Lords of Biscay

Lordship of Biscay
Señorío de Vizcaya Bizkaiko jaurerria
Vassal first of the Kingdom of Navarre, then of the Kingdom of Castile
c.1040–1876
Coat of arms
The Lordship of Biscay and its three constituent parts
Capital		Bermeo (1476–1602) Bilbao (1602–1876)
Government		Lordship
Historical era		Middle Ages
•	Established	c.1040
•	Abolition of the Juntas Generales	1876
Succeeded by Biscay

The Lordship of Biscay (Spanish: Señorío de Vizcaya, Basque: Bizkaiko jaurerria) was a period of feudal rule in the region of Biscay in the Iberian Peninsula between c.1040 and 1876 and ruled by a political figure known as Lord of Biscay. One of the Basque señoríos, it was a territory with its own political organization, with its own naval ensign, consulate in Bruges and customs offices in Balmaseda and Urduña, from the 11th Century until 1876, when the Juntas Generales were abolished. Since 1379, when John I of Castile became the Lord of Biscay, the lordship got integrated into the Crown of Castile, and eventually the Kingdom of Spain.

The first explicit reference to the foundation of the Biscayan lordship is in the Livro de Linhagens, written between 1323 and 1344 by Pedro Afonso, Count of Barcelos. It is an entirely legendary account. The book narrates the arrival in Biscay of a man named Froom, a brother of the King of England, who had expelled him from his kingdom. Froom along him his son, Fortun Froes, defeat the Asturians in Busturia. Froom is killed in battle, his son was named the first Lord of Biscay. The Count of Barcelos then lists six additional mythical lords, before he comes to Lope, the historical late-11th century lord, Lope Íñiguez. A notable story among these accounts, which bears some resemblance to the Melusine legend, is that of the Lady of Biscay (La Dama de Viscaya), a beautiful stranger found in the countryside by Lord Diego López. She joins him only when he agrees to certain conditions, but he later violates these and she flees into the country with their daughter. Diego López is subsequently captured by Moors, and their son Enheguez Guerra seeks out his mother for help. She gives him a horse, Pardalo, with whom he frees his father and is subsequently successful in all his battles. The later lords are said to have made sacrifices at Busturia in thanks for these events, their failure to do so resulting in attacks on the lords and townsmen by a mysterious knight.