Pedro López de Monforte

Who is Pedro López de Monforte?

Pedro López de Monforte was an Iberian nobleman and castellan. Probably originally from the Rioja, he was most active in the Kingdom of León. He was appointed a count, the highest rank in the kingdom, by Alfonso VII sometime before 1 July 1131.

The identity of his family is unclear. His brothers were Jimeno and Lope López, both majordomos under Queen Urraca. He may have been a son of Lope Íñiguez and thus kinsmen of the house of Haro that held the Lordship of Biscay. The family of Pedro's wife, Sancha Gómez, is also unclear. She is known by name only from a charter of their daughter Countess Urraca, in which the latter granted some lands she had inherited from both parents to the Diocese of Burgos in 1173. A certain "countess Sancha" made a donation to the monastery of San Salvador de Oña on 19 December 1135 along with her sister Estefanía and brother Rodrigo Gómez. This may be the widow of Pedro López.

Pedro was a courtier during the latter half of the reign of Queen Urraca. He witnessed nineteen royal diplomas between 1114 and 1125. On the death of Pedro Ansúrez in 1117 Pedro López received the strategically important tenencia of Saldaña, which he ruled until 1126. He may also have received Pedro Ansúrez's other holdings on the Río Carrión. The influence of Pedro and his brothers at court and their likely background in the Rioja has led some scholars to conclude that they were either exiled by Alfonso I of Aragon and Navarre or had first come to León with Alfonso in the early 1110s.