least 5 illegitimate children who lived to become adults.

Buried:
Grave location, historical portrait, and biography:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=11797223

Afonso married Matilda (Mafalda) of Savoy. Matilda (daughter of Amadeus III of Savoy and Mahaut of Albon, Countess of Savoy) was born ca 1125, County of Savoy; died 04 Nov 1157, Coimbra, Portugal; was buried , Monastery of Santa Cruz, Coimbra, Portugal. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matilda_of_Savoy,_Queen_of_Portugal

She was the first Queen of Portugal. Her husband was King Afonso I, the first sovereign of Portugal, whom she married in 1146.

She was the second or third daughter of Amadeus III of Savoy, Count of Savoy and Maurienne, and Mahaut of Albon (the sister of Guigues IV of Albon, "le Dauphin").

Three of her children lived to adulthood:

1. Infanta Urraca (1151-1188), married to King Ferdinand II of León.

2. Sancho I, King of Portugal (1154-1212), married to Dulce, Infanta of Aragon (daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona, and Queen Petronila of Aragon)

3. Infanta Theresa (1157-1218), married to Philip I, Count of Flanders, and next to Eudes III, Duke of Burgundy





Buried:
Grave location, historical portrait, and biography:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=99677140

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadeus_III,_Count_of_Savoy

He was was Count of Savoy and Maurienne from 1103 until his death. He was also known as a Crusader.

He was born in Carignano, Piedmont, the son of Humbert II of Savoy and Gisela of Burgundy, the daughter of William I of Burgundy. He succeeded as count of Savoy upon the death of his father. Amadeus had a tendency to exaggerate his titles, and also claimed to be Duke of Lombardy, Duke of Burgundy, Duke of Chablais, and vicar of the Holy Roman Empire, the latter of which had been given to his father by Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor.

He helped restore the Abbey of St. Maurice of Agaune, in which the former kings of Burgundy had been crowned, and of which he himself was abbot until 1147. He also founded the Abbey of St. Sulpicius in Bugey, Tamié Abbey in the Bauges, and Hautecombe Abbey on the Lac du Bourget.

In 1128, Amadeus extended his realm, known as the "Old Chablais", by adding to it the region extending from the Arve to the Dranse d'Abondance, which came to be called the "New Chablais" with its capital at Saint-Maurice. Despite his marriage to Mahaut, he still fought against his brother-in-law Guy, who was killed at the Battle of Montmélian. Following this, King Louis VI of France, married to Amadeus' sister Adélaide de Maurienne, attempted to confiscate Savoy. Amadeus was saved by the intercession of Peter the Hermit, and by his promise to participate in Louis' planned crusade.

In 1147, he accompanied his nephew Louis VII of France and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine on the Second Crusade. He financed his expedition with help from a loan from the Abbey of St. Maurice. In his retinue were many barons from Savoy. Amadeus travelled south through Italy and marched east to meet Louis at Constantinople in late 1147. After crossing into Anatolia, Amadeus, who was leading the vanguard, became separated from Louis near Laodicea, and Louis' forces were almost entirely destroyed.

Marching on to Adalia, Louis, Amadeus, and other barons decided to continue to Antioch by ship. On the journey, Amadeus fell ill on Cyprus, and died at Nicosia in April 1148. He was buried in the Church of St. Croix in Nicosia. In Savoy, his son Humbert III succeeded him, under the regency of bishop Amadeus of Lausanne.

With his first wife Adelaide, he had Adelaide/Alice married Humbert III of Beaujeu.

In 1123 he married Mahaut (or Mafalda, or Matilda) of Albon,daughter of Guigues III of Albon, they had:

1. Mafalda (Mahaut) (1125?1158), married king Afonso I of Portugal

2. Agnes of Savoy (1125?1172), married William I, Count of Geneva

3. Humbert III (1135?1188)

4. John of Savoy

5. Peter of Savoy

6. William of Savoy

7. Margaret of Savoy (died 1157), founded and joined nunnery Bons in Bugey

8. Isabella of Savoy

9. Juliana of Savoy (died 1194), abbess of St. André-le-Haut

Buried:
Grave location, historical portrait, and biography:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=88073842

Amadeus married Mahaut of Albon, Countess of Savoy. Mahaut (daughter of Guigues III of Albon, Count of Albon and Matilda) was born 1112; died 1148. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahaut_of_Albon

She was a Countess Consort of Savoy; married in 1134 to Amadeus III, Count of Savoy.

