Lope de Haro. He had a bad sunburn this day.
Lope de Haro was only eleven years old when he inherited his father’s Duchy…much too young for the battlefield…so he stayed at home with his step-mother and half-brother, while his marshal continued to siege Leon. By June of 1071, King Alfonso’s castle was overrun by the Castilians…and by the end of the summer, the Kingdom of Leon fell to 3-year-old King Muno of Castille…expanding the country’s borders three-fold, and bringing a new-found sense of stability to the region.
"Grandma! What big boundaries you have!" "All the better to conquer you with, my dear."
Unfortunately, this peace didn’t last long, as the Shiekdoms of Alcantara and Evora, in addition to the Emirate of Badajoz, declared war on the Kingdom of Castille.
The Castilians, including the Duke’s men (under the marshal’s lead), met with the Emirate in Valladolid in September of 1071. The battle was close…and devastating to both sides…but the Emirate was turned back for the time being.
According to a note in the diary of Margaret Atheling, the Duke’s step-mother, Duke Lope was particularly affected when he heard this news. The fact that so many men on both sides were killed…simply for their religion…made Lope look at religion in a whole new way. Duke Lope began speaking of martyrdom, and said he looked forward to the day that he could give up his own life for God.
Martyr? I hardly know her!
For what it’s worth, Margaret also predicted that her own son, Manuel, was destined for sainthood.
By April of 1072, the former King of Leon (and uncle of the current King of Castille) Alfonso had been appointed Count of his old capital. Alfonso attempted to start a rebellion, declaring independence…but given that Castille already had approximately 5000 soldiers in the area, keeping their eye open for invading Muslims, Alfonso was quickly overpowered and subdued once again.
The year of 1073 was a time of great upheaval in Salamanca, the sometimes southern border of Castille. On almost a monthly basis, it would change hands between the King and various Muslims. It became the main battlefield of a war that would last for years.
Meanwhile, back in the Duchy of Castille, Duke Lope was on the verge of becoming a man. Knowing he no longer had a father to share the important moments of his life, King Sancho Jimenez (not to be confused with the slain King of Castille) of the neighboring Kingdom of Neville took the Duke on his first hunting trip for his fourteenth birthday.
Unfortunately, the Duke proved unwilling to hurt an innocent animal…an innocent animal which apparently did not share his views, as the boar charged at the duke, tearing open his leg. This wound soon became infected, and many feared the Duke would soon die.
Christmas of 1075 saw the end of the war with the Muslims…until one month later, when they kicked off again. This would prove to be the standard for many years to come. Peace would be declared after months of fighting…and then once everyone had their breath back, the wars would commence.
Though still on the verge of death, Duke Lope wed Jimena de Lara, a courtier from King Muno’s court.
In her diary, Margaret Atheling stops just short of calling her new step-daughter-in-law a bitch.
But Duke Lope took to marriage quickly, and was soon off of his deathbed. This is not to say that he never returned to bed, because he soon had two daughters. Lope reportedly loved his new family, and actively took part in raising both Mafelda and Mummadomna, which was unusual for the Middle Ages. (Though the names may strike today’s English speaker as odd and possibly Muslim in origin, these were in fact common Christian names at the time.)
In 1080, the neighboring Kingdom of Navarra was splintered…and Duke Lope now had Muslims as his immediate neighbors.
Lope’s son Enrique was born in 1084, and Lope had an active role in raising that child as well. Two years later, Duke Lope’s half-brother Manuel wed Dulce Jimenez, a distant cousin of the Kings of both Castille and Navarra, in addition to the independent Duke of Porto and the former King of Leon. As an in-law of so many leaders, Manuel became his brother’s official representative in foreign affairs.
1086 also saw a terrible drought strike the Duchy, causing farmers to lose countless crops, briefly creating a financial crisis. However, the peasants soon relocated to towns and hamlets, increasing trade, and the crisis resolved itself.
In May of 1087, in yet another war against the Muslims, King Muno was slain on the battlefield. He was 19 years old, and had ruled for 17 years. Ironically, as Muno had never wed or had any children, the Kingdom then passed to his uncle…
Alfonso Jimenez. The former King of Leon. Both King Sancho (Muno’s father) and Duke Inigo (Lope’s father) had given their lives to defeat him…and now he was in power once more, almost 20 years later.
But this injustice barely lasted, as King Alfonso passed away of old age just a few months later, at the age of 47. The Kingdom then passed to his son, 18-year-old Fadrique. Though Fadrique preferred to just lay around the castle, apparently doing nothing, his writings reveal that he was in fact very intelligent…and very sly.
Around the same time, Duke Lope’s marshal passed away. The Duke’s half-brother Manuel then took control of the Army. Together, King Fadrique and Manuel managed to reclaim Salamana once more, and the Shiekdom of Toledo fell to Castille, expanding the borders once more. Saddly, when Manuel returned home, he learned his wife Dulce had died in childbirth. Manuel then wed Tfit ibn Shabib, who could best be described as an “energetic ninja.” Though she was a Berber, she had already adopted the Catholic faith before meeting Manuel.
