Sancha of León

Sancha was a daughter of Alfonso V of León by his first wife, Elvira Menéndez.{{Sfn|Sánchez Candeira|1999|p=48}} She became a secular abbess of the Monastery of San Pelayo.

In 1029, a political marriage was arranged between her and count García Sánchez of Castile.Bernard F. Reilly, 26. However, having traveled to León for the marriage, García was assassinated by a group of disgruntled vassals. In 1032, Sancha was married to García's nephew and successor, Ferdinand I of Castile, when the latter was 11 years old.

At the Battle of Tamarón in 1037 Ferdinand killed Sancha's brotherJusto Pérez de Urbel and Ricardo Del Arco y Garay, Historia de España, vol. 6, España cristiana, comienzo de la reconquista (711-I038), 2d ed. Bermudo III of León,Reilly, Bernard F. 1982. [http://libro.uca.edu/urraca/urraca.htm The Kingdom of León-Castilla under Queen Urraca, 1109–1126, 3.] Princeton: Princeton University Press. making Sancha the heir and allowing Ferdinand to have himself crowned King of León. Sancha's own position as queen of León is unclear and contradictory. She succeeded to the throne of León as the heir of her brother and in her "own right"Janse, Sharon L. : [https://books.google.com/books?id=fF6IDAAAQBAJ&q=Philip+VI++joan+of+burgundy+regentb&pg=PA59 The Monstrous Regiment of Women] but despite this, she is not clearly referred to as queen regnant, and after the death of her husband the throne passed to her son, despite the fact that she was still alive.Janse, Sharon L. : [https://books.google.com/books?id=fF6IDAAAQBAJ&q=Philip+VI++joan+of+burgundy+regentb&pg=PA59 The Monstrous Regiment of Women]

Following Ferdinand's death in 1065 and the division of her husband's kingdom, she is said to have played the futile role of peacemaker among her sons.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

She was a devout Catholic, who, with her husband, commissioned the crucifix that bears their nameGómez-Moreno, María Elena (1947). Mil Joyas del Arte Español. Barcelona: Instituto Gallach. as a gift for the Basilica of San Isidoro.Sureda, Joan (1988). Historia Universal del Arte: Románico/Gótico. Barcelona: Editorial Planeta

Sancha had five children:

• Urraca of Zamora{{Sfn|Sánchez Candeira|1999|p=226}}
• Sancho II of León and Castile{{Sfn|Sánchez Candeira|1999|p=227}}
• Elvira of Toro{{Sfn|Sánchez Candeira|1999|p=227}}
• Alfonso VI of León and Castile{{Sfn|Sánchez Candeira|1999|p=227}}
• García II of Galicia{{Sfn|Sánchez Candeira|1999|p=227}}

She died in the city of León on 8 November 1067. She was interred in the Royal Pantheon of the Basilica of San Isidoro,{{Cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gpJADwAAQBAJ&pg=PA132 |title=Alfonso VI: Imperator totius orbis Hispanie|chapter=Infantas y reinas en la corte de Alfonso VI|last1=Martiala Sacristán|first1=Teresa |last2=Suárez Bilbao |first2=Fernando |date=2010-12-20 |publisher=Editorial Sanz Y Torres S.l.|others=Suarez, Fernando and Gambra, Andrés, coord. |isbn=9788492948451 |pages=132 |language=es |df=mdy-all}} along with her parents, brother, husband, and her children Elvira, Urraca and García.{{cite journal |url=http://arqarqt.revistas.csic.es/index.php/arqarqt/article/view/167/194 |title=San Isidoro de León. Construcción y reconstrucción de una basílica románica |trans-title=San Isidoro de León. Construction and reconstruction of a Romanesque basilica |first1=Maria Ángeles |last1=Utrero Agudo |first2=J. I. |last2=Murillo Fragero |journal=Arqueología de la Arquitectura |issue=11 |page=14 |doi=10.3989/arq.arqt.2014.011 |date=2014-12-30 |publisher=Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Universidad del País Vasco |language=es |df=mdy-all|doi-access=free |hdl=10261/192759 |hdl-access=free }}

File:PanteónSanIsidoroLeón.jpg

The following Latin inscription was carved in the tomb in which were deposited the remains of Queen Sancha:{{cite web |url=https://www.academia.edu/7126460 |title=La inscripción como imagen de poder en la Edad Media. El caso de Fernando I de León y su esposa doña Sancha |first=Noemi |last=Álvarez da Silva |year=2013 |language=es |publisher=University of León |via=Academia.edu |format=PDF |page=12}}

"H. R. SANCIA REGINA TOTIUS HISPANIAE, MAGNI REGIS FERDINANDI UXOR. FILIA REGIS ADEFONSI, QUI POPULAVIT LEGIONEM POS DESTRUCTIONEM ALMANZOR. OBIIT ERA MCVIIII. III N. M."

Which translates to:

"Here lies Sancha, Queen of All Spain, wife of the great king Ferdinand and daughter of king Alfonso, who populated León after the destruction of Almanzor. Died in the one thousand one hundred eighth era on the third nones of May [5 May 1071]."

{{Reflist|30em}}

• Blanco Lozano, Pilar. Colección diplomática de Fernando I (1037–1065). León: Centro de Estudios e Investigación «San Isidoro» (CSIC-CECEL) y Archivo Histórico Diocesano, 1987. {{ISBN|84-00-06653-7}}.
• {{cite book|last =Sánchez Candeira|first = Alfonso|title = Castilla y León en el siglo XI, estudio del reinado de Fernando I| year = 1999|orig-year=1950|editor = Rosa Montero Tejada| publisher = Real Academia de la Historia|location = Madrid|language=ES|isbn =978-84-8951241-2}}

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{{S-bef|before=Jimena of Castile}}

{{S-ttl|title=Queen consort of León|years=1037–1065}}

{{S-aft|after=Alberta}}

{{S-end}}

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{{Leonese royal consorts}}

{{Castilian consorts}}

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Category:Astur-Leonese dynasty

Category:House of Jiménez

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Category:1010s births

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Category:Burials in the Royal Pantheon at the Basilica of San Isidoro

Category:Leonese infantas

Category:Spanish beatified people

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