Mécia Lopes de Haro facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mécia Lopes de Haro
Coat-of-arms of Haro.
Queen consort of Portugal
Tenure	1246–1248
Born	c. 1215 Biscay
Died	c. 1270 Palencia
Burial	Santa María la Real of Nájera
Spouse	Álvaro Pérez de Castro Sancho II of Portugal
House	House of Haro House of Burgundy
Father	Lope Díaz II de Haro
Mother	Urraca Alfonso of León
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Mécia Lopes de Haro (around 1215–1270) was a noblewoman from Castile, a kingdom in what is now Spain. She was married twice. First, she married Count Álvaro Pérez de Castro. Later, she married King Sancho II of Portugal.

Her marriage to King Sancho was later cancelled by Pope Innocent IV. Because of this, historians sometimes disagree if she should be called a queen consort of Portugal. Mécia played a big part in a political problem in Portugal in 1245.

Early Life and Family

Mécia Lopes was born in Biscay, a region in northern Spain. Her father was Lope Díaz II de Haro, who was the lord of Biscay. Her mother was Urraca Alfonso of León. Urraca was a daughter of King Alfonso IX of León. This meant Mécia was a niece of the king of Castile at the time, Ferdinand III of Castile.

First Marriage and Heroism

On September 29, 1234, Mécia married Álvaro Pérez de Castro. He was an important noble who helped expand the Castilian kingdom. His first marriage had been cancelled a few years earlier. Mécia's sister, Teresa, also married a relative of a powerful family.

These marriages were between relatives, which sometimes caused problems with the king. King Ferdinand III took some of Álvaro's lands. However, the queens Berengaria of Castile and Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen helped solve the problem peacefully.

Mécia and Álvaro did not have any children. Their marriage put Mécia in the middle of battles near Cordoba. After the king captured Cordoba, he left Álvaro in charge of the fortress of Martos.

There was a shortage of food because of the fighting. Álvaro had to go to the king to ask for help. The king gave him special powers, like a king's representative, and money. But while Álvaro was away, his nephew and the soldiers left behind decided to attack enemy land. Mécia was left almost alone in Martos.

The Moorish ruler of Arjona saw this as a chance to attack. Mécia quickly sent a message to the missing soldiers. According to a Spanish historian, she then put on a soldier's armor and walked around the castle walls. The Moors thought they were facing armed men, not just women. They slowed down their attack, which gave the Christian soldiers time to return. The soldiers then launched a strong attack and defeated the Moors.

When Álvaro heard about the danger his wife had faced, he tried to return. But he became sick and died in 1239 or 1240.

Marriage to the King of Portugal

Mécia later married King Sancho II of Portugal. He was the son of Afonso II of Portugal and Queen Urraca of Castile. Some historians have questioned if this marriage was real, but a special letter from Pope Innocent IV confirms they were married. Most historians now agree they were.

We don't know the exact date or place of their wedding. It happened sometime between March 1243 and 1245.

Life at the Portuguese Royal Court

From the start, many people did not like Mécia's marriage to King Sancho. She was from a foreign land, and people worried she would bring too much influence from the powerful kingdom of Castile. Also, she was a widow, and she was the king's mother's first cousin. This made the marriage seem less ideal and too close by family ties.

Mécia was not a princess and did not have strong connections in Portugal or Castile. The king of Castile even seemed to abandon her after her first husband died. She made her situation worse by having many Castilian servants. This made it hard for Portuguese nobles to talk to the king through her. Because of this, both the nobles and the common people quickly disliked her. People even said the king was "bewitched" by her.

Problems in Portugal had started before Mécia arrived. King Sancho had won many battles against the Moors. He started replacing his old advisors with his army friends. This led to many conflicts and made the king look bad. Some historians even called this period "anarchy," meaning a time of great disorder.

Mécia arrived in Portugal just as this political trouble was beginning. A civil war eventually led to her husband losing his throne. People blamed her for his downfall. Later writers even said Sancho was a good king until he married her. However, these writings might be biased, as they tried to explain why the king was removed from power.

Marriage Annulled and King Deposed

The church leaders in Portugal were against the marriage. They saw it as a way to make the king look bad and speed up his removal. They were unhappy with the king for various reasons, including him taking back land that had been given to a monastery.

Pope Innocent IV sent a special letter to Afonso, Count of Boulogne. Afonso was the king's brother and wanted to be king himself. The Pope asked Afonso to bring soldiers from Boulogne to help the church in the Holy Land. This was likely a plan to allow Afonso to bring armed men to Lisbon.

Afonso was the next in line to be king if Sancho had no children. But if Mécia had a child, that could change. So, Afonso worked to separate the king and Mécia. He focused on their family relationship, as they were both related to Afonso I of Portugal. This was a relationship the church usually did not allow for marriage.

Afonso told the Pope about this. The Pope then sent a letter saying the kingdom was in a bad state. With complaints from Portuguese bishops, the Pope threatened to take "appropriate measures" if Sancho did not fix things. Sancho refused to leave his wife. So, the Pope followed through with his threat and cancelled the marriage.

King Removed and Queen Kidnapped

On July 24 and August 1, 1245, two more special letters from the Pope were sent. These letters said the king was removed from power. King Sancho asked his brother Afonso for help, even though Afonso's actions had led to his removal.

Then, something important happened to Mécia. A nobleman named Raimundo Viegas de Portocarreiro, along with men from the Count of Boulogne, entered the royal palace in Coimbra. They took Mécia from the king's bedroom and brought her to a palace in Vila Nova de Ourém.

Sancho was embarrassed by the kidnapping and could not get his wife back. He gave up his throne and fled to Toledo, where he died in 1248. His will did not mention his wife. This might mean he thought she was involved in the kidnapping. Later writers hinted at this too, but there is no clear proof from that time.

Later Life and Death

After being kidnapped, Mécia lived in Ourém. Records show she made several gifts of land there. She was protected by soldiers from the court and had good relationships with them. The leader of the town's castle had a name from Biscay, which suggests Mécia might have appointed him.

People say she owned lands in Torres Novas, Santa Eulália, and Ourém. A note in an old document also says Mécia held these lands. After this, her story becomes less clear. One historian said she left Ourém for Galicia, but this seems unlikely.

There is a document from February 24, 1257, that shows Mécia and a relative acting as executors for someone's will. This document suggests she was living in the Castile area at that time. A prince named Ferdinand, who lived there, became Mécia's only heir. He also argued over Sancho's inheritance.

According to tradition, Mécia died in 1270 in Palencia, where she owned land. She was buried in Nájera at the Santa Maria Benedictine convent, in the Chapel of the Cross. Her tomb is supported by four lions and has the coat of arms of Portugal. It shows a woman dressed in the style of Biscay.

Images for kids

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  Coat-of-arms of Haro.

See also

In Spanish: Mencía López de Haro para niños