Pedro Fernández de Castro (died 1214)

Pedro Fernández de Castro "the Castilian" (c. 1160 – 18 August, 1214, Morocco) was a Castilian nobleman, son of Fernando Rodríguez de Castro and Estefanía Alfonso la Desdichada (Stephanie "The Unfortunate"). He inherited the Infantazgo of León from his parents and was mayordomo mayor of Fernando II and his son Alfonso IX of León.

Born around 1160, Pedro Fernández de Castro was the son of Fernando Rodríguez de Castro "the Castilian", a member of the House of Castro, son of Rodrigo Fernández de Castro and his wife Elo Álvarez, daughter of Álvar Fáñez and Mayor Pérez. His mother, Stephanie "the Unfortunate", was an illegitimate daughter of King Alfonso VII of León and his mistress Urraca Fernández de Castro. As such, he was the nephew of Ferdinand II of León and Sancho III of Castile, and first cousin of Alfonso VIII of Castile and Alfonso IX of León.

In 1180, his mother, Stephanie Alfonso "The Unfortunate", was murdered by his father, Fernando Rodríguez de Castro, who believed his wife was being unfaithful with another man. After murdering his wife, he realized that he had been wrong and asked King Fernando II, his wife's half-brother, for forgiveness.

After his father died in 1185, Fernández de Castro inherited parental property, including the lordship of Trujillo comprising numerous fortresses and towns in Extremadura and the Infantazgo of León which King Fernando II had given his parents in 1170. He also declared himself a vassal of his cousin King Alfonso VIII of Castile to whom he gave the lordship of Trujillo which the king then gave to the Order of Santiago in 1187, together with half of his income so that the order could populate the territories between the Tajo and the Guadiana. A year later, in 1187, he stipulated in his will that if he died without heirs, all his castles located in Extremadura and León would become the property of the Order of Santiago. In 1187, he donated Peña Falcón castle to the Order of Alcántara, in favor of his uncle, Fernando Díaz, while the Order of Santiago was given the castles of La Solana and Santa Cruz de los Cáñamos located in the present province of Ciudad Real.

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