Manrique Pérez de Lara (died 1164) was a magnate of the Kingdom of Castile and its regent from 1158 until his death. He was a leading figure of the House of Lara and one of the most important counsellors and generals of three successive Castilian monarchs: Alfonso VII (1126–57), Sancho III (1157–58) and Alfonso VIII (1158–1214).
Parentage Manrique's father was Pedro González de Lara (died 1130).Barton, 264–65, provides an overview of Manrique's immediate family, public career and important private acts with documentary source citations and a brief bibliography. Of Pedro's rule and Manrique's succession to his position of honour and leadership in the Reconquista, a contemporary writes: He took after his father in everything that he did. His father was Count Pedro of Lara, who ruled his own land for many years. The son also follows in all his father's footsteps. Still in the flower of youth, but enriched with honour and respected by the Emperor as is his nature, he was the upholder of the law, the worst scourge of the Moors.Prose translation in Barton and Fletcher, 261. Their verse numbering differs from that Lipskey, 176, The Poem of Almería, vv. 315–19, whose translation is reproduced here for comparison:He [Pedro] governed his own land for many years. His son followed in the steps of his father. For this reason he was enriched with honor in the flower of his youth and respected by the Emperor [Alfonso VII]. It was his rule to be witness to the law and to be an evil plague to the Moors. Manrique's mother Eva is of unknown parentage, but had previously been married to count García Ordóñez. Older historians speculated that she was daughter of Pedro Fróilaz de Traba and his wife Mayor de Urgell, in part to explain his political interests associated with the county of Urgell, but this is untenable.Sánchez de Mora, pp. 97-99 Her own non-Iberian name and that of her son ManriqueLatin Almanricus/Amalricus, French Aimery; see Menéndez Pidal de Navascués, 102, who spells Manrique's name in Spanish Almanric or Malric. seem to point to an origin north of the Pyrenees. Several theories have been put forward, including making her a daughter of Aimeric V, viscount of Rochechouart, one of the French barons who had joined the Siege of Tudela in 1087, or of Hugh II, Count of Empúries, and his wife Sancha de Urgell.Canal Sánchez-Pagín, pp. 757-758 The first mention of Manrique's parents' marriage dates from November 1127, and must have occurred after 1108, when García Ordóñez was killed.Barton, 229 n2. Manrique had three full brothers: Álvaro, Nuño and Rodrigo. He also had three half-siblings, Elvira and Fernando, children of his father's liaison with Queen Urraca, and count García Garcés de Aza, son of his mother's first marriage. Count Pedro had two documented daughters, Milia, wife of Gómez González de Manzanedo, and María. Their maternity is not explicitly documented, but at least Milia was probably a full sister of Manrique.Sánchez de Mora, pp. 202-203. Milia has traditionally been listed as daughter of Manrique, but a contemporary document makes her his sister, giving her the patronymic Petriz, i.e. daughter of Pedro. Barton, p. 280, gives Pedro another daughter by Eva, named Mayor, but she is not mentioned in Sánchez de Mora's exhaustive survey of the family.
Count and tenente (1145–1158) Between 26 December 1134 and 2 June 1137 Manrique served as alférez, that is, head of the military household, of Alfonso VII. This post was usually reserved for young noblemen with promising career prospects. In 1143 Manrique was granted the tenencia (or honor, a fief governed on behalf of the crown) of Atienza, and in 1144 he received those of Ávila,According to one historian he received Ávila in 1133, but the documentary sources to do not support this conclusion, Barton, 264 n10. Madrid and Toledo. Madrid he only governed until the next year (1145) and Ávila until 1150. On 21 August 1145 Manrique was made a count, the highest rank in the kingdom, by Alfonso VII in the ancient capital city of León. A charter survives that reads: "Manrique the same day this charter was made was made a count".Barton, 264 n4: Amalricus ipso die quo hec carta facta fuit factus comes. Although it was common for aristocratic sons to accede to the titles of their fathers on the latters' deaths, Manrique had to wait fifteen years to receive the comital title from the king. While he continued to rule Atienza and Toledo, he also received the tenencias of Medinaceli in 1146. That year Alfonso sent him, Ponce Giraldo de Cabrera, Ermengol VI of Urgell, and Martín Fernández de Hita to help the king's Muslim ally Sayf al-Dawla regain the cities of Baeza, Jaén and Úbeda.Chronica Adefonsi imperatoris, II, §191, in Lipskey 154–55. This they succeeded in doing, but they soon quarrelled with Sayf al-Dawla, was defeated in the battle of Albacete and killed.Barton, 175. In January 1147 Manrique played a key rôle in the capture of Calatrava, a fact the king acknowledged in