María de Molina

María de Molina
Queen consort of Castile and León
Reign	1284–1295
Lady of Molina
Reign	1293–1321
Predecessor	Blanca Alfonso of Molina
Successor	Alfonso XI of Castile
Born	c. 1265
Died	1 July 1321 Valladolid
Burial	Santa María la Real de las Huelgas (Valladolid)
Spouse	Sancho IV of Castile
Issue among others...	Isabella, Queen of Aragon Fernando IV of Castile Beatrice, Queen of Portugal
Full name María Alfonso de Menezes
House	House of Burgundy
Father	Alfonso of Molina
Mother	Mayor Alfonso de Menezes
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Coat of Arms as Queen of Castile

María Alfonso Téllez de Menezes (c. 1265 – 1321), known as María de Molina, was the wife of Sancho IV of Castile. She was queen consort of Castile and León from 1284 to 1295, and served as regent for her minor son Ferdinand IV (1295 - c.1301) and later her grandson Alfonso XI of Castile (1312-1321).

Biography

María was the daughter of the infante Alfonso of Molina and Mayor Alfonso de Menezes. Her paternal grandparents were King Alfonso IX of León and Queen Berengaria of Castile.^[1]

She married her second cousin Sancho IV of Castile in 1282, the second son of Alfonso X the Learned, although the matrimonial dispensation for kinship was not previously granted. Upon the death of Alfonso X, she became queen consort of Castile-León and was crowned alongside her husband in the cathedral of Toledo. Although the couple was pressured to separate by Rome and others, Sancho chose to honor his wife and delegated many responsibilities to her, including the regency of their son after his death. His reign was short since he died in 1295.

After the death of Sancho IV, he was succeeded by his eldest son Fernando IV, who was under age. Though according to the Crónica de Sancho IV, Sancho designated María as the sole regent,^[2] she was forced to share the regency with Sancho's uncle, Infante Enrique El Senador (Henry of Castile the Senator), younger brother of Alfonso X. Fernando's rule was challenged by a coalition that included his uncle, Infante Juan, his cousins the infantes de la Cerda, sons of the infante Fernando de la Cerda, eldest son of Alfonso X, as well as King James II of Aragón and King Dionisio I de Portugal.^[3][4]

Through marriage alliances, gifts of territories, and shrewd politics María was able to lead Fernando's cause to victory, though it did not come easily. María built her own coalition, relying on the Castilian Cortes to confirm her authority and playing the powerful family clan of Haro against the Lara clan, who supported the opposition. Civil war continued for several years, and María's coregent Enrique was often more of an antagonist than a defender of his great-nephew's cause. Around 1300 the alliance against Fernando began to crumble when one of his principal enemies, Juan Núñez de Lara, was captured and later reconciled to the young king. Portugal returned to allegiance with Fernando with the promise of a marriage between the Portuguese princess Constanza and the young king of Castile. María's victory for her son seemed sealed in 1301, when she finally received a papal bull from Pope Boniface VIII, legitimizing her marriage and her children. Eventually, only Aragón was left to support the claim of Alfonso de la Cerda and his brother, which was finally set aside in a treaty between Castile and Aragón a few years later.

María de Molina died in Valladolid in 1321.

Children

Queen María de Molina presents her son Ferdinand IV of Castile to the Cortes of Valladolid of 1295. (1863)

• Isabella of Castile (1283–1328). Married first James II of Aragon and secondly John III, Duke of Brittany.
• Ferdinand IV (1285–1312).
• Alfonso (1286–1291)
• Henry (1288–1299)
• Peter (1290–1319). Married Maria of Aragon, daughter of James II of Aragon.
• Philip (1292–1327). Married his cousin Margarita de la Cerda, daughter of Ferdinand de la Cerda, Infante of Castile.
• Beatrice of Castile (1293–1359). Married Afonso IV of Portugal.

Ancestry

Ancestors of María de Molina

16. Alfonso VII of León and Castile               8. Ferdinand II of León                       17. Berengaria of Barcelona               4. Alfonso IX of Leon                             18. Afonso I of Portugal               9. Urraca of Portugal                       19. Maud of Savoy               2. Alfonso of Molina                                   20. Sancho III of Castile               10. Alfonso VIII of Castile                       21. Blanche of Navarre               5. Berenguela of Castile                             22. Henry II of England               11. Eleanor of England                       23. Eleanor of Aquitaine               1. Maria de Molina                                         24. Tello Pérez de Menezes, 1st Lord of Menezes               12. Alfonso Téllez II de Menezes, 2nd Lord of Menezes, 1st Lord of Albuquerque                       25. Ximena Ordonez               6. Alfonso Téllez de Meneses, 4th Lord of Meneses                             26. Rodrigo Gonzalez Girón, Lord of Carrion               13. Teresa Rodríguez Girón                       27. Maior Nunez de Lara               3. Mayor Alfonso Tellez, 6th Lady of Menezes                                   28. Fernando Aires de Lima               14. Joao Fernandes de Lima                       29. Teresa Bermudes de Trava               7. Maria Anes de Lima                             30. Paio Moniz de Ribeira               15. Maria Pais Ribeira                       31. Urraca Nunes Braganca

References

1. Carmona Ruiz, María (2005). María de Molina. Barcelona: Random House Mondadori.
2. Rosell, Cayetano (1875). Crónicas de los reyes de Castilla: Desde don Alfonso el Sabio, hasta los católicos don Fernando y doña Isabel. Madrid: Cárlos Bailly-Baillier.
3. De Loaysa, Jofré (1982). Crónica de los reyes de Castilla: Fernando III, Alfonso X, y Fernando IV (1248-1305). Murcia: Edición de la Academia Alfonso X el Sabio.
4. del Valle Curieses, Rafael (2000). María de Molina: El soberano ejercicio de la concordia. Madrid: Aldebarán Ediciones.