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58-484: The name Sonsierra derives from the term subserra , already mentioned by the monks of the monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla in the 12th century. For more than five centuries it formed a region within the merindad of Estella , of the ancient kingdom of Navarre that included the towns of San Vicente , Laguardia , Labraza , Viana and all their villages. Currently its enclaves belong to three different autonomous communities , but during medieval times and until

116-555: A League of Nobles in March 1460. They raised a large number of noblemen, took control of expenditure, and gained the acceptance of Alfonso of Castile , the King Henry's half-brother and Prince of Asturias. To counteract King John II's politicking, Henry IV reacted by invading Navarre in support of Charles, Prince of Viana . Charles was the heir to Navarre, and he revolted against his father John II in 1450 when he refused to cede

174-654: A charter to the town of Laguardia. Also Sancho "the Wise" in 1172 granted the charter of Laguardia to San Vicente de la Sonsierra. His successor, Sancho VII granted a charter to the town of Labraza, renaming it San Cristóbal de Labraza, in September 1196. In February 1219, Sancho VII "the Strong" re-founded Viana, granting it a charter. The Castilian Ferdinand III granted the Charter of La Bastida in 1242. Around 1427

232-472: A cousin of Joan of Portugal , whom he wanted to marry instead. Therefore, the reason he used to seek the annulment was the sort of spell that only affected his ability to consummate this one marriage, and would not cause any problems for him with other women. Pope Nicholas V corroborated the decision in December of the same year in a papal bull and provided a papal dispensation for Henry's new marriage with

290-467: A daughter, Joanna , nicknamed "La Beltraneja". Six years after the birth of the throne's heir, part of the nobility of Castile revolted against the king. The rebels claimed that the princess was not the daughter of the king, but actually the daughter of Beltrán de La Cueva , 1st Duke of Alburquerque (thus the nickname "Beltraneja"). This hypothesis was reinforced when the Queen had another two children with

348-579: A few years, the Ebro river valley had new towns. Thus, in 1172 San Vicente de la Sonsierra de Navarra was founded, in 1195 a foundation charter was granted to San Cristóbal de Labraza , and in 1219 the first stone was laid for the concentration of towns in Viana . The charters of these four towns are a copy, if possible improved, of the charter of Logroño , a town granted to its inhabitants by King Alfonso VI of León in 1095. In 1164 Sancho VI of Navarre gave

406-479: A long period of conflict between the rival factions, Henry finally agreed to name Isabella his successor, in Guisando ( Ávila ), provided she allow him to arrange her strategic marriage. Isabella would go on to break this stipulation of the agreement. Henry died in 1474 and was buried at Santa María de Guadalupe , next to his mother. Henry was a striking man. Tall, blonde and well built, he had broken his nose as

464-591: A lot of time at the Royal Alcázar of Madrid where he would stay for long periods of time. The Royal Alcazar was later replaced with the Royal Palace of Madrid by the rulers of Spain. Prince Henry celebrated his marriage to Blanche of Navarre in 1440, when he was 15 years old. The cardinal Juan de Cervantes presided over the official ceremony. Her parents were Blanche I of Navarre and John II of Navarre . The marriage had been agreed in 1436 as part of

522-531: A lower site, developed as a Benedictine community. As the UNESCO evaluation noted, San Millán shows the transformation from an eremitic to a cenobitic community in material terms. Suso monastery has been uninhabited since the expropriation of monastic property in the 19th century. Such expropriations were widespread in Spain, and are often called the ecclesiastical confiscations of Mendizábal , but at San Millan

580-614: A peace treaty with Isabella. In 1440, at the age of fifteen, he was married to Blanche II of Navarre . The marriage was never consummated. In 1453, after thirteen years, Henry sought an annulment. An official examination confirmed the virginity of Blanche, and a priest questioned the prostitutes of Segovia , who confirmed that Henry was sexually capable. Blanche was sent home; eight years later, she became de jure Queen of Navarre and died under strange circumstances. In 1455, Henry married Joan of Portugal , sister of Afonso V of Portugal . After six years of marriage, in 1462, she gave birth to

638-593: A rival king. This event is known in history as the Farce of Avila . Shortly thereafter, Alfonso began handing out land and titles as if he were already uncontested ruler. A civil war began. The most notable clash was at the Second Battle of Olmedo in 1467, which concluded as a draw. However, in 1468, at the age of only 14, Alfonso died, most likely from the plague (although poison and slit throat have been suggested). His will left his crown to his sister, Isabella, who

