Sancha De Ayala 1360-1418

Doña Sancha De Ayala

b. 1 Jun 1360  Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
d. 8 Jan 1418  — Age: 58  Newark, Leicestershire, England
Marriage to Sir Walter Blount, Knight  1371/4 — age 11/14 
    Elvaston, Derbyshire, , England
Parents:
    Don Diego Gomez de Toledo 1334 – 1418
    Donna Inez Alfonsa de Ayala 1330 – 1395
Spouse:
    Sir Walter Blount, Knight 1350 – 1403
Children:
    Walter Blount 1375 – 1382

    Thomas Blount 1378 – 1456

    Constance Blount 1380 – 1432

    James Blount 1382 – 1409

    Peter Blount 1384 –

    Anne Blount 1386 – 1406

    John Blount 1388 – 1414  

from ancestry.com

Life History 

In the year 1371 Doña Constanza, daughter of the deceased (and dethroned) King of Castile, Don Pedro I (The Cruel) went to England to become the bride of King Edward III's son, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. Among the young Castilian ladies of aristocratic birth who accompanied her was Doña Sancha de Ayala, daughter of Don Diego (or Día-) Gómez de Guzmán (or de Toledo) and his wife, Doña Inés de Ayala.

About 1373 Doña Sancha married an English knight, Sir Walter Blount, of the Blounts of Sodington, county Worcester. On 26 February in the first year of King Richard II's reign (1378), the Duke of Lancaster, who claimed the thrones of Castile and Leon in right of his wife, granted to Sir Walter and Sancha (for their good service to him) an annuity of 100 marks a year; this grant was confirmed "for their lives in survivorship" by King Richard, April 26, 1399. Records reveal payments to Sancha at various times; once (2 January 1380) her name was associated with that of "Phelippe Chaucy", i.e., Philippa Chaucer, wife of the author of the Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer. On this occasion she was described by the Duke of Lancaster as "our very dear attendant" (nostre treschere compaigne) "dame Senche Blount".
 
Sir Walter figured prominently in the affairs of England during the times of Edward III and Henry IV. He was a close associate of John of Gaunt, and the latter made him an executor of his will and left him a small legacy. In 1367, Sir Walter accompanied the Black Prince and the Duke of Lancaster (John of Gaunt) upon the expedition into Spain to aid Peter the Cruel, King of Castile, and was at the battle of Marjara on April 3, 1367 which restored Peter to his throne. Sir Walter fell at the battle of Shrewsbury, July 21, 1403, wherein, being standard bearer, he was arrayed in the same style of armour as his royal master and was slain in single combat by Earl Douglas who believed he was in combat with the king himself. Sir Walter was slain in the course of the battle of Shrewsbury, July 21, 1403, and Shakespeare, who drew his facts mainly from Holinshed's "Chronicles" immortalized him in his Henry IV though he called him Sir Walter Blunt.
 
Three years after her husband's death, Dame Sancha founded a chantry in the Hospital of St. Leonard, Alkmonton, county Derbyshire. Her son-in-law, John Sutton, (husband of Constance Bount) died on August 29, 1406. On November 23 following, Dame Sancha was granted commission of the keeping of all the lands late of John Sutton, tenant in chief, during the minority of his six-year-old son and heir, John Sutton; her duties included "finding a competent maintenace for the heir, maintaining the houses and buildings and supporting the charges." In the same month the escheator in Worcestershire was ordered "to take of Constance who was the wife of John Sutton an oath etc. and in the presence of Sancha who was the wife of Walter Blount knight, to whom the king has committed the ward thereof, or of her attorneys, to assign the said Constance dower of the said John's lands."
 
Dame Sancha Blount made her will (still in existence) in 1415, and died in 1418. She was buried beside her husband in the Collegiate Church of St. Mary, The Neward, Leicester. Sancha de Ayala, Lady Bount, the ancestress of several English settlers in America, was descended from some of the most illustrious Castilian families. Through her father she belonged to the House of Guzmán (also called Toledo) which produced many noble families in Spain and a series of wives and mistresses for Spanish and Portuguese kings. Her mother, Inés de Ayala (by whose surname Sancha was known), was sprung from the great House of Ayala of Toledo, which traced its pedigree in the male line to the House of Haro, Lords of Biscay. The proof of Sancha's parentage is contained in a family genealogy begun about 1385 by her materal uncle, Pedro López de Ayala, Grand Chancellor of Castile. He stated that Doña Sancha "married a Knight of England, who was called Sir Walter Blount."
Sancha and Sir Walter had two children, Sir Thomas Blount and Constance. Sir Thomas was the father of two sons:
 
(1) Sir Walter Blount, 1st Lord Mountjoy, whose descendants include Roger Ludlow, first Deputy-Governor of the Colony of CT and two U.S. Presidents, Benjamin Harrison and William Henry Harrison and:
 
(2) Sir Thomas Blount, the ancestor of Anne Marbury Hutchinson and Katherine Marbury Scott.
Sancha's older brother, Don Pedro Suåarez was the progenitor of much of Europe's nobility. He married Doña Juana de Orozco, Lady of Pinto and had Inés de Guzmán or de Toledo. By her second husband, Don Diego Fernández de Córdoba, Marshal of Castile, she had a daughter, Doña María Fernández. Maria, 4th Lady of Casarrubios del Monte; m. Don Fadrique Enriquez and had Doña Juana Enríquez. Juana, married (1447) as his second wife, John II, King of Aragon and had Ferdinand II of Aragon, better known as Ferdinand V, The Catholic, King of Castile, who married the celebrated Queen Isabella of Castile and had several children including:
Emperor Charles V (Charles I of Spain), ancestor of the Habsburg and Bourbon Kings of Spain;
Juana "La Loca" ("the crazy"), Queen of Castile, who married Philip the Handsome, Archduke of Austria; Ferdinand I, who was progenitor of the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperors and Emperors of Austria, all of the present European sovereigns (including Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain), most of the dethroned dynasties of Europe, the Calvert family of Maryland, a branch of the Morris family of Philadelphia, and the Custis-Lee family of the Arlington Estate in Virginia; and
Catherine of Aragon who married first the Tudor Prince, Arthur and second, his brother, King Henry VIII of England.
from ancestry.com



Royal Crest

Lady Sancha de Ayala
The Lady Sancia 's maiden designation was Donna Sancha de Ayala. She was the daughter of Don Diego Gomez de Toledo , alcalde mayor, and chief justice of Toledo, and notario mayor, or principal secretary of the kingdom of Castille, by his wife, Inez Alfon de Avala, one of the most ancient and illustrious houses in Spain.

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Diego Gomez De Toledo
born Abt 1334 Of Toledo, New Castile, Spain
Father: 
   Gomez Perez De Toledo Vazquez
   born abt 1308 Of Toledo, New Castile, Spain
Mother:  
   Teresa Garcia De Toledo
   born abt 1312 Of Toledo, New Castile, Spain
married abt 1332 Of Toledo, New Castile, Spain
Siblings:
   Suero De Toledo, b. abt 1336 Of Toledo, New Castile, Spain
   Gutierre DeToledo, b. abt 1338 Of Toledo, New Castile, Spain, d. 26 Jan 1363
   Pedro Suarez De Toledo, b. abt 1340 Of, Toledo, New Castile, Spain
Spouse: 
   Inez Alfonsa De Ayala, b. abt 1338 Of Toledo, New Castile, Spain
married abt 1355 Of Toledo, New Castile, Spain
Children:
  Sancha De Ayala, b. abt 1360 Of, Toledo, New Castile, Spain
    d. 1418 Newark, Leicestershire, England
    buried 1418 St. Mary's, Newark, Leicestershire, England
   Pedro Suarez Gomez De Ayala, b. abt 1356 Of Toledo, New Castile, Spain
   Fernando De Ayala, b. abt 1358 Of Toledo, New Castile, Spain
   Teresa Gomez De Ayala, b. abt 1362 Of Toledo, New Castile, Spain
   Aldonza De Ayala, b. abt 1364 Of Toledo, New Castile, Spain
   Mencia De Ayala, b. abt 1366 Of, Toledo, New Castile, Spain
    Mayor De Ayala, b. abt 1368 Of Toledo, New Castile, Spain
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Name: Diego Gomez de Toledo Alcalde DE TOLEDO