Children:

1. Elisa of Savoy (1120-?) married Humberto of Beaujeu

2. Mafalda (Mahaut), (1125-1158), married king Afonso I of Portugal

3. Agnes of Savoy (1125-1172), married William I, Count of Geneva

4. Humbert III (1136-1188)

5. John of Savoy

6. Peter of Savoy

7. William of Savoy

8. Margaret of Savoy (died 1157)

9. Isabella of Savoy

10. Juliana of Savoy (died 1194), abbess of St. André-le-Haut

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humbert_II,_Count_of_Savoy

Nicknamed the Fat, he was he son of Amadeus II of Savoy.
The County and later Duchy of Savoy was a territory is shared between the modern countries of France, Italy, and Switzerland. The House of Savoy became the longest surviving royal house in Europe. It ruled the County of Savoy from 1003 to 1416 and then the Duchy of Savoy from 1416 to 1860.

He was married to Gisela of Burgundy, daughter of William I, Count of Burgundy, and had 7 children:

Amadeus III of Savoy

William, Bishop of Liège

Adelaide, (d. 1154), married to Louis VI of France

Agnes, (d. 1127), married to Archimbald VI, lord of Bourbon

Umberto

Reginald

Guy, abbey of Namur

Umberto married Gisela of Burgundy, Marchioness of Montferrat. Gisela (daughter of William I Count of Burgundy, the Great and Stephanie) was born 1075, County of Burgundy; died May 1135, Montferrat, Italy. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gisela_of_Burgundy,_Marchioness_of_Montferrat

Daughter of William I, Count of Burgundy, she was the wife of Humbert II, Count of Savoy and later of Rainier I of Montferrat.

With Humbert II of Savoy her children included:

Amadeus III of Savoy

William, Bishop of Liège

Adelaide of Maurienne (d. 1154), wife of King Louis VI of France

Agnes, (d. 1127), wife of Arcimboldo VI, lord of Bourbon

Humbert

Reginald

Guy, Abbot of Namur

------------

GenealogieOnline. Coret Genealogie. http://www.genealogieonline.nl/en
Name: Gisela Burgundy
Gender: f (Female)
Birth Date: 1075
Death Date: 1133
Death Age: 58
Father: William I Burgundy
Mother: Stephanie Nn
Spouse: Humbert II Savoy
Renier I Montferrat
Children: Adelaide Maurienne
Agnes Maurienne
William V Montferrat
Amadeus Savoy

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guigues_III_of_Albon

He was was a Count of Albon from 1079, when the County of Vienne, located in southeastern France near Lyon, was divided between him and Humbert I of Savoy, who received Maurienne.

He was the son of Guigues II d'Albon and Petronel of Turin. His ancestors were lords of the castle of Albon and counts in the Grésivaudan and Briançonnais.

Guigues's reign was marked by continual strife with Hugh of Châteauneuf, Bishop of Grenoble, over the suzerainty of certain church lands in the Grésivaudan. Hugh accused the count of usurping the lands with the help of the Bishop Mallem and invented fantastic stories to back up his claim to the disputed estates. Finally an accord was signed between Guigues and the bishop in 1099. Guigues returned the ecclesiastic land, while Hugh recognised the authority of the count in the vicinity of Grenoble.

In 1095, Guigues contracted an exemplary marriage with the high-born Matilda, long thought to be the daughter of Edgar the Aetheling, but now thought more likely to have been a daughter of Roger I of Sicily, the Great Count, and his third wife, Adelaide del Vasto. Some historians allege on the basis of possible birth dates, that her mother must have been Roger's second wife, Eremburga of Mortain.

In 1129, Guigues benefited further from the division of the Viennois between himself and Amadeus III of Savoy. Four years later, he died, leaving as his heir Guigues IV "dauphin" (died 28 June 1142) and a second son, Humbert, Archbishop of Vienne (died 26 June 1147). He had third son Guigues "the elder" who was living in 1105 and died young. He had three daughters:

Garsenda, married William III of Forcalquier
Beatrice (born c. 1100), married Josserand de Die (c. 1095-c. 1147)

Guigues married Matilda. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guigues_III_of_Albon


In 1095, Guigues contracted an exemplary marriage with the high-born Matilda, long thought to be the daughter of Edgar the Aetheling, but now thought more likely to have been a daughter of Roger I of Sicily, the Great Count, and his third wife, Adelaide del Vasto. Some historians allege on the basis of possible birth dates, that her mother must have been Roger's second wife, Eremburga of Mortain.

She had the following children with Guigues:

1. Guigues IV "dauphin" (died 28 June 1142)

2. Humbert, Archbishop of Vienne (died 26 June 1147).

3. Guigues "the elder" who was living in 1105 and died young. ]

4. Garsenda, married William III of Forcalquier

5. Matilda, married Amadeus III of Savoy in 1135

6. Beatrice (born c. 1100), married Josserand de Die (c. 1095-c. 1147)