Fernando de Toledo (–1591) was a Spanish nobleman. He was the illegitimate and first son of Don

Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba (29 October 150711 December 1582), known as the Grand Duke of Alba (, ) in Spain and Portugal and as the Iron Duke () or shortly 'Alva' in the Netherlands, was a Spaniards, Spanish noblema ...

, "The Iron Duke", who fathered Fernando de Toledo upon the daughter of a miller of La Aldehuela, in the

province of Ávila A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

, Spain. Not until 1546, when Fernando was nineteen years old, did the duke recognize Fernando as his son. This later became the subject of a comedy written by the great Spanish playwright Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio; the title of the play, "Más mal hay en La Aldegüela de lo que sueña" means approximately, "There are worse things in Aldehuela than you have dreamt of". Fernando Toledo was a prior of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious ...

in Castile and León. He was Captain General of the cavalry of

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, member of the Council of State, and (from 1571 to 1580)

Viceroy of Catalonia This is a list of Spanish viceroys (also called lieutenants) of the Principality of Catalonia from 1479 to 1713. *1479–1493: Enrique de Aragón *1493–1495: Juan de Lanuza y Garabito *1495–1496: Juan Fernández de Heredia *14 ...

, succeeding Diego Hurtado de Mendoza y de la Cerda (also known as Diego de Mendoza y de la Cerda, 2nd Count of Mélito, 1st Duke of Francavilla), who had been viceroy from 1564 to 1571.

Sources

* * 1520s births 1591 deaths Viceroys of Catalonia Spanish untitled nobility

Fernando Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, and former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa and Asia (like the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka). It is e ...

Knights Hospitaller 16th-century Spanish people {{Spain-noble-stub