S

ex: M
Name: Don Dugo Gomez of TOLEDO
Birth: 1334 in Toledo, New Castle Spain
Occupation: Chief justice of Toledo
Occupation: Mayor of Toledo
Occupation: Principal secretary of the Kingdom of Castile
Father: Gomez PEREZ DE TOLEDO UAZQUEZ, b. 1308
Mother: Teresa GARCIA DE TOLEDO, b. 1312
Marriage: Inez Alfons DE AYALA, b. abt 1338 in Toledo, New Castile, Spain
Married: abt 1355 in Toledo, New Castile, Spain
Children:
   Pedro Suarez GOMEZ DE AYALA b. abt 1356 in Toledo, New Castile, Spain
   Fernando DE AYALA, b. abt 1358
   Sancha DE AYALA, b. abt 1360 Of Toledo New Castle Spain
   Teresa GOMEZ DE AYALA, b. abt 1362 in Toledo, New Castile, Spain
   Aldonza DE AYALA, b. abt 1364 in Toledo, New Castile, Spain
   Mencia DE AYALA, b. abt 1366 in Toledo, New Castile, Spain
   Mayor DE AYALA, b. abt 1368 in Toledo, New Castile, Spain
from ancestry.com 

Ayala COA



Ayal COA

Palace of Diego Gomez

The palace of Diego Gómez, one of the magnificent Mudejar-Gothic palaces in the old heart of the city of Toledo, long ago became the Franciscan convent of Santa Isabel de los Reyes; but it has only recently (2005) become a “convent-museum” with increased public access. Here is one of the exterior doors, built by Diego Gomez' son, Pedro Suárez de Toledo (and bearing his paternal and maternal arms) Location: Toledo, Spain

from ancestry.com

14th Century Prayer book
of Sancha De Ayala

A fourteenth-century prayer book now belonging to the convent of Santo Domingo el Real in Toledo, which represents devotional use specific to both Toledo and England, with saints pertaining to each. Although the prayers and psalms are Latin, the book includes devotional notes in Anglo-Norman French and therefore was probably made in England but for someone with Toledan connections. It is possible — though there is no explicit documentation or indication in the book itself to show this — that it could have come from Teresa’s sister, Doña Sancha de Ayala, Lady Blount, or at least some other member of the close-knit circle of John of Gaunt following his adventures in Spain. The first page (which bears the sort of damage typical of opening leaves of much-used medieval manuscripts) bears Psalm 1 (Beatus vir qui non abiit in consilio impiorum), preceded by liturgical instructions in Anglo-Norman French.rez, OP, El breviarium portatile de Santo Domingo el Real de Toledo (Toledo, 2008). It may not be possible to ascertain the precise origin of this manuscript, but the likelihood that it came from Sancha’s circle, and the possibility that it might have been hers, is intriguing. Location: Dominican convent of Santo Domingo el Real in Toledo, Spain
from ancestry.com

Burial Place of Sancha de Ayala
and Walter Blount

Sancha and Walter burial crypt

Walter Blount and Sancha de Ayala

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sir Walter Blount (died 1403), was a soldier and supporter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. He later supported John's son and heir Henry Bolingbroke in his bid to become king Henry IV and in later battles against his enemies. At the Battle of Shrewsbury he served as the royal standard bearer, was mistaken for the king and killed in combat.

He appears as a character in Shakespeare's play Henry IV, part 1, in which he epitomises selfless loyalty and chivalry.

Early life

Blount was almost certainly the son of Sir John Blount of Sodington, by his second wife, Eleanor Beauchamp, widow of Sir John Meriet.

In 1367 Blount participated in Edward, the Black Prince's expedition to restore Peter of Castile to the throne of Leon and Castile. This expedition was successfully terminated by the Battle of Nájera in 1367. Blount returned to England.

As a result of his role in the campaign, Blount married Donna Sancha de Ayála, the daughter of Don Diego Gomez, who held high office in Toledo, by his wife, Donna Inez de Ayála. Blount's new wife was also a niece of Pero López de Ayala.

Donna Sancha appears to have first come to England in attendance on Constantia, the elder daughter of Peter of Castile, whom John of Gaunt married in 1372.

Estate
In 1374 John Blount, Sir Walter's half-brother, who had succeeded his mother, Isolda Mountjoy, in the Mountjoy property, made over to Walter the Mountjoy estates in Derbyshire, and to them Walter added by purchase, in 1381, the great estates of the Bakepuiz family in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Hertfordshire.