a charter drawn up on 9 January. In August Manrique took part in the reconquest of Almería and its hinterland, which included the taking of Baeza, which he immediately received from the king as a tenencia.His rule in Baeza had begun by 18 August, cf. Barton, 151 n13. He is highly praised by the anonymous author of the Poema de Almería, who cites his splendour and generosity ahead of his wisdom and valour: Count Manrique, a sincere friend of Christ, valiant in warfare, is placed in charge of all these towns [Andújar, Baños, Bayona and Baeza]. He was liked by all, just as he was liked by the Emperor, so that he shone among the Saracens and Christians alike. Illustrious in reputation and beloved by all, bountiful and generous, he was niggardly to no man. He was skilled in arms, he possessed the mind of a sage, he delighted in battle and was a master of the science of war.Prose translation in Barton and Fletcher, 261. Their verse numbering differs from that Lipskey, 176, The Poem of Almería, vv. 305–14, whose translation is reproduced here for comparison:Count Manrique de Lara is made governor of these cities. He is a celebrated warrior and a true friend of Christ. He is pleasing to all including the Emperor, so that he stands out among the Moors and the Christians. Illustrious in his fame, he is loved by all. Splendid and generous, he was mean with no one. He was distinguished in the art of war, and he had the mind of a sage. He rejoiced in battle and possessed a great knowledge of military affairs. He imitated his father, Count Pedro de Lara, in all that he did. This emphasis was typical in the period, when generosity, munificence and prodigality were considered signs of greatness, and the rewarding of followers was essential to maintaining one's power.Barton, 91. In Baeza, Manrique's rule can be traced for a decade, until 1157. In 1148 he received the tenencia of Segovia. In November 1148 Manrique and others of his family donated some houses in Toledo, which he ruled at the time, to Gonzalo de Marañón. It is a sign of the diversity of his interests that he owned urban properties in the most important city in the kingdom.
In 1149 Manrique was entrusted with the tutorship of the king's eldest son and heir, the future Sancho III, who was raised in his household.This charge can be dated from 1 March that year, cf. Barton, 264 n6. Some indication of the size of Manrique's household—court is perhaps the better word—is given by the fact that he employed at least two individuals, Gonzalo Peláez and García Díaz, in the post of alférez in 1153 and 1156 respectively.Barton, 59. Manrique is also known to have employed a chaplain (capellanus). In 1153 this office was filled by a certain Sebastian, who was also acting as Manrique's scribe when needed. By November 1155 he had hired a clerk named Sancho who signed his documents as "chancellor".
In February 1152 Manrique encouraged the settlement of Balaguera and Cedillo in the Extremadura by dividing his property there amongst some settlers.This act appears, edited, in its original Latin, in Barton, 313–14. Sometime before December 1153, Manrique married Ermessinde, daughter of Aimeric II of Narbonne and a cousin of Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona. They had children: Aimerico, Ermengarda, Guillermo (William), María, Pedro and Sancha.Sánchez de Mora, 309-351. On 5 December 1153, in their first recorded action as husband and wife, Manrique and Ermessinde gave the village of Cobeta to the Benedictine monasteries of Arlanza, San Salvador de Oña and Santo Domingo de Silos,Barton names Silos on p. 264, but San Pedro de Cardeña on p. 60. and the cathedral of Santa María in Sigüenza, at the time under construction according to a Benedictine plan. The charter of this donation was drawn up by Sebastian. It survives with tags which once attached a seal, now lost.Barton, 60–61. It is possible, though unlikely, that the seal was a later addition and did not emanate from Manrique's chancery. Manrique may have been the first member of the Castilian nobility to employ a seal to authenticate documents. The royal chancery had only been employing them from 1146, though episcopal chanceries had already adopted them under French influence (1140).Menéndez Pidal de Navascués, 103. Manrique's marital connexion with the rulers of Narbonne may have influenced his decision, and his seal was probably based on the type used in Languedoc at the time. In 1163, when the chancery of the young Alfonso VIII adopted a seal, it was probably based on Manrique's. The earliest surviving aristocratic seal from Castile is one of Manrique's son Pedro, from document of 1179 drawn up at Calatayud.Barton, 60–61.Fletcher, 98 and 106 n92. A look at the earliest seals of Alfonso VIII and Pedro Manrique suggests that Manrique's own seal showed an armed, stylised, equestrian figure patterned after Anglo-French designs, but left-facing in the Mediterranean fashion.Menéndez Pidal de Navascués, 101–119.