Reign 1284–1295 Parents Alfonso of Molina Name Maria Molina | Reign 1293–1321 House Anscarids | |
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Issueamong others... Isabella, Queen of AragonFernando IV of CastileBeatrice, Queen of Portugal Children Ferdinand IV of Castile, Beatrice of Castile, Isabella of Castile, Queen of Aragon Similar People Sancho IV of Castile, Ferdinand IV of Castile, Alfonso XI of Castile, Alfonso IX of Leon, Berengaria of Castile | ||
Mar a de molina la reina sabia
María Alfonso Téllez de Meneses (c. 1265 – 1321), known as María de Molina, was queen consort of Castile and León from 1284 to 1295 by marriage to Sancho IV of Castile, and served as regent for her minor son Ferdinand IV (1295 - c.1301) and later her grandson Alfonso XI of Castile (1312-1321).
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MARIA DE MOLINA REINA DE CASTILLA Y LEÓN
Biography
María was the daughter of the infante Alfonso of Molina and Mayor Alfonso de Meneses. Her paternal grandparents were King Alfonso IX of León and Queen Berengaria of Castile.
She married her second cousin Sancho IV of Castile in 1282, the second son of Alfonso X the Learned, although the matrimonial dispensation for kinship was not previously granted. Upon the death of Alfonso X, she became queen consort of Castile and León and was crowned alongside her husband in the cathedral of Toledo. Although the couple was pressured to separate by Rome and others, Sancho chose to honor his wife and delegated many responsibilities to her, including the regency of their son after his death. His reign was short since he died in 1295.
After the death of Sancho IV, he was succeeded by their eldest son Ferdinand IV, who was under age. Though according to the Crónica de Sancho IV, Sancho designated María as the sole regent, she was forced to share the regency with Sancho's uncle, Henry the Senator, younger brother of Alfonso X. Fernando's rule was challenged by a coalition that included his uncle, John, his cousins the infantes de la Cerda, sons of the infante Ferdinand de la Cerda, eldest son of Alfonso X, as well as King James II of Aragón and King Denis of Portugal.
Through marriage alliances, gifts of territories, and shrewd politics María was able to lead Ferdinand's cause to victory, though it did not come easily. María built her own coalition, relying on the Castilian Cortes to confirm her authority and playing the powerful family clan of Haro against the Lara clan, who supported the opposition. Civil war continued for several years, and María's coregent Henry was often more of an antagonist than a defender of his great-nephew's cause. Around 1300 the alliance against Ferdinand began to crumble when one of his principal enemies, Juan Núñez de Lara, was captured and later reconciled to the young king. Portugal returned to allegiance with Ferdinand with the promise of a marriage between the Portuguese princess Constance and the young king of Castile. María's victory for her son seemed sealed in 1301, when she finally received a papal bull from Pope Boniface VIII, legitimizing her marriage and her children. Eventually, only Aragon was left to support the claim of Alfonso de la Cerda and his brother, which was finally set aside in a treaty between Castile and Aragon a few years later.
María de Molina died in Valladolid in 1321.
Children