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696-469: A similar early form of Navarro-Aragonese (ancestor to modern Aragonese ). In either case, San Millán's importance as a cradle of the Spanish language is reinforced by the proximity of the village of Berceo which is associated with Gonzalo de Berceo , the first Spanish poet known by name. There is a continuous history of Christianity at San Millán since the time of the saint. The scriptorium produced

754-419: A title previously held by Joanna. Henry agreed to the compromise with the stipulation that Alfonso someday marry Joanna, to ensure that they both would one day receive the crown. Not long after this, Henry reneged on his promise and began to support his daughter's claim once more. The nobles in league against him conducted a ceremonial deposition-in-effigy of Henry outside the city of Avila and crowned Alfonso as

812-502: Is as the place where phrases in the Spanish and Basque languages were written for the first time. UNESCO acknowledges the property "as the birthplace of the modern written and spoken Spanish language". The phrases in Spanish and Basque are glosses on a Latin text and are known as the Glosas Emilianenses . There is some debate as to whether the Spanish words are written in an early form of Castilian ( Spanish ), or in

870-487: Is mentioned, together with its denomination of Sonsierra de Navarra. According to the map: Map of La Rioja divided into Upper and Lower Rioja, with the part of the Sonsierra, which is commonly called Rioja Alavesa . The territory covered by the map was, at that time, assigned to the intendancies of Burgos, Soria and Álava, as a result of the administrative division of Spain into intendancies carried out by Floridablanca in

928-655: The House of Trastámara ). This arrangement, however, did not last long. Before the birth of his daughter, Henry convened the Court in Madrid and Joanna was sworn in as Princess of Asturias. But a conflict with the nobility was created when Beltrán de la Cueva deposed Juan Pacheco, the Marquis of Villena, and his brother Pedro Girón, Master of Calatrava from Henry's court. This caused a change in alliances: Mendoza began to support

986-600: The Infantes of Aragon would be constant. On 10 October 1444, he became the first and only prince of Jaén . In 1445 he won the First Battle of Olmedo , defeating the Infantes of Aragon. After the victory at Olmedo, Álvaro de Luna's power waned, and Prince Henry and Juan Pacheco's influence grew. Henry IV's father died on 20 July 1454 and he was proclaimed king the following day. One of King Henry's first priorities

1044-479: The 18th century. In the northeastern part, it is shown as bordering the kingdom of Navarre , since it remained as such, under the Hispanic Monarchy , governed by a viceroy until 1841, when it was considered just another province. It should also be noted that this map should not be considered a political map of La Rioja, since this region was not given a provincial administrative framework until 1821, and

1102-508: The Castilian throne as the Prince of Asturias . At the time of his birth, Castile was under control of Álvaro de Luna, Duke of Trujillo , who intended to select Henry's companions and direct his education. The companions of his own age included Juan Pacheco , who became his closest confidant. The struggles, reconciliations and intrigues for power among the aristocracy, Álvaro de Luna, and

1160-581: The Count of Foix, husband of Doña Leonor in Navarre, taking advantage of the Castilian crisis, seized Calahorra and tried to penetrate into Alfaro , to demand the return of Los Arcos and the Sonsierra; he arrived at the gates of Alfaro without success and finally had to evacuate Calahorra. In 1466, Enrique IV ordered the inhabitants of the Sonsierra to accede to the Brotherhood of Álava to fight against

1218-682: The Cuéllar Courts to launch an offensive against the Emirate of Granada . The campaigns of 1455 and 1458 developed into a war of attrition based on punitive raids and avoiding pitched battles. It was not popular with the aristocracy or the people. Juan Pacheco , the Marquis of Villena, and his brother Pedro Girón were put in charge of government decisions. King Henry also took other advisors, such as Beltrán de la Cueva , Miguel Lucas de Iranzo, and Gómez de Cáceres to balance against their influence. In 1458, King Alfonso V of Aragon died and

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1276-655: The Impotent , was King of Castile and León and the last of the weak late-medieval kings of Castile and León. During Henry's reign, the nobles became more powerful and the nation became less centralised. Henry was born in 1425 at the Casa de las Aldabas (since destroyed) in Teresa Gil street of Valladolid . He was the son of John II of Castile and Maria of Aragon , daughter of King Ferdinand I of Aragon . He displaced his older sister, Eleanor , and became heir apparent to