Lope bore yet another son in April of 1090, Felipe, while Castille continued to expland. Coimbra and Akantra both fell to the Kingdom, and when the independent Duke of Porto passed away, he left everything to King Fadrique. When the Duchy of Barcelona pledged allegiance to the King as well, stability once again hit an all time high.
But all of this good news was offset by one simple fact: though Duke Lope loved his wife Jimena de Lara…she was losing her mind. She began talking to people who were not there…and sometimes appeared to be having arguments, out loud, with a series of individuals who resided only in her head.
A woman with multiple personalities? Impossible!
Speaking of Duke Lope’s family, his daughter Mummadomn became his new chancellor, and married his steward Frojan Fernandez. The entire family moved into a new castle Lope had ordered be built for just that occasion.
In July of 1096, King Fadrique…like nearly every King before him…was killed by the Muslims as well. His 26-year-old brother, and Duke Lope’s friend, Bernardo Jimenez became King.
Lope’s daughter Mafalda became the leader of the Duke’s guards, and wed his marshal Bermudo. But tragedy struck, and Bermudo soon died of natural causes, leaving her to raise their son Ramon and daughter Mafalda II. Saddly, both Ramon and Mafalda II passed away within a year of their father. Though she was now widowed and without a family of her own, Mafalda refused to marry again…choosing instead to focus on her job as spymaster.
Steward Frojan died around this time, leaving Mummadomna a widow as well, and forcing Lope to re-organize his cabinet.
Mafalda stayed on as his spy master, Manuel returned to his role as chancellor, Lope’s son Enrique became the new marshal, and Enrique’s new wife Aldonca Mendes became his new steward.
January of 1102 saw the independent Duke of Aquitaine pledging allegiance to King Bernardo…more than doubling the size of Castille. And when the Duchy of Provence pledged allegiance as well…allowing Castille to reach all the way from the Atlantic Ocean into Germany…it was clear that the Kingdom was now officially a “player” in European politics.
The following year, Duke Lope’s half-brother Manuel suffered two losses…first, his mother, Margaret Atheling, passed away at the age of 58…but the second loss was more mysterious.
In November of 1104, Manuel received a message that some long lost relative on his mother’s side…and therefore not a blood relative of the Duke…had passed away, naming Manuel as his only heir. While the monetary inheritance was a pittance…in fact, Manuel himself spent more than his inheritance to pay off the messenger…Manuel learned that due to the death, he now had a claim to be the King of England.
While Manuel was presumably processing this shocking revelation, Duke Lope’s second son Felipe married Ines Jimenez (also a distant relative of almost every nearby Christian ruler), and become the Duke’s diocese bishop.
But after just six years as a major world power, Castille suffered a major setback. The Duchy of Aquitaine declared independence, practically eliminating the Kingdom’s presence outside of the Iberian Peninsula. But this wasn’t the worst of the news…Aquitaine then sent tens of thousands of men marching into what remained of Castille in Iberia, in an attempt to take that land as well. It took almost two years before King Bernardo finally got organized enough to mobilize his men and begin fighting back, with hundreds of battles taking place throughout the Kingdom. When the Kingdom of Brittany joined the side of Aquitaine, all seemed lost.
As Castille seemed on the verge of collapsing, Duke Lope’s private life began to collapse as well. First, his eldest daughter Mafalda passed away…and then he had to have his wife arrested after her schizophrenia became even worse.
I hope you're in to bondage...
He eventually married Ermengarda Jimenez (yet another distant relative of…well…everyone) who was not only remarkably intelligent and likeable…but was actually also fairly attractive (a rarity in these days.)
Trust me. Compared to Lope's other choices, this girl was considered HOT.
Though they wed shortly after Lope’s 52nd birthday, they still had a daughter, Velasquita, born approximately nine months after their wedding.
Ermengarda became pregnant one more time…but Duke Lope passed away of natural causes before the child was born. He was 53, and left everything to his son Enrique de Haro.
Just as Castille was beginning to collapse.
Somebody beatified the Duke to death!
Lope de Haro
1060 – 1113
Count of Viscaya 1071 – 1113
Duke of Castille 1071 – 1113
FACTS:
*Ruled for 42 years, from his eleventh birthday.
*Nearly died twice in childhood. Pneumonia at age 6, and an infected wound from a hunting accident at fourteen.
*Castille quadrupled in size during his lifetime, but shrank down to just twice its original size shortly before his death.
*Outlived four Kings of Castille.
*Expanded on father’s work with food supply, introducing goat and cattle herding to duchy. Also encouraged manufacturing of light armor out of cow hide. Introduced new industries to duchy, including lumber, mining, and textiles.
*Built a small castle, royal post, court of justice, training grounds, forest, and moneylender.
*Introduced the use of axes on the battlefield, and encouraged clergy to accept vow of poverty.
