Gonzalo Fernandez de Lara, Conde de Castilla, Conde de Lara
Leo
Gonzalo was the son of Fernando González 'el Negro' de Castrosiero and Gontiña Muñoz, daughter of Nuno Munoz 'Rasura' el de Branosera, lord of Amaya, one of the two judges who ruled Castile from about 842, the year of the death of Alfonso II 'el Casto', king of Asturias. Before 912 he married Muniadona Nuñez, daughter of Nuño Ordoñez, Infante de Galiza. Their son Fernan González would have progeny.
Gonzalo was first recorded as Count of Burgos in 899, and soon after he expanded into the eastern mountain valleys and made his base in Lara, stretching his rule from the foot of the Cantabrian Mountains around Espinosa de los Monteros to the river Arlanza, which became the effective border with Muslim-controlled territory. To achieve this he had a fierce struggle to displace the Muslim forces based at the stronghold of Carazo dominating the area and access to it. The valley of Lara became the rallying point of the family that years later would achieve virtual independence from Castile through his son, Fernan Gonzalez, who would make it a hereditary fiefdom lasting for five generations until it became a kingdom under Fernando I 'the Great' of Castile (1016-1065) of the Jimenez dynasty.
Gonzalo's name appears for the first time in 899 in the charter of the Monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña, later one of the most influential monastic houses in Castile together with the Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos. In 912 he alsofounded the Monastery of San Pedro de Arlanza.
In 912 Gonzalo played a leading part in the Castilian offensive to the river Duero, settling the old villeages of Haza, Clunia and San Esteban de Gormaz.
Gonzalo first appears as Count of Castile in a document of 1 August 914 and again in one of 1 May 915. He appears witnessing royal documents among other magnates and nobles at the main assemblies of the Leonese court until the defeat of the Leonese in the Battle of Valdejunquera in 920, after which he was widely considered to have died. However modern scholars suspect that he may have been in disgrace from the court for some unrecorded blame in the defeat or another reason for him to be exiled, as someone with his name and the then seldom given rank of Count, Gundisalvus comes, appears signing royal documents at the court of Navarre between 924 and 930, the year in which his son Fernan González was granted sole authority as Count. Previously his wife Muniadona was recorded as holding the patrimony estates and the regency of the county during the minority of Fernan González.
Gonzalo's remains were long kept in a vault at the Monastery of San Pedro de Arlanza, as recorded by the historian Fray Antonio de Yepes (d. 1618) in his Crónica general de la Orden de San Benito.
M.Sjostrom
http://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00120962&tree=LEO
I must say that there are uncertainties about his life and his family genealogy, things which should ber cautioned about, and even genealogical myths which are worthless.
This Gonzalvo Fernandez should not be labeled as 'conde de Lara'. Such is apparently just the desire of those who want to give anachronistic titles, apparently for prestige interests of the later Lara lineage.
As seen from historical facts, he would instead have been also something that 'conde de Burgos'
In his era, the title of count would have been rather a personal holding, and IF he was also lord of Lara, that was not a county.
count Gonzalvo indeed appears to have been son of Fernan Gonz�lez 'el Negro' - who despite of widely spread customary genealogies, was not son of Nuno rasura (= Munnio Munoz, of Branosera, Amaya). It would be thought that the make of Fernan as son of Nuno 'rasura', comes from a later need to create male lines, and to embellish the anachronistic idea of Castile having been inherited already in those days, and to be older than its formation actually was.
count Gonzalvo Fernandez was -concluded from landed inheritances- descendant (maternal grandson, apparently) of 'judge' Nuno rasura and his wife Argilo.
Nuno rasura and his wife Argilo had, besides son Munnio/Nuno Nunez, also possibly two different daughters: one (suggested name would been 'Munia') married with 'judge' Lain calvo (= nobleman Flain, who possibly was sort of military judge in Castile, possibly in 870s or so), and the other (here you suggest the name 'Gontinha') married with nobleman Fernan Gonzalves 'niger'.
As I understand it, the nickname 'calvo' means bald and the nickname 'niger' means dark. Both of rasura's sons-in-law would have been persons with nickname which preserved in knowledge of history/legends.
You should not believe the possibly quite erroneous and forged ideology that judgeship of Castile were occurring in 842, the possibly forgery that it had anything to do with the death of king Alfonso II.
