GEN-MEDIEVAL-L Archives

Archiver > GEN-MEDIEVAL > 2009-04 > 1240104206


From: Francisco Tavares de Almeida <>
Subject: Re: was the wife of Antonio de Cardona, viceroy of Sicily, same lady as the widow of Jacopo de Aragon-Prades, lord of Caccamo,constable of Sicily ?
Date: Sat, 18 Apr 2009 18:23:26 -0700 (PDT)
References: <mailman.1027.1240073545.2001.gen-medieval@rootsweb.com>


I have no personal interest in Cardonas or these castilian Vilhenas
and if you think this matter deserves further research, I wish you the
best for it. And I not exclude that Leonor de Vilhena could be 'of
Gandia' and not 'of Peñafiel'; I just think that you still have a long
way before it can be considered an hypothesis worth of consideration.

Meanwhile, as I have done before I may make some small corrections and
give my opinion about the validity of some arguments.

Once again and for the very last time, if a wife died childless, her
dowry would become full property of the widower. And a legitimated son
had a wright to inherit; if other property - Escalona, Villena,
Peñafiel - were entailed he would inherit other non entailed property.
This said, I do not know if D. Henrique Manoel did inherited lands in
Aiora valley. I just pointed that such possibility could not be
excluded.

Those Vilhena did have connections to Aragón. Henrique Manoel's son
Pedro Manoel, was attested in the coronation of Fernando de Antequera
as king of Aragón.

Arguments about Henrique Manoel being a bastard son of another bastard
are just silly (excuse but I can not find a better word in my limited
english). He was a conde in Portugal in an epoch when only very few
relatives of the royal family were condes; he was a conde (a) in
Castile and the chamberlain of Juan II.

(a) Conde de Montealegre in 1406.
My first assumption that it could be the Montealegre near Cadiz was
wrong (lots of Vilhenas of later times are connected with Andalucia)
but your's Montealegre del Castillo is equally wrong and no brother,
father or such could be found in the link you have posted.
It is well Montealegre de Campos.
http://www.valladolidturismo.com/imprimir.php?art_id=1776

Regards,
Francisco
(Portugal)


On 18 Abr, 17:52, wrote:
> The count of Ribagorza (Alfonso of Aragon) -who in some vicissitudes of Trastamara against king Pedro served the Trastamara cause in Castile- had received Villena from the new Trastamare king.
> It is pretty well-known that HIS family then became known as 'Villena'. Members of his fanmily are mentioned as Villena in several sources, history, genealogical literature.
>
> It is no wild guess that the daughter of the first duke of Gandia (by his wife Violant, heiress of Arenos) was called by names Violant AND Leonor/Elionor.
> Oft-referred genealogical secondary material mentions her giving BOTH of those names.
>
> My impression is that she was one of those ladies who were known by two alternate names.
>
> There is nothing inherently problematic to think that she was (mostly) known as Elionor/Eleonora/Leonor, in conjunction with the supposed marriage with Cardona.
>
> I find it unrealistic to allege that an illegitimate son (and his issue) of a husband of the supposed rightful heiress (or dowried lady), would WITHOUT CHALLENGES held lands which are to belong to the dowry of said NOT-MOTHER-OF-THE-BASTARD.
> As well as we know these hidalgos had claims in courts and to lands, such an irregular conveyance of a lady's lands would highly likely not remain without strife.
> Really, unrealistic. as should anyone see who knows about late-medieval iberian hidalgoes.
>
> If Henrique Manoel was legitimated, still THE legitimate heirs of Juan Manuel would have been Fernando of Portugal and Juana Manuel of Biskaia and Lara.
> You wrote that a legitimated would not have displaced a born legitimate heir.
>
> IF Henrique Manoel was holder of lands in the Aiora valley (or anywhere in Aragon), it's not only property records BUT his presence (in some other capacities...) would likely have been recorded in SOME Valencian/Aragonese thing, some sojourn also there.
> Those who owned lands in late middle ages, generally had a peripatetic life: they lived movingly in those places.
> But nobody has presented anything in Valencia region, to have a record of Henrique Manoel.
>
> Henrique Manoel cannot be placed to any other place than Portugal and Castile.
> To have lands in Aragon, would be inconsistent with that.
>
> Eleonora 'de Villena' seemingly had her Cardona children in 1410s.
> Difficult to imagine her that marriage took place markedly earlier.
>
> And, it's not an easy fit that she were daughter of Henrique Manoel, who was born in early 1340s at latest.
> If she were, she should have been born in his time already in Castile, after c1386.
> And, his Portuguese wife was possibly not having kids as late as that.
>
> Royal, legitimate princes (with great lands, such as Penafiel) had connections to marry from foreign realm.
> Geography is also important. A bastard, a deposed count, had not that much: the demand for his daughters was much lower. A castilian nobleman in Castile would have been a natural thing. as opposed to an aragonese noble who was to be viceroy of sicily.
> Let me remind that there was NOT the state of spain at that time; rather, Castile and aragon were quite often at loggerheads.
>
> It must be underlined that *old* Portuguese and Castilian genealogies are known to be mistake-ridden....
>
> Besides, genealogies in Castile and Portugal are not bound to know too well personages in Sicily and Aragon.
>
> I think there should be a good interest for further research.
> of this question.
> The landed inheritance of the wife of viceroy Cardona, and her parentage. It has to do with direct ancestries of a lot of people. And with history: our understanding of the goings-on of the family of dukes of Gandia - who were directly descended from an attested Moorish king-  and were contenders for the thrones of Aragon and Sicily.
>
> ----
>
> that Montealegre seems to me to have been 'Montealegre del Castillo'
> The website of that Montealegrehttp://www.fldmontealegre.com/indice.htm
> seems to have mentions of Henrique Manoel, his father, brother, and such, as parts of their local history.
>
> Henrique Manoel quite possibly was, in castilian view of post-exiling, just personally a Count, and Montealegre possibly was just a lordship, not county. His issue does not seem to have become *counts* of Montealegre.
>
> It's quite possible that he was count of only Seia. and lord of those other things.


This thread: