Froila Ramírez
His power and influence lay chiefly in the heart of the province of León and its west, but it extended also into Galicia and the Asturias.
He is first mentioned in a document dated 22 September 1150, whereby his father granted to him and his elder brother, Alfonso, the bridewealth he owed to their late mother.
[1][a] Froila married his first wife, Urraca González, daughter of Gonzalo Fernández and granddaughter of Fernando Pérez of the House of Traba, sometime before 28 September 1171.
Froila had been raised at the court of Fernando Pérez, for on 29 June 1170 he granted the monastery of San Esteban de Morás (Morales) to Urraca "out of love for your grandfather, Count Don Fernando, who raised me, and because of faithful service when I was accepted by your father, Count Don Gonzalo".
The historians Mercedes Durany Castrillo and Francisco de Cadenas Allende both believed that all his children came from his second wife, Sancha.
On 8 September 1189, Froila and Urraca's daughter Teresa took part in the sale of some land in the Curueña valley to a canon of León Cathedral named Pedro Spina for 80 maravedíes.
[5][c] In January 1211, Sancha donated the church of Villarroañe to the monastery of Santa María de Carracedo for the sake her soul and that of her late husband.
[6] On 9 February 1212, Sancha granted her possessions in Tibianes and Pereiro to the monastery of Sobrado, which was witnessed by her sons Ramiro and Diego.
[3] Froila was a loyal servant and occasional courtier of kings Ferdinand II and Alfonso IX of León.
On 9 April 1192, Froila received as a gift the village of Salientes from Alfonso IX pro bono seruicio ("for good service").
In May 1198, Froila and Sancha granted the town a fuero, a municipal charter spelling out the citizens rights and obligations.
[1] In 1186 he was appointed to the vast tenencia of Asturias de Oviedo, where his family's origins lay, and he succeeded Alfonso in the Bierzo.
[1] In 1191, Froila became governor of the towers of León, the royal capital, a post, largely honorific, that had been held by his grandfather before him.
