Alonso Meléndez de Guzmán
Alonso Meléndez de Guzmán (b. ? - d. 1342) was a Spanish noble from León of the House of Guzmán. Alonso was the Grand Master of the Order of Santiago from 1338 to 1342.
Family origins[]
He was the son of and his wife . His paternal grandparents were and his wife . His maternal grandparents were and of Asturias, and also the head adelantado of the Andalucía border region.
Alonso's sister was Leonor de Guzmán, the lover of Alfonso XI of Castile. His other sister, married Enrique Enríquez "el Mozo" of Villalba de los Barros and head adelantado of Andalucia who was famous for commanding the Castilian army at the Battle of Linuesa.
Biography[]
He was named by the personal intervention of King Alfonso XI of Castile as head of the Order of Santiago. This appointment provoked disputes as previously, all order Grand Masters had been elected. Alonso de Guzman fought with king Peter I of Aragon, also known as "Peter the Cruel", in the reconquista of the Kingdom of Algeciras but was later assassinated by the king who named the infant Fadrique Alfonso de Castilla Grand Master. Faderique was only eight years old at the time of his appointment.
References[]
- "La estructura de poder en la Orden de Santiago, siglos XII-XIV" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 December 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2008.
- "La Orden de Santiago". Retrieved 26 September 2008.
Bibliography[]
- Mariana, Juan de (1848). Historia general de España. Gaspar Roig editores. Digitalización
- 1342 deaths
- Spanish untitled nobility
- Grand Masters of the Order of Santiago
- Knights of Santiago