Individual

Go to List of Family Names Go to List of People    < Previous Next >

Birth:          ABT 1050 

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonzalo_N%C3%BA%C3%B1ez_de_Lara
Gonzalo Núñez (fl. 1059 – 1106) was an early member of the House of Lara, whom 
modern historians and genealogists agree is the first clearly identifiable member of this 
lineage.[1][3] The House of Lara was one of the most important ones in the kingdoms 
of Castile and León and several of its members played a prominent role in the history 
of medieval Spain. Possibly related to the Salvadórez, the sons of Salvador González 
and, by marriage, to the Alfonsos from Tierra de Campos and Liébana, as well as the 
Álvarez from Castile, Gonzalo was most probably a descendant of the Counts of 
Castile.
Debated origins[edit]

The filiation proposed by Luis de Salazar y Castro in his work on the House of Lara, 
has been accepted for centuries although several modern historians question its 
accuracy. According to Salazar y Castro, Gonzalo was the third member of this lineage 
with that name and was a descendant of the counts of Castile[4] as the son of a Nuño 
or Munio González who would have been the son of Gonzalo Fernández, the first-born 
of count Fernán González.[5][a] The author, however, confuses several namesakes, 
assuming that they are the same person, and does not provide any documentary 
evidence sustaining that filiation. Moreover, according to medieval charters, Gonzalo 
Fernández, the son of Fernán González, appears for the last time on 29 June 959 and 
in February 984 his widow, Fronilde Gómez, made a donation for the soul of her 
deceased husband to the Monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña and only mentions one 
son named Sancho.[6][7]

Ramón Menéndez Pidal in La España del Cid (1929) believed that Gonzalo Núñez was 
the son of a Munio or Nuño Salvadórez who would have been the brother of Gonzalo 
Salvadórez.[5] The historian María del Carmen Carlé in her work "Gran Propiedad y 
grandes propietarios" (1973) suggested a relationship with the Salvadórez. According 
to her hypothesis, the relationship would be through Goto González, a daughter of 
Gonzalo Salvadórez and wife of Nuño Álvarez, who would have been the parents of 
Gonzalo Núñez de Lara.[8][5] Nevertheless, according to several charters, Goto 
González Salvadórez was married to the Asturian count Fernando Díaz,[9][b] brother 
of Jimena Díaz the wife of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar. Nuño Álvarez, who died in 1065, 
was the tenente in Amaya and Carazo[10] and his family owned properties in the land 
between the Arlanzón and the Duero rivers, which would explain the "power of the 
Lara in the region".[11]

The historian Julia Montenegro in her study on the Monastery of Santa María la Real 
de Piasca documented a relationship with the lineage of the Alfonsos,[5] the origin of 
the Osorios, Villalobos, and Froilaz.[11] According to her hipothesis, Gutierre Alfonso 
and his wife Goto were the parents of María Gutiérrez who married the Castilian 
magnate Nuño Álvarez, and this couple would have been the parents of Gonzalo 
Núñez.[5][12]

The medievalist scholar and professor Margarita Torres Sevilla-Quiñones de León 
agrees that there was in fact a relationship with the Alfonsos, nevertheless, she 
proves that María Gutiérrez and Nuño Álvarez were not Gonzalo's parents, but rather 
those of his wife Goto Núñez,[13][14] as evidenced in a donation made in 1087 by 
Gonzalo, his wife Goto, and his sister-in-law Urraca to the Monastery of San Martín de 
Marmellar.[9] A year later, the same Urraca mentioned in the previous charter made a 
donation to the same monastery of some properties that had belonged to her uncle 
Munio Álvarez and her mother María, daughter of Count Gutierre Alfonso.[15] Urraca 
appears again in 1097 donating other properties to the Monasterio Real de San Benito 
in Sahagún, which was confirmed by Gonzalo Núñez, and, in 1088, jointly with her 
mother María Gutiérrez, she made another donation to the Monastery of San Millán de 
Suso of a property in Villa Fitero.[16][c]

Another hypothesis on the filiation of Gonzalo Núñez de Lara is proposed by Margarita 
Torres who suggests that Gonzalo would be the son of a Munio González, son of 
Gonzalo García who, in turn, was the son of count García Fernández of Castile.[18] 
Munio González, probably the count in Álava in the year 1030[19] was the brother of 
Salvador González, tenente in La Bureba, and this would explain the relationship 
between the Lara and the Salvadórez.[19] Both brothers were vassals of king Sancho 
III of Navarre[20] and Munio appears often in charters with his nephews Gonzalo and 
Álvaro Salvadórez.[21]

Historians Gonzalo Martínez Díez and Carlos Estepa Díez disagree with the filiation 
proposed by Margarita Torres. Martínez Díez maintains that it is impossible to confirm 
the parentage of Gonzalo Núñez de Lara with the available medieval documentation.
[22] Estepa Díez stresses that the names "Munio" and "Nuño" are distinct and that 
even though these may be misspelled in some charters, the correct patronymics would 
be "Muñoz" (son of Munio) or "Núñez" (son of Nuño).[23] Antonio Sánchez de Mora, 
however, believes that although the filiation of Gonzalo Núñez de Lara is still 
undefined, the hypothesis proposed by Margarita Torres is the one that is probably 
closest to the truth.[21] The only filiation that seems to have been proven is that of 
Gonzalo's wife, Goto Núñez, as a member of the Alfonso and the Álvarez clans and 
that even though "there seems to be close ties between the Lara and the Salvadórez 
[...], documentary proof is still lacking in order to be able to determine the precise 
ancestry".[14]

Biography[edit]

Gonzalo Núñez enjoyed the royal favor and "rose to great heights thanks to the 
largesse of the king". In 1098, Alfonso VI refers to Gonzalo in a donation to the 
Monastery of San Millán de Suso as his "well-loved Gonzalo Núñez".[24] Even though 
he did not have the title of "count", he appears frequently in the documentation as a 
"senior", as was the case of other Castilian magnates of the 11th century. Besides 
confirming as senior Gondissalvo Nunnez, he also appears with the title of potestas 
and dominante Lara, the toponymic from which his lineage took its name[25] although 
it was not until a century later that its members began to add "Lara" to their 
respective patronymics.[26]

His presence in the curia regis is confirmed since 1059 when he appears confirming 
royal charters, often with Gonzalo Salvadórez, of Kings Fernando I, Sancho II, and 
Alfonso VI,[25] although, in some cases, since the name of the land that they 
governed is not mentioned, it could refer to another namesake.[27]

He governed several tenencias, including Carazo, Huerta, Osma and Lara, the latter 
governed from 1081 until 1095.[26][28] He owned estates in Castilla la Vieja, Tierra de 
Campos and in Asturias, and held rights in Hortigüela,[27] and in the towns of Duruelo 
de la Sierra and Covadela.[14]

In 1093, he participated in a military campaign in Portugal and later in Huesca trying 
unsuccessfully to prevent the Almorávides from conquering the city[24] In 1098 he 
played a key role in the repopulation of Almazán and Medinaceli after being 
reconquered in 1104 and also in Andaluz, the latter probably held as part of his 
properties.[29]

He was a patron of several monasteries and he and his wife Goto had close ties with 
the Monastery of Santa María la Real de Piasca which had been patronized by his 
wife's family, the Alfonso. In a donation made in 1122, his son Rodrigo mentioned that 
the monastery had been built by his grandparents and that his parents had been its 
patrons: edificaberunt abios et patronos atque parentes nostros.[30][31]

He last appears in medieval charters on 12 December 1105 at the Monastery of San 
Salvador de Oña and probably died shortly afterwards.[32]

Marriage and issue[edit]
 
Gonzalo Núñez married Goto Núñez, daughter of Nuño Álvarez and of María Gutiérrez, 
who was the daughter of Gutierre Alfonso, count in Grajal, and countess Goto,[33]
[34][9] The documented offspring of this marriage were:
Pedro González de Lara (died in 1130),[35][17][36] one of the most powerful Castilian 
magnates of his time and lover of Queen Urraca with whom he had issue.
Rodrigo González de Lara (died after 1144),[37][35][36] count and a prominent 
member of the House of Lara.
Teresa González de Lara. In 1035, Gonzalo and Goto offered their daughter Teresa to 
the Royal Monastery of San Benito in Sahagún and to the Monastery of San Pedro de 
los Molinos, donating several properties most of which came from the Alfonso family.
[21] Teresa became a nun and was later the abbess at the Monastery of San Pedro de 
las Dueñas from 1126 to 1137.[31]
María González de Lara (died after 1141) married Íñigo Jiménez, lord of Cameros and 
of the valley of Arnedo[35] before June 1109, the year that they both executed a will.
[38] She appears with her son, also lord of Cameros confirming a donation made by his 
brother Rodrigo to the Monastery of San Pedro de Arlanza.[d]

Gonzalo could also have been the father of a Goto González who appears with her 
nephew Manrique Pérez de Lara in 1143 when he granted fuero to Los Ausines. Some 
genealogist claim that she was married to Rodrigo Muñoz, lord of Guzmán and Roa, 
although medieval sources confirm that Rodrigo's wife was Mayor Díaz.[40]

Salazar y Castro added other daughters whose existence is undocumented and 
doubtful. One of them was Elvira González de Lara married to Pedro Núñez de 
Fuentearmegil, and another daughter named Sancha González who he claimed was 
the wife of Count Fernando Pérez de Traba, even though the documented wife of the 
count of Galicia was actually the daughter of Gonzalo Ansúrez and Urraca Bermúdez.
[41]


Marriage To NUNEZ Godo ()
    m.  

Notes


Children by NUNEZ Godo 
DE LARA Rodrigo Gonzalez (ABT 1080 - )

Produced by Fzip 1.7 6/20/2017