Osorio Martínez ( la, Osorius Martini) (bef. 1108 – March 1160) was a magnate from the

Province of León León (, , ; ; ) is a province of northwestern Spain in the northern part of the Region of León and in the northwestern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. About one quarter of its population of 463,746 (2018) lives in the ca ...

in the

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

Alfonso VII Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

. He served as the emperor militarily throughout his long career, which peaked in 1138–41. Besides the documentary sources, which are somewhat meagre at times after his fall from royal favour, he is mentioned in two episodes in the '' Chronica Adefonsi imperatoris''. He supported

Ferdinand II of León Ferdinand II (c. 1137 – 22 January 1188), was a member of the Castilian cadet branch of the House of Ivrea and King of León and Galicia from 1157 until his death. Life Family Born in Toledo, Castile, Ferdinand was the third but second surv ...

after Alfonso's death (1157), but he died in a Castilian civil war in 1160.

Early military career (1124–1138)

Osorio was the second son of Martín Flaínez of the Flagínez family and Sancha Fernández.Simon Barton, ''The Aristocracy in Twelfth-century León and Castile'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 271–72, contains a ''curriculum vitae''. In 1124 Osorio was granted the '' tenencia'' of Melgar de Abajo. In 1126 he joined the other noblemen of the Leonese province in swearing an oath of fealty to the new king

at the capital city of León. Five years later (1129) he received Malgrat. The next year (1130) he received the ''tenencias'' of ''Riba Cetera'' and Villamayor, later also that of Ribera, but these he lost sometime between 1135 and 1137. As early as 1131 he was governing Mayorga and by 1135 the

Liébana Liébana is a ''Comarcas of Cantabria, comarca'' of Cantabria (Spain). It covers 575 square kilometres and is located in the far southwest of Cantabria, bordering Asturias, León (province), León and Palencia (province), Palencia. It is made up o ...

as well. In 1130 he and his brother

Rodrigo Rodrigo is a Spanish, Portuguese and Italian name derived from the Germanic name '' Roderick'' (Gothic ''*Hroþareiks'', via Latinized ''Rodericus'' or ''Rudericus''), given specifically in reference to either King Roderic (d. 712), the last Vi ...

were dispatched to besiege the rebel Pedro Díaz in a place called ''Valle''. The ''Chronica Adefonsi'' records the campaign:

The King of León ordered Count Rodrigo Martinez and his brother Osorio to go to León. They were to attack Pedro Díaz who was rebelling in Valle. Díaz had with him a large number of knights and soldiers. Rodrigo and Osorio arrived there and encircled the castle. Those inside continued to shout insults at Rodrigo and his brother because they were unable to counterattack them successfully. When this was reported to Alfonso VII, he hurried to the town of Valle. He commanded that mantlets and numerous other war machines be constructed around the castle. The King's forces commenced to hurl rocks and arrows at those inside. Subsequently, the castle walls were completely destroyed.

Rise and fall (1138–1147)

In July 1138 Rodrigo died at the Siege of Coria and the king immediately appointed Osorio

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

(''comes'') in his place and granted his ''tenencias'' of León, Aguilar, Campos, and perhaps Zamora.Barton, 117–18. Osorio and his brother's erstwhile vassals carried Rodrigo's body to the city of León for burial in the family mausoleum beside his parents. There they buried him in a church next to the Cathedral of Santa María, possibly the monastery of San Pedro de los Huertos, which his parents had received by a royal grant of

Urraca of Zamora Urraca of Zamora (1033/34 – 1101/03) was a Leonese ''infanta'', one of the five children of Ferdinand I the Great, who received the city of Zamora as her inheritance and exercised palatine authority in it. Her story was romanticized in the ' ...

and

Elvira of Toro Elvira (1038 or 1039 – 15 November 1101) was a Leonese '' infanta'' and the Lady of Toro, Zamora, the daughter of Ferdinand I of León and Castile and Sancha of León, and granddaughter-namesake of Elvira Menéndez, and also an aunt of ...

in 1099. Osorio held numerous property interests in the city of León. Osorio's succession to his brother and the burial of Rodrigo are recorded in the ''Chronica Adefonsi'':

Alfonso gathered all of his advisors, and in their presence, he appointed Osorio, Rodrigo's brother, to be consul in his place. . . . Count Osorio, the new consul, took the body of his brother to León. He was accompanied by his own military force and by that of his brother. The mourning over the death of Rodrigo Martínez increased in every city. In León they buried him with honors in his father's tomb near the Basilica of Saint Mary. The tomb is located very near the episcopal throne.

