Leonor López de Córdoba
Name: Leonor López de Córdoba
Description:
Calatayud (Zaragoza), 1362-1363 – Córdoba, c. 1430. She was Catalina of Lancaster’s first maid. She was born in Calatayud about 1362. Her parents were Sancha Carrillo y Martín López de Córdoba, Grand Master of Calatrava and Alcántara who served Pedro I. Her father remained loyal to the King during the dinastic fight against Enrique de Trastámara. As a consequence, when Pedro I was defeated, Martín López was executed and the family fell out of favor. Leonor and her relatives were imprisioned in the Atarazanas of Seville, after having all their goods confiscated. This terrible experience made Leonor constantly struggled in order to recover her heritage and honour. This effort finished when she joined the court. Leonor got a lot of power because of becoming the queen’s counselor. This position helped to improve the family status, but, at the same time, such an achievement was the origin of her misfortune. The historians of the time have testified about the hostily experimented by important members of the government, like Fernando of Antequera, against Leonor. They considered that Leonor was a negative influence for the regent queen Catalina. After being permanently expelled from the court in 1412, she went away to Córdoba, where she consecrated herself to consolidating her heritage and strengthening her lineage. The Memorias of Leonor López de Córdoba, first women’s autobiography in castilian language, is the best testimony to approach her life until 1400. Gómez Pérez Patiño, a poet of the Cancionero de Baena, dedicated two texts to Leonor when she lost the royal favor.
Resources:- Real Academia de la Historia.
- PhiloBiblon.
- López de Córdoba, Leonor, Memorias, Sandra Álvarez Ledo (ed.), Clásicos Hispánicos EDOBNE, 2013.
- Perea Rodríguez, Óscar, "Leonor López de Córdoba y otras escritoras medievales poco conocidas", Harto de tanta porfía... [academic blog], 15/10/2018.
- RTVE. Mujeres en la Historia. Leonor López de Córdoba.
Quoted in:
Cancionero de Baena (Dutton PN1); Dutton, Brian y Joaquín González Cuenca, eds., Cancionero de Juan Alfonso de Baena, Madrid, Visor, 1993. The page http://cancionerovirtual.liv.ac.uk is not found now. Alternatively see BDTEA (Biblioteca Digital de Textos del Español Antiguo. Textos Poéticos Españoles).
- ID1477, PN1-351, "El fuego que es encubierto" (BDTEA).
- ID0524, PN1-352, "Sobre negro no ay tintura" (BDTEA).
Quoted by:
- Pérez Patiño, Gómez (ID1477; ID0524)
(Sandra Álvarez Ledo, CEU Vigo. Citation)
Rewritings:
Catalina de Lancaster. Primera princesa de AsturiasDoce años de regencia (crónica del siglo XV)
El condestable de Castilla
El valido del rey
La valida
Leonor y la tumba escondida