Muñoz, Jimena (c. 1065–1128)

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Muñoz, Jimena (c. 1065–1128)

Mistress of Alphonso VI, king of Castile and Leon, and mother of Teresa of Castile. Name variations: Munoz, Muñiz, or Múñoz. Born around 1065; died in 1128; probably daughter of Count Monnio (Muño) Muñiz and Velasquita, an aristocratic couple from the region of Bierzo; began liaison with Alphonso VI (c. 1030–1109), king of Castile and Leon, around 1080; children: Elvira (who married Raymond IV of Toulouse, count of St. Giles, and died after 1151); Teresa of Castile (c. 1080–1130), countess of Portugal.

Capture of Toledo by Alphonso VI (1085); capture of Valencia by El Cid (1094); Urban II called for First Crusade (1095); death of El Cid (1099); surrender of Valencia to Almoravids (1102); death of Raymond of Burgundy (1107); death of Sancho at battle of Uclés (1108); death of Alphonso VI (July 1, 1109); death of Alphonso I the Battler (1134).

Very little is known with certainty about the life of Jimena Muñoz. Medieval chronicles make little mention of her, except that she and Alphonso VI, king of Castile and Leon, had two illegitimate daughters. But those chronicles provide little information at all on women, including the legitimate queens. Nonetheless, Jimena was an important figure in Castile around 1100 because her daughter Teresa of Castile laid the groundwork for Portuguese independence and because Alphonso VI appointed Jimena to political positions rarely accorded a woman who was not part of royalty. "During all his life, she maintained [Alphonso's] favor," writes Augusto Quintana Prieto, "and continued governing uninterrupted in the imposed castle of Ulver and in all its jurisdiction."

Bits and pieces of documentary evidence indicate that Jimena's parents were probably Count Monnio Muñiz and Velasquita , an aristocratic couple from the region of Bierzo. Jimena had three brothers (García, Pelayo, and Pedro) and a sister (Marina ). She was probably born in Corollún around 1065, given that her two daughters by Alphonso seem to have been born between 1078 and 1083. There are indications that she was related to the king's first wife Agnes of Poitou (1052–1078) and may have accompanied her as a lady-in-waiting to court, where she caught the king's eye. At any rate, Agnes died on June 6, 1078, and Alphonso did not remarry until 1080, to Constance of Burgundy (1046–c. 1093).

By 1085, Jimena had apparently left court and returned to Bierzo. The king provided for his lover and their two daughters by granting Jimena the tenencia (tenancy and lieutenantship) of Ulver and the counties of Astorga Bierzo. She held these territories and their castles, despite opposition from other Leonese aristocrats, until Alphonso's death in 1109. Her father Monnio helped her govern these jurisdictions. She made several donations of land to religious institutions, including the cathedral in Astorga and the monastery of San Pedro de Montes. Upon her death in 1128, she was buried in the San Andrés de Espinareda monastery.

Nonetheless, Jimena's chief influence upon history was her daughter Teresa. Although Alphonso always accorded Teresa of Castile and her sister Elvira respect as infantas (princesses), he never legitimized them. He did, however, arrange Teresa's marriage to Henry of Burgundy (a nephew of Queen Constance) and made them count and countess of Portugal. When Alphonso VI died without a male heir in 1109, his daughter Urraca (c. 1079–1126) became ruler of Castile and Leon. Teresa and Henry resented Urraca's good fortune and her refusal to recognize their claims to Toledo, which they believed Alphonso had meant for them. They consequently resisted Urraca, the eventual result being the independent monarchy of Portugal established by Teresa's son Alphonso I Enriques in 1139.