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.genealogy.medieval/msg/7c8cdc48c5bcd41a
You should note that some modern historians even doubt the actual reality (as claimed) of the period of two judges of Castile. They do not regard it as entirely trustworthy, because it is such a mythical looking thing.
I think that the idea of judges of Castile, would rather have its historical roots in something in about the 870s.
In these days, the 800s, the region later as Old Castile (or its kernel), were in the 800s still quite often known as the land of Vardulia.
I think it was, rather, only in the 900s (such as, 914) when the name of 'land of castles', Castilla, emerge into use.
seems that the 842 as origin of Castile's state, was just a later, ideologically-motivated thing. Erything in that chronology misfits.
this count Gonzalvo Fernandez was born in about 870s, I think.
His birth may well have coincided with his maternal grandfather (Nuno) being at highest peak of his career, being the elderly man at that time as he is presented in the legend accounts.
count Gonzalvo Fernandez' wife, MUNIADONA, does NOT have reliably known parentage at all.
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.genealogy.medieval/msg/4a1fc50b613e1c92
Muniasona cannot be given a patronymic in any text which intends to be reliable. her patronymic (whatever it was) is seemingly NOT attested in any contemporary material.
You should NOT present Muniadona as daughter of infante Nu�o/Munio. Very unreliable.
and, as already posted weeks ago in this forum,
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.genealogy.medieval/msg/dbfbd53fbce3175d
Nu�o Ordo�ez, infante de Galiza
would mean the same guy, Munio Ordonez, who were younger son of Ordono I.
http://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00199434&tree=LEO
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.... hereditary fiefdom lasting for five generations until it became a kingdom :
It's worth mention that the first king, Fernan 'the Great', was maternal grandson of the dynasty of sovereign counts of Castile, and was the nephew of Garzia, the last count from the agnatic line of this count Gonzalvo Fernandez.
taf
> Gonzalo was the son of Fernando González 'el Negro' de Castrosiero and Gontiña Muñoz, daughter of Nuno Munoz 'Rasura' el de Branosera, lord of Amaya, one of the two judges who ruled Castile from about 842, the year of the death of Alfonso II 'el Casto', king of Asturias. Before 912 he married Muniadona Nuñez, daughter of Nuño Ordoñez, Infante de Galiza. Their son Fernan González would have progeny.
>
Just to be clear, there is a good bit of hypothesis here. Gonzalo had
the patronymic Fernandez, so he was son of a Fernando. This Fernando
had been called Fernando Nunez el Negro, to link in the male line to
Nuno of Branosera. However, no such person is documented, while there
is a count Fernando Gonzalez, so it is hypothesized that Gonzalo
Fernandez is son of Fernando Gonzalez, but there is not the slightest
bit of documentation to confirm this. What is documented is that his
mother was Gotina (again, no patronymic is documented). A document
naming Gotina and her son Gonzalo appears to relate to lands formerly
held by Nuno of Branosera. Previously this was interpreted as
representing Gotina holding as widow of Fernando Nunez, but with the
conclusion that Fernando had no such genealogical link, the best
explanation was that Gotina was the heiress, herself daughter of
Nuno. Note that there is no direct documentation that Nuno had such a
daughter. (As to Nuno's other supposed daughter, who married Lain
Calvo, this is traditional, and almost certainly apocryphal.) I do
not know whether 'el Negro' is appropriately applied here. I do not
know the origin of this nickname - if it is known that Gonzalo was son
of Fernando el Negro, whatever his surname, or if instead this was
directly linked to the now-discredited hypothesis that he was son of
Nuno of Branosera (and while we are at it, the identification of Nuno
of Branosera with the legendary Nuno Rasura is itself hypothetical).
As to Muniadomna, I have seen four different hypotheses regarding her
parentage. Of these, I think the strongest makes her daughter of
infante Ramiro Alfonso. Specifically, she named a son Ramiro (we know
this from ibn Hayyan), and she appears acting in concert with Queen
Urraca, who is thought to be the widow of the infante.
taf
qs...@yahoo.com
The (clearly over-ambitious) GeneAll, has the Fernan Gonzalves:
http://www.geneall.net/H/per_page.php?id=7924
There the Geneall presents all sorts of kinships to Fernan.
I assume that almost all that in Geneall is bullshit -
just hypotheses, wishful thinking, and unwarranted claims.
Surely, Fernan's father is not known, is he?