Garc�a de Medrano y Castej�n

In this Basque name, the first surname is Medrano and the second is Castejón.

García de Medrano y Castejón
Lord of San Gregorio
Coat of arms of the House of Medrano (1568)
Born	1550 Burgo de Osma-Ciudad de Osma
Died	1604 Valladolid
Noble family	House of Medrano
Father	García de Medrano y Vinuesa
Mother	Catalina de Castejón
Occupation	Knight of the Order of Santiago, Counselor of Orders, Counselor of Castile

García de Medrano y Castejón (c. 1550 – 1604) was a noble from the House of Medrano, lord of San Gregorio, a Knight of the Order of Santiago, author, lawyer, criminal judge in the Royal Audience and Chancery of Granada, prosecutor and minister of the Council of Orders, a member of the Royal Council of Castile and the Royal Council of Justice, and procurator in the Cortes for the city of Soria.

Background

The ancient and noble House of Medrano is recognized as one of the most powerful in the Sierra de Cameros and in Soria. The House of Medrano is listed under the Salvadores and Barnuevo lineages, incorporating them into the ancient 12 lineages of Soria [es]. The House of Medrano managed their lordships and maintained their main resources, maize cultivation and especially sheep farming. For the first six years of his life, García de Medrano y Castejón lived under the reign of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and subsequently Kings Philip II and Philip III of Spain.

García de Medrano y Castejón was born around 1550 in El Burgo de Osma, Soria, to Don García de Medrano y Vinuesa and Catalina de Castejón. His father had a carta ejecutoria of hidalguía from the Chancillería de Granada. His parents were the lords of San Gregorio (located in Almarza), a lordship and fortified castle in the Diocese of Osma-Soria. On September 1, 1552, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, issued the Carta Ejecutoria de Hidalguía to confirm the noble status of the Medrano family. Detailed genealogical records are presented to support the family's claim to nobility. The document, created in Valladolid and Arenas, Spain, concludes with official signatures and seals, affirming the noble status.

Education

García de Medrano y Castejón began his formal education in law at an early age. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Law and was subsequently admitted to the prestigious Colegio Mayor de San Bartolomé of Salamanca on March 1, 1573. During his time at the college, he demonstrated exceptional academic skill, quickly obtaining a licentiate degree and a PhD in Law. He remained at the Colegio Mayor de San Bartolomé until 1584, when he was appointed to a judicial position.

According to The History of the Old College of San Bartolomé, as noted by Ruiz y Vergara in Volume II, page 407:

Don García de Medrano, a native of San Gregorio..., son of Don García de Medrano and Doña Cathalina Castejón, was received on March 1, 1573. He graduated from the College with a degree in Law.

Career

On February 17, 1584, García de Medrano y Castejón was appointed as a criminal judge (alcalde del Crimen) in the Royal Audience and Chancery of Granada, taking over the position from Licentiate Escobar, who had moved to the Contaduría Mayor de Hacienda on December 23, 1583. However, during an inspection of the Chancery of Granada in 1591, he was suspended from his duties and exiled to Soria.

Late career and death

Eight years later, in 1599, García de Medrano y Castejón's career saw a revival when he was appointed as the prosecutor of the Council of Orders. He was sworn into this position at the court on May 4, 1599. His tenure as prosecutor was brief, as he soon took office as a minister of the Council of Orders on March 3, 1600. In recognition of his service, he was granted the habit of the Order of Santiago in the same year. On February 21, 1604, he was promoted to an extraordinary position in the Royal Council of Castile, remaining in this position until his death. Shortly before his death, he served as a procurator in the Cortes for the city of Soria. On August 23, 1604, while already ill, he requested to be granted the encomienda of Oca�a of the Order of Santiago.

Compilation of the Chapter Laws of the Order of Santiago

"The rule and establishment of the knighthood of Santiago of the Sword, with the history of its origin and principle thereof" by Garc�a de Medrano y Castejon (1627 edition)

In 1599, Don Garc�a de Medrano y Castej�n became a knight of the Order of Santiago. Don Garc�a held a seat in the Council of Orders since March 3, 1600. In 1600, he also received a habit of the Order of Santiago. He authored a book for the Order called "Regla y establecimientos de la Caballer�a de Santiago de la Espada: Historia y origen de ella," printed in Valladolid, by Juan S�nchez in 1603. A second edition of the book was made, entitled "La regla de la cavalleria de Santiago del Espada (The rule and establishment of the knighthood of Santiago of the Sword, with the history of its origin and principle thereof)," published in Madrid, 1627.

In year 1600, the Council of Orders met in the Chapel of Santa Ana of Madrid to appoint Don Garc�a de Medrano y Castejon to make changes to the laws within the Order of Santiago. Garc�a made significant changes to the laws within the Order of Santiago, compiled within a book he wrote for the Order. Medrano's work "Compilation of the Chapter Laws of the Order of Knighthood of Santiago of the Sword, Compiled and arranged by Licenciado Don Garc�a de Medrano, of the Royal Council of Justice" was published after his death in Madrid, 1605.