Sometime before 28 January 1141, Osorio married Teresa, daughter of

Fernando Fernández de Carrión Fernando Fernández or Fernán Fernándiz de Carrión (''fl.'' 1107–1125) 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 Fern ...

and Elvira, a daughter of

Alfonso VI of León Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

. She bore him five daughters and three sons: Aldonza, Constanza, Elvira, Fernando, Gonzalo, Jimena (second wife of Rodrigo Gutiérrez Girón), Rodrigo, and Sancha. (Calderón Medina and Ferreira suggest an additional child, Portuguese nobleman Monio Osores of Cabreira and Ribeira.) From January 1139 to the summer of 1141 Osorio was regularly at court. On 22 February 1140 he was at Carrión de los Condes to witness the treaty between Alfonso VII and

Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona Ramon Berenguer IV (; c. 1114 – 6 August 1162, Anglicized Raymond Berengar IV), sometimes called ''the Saint'', was the count of Barcelona who brought about the union of the County of Barcelona with the Kingdom of Aragon to form the Crown of Ara ...

. But in the summer of 1141 he fell from favour and his ''tenencias'' were confiscated (Melgar, Malgrat, Mayorga, Liébana, León, Aguilar, Campos, Zamora). Among the few ''tenencias'' he was left with were Peñafiel (1146), Villafrechós (1147–59), Villalobos (1147–59), Becilla de Valderaduey (1151–57), Cotanes (1155), and

Arales ''Arales'' is an order of flowering plants. The name was used in the Cronquist system for an order placed in subclass ''Arecidae'', circumscribed as (1981): * order ''Arales'' *: family '' Acoraceae'' *: family ''Araceae'' *: family ''Lemnaceae' ...

(1157). After June 1142 Osorio rarely visited the royal court. In May 1146 he visited the court of Alfonso I of Portugal, perhaps as an exile.

Later life (1147–1160)

By 1147 Osorio was back in favour. He granted ''

fuero (), (), () or () is a Spanish legal term and concept. The word comes from Latin , an open space used as a market, tribunal and meeting place. The same Latin root is the origin of the French terms and , and the Portuguese terms and ; all ...

s'' to the villages of Benafarces and

Villalonso Villalonso is a municipality located in the province of Zamora, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 116 inhabitants. In 1147 Osorio Martínez granted a ''fuero'' to Villalonso with ...

with the approval of the king. The villages in turn were required to make an annual payment in kind of half a

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

, ten loaves of bread, some

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

, and some must. Later that year he accompanied Alfonso VII on expeditions to Calatrava and

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city g ...

. On 22 October 1148 he granted the village of Mansilla Mayor to Juan Juliánez and his wife Sol in recognition of their faithful service to him. That same year Osorio and his wife made a donation to the monastery of Gradefes and received in return a

greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...

. In 1159 Osorio and Teresa granted a third of the tithes of the churches of Villalonso, Benafarces, Carvajosa, ''Grallarejos'' and Pozoantiguo, which they claimed to own by hereditary right, to the Cathedral of Zamora.Barton, 188, cf. also his text of the document on pp. 318–19. They also patronised the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monasteries at Aguilar (1141) and Sahagún (1123) and the monastery of Vega, which belonged to the Order of Fontevraud (1147). Osorio died at the hands of his son-in-law, Fernando Rodríguez de Castro, husband of his daughter Constanza, at the

Battle of Lobregal The Battle of Lobregal took place in March 1160 between the House of Lara and its allies and the forces of the House of Castro under Fernando Rodríguez de Castro.Simon Barton (1997), ''The Aristocracy in Twelfth-Century León and Castile'' (Cambri ...

in March 1160, fighting on the side of the

House of Lara The House of Lara (Spanish: ''Casa de Lara'') is a noble family from the medieval Kingdom of Castile. Two of its branches, the Duques de Nájera and the Marquesado de Aguilar de Campoo were considered Grandees of Spain. The Lara family gained n ...

in the civil war for control of the

regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of the young Alfonso VIII. Osorio's widow continued to rule Villalobos, at least until 3 November 1167. She also made property grants to the

Hospitallers The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

in 1161 and 1163.

Early military career (1124–1138)

Rise and fall (1138–1147)

Later life (1147–1160)

Notes

Further reading