Gómez González de Manzanedo

Who is Gómez González de Manzanedo?

Gómez González de Manzanedo was a Castilian magnate who governed Calahorra and defended the border with Navarre in the 1150s and 1160s. He spent three periods in the neighbouring Kingdom of León.

Gómez's parentage is unknown, other than that his patronymic indicates his father was named Gonzalo. The longstanding reconstruction making him son of Gonzalo Ruiz of La Bureba is unlikely on chronologically grounds. He may have been the son of a man named Gonzalo Gómez. Sometime before May 1162 Gómez married Amilia Pérez, daughter of Pedro González de Lara and Eva. His wife was still living in May 1182, months before his own death. Their children were Diego, Elvira, Gil, Gonzalo, Inés, Juan, Manrique, and Jimena, who married Pedro Fernández de Castro.

Gómez is first mentioned in a document of 9 November 1148, during the reign of Alfonso VII. In 1155 he was given the tenencia of Paredes to govern. Between June 1155 and August 1156 he served Sancho III, then ruling part of Castile from Nájera, as alférez, a post typically reserved for younger noblemen. He was promoted to the office of majordomo by March 1157. After the death of Alfonso VII in August 1157, Sancho, then ruling all of Castile, appointed Gómez to govern the Liébana in northwestern Castile, which he did until 1170. In March 1158 he was appointed to govern Calahorra, an important city in eastern Castile, which he held as late as 1171. In July 1158 he lost the post of majordomo and was appointed alférez again. That fall he defended Calahorra from the incursions of Sancho VI of Navarre.