Haro's House

Monument to Diego López de Haro in Bilbao.

The House of Haro was a lineage of the feudal nobility of the Crown of Castile, holders of the lordship of Vizcaya between the 10th and 14th centuries, origin of the later historical territory and province of Vizcaya, in the Basque country.

They took the surname de Haro after Alfonso VI of León granted Diego López the lordship of the town of Haro. Although the first appearance of the incorporation of the place name to his surname has been found in a deed from 1117, in which his son Lope Díaz appears with the following mention "Donus Didacus Lópiz de Faro& #34;.

Starting with Diego López de Haro el Bueno, the coat of arms of his house was modified, adding to the primitive saber wolves in a silver field, alluding to the name «Lope», the lambs crossed in the mouths of the wolves and the border with blades of San Andrés, alluding to his participation in the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa and the capture of Baeza.

One of the minor branches of the House of Haro is the House of Carpio.

Diego López I of Haro

Diego López I de Haro (circa 1075 – 1124) nicknamed el Blanco, son of Lope Íñiguez. He was the third lord of Biscay between 1093 and 1124. He populated the town of Haro, probably in the Villabona area, and incorporated the name of the town into his last name, the family being known by this name ever since. He supported Alfonso I, King of Aragon and Pamplona in the conquest of Zaragoza and in other battles.

He married María Sánchez, daughter of Count Sancho Sánchez de Erro and Countess Elvira García, with whom he had Lope Díaz.

Lope Diaz I de Haro

Lope Díaz I de Haro (circa 1110 – 1170), fourth lord of Biscay between 1124 and 1170. As his father, he continued to support Alfonso el Batallador until his death, at which time Alfonso VII of León, Alfonso's stepson and son of Raymond of Burgundy and Urraca, considered himself entitled to the succession. This, with the support of Lope Díaz, penetrated all of La Rioja, seizing it. After the death of Alfonso VII, Lope continued to serve his successor Sancho III of Castile, obtaining the title of Royal Ensign, as it appears since 1158.

She married Aldonza, who old writers say was the daughter of Rodrigo Fernández de Castro "el Calvo", although she does not appear in the documentation as the daughter of Castro and was possibly the daughter of Count Rodrigo Vélaz and the Countess Magpie Alvarez. Eleven children were born from this marriage, including Diego López II de Haro and Urraca López de Haro, wife of King Fernando II of León.

Diego López II of Haro

Diego López II de Haro said the Good or also the Bad (d. October 16, 1214). He is the son of Lope Díaz I de Haro, Count of Nájera (ca. 1126-1170) and Countess Aldonza. He was a major magnate in the Kingdom of Castile during the reign of Alfonso VIII (1158-1214). He played a decisive role in the rise of the Haro lineage as well as in the construction of the noble identity of this group, which was to dominate the Castilian, and later Castilian-Leonese, political society throughout the century XIII. A propaganda struggle around this key figure between his successors and the monarchy at a time of serious political unrest led to the late 13th century, to the elaboration of a black image and a golden legend, which ended in the elaboration of their opposite nicknames. He contracted two marriages: one with María Manrique de Lara (although some authors believe this marriage did not exist) and with All Perez de Azagra. He had about 9 children, including his successor in the lordship of Vizcaya, Lope Díaz II de Haro.

Lope Diaz II of Haro

Lope Díaz II de Haro, Cabeza Brava (d. 1236), sixth lord of Biscay between 1214 and 1236. He fought with his father in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, as well as with many expeditions against the Moors in Andalusia, the most important being the taking of Baeza in 1227.

He married Urraca Alfonso de León, daughter of King Alfonso IX of León. He had several children with her, among them: Diego López III de Haro, Sancho López de Haro, Lope López de Haro el Chico, Alonso López de Haro, grandfather of Juan Alfonso de Haro, lord of the Cameros, and Berenguela López de Haro, married to Rodrigo Gonzalez Giron.

He had three other children with Toda de Santa Gadea, a very noble lady and principal of the lineage of the Salcedos lords of Ayala, who were Mencía López de Haro queen of Portugal, wife of King Sancho II of Portugal, Lope Díaz de Haro, Bishop of Segovia and Diego López de Salcedo married to María Álvarez, daughter of Álvaro Fernández Potesta.

Diego López III de Haro

Diego López III de Haro (d. Baños de Rioja, 1254), seventh lord of Biscay between 1236 and 1254. In the early years he faithfully served King San Fernando against whom he rebelled on several occasions, later obtaining his pardon. He remained by his side until his death, after which Alfonso X of Castile came to the throne with whom Diego López continued in his position.

He was married to Constanza de Bearne and from their marriage they had five children: Lope Díaz III de Haro, who succeeded him in the lordship of Vizcaya, Diego López V de Haro, who also occupied it, Doña Urraca Díaz de Haro, who He married his second cousin Fernán Ruiz de Castro, Teresa de Haro, who married Don Juan Núñez I de Lara, to whose descendants the Biscayan Lordship came to end, and Sancha Díaz de Haro.

Lope Diaz III of Haro

Lope Díaz III de Haro (d. Alfaro, 1288), eighth lord of Vizcaya between 1254 and 1288. He succeeded his father in the lordship of Vizcaya while still a minor.

