Manuel of Castile (1234 – 25 December 1283, The first Lord of Villena and Peñafiel, Cuéllar, and Escalona, was an ''

Infante Infante (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as "infant" or translated as "prince", is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to the ...

'', son of

Ferdinand III of Castile Ferdinand III (; 1199/120130 May 1252), called the Saint (''el Santo''), was King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230 as well as King of Galicia from 1231. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berengaria of Castile. Through his ...

and his wife Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen.

Life

Born in Carrión de los Condes, the name Manuel was given to him to commemorate his maternal grandmother's roots in Imperial

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion () was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' continued to be used as a n ...

. He was granted the Seigneury of Villena in 1252, created for him to govern that lordship as "apanage" (a medieval micro-state that would return to the central crown if the minor lineage ends with no successor). This lordship would grow by receiving the cities around the Vinalopó River (Elda valley, Aspe, Crevillente, Elche). He also received the ''Adelantamiento'' of the Kingdom of Murcia. Manuel travelled to Italy in 1259 as part of the embassy sent by his father to Pope Alexander IV. Later, when his brother became king Alfonso X the Wise, served him as Alférez and Majordomo of the king. He died at Peñafiel in 1283 and was buried in the Monastery of Uclés. His son Juan Manuel, who succeeded him in Villena and Peñafiel among the others, and became prince of Villena, was a notable medieval writer. Manuel of Castile, as son of

, belonged to the royal House of Burgundy of Castile and León, but he was also the first of a new family branch, the House of Manuel of Villena.

Family

He married twice. His first wife, whom he married in 1260 in Soria was Constance of Aragon, daughter of

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( Catalan/Valencian: ''Jaume I or Jaume el Conqueridor''; Aragonese: ''Chaime I'' ''o Conqueridor''; ; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1 ...

. Two children were born of this marriage: * Alfonso Manuel (1260/1261–

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

, 1276), without issue. * Violante Manuel (1265–

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, 1314), lady of

Elche Elche (, ; , , , ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2024's data, Elche has a population of 234,800 inhabitants,

and

Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...

. Married circa 1287 to Afonso of Portugal, son of

Afonso III of Portugal Afonso IIIrare English alternatives: ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', or ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese), ''Alfonso'' or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician languages, Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin). (; 5 May 121016 February 1279), ca ...

. His second marriage after Constança's death was in 1274/1275 to Beatrice of Savoy, daughter of Amadeus IV of Savoy. One child was born of this marriage: * Juan Manuel (1282–1348), Prince of Villena, Duke of Penafiel and Lord of Escalona. Children from other women include: * Sancho Manuel (1283-after 1345), Lord of Infantado and Carrion. First married María Rodríguez de Castañeda, and then Inés Díaz de Toledo. With issues from both marriages. * Enrique Manuel (born circa 1272) * Blanca Manuel (born circa 1273)

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manuel Of Castile 1234 births 1283 deaths People from the Province of Palencia Castilian infantes Lords in Spain Lords of Cuéllar Manuel Juan Manuel Sons of kings