Fernando Fernández de Carrión

Who is Fernando Fernández de Carrión?

Fernando Fernández or Fernán Fernándiz de Carrión was a count in the Kingdom of León during the reign of Queen Urraca.

Fernando's origins are obscure. Though his patronymic indicates that his father was also named Fernando, his father has not been identified. He may have been related to Pedro Ansúrez. He probably hailed from the region of León, where he is known to have held properties and where he appears in some local documents.

Fernando married into the royal family when he wed a certain Elvira Alfonso, a daughter of Alfonso VI. Unfortunately, Alfonso had two daughters of this name and scholars differ as to which one Fernando married. One Elvira was the daughter of a concubine, Jimena Muñoz, and the sister of Theresa of Portugal. She was the elder and was married to Raymond IV of Toulouse. Either she returned to Spain shortly after her husband's death in 1105 or she did not return to Spain before Urraca's death in 1126 and could not have been the wife of Fernando. The other Elvira was a legitimate daughter, but by which queen is disputed. Her mother was a certain Isabel, reputedly the daughter of Louis VI of France, but this chronologically difficult. It is more likely that she was merely from France or Burgundy. It is also possible that Alfonso married his mistress Zaida, who was thereupon baptised under the Christian name Isabel. This Elvira married by 1120 to Roger I of Sicily, and since the wife of Fernando was still in Castile as late as 1133, most historians have concluded that she was the widow of the Count of Toulouse and daughter of Alfonso by Jimena.