On April 21, 1282, Don Alfonso X the Wise was deposed from the kingdom, and Don Sancho, who was married to a sister of the wife of Don Lope Díaz III de Haro, was named King of Castile, for which reason Mr. de Vizcaya was a brother-in-law of King Don Sancho. This gave Lope great power, which together with his excessive ambition caused many problems for the king.

On June 8, 1288, Lope Díaz was in Alfaro and discussed issues of castles and women with Sancho IV. After the discussion became sour, Sancho ordered Lope de Haro to be arrested and it was then that Lope Díaz attacked the king with a knife, to which a knight of the king cut off his right hand with a greatsword and two blows with a mace ended his life.

He was married to Juana Alfonso de Molina, with whom he had two children, Diego López IV de Haro and María Díaz de Haro.

Diego López IV of Haro

Diego López IV de Haro (¿? – 1289), ninth Lord of Biscay between 1288 and 1289. With the death of his father, the clashes between Biscay and Castile began. Diego López joined Navarra and Aragón to fight Don Sancho and recognize Alfonso de la Cerda as King of Castile. The thing was complicated for him since several towns were falling into the hands of Don Sancho, among them Labastida, Orduña and Valmaseda. In this, Biscay responded to the call of Don Diego and armed its fortified houses and castles, naming him Lord of the Biscayan land. Finally Sancho occupied Vizcaya. The death of Diego López IV without children caused his inheritance to be disputed.

Diego López V of Haro

Diego López V de Haro (circa 1250 – 1310), nicknamed the Intruder and brother of Lope Díaz III de Haro. Lord of Vizcaya between the years 1295 and 1310. On April 25, 1295, Don Sancho the Brave died and Don Diego López de Haro V taking advantage of the disturbances of the Court in the minority of Fernando IV, entered Vizcaya and took it without resistance without being able to oppose the legitimate lady of Vizcaya, Mrs. María Díaz I de Haro, because her husband the infant Don Juan was still in prison since the Alfaro catastrophe (where Lope Díaz III de Haro died).

When the Infante Don Juan was released, he tried to get the Manor returned to him and when he failed, he joined other discontents, to fight against the regent queen María de Molina, who was defended by Diego López de Haro V. Don Diego López de Haro V converted the maritime village of Bilbao into a town on June 15, 1300. In March 1307, Diego López reached an agreement with María Díaz de Haro so that she would be his successor upon his death. As the war against the Moors continued, Diego López de Haro V was accompanying King Ferdinand IV, during the siege of Algeciras, where Diego died in the first days of January 1310.

Maria Diaz de Haro

María Díaz de Haro (d. November 3, 1342). Lady of Vizcaya between the years 1310 to 1322 and 1326 to 1334, married to the Infante Juan de Castilla el de Tarifa on January 10, 1287, she had Lope, who died young, Maria, who married Juan Núñez de Lara, and Juan de Haro, called "el Tuerto".

The skirmishes between the country's lineages continued and María Díaz de Haro withdrew for a while from public affairs, leaving her son Juan in charge of the manor. After her son Juan de ella was assassinated, by order of Alfonso XI, María Díaz left Castilla. Alfonso XI tried to seize the Señorío de Vizcaya, and he pretended to get it cunningly through the mediation of Garcilaso II de la Vega, who visited Doña María, but her right remained standing.

Juan de Haro

Juan de Haro, the One-Eyed (d. 1326). He lord of Vizcaya between the years 1322 and 1326. On October 31, 1326 he was assassinated in Toro by order of King Alfonso XI. He was the father of María Díaz II de Haro.

Maria Diaz II of Haro

María Díaz II of Haro (d. 1348). Lady of Vizcaya between the years 1334 and 1348. Her husband was Juan Núñez III de Lara. At the beginning of his lordship, Alfonso XI tried again to seize it, declaring a real civil war between Castilians and Biscayans, and since peace was convenient for the king and Juan Núñez de Lara, they reached an agreement and Alfonso gave up his efforts.

On September 16, 1348, she died, shortly after giving birth to her son Nuño. When she died, her husband, Juan Núñez de Lara, who died in 1350, continued with the Señorío de Vizcaya. Her children were Juana de Lara, who would be the wife of Tello de Castilla and lady of Vizcaya, Lope Díaz de Haro, who died young without issue, Isabel de Lara and Nuño Díaz de Haro, the latter, while still a child, inherited the Señorío de Vizcaya. In this the King Don Pedro tried to seize the child Nuño, but the Biscayans protected him by putting him in safety with the lady who raised him called Doña Mencía, but not without the King pursuing him to Santa Gadea. He died at the age of 5 years.

Mythology

In the XVI century, stories about the origin of the Lords of Biscay are collected. Referring to Diego López de Haro, he says the following: «Don Diego López de Haro was a very good mountaineer, and while he was at the stop one day waiting for the wild boar to come, he heard a woman singing in a loud voice on top of a grief; and he went to her very strongly and asked her who he was; and she told him that she was a woman of a very high lineage, and he told her that she was a woman of a very high lineage that he would marry her if she wanted, because he was lord of that land; and she told him that she would do it, but on condition that she promised never to cross herself, he granted it, and she went away with him. This lady was very beautiful and very well made all over her body, except that she had one foot like a goat's. They lived together for a long time and had two children, male and female, and the son was named Íñigo Guerra».