Alonso de Fonseca, Bishop of Ávila, Cuenca and Osma, and the Promotion in Castile of an Exiled Noble Family from Portugal during the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries

Abstract

This is a case study of the movement of noble élites in the Iberian kingdoms during the late Middle Ages. By the end of the fourteenth century, many Portuguese nobles sought exile in the kingdom of Castile where they achieved successful careers and advanced socially and politically. The aim of this article is to examine a case study of this process, focussing on a middle rank noble family, that of the Fonsecas, that took residence in the city of Toro, after the exile in Castile of Queen Beatriz. One curious aspect of this family is that many of its members were successful ecclesiastics, that occupied numerous episcopal sees in the kingdom of Castile, and were also influential in the papal court. This case study will centre on one of the lesser famous of these ecclesiastics, Alonso de Fonseca, who was bishop of Ávila, Cuenca and Osma. Special attention is given to the political aspects of his career in the city of Toro, and to his project of social and political promotion of his bastard son, Gutierre de Fonseca who became one of the most influential members of the noble oligarchy of Toro, especially after the defeat of the Comuneros, against which he fought.