Cross of the Order of Santiago

On page 14, Garc�a de Medrano y Castejon himself explains:

"In compliance with the order of the Chapter, I reviewed all the laws of this book with great care and diligence, removing those that were no longer necessary, and in others, according to the changing times, increased the penalties for offenders. All the laws of the Kingdom, which say the same thing, were put in place for my temporal governance, and for the spiritual, what was established in the Holy Council of Trent was also included: all of which was seen and approved in the said Chapter. It has been beneficial work for the Order, and I am ready to serve it in whatever capacity I am entrusted with, with great pleasure. Don Garc�a de Medrano."

Philip III of Spain himself writes:

"the obligation We have to order and which pertains to the good governance of our subjects (to which with the help of God we strive to attend in all parts) calls us particularly to comply with much care in what concerns the good state of the Military Orders and to maintain as we do in their administration, care of the spiritual and temporal; and being as they are Religious Orders...it is of greater service to our Lord to preserve them in their good state and strive for them to grow in virtue and religion..."

King Philip III of Spain was the administrator of the Order of Chivalry of Santiago by Apostolic authority, he agreed to make some new establishments, and to smooth and correct some of the old ones, and leave the others as they were, and from all of them, to make a book, entrusted to Garc�a de Medrano y Castejon, to compile everything into one book in the form that follows, mandating, as he expressly command, that the said establishments contained in this book be kept, fulfilled, and executed with complete punctuality, according to God and the Order of Santiago.

Ancestry

1568 Shield of Garc�a Bravo de Medrano (Medrano, Lagunas, Bravo and Mendoza)

García de Medrano y Castejón was the son of Garcia de Medrano y Vinuesa, lord of the house of San Gregorio, born in Soria, Spain, and Catalina de Castejon. He was the grandson of Don Diego Lopez de Medrano y Mendoza, and Francisca de Vinuesa. García de Medrano y Castejón was the great–grandson of Don Garci Bravo de Medrano, Alcaide of Atienza, lord of San Gregorio, husband of Catalina de Mendoza, granddaughter of the II Count of Priego Juan Alfonso Carrillo.

García de Medrano y Castejón was the great–great–grandson of Don Diego López de Medrano y Salvadores, lord of San Gregorio, mayordomo mayor of King John II of Castile, and Dona Magdalena Bravo de Lagunas y Cienfuegos. García's great-grandfather Garci was the brother of the famous Latin professor Dona Luisa de Medrano. Through his great–great–grandmother Dona Magdalenda Bravo de Lagunas, García de Medrano y Castejón was a descendant of Don Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, progenitor of the Dukes of Medina Sidonia. García de Medrano y Castejón was the great–great–great–grandson of Diego López de Medrano and a lady from the House of Salvadores.

Royal ancestry

Through his 4th–grandmother Urraca Alonso, García de Medrano y Castejón was a descendant of the Kings of Castile and Leon. García's great–great–grandfather Juan Alfonso Carrillo, II Count of Priego, was the son of the first count of Priego, Alfonso Ruiz Carrillo, granted by privilege in 1298 by King Ferdinand IV of Castile.

García's great–great–great–grandfather Alfonso Ruiz Carrillo was the son of Garci Gómez Carrillo, Lord of Mazuelo, and of Urraca Alonso, daughter of Prince Alfonso de Molina, son of King Alfonso IX of León and his second wife Queen Berengaria of Castile. Prince Alfonso de Molina received the village of Priego as a dowry and other estates in the bishopric of Cuenca and in the land of Molina.

Marriage and heir

The Castle of San Gregorio (Casa Fuerte de San Gregorio) in the lordship of San Gregorio, built by Don Diego López de Medrano in 1461

García de Medrano y Castejón married María Álvarez de los Ríos in Seville. María was born in Seville and baptized in the parish of Santa María Magdalena on September 27, 1561. This marriage was the root and origin of one of the most extensive families of legal professionals in the service of the Monarchy during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Heir

García de Medrano y Castejón and María Álvarez de los Ríos had a namesake son and heir, Don García de Medrano y Álvarez de los Ríos (1604–1683). The grandchildren of García de Medrano y Castejón, descendants of García de Medrano y Álvarez de los Ríos and his wife included:

• Domingo de Medrano y Mendizábal (1650–1672): Judge of Grados in Seville (1672), rector of Salamanca University (1668)
• García de Medrano y Mendizábal (1652–1695): 1st Count of Torrubia, Mayor of hijosdalgo in Valladolid (1675), judge in Valladolid (1680), mayor of Casa y Corte (1684), and member of the Council of Orders (1690), rector of Salamanca University (1669)
• Andrés de Medrano y Mendizábal (1654–1720): Chief judge of Vizcaya (June 2, 1676), judge in Valladolid (1683), counselor of Treasury (1693), counselor of Castile (1697), and member of its Chamber (1720). He married a sister of Catalina de Angulo y Albizu in 1693, who was married to Lorenzo Mateu y Villamayor (1663–1722), counselor of Castile in 1706.