1334-604: The Navarrese King Charles III the Noble established the principality of Viana , which included the whole of the Sonsierra of Navarre as well as other places. Shortly after, during the civil wars of Navarre, a part of this principality fell into Castilian hands, never to return to the Pyrenean kingdom again. In 1461, Henry IV , cousin and brother-in-law of the Prince of Viana , helped the latter to recover

1392-513: The Navarrese throne so Henry could take it, and selected him as her protector, against her own father John II of Aragon . The remoteness of Aragon led to an approach to Portugal. In March 1453, before his divorce from Blanche was finalised, there was no record of negotiations for the new marriage between Henry and Joan of Portugal , sister of the king Afonso V of Portugal . The first marital approaches were made in December of that year, although

1450-515: The Sonsierra of Navarre, including Viana and La Rioja Alavesa. However, the proposed division of the Spanish State remained without effect due to the absolutist reaction of Ferdinand VII and the situation returned to the previous one. In 1822, during the liberal triennium , the creation of a province for the Rioja region was again proposed, this time to be called the province of Logroño due to

1508-530: The administrative reunification of La Rioja region, with the creation of a province for it. These came especially from the Sociedad Riojana , which was a society of friends of the country , from the Junta de Rioja, made up of representatives of the municipalities of La Rioja, and from enlightened Riojanos of the time such as Martín Fernández de Navarrete . They demanded that La Rioja should be united with

1566-569: The beginning of the Renaissance, they were a socio-geographical and even administrative unit, from its beginnings called " comunidad de villa y tierra " until its last dates under the denomination of principality of Viana . The geographical limits are clearly defined in the north by the Toloño or Cantabria mountain range, from the shells of Haro in the west to the Linares river in the east, in

1624-431: The document, some place names that could be considered the first data that appear in a written document in medieval times about these lands can be found: "Tabuerneca, tota Subserra, tota Berrocia, Marangone, Punicastro, Moreta...". The term " Subserra " also appears in the document that contains the confirmation of the Charter of Nájera that King Alfonso VI of Castile made in the year 1076. In its beginnings, this region

1682-473: The economy of the region, and the name by which the region was known began to decline and was superseded by the more commonly used names of La Rioja and Rioja Alavesa for the western part, and Tierra Estella or Vianaldea for the Navarrese part. In some maps published on behalf of the Academy of San Fernando in Madrid , such as one drawn up by Tomás López in 1769, La Rioja appears. In it, La Rioja Alavesa

1740-409: The enlightened Martín Fernández de Navarrete in his Carta de un riojano a un señor diputado en cortes , which argued ethnographic, economic, geographic and historical criteria. Thus, in 1821 it was proposed to modify the provincial distribution of the Spanish State and, due to the claims of La Rioja, a province was formed for La Rioja, to be called " province of La Rioja ", which would also include all

1798-467: The establishment of boundaries equal to those that the ancient inhabitants of this land had known before the different administrative divisions of the Spanish State took place from the middle of the 18th century onwards, with the creation of the intendancies and the consequent division of La Rioja region into several of them. These claims had a clear identity component. In order to achieve the union, various arguments were put forward, such as those presented by

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1856-506: The fact that female prostitutes testified to having intercourse with Henry. The question of Joanna's paternity and right to the throne is therefore not firmly answerable, given the lack of available reliable sources. The doubt of her legitimacy as an heir, the weakness of the king, the adultery of the queen, and the unruliness of the nobility all set the stage for a struggle for succession after Henry's death. Henry divorced his wife after her scandalous behavior with Bishop Fonseca's nephew. After

1914-468: The grounds of Henry's sexual impotence due to a curse. This neatly reflected the recent political changes: Castile had supported Charles, Prince of Viana in his fight against John II of Aragon for the Navarrese throne since 1451, and Álvaro de Luna, Duke of Trujillo had been executed in May 1453, leaving Henry with greater control of Castile. Henry alleged that he had been incapable of sexually consummating

1972-590: The king, and Pacheco revived the Aristocratic League aimed at eliminating the influence of Beltrán de la Cueva. They had doubts about the paternity of Henry's daughter, saying that she was in fact the daughter of the new favourite, and started referring to her as "la Beltraneja" . The league of nobles, controlling the king's siblings Alfonso and Isabella , forced Henry at the 1464 Representation of Burgos to repudiate Joanna and recognize Alfonso as his official heir. Alfonso then became Prince of Asturias,

