Talesa, Talèse, Talèze, or Ataresa (died after 1136) was an

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

ese noblewoman and regent. She was the daughter of

Sancho Ramírez, Count of Ribagorza Sancho Ramírez (before 10431105/November 1110) was an illegitimate son of King Ramiro I of Aragon and Amuña, the firstborn and brother of his namesake who would inherit the throne and reign as Sancho Ramírez. Biographical sketch Even though h ...

, natural brother of King

Sancho Ramírez Sancho Ramírez ( 1042 – 4 June 1094) was King of Aragon from 1063 until 1094 and King of Pamplona from 1076 under the name of Sancho V (). He was the eldest son of Ramiro I and Ermesinda of Bigorre. His father was the first king of Aragon ...

of Aragon and Navarre, and member of the royal

Jiménez dynasty The Jiménez dynasty, alternatively called the Jimena, the Sancha, the Banu Sancho, the Abarca or the Banu Abarca, was a medieval ruling family which, beginning in the 9th century, eventually grew to control the royal houses of several kingdoms ...

. She married Gaston IV of Béarn and acted as regent of the viscounty of

Béarn Béarn (; ; or ''Biarn''; or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in Southwestern France. Along with the three Northern Basque Country, ...

during his absences on

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

in 1096-1101, and after his death for their son in 1131-1134 and her grandson until at least 1136.

Life

She was married towards 1085 in a move by Gaston's father

Centule V of Béarn Centule (; ; , or ''Centulus''; ; ) is a masculine given name common in southern France and northern Spain during the Middle Ages. *Centule I, Count of Astarac () *Centule II, Count of Astarac () *Centule III, Count of Astarac () *Centule IV, Count ...

to expand his influence across the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

by allying himself with the ruling house of

and

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

. She brought as a dowry the viscounty of Montaner, a small country in the neighbourhood of

Bigorre Bigorre (; Gascon: ''Bigòrra'') is a region in southwest France, historically an independent county and later a French province, located in the upper watershed of the Adour, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, part of the larger region k ...

. Between 1096 and 1101, while Gaston participated in the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

, Talesa governed Béarn with the help of a baronial council. This scenario was repeated several times more during her husband's frequent military ventures in Aragon. Like many of her day, she found her way into historical records primarily through the foundation and endowment of religious establishments. On the death of Gaston in 1131, Talesa took up the regency for her young son Centule VI. Centule died in the

Battle of Fraga The Battle of Fraga was a battle of the Spanish Reconquista that took place on 17 July 1134 at Fraga, Aragon, Spain. The battle was fought between the combined forces of King Alfonso I of Aragon and Viscount Centule VI, Viscount of Béarn, Ce ...

in 1134 and the viscounty passed to the son, Peter II, of Guiscarda, Talesa and Gaston's eldest daughter. Peter II being a mere boy, Talesa continued in the regency for him until at least 1136. In that same year, Aragon and Navarre experienced a succession crisis, as Talesa's cousin

Alfonso the Battler Alfonso I (7 September 1134), called the Battler or the Warrior (), was King of Aragon and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre from 1104 until his death in 1134. He was the second son of King Sancho Ramírez and successor of his brother Peter I of Arago ...

died without heirs and leaving a testament by which his realm was to pass to the military religious orders. The two kingdoms split and the throne of Aragon was contested by Ramiro the Monk, the dead king's brother, and

Alfonso VII 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. ...

, a more distant relative. Talesa sided with Ramiro, who in turn surrendered to her the lordships of (a part of)

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

and

Uncastillo Uncastillo ( Aragonese: Uncastiello) is a municipality in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, eastern Spain. At the 2010 census,Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain) it had a population of 781. Along with Sos d'o Rei Catolico, Exeya d'os Ca ...

which he had inherited from Gaston. After papal intervention, the conflict was finally settled in favour of

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 and the consort of Aragon who brought about the union of the County of Barcelona with the Kingdom of Arag ...

, who, to recover good relations with Béarn, granted Talesa the fiefs of

Huesca Huesca (; ) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon between 1096 and 1118. It is also the capital of the Spanish Huesca (province), ...

and Bespen with rights over the

Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar () is a Catholic church in the city of Zaragoza, Aragon. It is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of the Pillar, praised as "Mother of the Hispanic Peoples" by Pope ...

in Zaragoza, where Gaston lay buried. He also gave Peter II a Catalan princess for a bride and thus brought Béarn within the Catalan sphere of influence. Talesa died sometime after 1136. Aside from Centule and Guiscarda, she had another daughter who died young and is only known from a first initial, N. She also had a first son named Centule who died before 1128, predeceasing Gaston's heir.

Sources

* Tucoo-Chala, Pierre. ''Quand l'Islam était aux portes des Pyrénées''. Biarrtiz: J&D Editions, 1994. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Talesa of Aragon 11th-century births 12th-century deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 11th-century women regents 12th-century women regents Regents of Spain

Talesa Talesa, Talèse, Talèze, or Ataresa (died after 1136) was an Aragonese noblewoman and regent. She was the daughter of Sancho Ramírez, Count of Ribagorza, natural brother of King Sancho Ramírez of Aragon and Navarre, and member of the royal Jim� ...

Spanish untitled nobility 12th-century French nobility 12th-century French women 11th-century Aragonese nobility 11th-century French women 11th-century French people 11th-century Spanish women 11th-century regents 12th-century regents