On The Origins of the Perez de Guzman

[Yago]

Originally Posted by Galaico

In this picture he looks very similar to the picture of Núñez de Guzmán that you used to have in your avatar Visigodo.

He did?

The current Duchess of Medina-Sidonia, a descendant herself of the Guzmán family, defends that Alonso Pérez de Guzmán (the founder of the Guzmán House) was born in Northern Africa and that the name is a castellianisation of the Arabic name Quzman, of which there are records of its existance in Al Andalus (eg. the Cordoban poet Ibn Quzman).

Visimoro?


Also, he married with a rich woman, María Alfonso Coronel, who was thought to be of Jewish ancestry.


[Edit: this thread is a split of http://forum.stirpes.net/anthropomet...e-coligny.html]

[Visigodo]

Well, to be frank and to tell the truth I would not give much credit to the words ofthe present Duchess of Medina-Sidonia since I do not believe that we can take as an expert in heraldic. From why I have understood the “Guzmán” last name has germanic origin Visigothic if you like and had its origin in the gothic work “gods” = good and “manna” = man, with a similar meaning to English Goodman or German Gutmann.
The theory of the Arabian origin of this last name sounds more like Americo Castro’s theory, that particularly I don’t like, theories that already were refuted skillfully by Sanchez Albornoz, one of my preferred Spanish historians, consequently Cordovan poet Ibn Quzman possibly was not more than an originally “Hispano-godo” converted to Islam.

He could mention some data of some book of heraldic of my library but he at this moment turns out to me easier to indicate some links:

http://www.geocities.com/heraldicabc/apellidos_sevillanos.html

http://www.geocities.com/feganuhes/vocabulario/germanico.htm

Guzmán: There are several hypotheses on the origin of this old Castilian last name. Most well-known (and most likely, as much for historical reasons as phonetic) it makes come from gothic “gods” (`good') and “manna” (`man'); it would be, therefore, similar to the English Goodman or the German Gutmann.The “Enciclopedia Espasa”, on the contrary, affirms that it is a “noble lineage fom Leon” that would have its family house in the castle of Aviados and would be descending of the Visigothic king Gundemaro (what it seems little convincing from the phonetic point of view) adding that in 990 king Bermudo II gave to the Guzmanes the “señorío de Toral” and which later they extended by Castile and Andalusia. Peculiarly, the same encyclopedia gives to the etimología “godsmanna” for the common noun “guzmán” that, according to the Dictionary ofthe Spanish Royal Academy, it has his origin in the famous “Guzmán el bueno” (Alonso Perez de Guzmán, 1256-1309). From other sources, the Guzmán last name ties to the town of the same name, located in the term of Pedrosa de Duero (Burgos), which seems reasonable, since it justifies that the bearers of this last name inthe Middle Agewould put in front the particle to him “de” and he is not necessarily contradictory with the first pointed etymology; “godsmanna” could have applied to the town initially (although we ignore why reason). In any case, everything aims at that work is in its Germanic or Visigoth, that is, which does not mean, that is “coming from Germany” since we have read (with stupefaction) in the “heraldic and nobiliary Dictionary of the kingdoms of Spain”.

Particularly interesting is the supposed phrase said by Felipe II in relation to the conquest of Chile due that cost of the Araucan war that was very high, as much in lives as in economic resources. One assumes that more than 50,000 Spaniards they died in this conflict. An allusive sentence is attributed to king Felipe II: "la guerra de Arauco me ha costado la flor de mis guzmanes y más dinero y hombres que la de Flandes”, “the Araucan war of Araucan has cost to me the “flower” (the best?) of my "guzmanes" and more money and men thanthe one of Flanders”. In Europe, the Kingdom of Chile would be conceived in terms of “Indian Flanders”, as Diego de Rosales proposed.

So I don't think that Don Pedro Nuñez de Guzman has any relation with North-Africans and/or Arabs.

Pedro Nuñez de Guzman: Pedro Núñez de Guzmán - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre

[Señor Malo]

Originally Posted by Mynydd

he married with a rich woman, María Alfonso Coronel, who was thought to be of Jewish ancestry.

It is a common practice to abscribe a "possible jewish ancestry" to anuone whose origins are not 100% certain: Someone has already suggested the same for Da Vinci because of his mother from whom we know very little, for Colombus and some people thinks the same for the Medici

[Yago]

Whatever the origin of the name Guzmán, the fact remains that the origins of Alonso Pérez de Guzmán are obscure to say the least.

He is known to have been in the service of the Emir of Fez, and made his fortune there in Northern Africa, which allowed him to buy properties in Spain.

I will agree that the present Duchess of Medina-Sidonia (known as the Red Duchess) has indeed an obscure agenda. But it is also true that her sources are in the Archives of the House of Medina-Sidonia.

The House of the Ponce de León family had estates in Castille because they were Old Christians. The Guzmanes of Sanlúcar did not have any, because the founder of the House was from beyond the seas, land of Muslims. He immigrated with money, bringing García Gallegos with him. And he bought harbours and arable land, in the provinces of Cadiz and Huelva, where he owned Lepe, Ayamonte and La Redondela. He died without writing his last wills, distributing his posessions his widow, María Alphon. The family hagiographist, Barrantes, hides the Aphon of Jewish connotations, which appears in the last will and other documents, in reference to this lady, without the Coronel attached to it. But it does appear in a writing preserved in Santa Inés of Seville. Dated in 1302, María Alfonso Coronel, "wife that I am of Alfonso Pérez de Gosman", appears as the daughter of Ferrand González Coronel and of Sancha Vázquez, of who she inherited estates in Portugal.

In the verses of the "Provincial", the Guzmán coetaneous of Enrique IV, is treated as "Moorish dog". And he is accused of singing the "verses of the Quram" in the choir.

Source: Fundación Casa de Medina Sidonia

[Yago]

By the way, there is another theory that adscribes him a Scandinavian origin, some stranded Viking from the raids in the early times of the Kingdom of Asturias (and from there to the later Kingdom of Leon).

And yet another theory that tells that he is originally from Brittany.