2030-399: The marriage, despite having tried for over three years, the minimum period required by the church. Other women, prostitutes from Segovia, testified that they had had sexual relations with Henry, which is why he blamed his inability to consummate the marriage on a spell. Henry's alleged "permanent impotence" only affected his relations with Blanche. Blanche and Henry were cousins, and he was also

2088-399: The negotiations were long and the proposal wasn't definitively agreed until February 1455. According to chroniclers of the time, Joan did not provide a dowry and would not have to return anything even if the marriage turned out to be a failure. The length of the negotiations and the concessions could be interpreted as caused by the concerns about the rumours of Henry's impotence. The wedding

2146-402: The nephew of a bishop. Though many contemporary historians and chroniclers believed Henry was impotent or homosexual, the royal chronicles of his reign were all written or revised during the reign (and under the influence) of Isabella I , his half-sister and ultimate successor, whose strong interest in proving Joanna illegitimate renders these accounts at least partially suspect, in addition to

2204-586: The obligation to give each province the name of its capital and in which the whole of the Navarrese Sonsierra was also included. However, in 1833 the boundaries of the province were rectified to leave them as are known today. The lands of the former Sonsierra of Navarre are currently divided into three Autonomous Communities : Monasteries of San Mill%C3%A1n de la Cogolla The monasteries of San Millán de Suso (6th century) and San Millán de Yuso (11th century) are two monasteries situated in

2262-533: The peace negotiations between Castile and Navarre. The dowry included territories and villas that had previously belonged to Navarre but had been won by the Castillian side during the war, and the Castilians agreed to hand the lands back provided they would be given them back again as part of this dowry. In May 1453, the bishop of Segovia Luis Vázquez de Acuña annulled the marriage of Henry and Blanche, on

2320-677: The process began in the 1820s during the Trienio Liberal , a decade before the government of Juan Álvarez Mendizábal . Yuso monastery was abandoned at the same time, but was reoccupied by an Augustinian community. Today part of the monastery has been converted into a hotel. San Millán attracts pilgrims on the Way of St James (even though it lies somewhat off the line of the official route between Nájera and Burgos ). Henry IV of Castile Henry IV of Castile ( Castilian : Enrique IV ; 5 January 1425 – 11 December 1474), nicknamed

2378-515: The region enjoyed a long period of peace, since the border was moved to the Pyrenees. From then on, the towns underwent transformations that modified the defensive character with which they were born, towards another more oriented to the economy, where the cultivation of the vine and the passage of the road to Santiago marked the new orientation of the populations. From the 16th century onwards, vineyards and wine, together with olive oil, clearly marked

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2436-529: The rest of his reign. Isabella became Castile's next monarch when he died in 1474. After the death of the king, war broke out in Castile. Joanna was supported by Portugal, while the eventual winner, Henry's half-sister Isabella I of Castile , had the support of Aragon . France initially supported Joanna, yet in 1476, after losing the Battle of Toro , France refused to help Joanna further and in 1478 signed

2494-527: The second phase of the San Millán Beatus and remained active during the period of Muslim rule; and over the centuries, the religious community has overcome various vicissitudes which affected the monasteries (for example being sacked by the Black Prince ). However the type of monastic life evolved: the original monks living at Suso were hermits, but Yuso, the refoundation of the monastery on

2552-468: The sister of the Portuguese king. One of Henry's detractors, the historian Alfonso de Palencia , wrote that the marriage had been a sham and accused Henry of despising his wife and planning to commit adultery to bear children. According to Palencia, Henry demonstrated "most extreme abhorrence" to his wife, and indifference to the confines of marriage. However, in 1462 Blanche gave up her right to

2610-591: The south and west by the Ebro river , and in the east by the valley of the Linares river in the municipalities of Bargota and Lazagurría to the border between Viana and Mendavia , opposite the mouth of the Leza river in the Ebro. In 934 the Castilian Count Fernán González granted the document known as the "false vows of Fernán González". Within the extensive list of inhabited nuclei cited in

2668-422: The thieves and thieves that took refuge, jumping to this part from Álava. Although the kings of Navarre repeatedly claimed the lands of the Sonsierra from Don Enrique and later from Isabella and Ferdinand, not only they, but all of Navarre, would be occupied by Ferdinand in 1512 and annexed to the crown of Castile. After the Castilian conquest and the last attempts of reconquest by the Navarrese monarch, from 1521

