Sancho Ordóñez

Who was Sancho Ordóñez?

Sancho Ordóñez was king of Galicia from 926 and until his death, in 929. He was the eldest son of king Ordoño II, and as his father did before him, he acquired the rights to Galicia when he and his brothers divided the kingdom among themselves.

At the death of king Ordoño II in 924, his brother Froila ascended to the throne. The exact circumstances of the succession upon Froila's death one year later, in 925 CE, are unclear, but apparently it was his son, Alfonso Fróilaz, who became king. Sancho, Alfonso, and Ramiro, the sons of Ordoño II, rebelled against their cousin, and with the support of Jimeno Garcés of Pamplona they drove Alfonso to the eastern marches of Asturias, dividing the kingdom among themselves. As a result, Alfonso Ordóñez received Leon, while Ramiro obtained the frontier lands around Coimbra, and Sancho was made king in Galicia.

Sancho was crowned in Santiago de Compostela, in 926, marrying in 927 with Goto, a Galician noblewoman of royal blood, granddaughter of count Guttier Menendiz and niece of Saint Rudesind. At his own death, after a peaceful reign, he was buried in the monastery of Santa Maria de Castrelo de Miño, where his widow would become prioress.