Return to Castile
Blount probably returned to Castile in 1386. Permission had been granted Blount in 1377 to proceed with Duke John of Gaunt to Castile in order to assert the duke's right by virtue of his marriage to the throne of Leon and Castile; but the expedition did not start till 1386. On 17 April 1393 he, with Henry Bowet and another, was appointed to negotiate a permanent peace with the king of Castile.

In 1398 Duke John granted to Blount and his wife, with the king's approval, an annuity of 100 marks in consideration of their labours in his service. Blount was an executor of John of Gaunt, who died early in 1399, and received a small legacy.

Later career and death
He represented Derbyshire in Henry IV's first parliament, which met on 6 Oct 1399. When the rebellion of the Percys broke out, Blount supported the King. At the Battle of Shrewsbury (23 July 1403) he was the king's standard-bearer. In the decisive struggle of the battle, the rebel leader Henry Percy attempted to break the royal army by a direct attack on the King. In the struggle Blount was killed by Archibald, fourth earl of Douglas, one of the bravest followers of Percy. According to later chronicles, Blount was dressed in armour resembling that worn by Henry IV, and was mistaken by Douglas for the king.^[1]

He was buried in the church St. Mary ‘of Newark,’ Leicester. His widow Donna Sancha lived till 1418. In 1406 she founded the hospital of St. Leonards, situated between Alkmonton and Hungry-Bentley, Derbyshire.

Eulogised in Shakespeare's Henry IV
Shakespeare gives Blount, whom he calls Sir Walter Blunt, a prominent place in the first part of his Henry IV, and represents both Hotspur and Henry IV as eulogising his military prowess and manly character. In the play he deliberately misidentifies himself as the King in order to draw the attack onto himself. Falstaff, finding his body, undercuts the eulogies by presenting his death as proof of the uselessness of "honour".

Descendants
Sir Walter had two sons:

1. Sir John, who was at one time governor of Calais; was besieged in a castle of Aquitaine by a great French army, which he defeated with a small force (Walsingham, Ypodigma Neustriæ, Rolls Ser., p. 437); was created knight of the Garter in 1413; and was present at the siege of Rouen in 1418: Sir John died without male issue.

2. Sir Thomas, who was Treasurer of Calais during Henry VI's wars in France (Stevenson's Letters, &c., illustrating the wars in France temp. Henry VI, Rolls Ser., ii. passim), and founded a chantry at Newark in 1422 (at the expense of the Duke of Exeter) in memory of his father and mother. Sir Thomas was the father (by Margaret, daughter of Sir Thomas Gresley of Gresley, Derbyshire) of Sir Walter Blount, 1st Baron Mountjoy.

Also a daughter, Constance, who married John de Sutton V. They were the parents of John Sutton, Baron Dudley.

Shakespeare Authorship candidate, Henry Neville (politician), was the 5th great grandson of Sir Walter, descending from the marriage of his great grandson William, son of Walter Blount, 1st Baron Mountjoy, to Margaret Echingham, with their daughter Elizabeth Blount. This may explain the exceptional characterization of Sir Walter in Henry IV part 1. His great grandson, Capt. James Blount was also especially heralded for his good qualities and trustworthiness by the future Henry VII on the night before the decisive battle with Richard III, in Shakespeare's Play, Richard the III. Captain James Blount was the uncle of Elizabeth Blount, Sir Henry Neville's great grandmother, and his sudden appearance wrapped in such glowing terms is mysterious unless we see him from Neville/Shakespeare's perspective. Sir Walter's son, Sir John Blount, also makes some mysterious appearances in Henry IV, Part 2, beginning with Lord Bardolph's rumors of Glendowers triumph over "both Blunts" at the Battle of Shrewsbury, followed by his appearance with Warwick and Surrey, attending to the sleepless King "uneasy lies the head that wears a crown", and finally as the knight commanded by Prince John to conduct Colville of the Dale to his execution following Falstaff's capture. Sir John says not a word in the Play, yet somehow manages to showup frequently enough to beggar suspicion as to why.

References:

 Walsingham, Hist. Anglicana, ed. Riley, ii. 258; Annales Henrici Quarti, 367, 369

Blount, Walter (d.1403)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, 

from ancestry.com