2726-671: The throne of Navarre. The campaign was a military success, but King Henry made peace with the League of Nobles in August 1461 to ward off the power of the Mendozas, which had allowed John II to intervene in Castile. King John II was in conflict with the Principality of Catalonia , and on the death of his eldest son, Charles of Viana, the principality elected Henry IV to be Count of Barcelona on 11 August 1462. King Henry's intervention

2784-541: The throne of Navarre; he obtained the surrender of Laguardia, San Vicente, Viana and Los Arcos, which Gonzalo Saavedra occupied with the Castilian army. In the arbitral sentence of Bayonne , of Louis XI of France , in April of 1463, to settle the questions arisen between Castile and Aragon, the Sonsierra and the party of Los Arcos, were in pledge to no longer return to the crown of Navarre the first of them while Los Arcos would take almost four centuries (until 1753). In 1462,

2842-475: The town with the largest number of houses was Laguardia with 444, followed by San Vicente with 379 and Viana, with 349 houses. Grouped by villas plus their hamlets, Laguardia had 1906 houses, San Vicente 554, Labraza 55 and Viana 437. This must have been a very bloody period, both because of battles and the Black Death , since of the total of 2,138 houses in the four villas, only 1,014 were inhabited. In 1423

2900-441: The village of San Millán de la Cogolla , La Rioja , Spain. They have been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since December 1997. The two monasteries' names Suso and Yuso mean the "upper" and the "lower" in archaic Castilian , respectively. Suso is the older building and is believed to be built on the site of a hermitage where Saint Emilian ( Spanish : San Millán ) lived. Perhaps Suso's major claim to fame

2958-443: Was asked to take her brother's place as the champion of the rebels. Shortly thereafter at the negotiation of Toros de Guisando , in which she and her allies received most of what they desired, Henry agreed to exclude Joanna la Beltraneja from the succession, and to recognize Isabella as his official heir. Though Henry continued to resist this decision when possible, his actions were ineffective, and he remained at peace with Isabella for

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3016-646: Was called "La Guardia" since in 1164 Sancho VI of Navarre gave a charter to the town of Laguardia and marked its jurisdiction between Salinillas de Buradón , to the west, and the Soto de Íñigo Galíndez (today known as Soto Galindo in Viana), to the east. The northern and southern limits are marked by the Cantabria mountains and the Ebro River respectively. The conflicts of the Navarrese king with Castile meant that in

3074-445: Was celebrated in May 1455, but without an affidavit of official bull authorizing the wedding between them, although they were first cousins (their mothers were sisters) and half second cousins (their paternal grandmothers were half-sisters). On 28 February 1462, the queen gave birth to a daughter Joanna la Beltraneja , whose paternity came into question during the conflict for succession to the Castillian throne when Henry died. Henry IV

3132-637: Was framed as a rivalry between him and John II, making Catalonia an unstable point in the Crown of Aragon. But he was unsuccessful, and the Castillian economy would suffer from an enmity with France, who had supported John II with the Treaty of Bayonne . Henry IV therefore agreed to a settlement in the Judgment of Bayonne , resulting in the abandonment of the Catalans . During his reign as king, Henry IV spent

3190-435: Was given its current demarcation in 1833. It should also be noted that the aforementioned map of Tomás López was criticized by illustrious people of the time for having several inaccuracies, such as not including some parts of the region of La Rioja. At the end of the 18th century, the first complaints began to be heard about the situation in which La Rioja found itself and voices began to be heard demanding, in their own words,

3248-456: Was succeeded by his brother, John II of Navarre. King John II resumed his interference in Castillian politics, supporting the aristocratic opposition to Juan Pacheco's ambitions. With the support of the King Henry, Pacheco moved to seize Álvaro de Luna's assets, but his widow allied herself with the Mendoza family, causing a division among the aristocracy. This process resulted in the formation of

3306-463: Was the alliance with Portugal. He achieved this by marrying a second time to Joan of Portugal , daughter of King Edward of Portugal , in 1455; and by meeting her brother King Afonso V of Portugal in Elvas in 1456. His other main concerns were the possibility of intervention from King John II of Navarre , establishing peace with France and Aragon, and pardoning various aristocrats. Henry IV convened

3364-412: Was twenty-six years old when his half-sister Isabella was born. She was the daughter of his father's second marriage in 1447, to Isabella of Portugal . Henry made a number of attempts throughout his reign to arrange a politically advantageous marriage for his much younger sister. The first attempt was when the six-year-old Isabella was betrothed to Ferdinand , son of John II of Navarre (a cadet branch of

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