Gutierre Fernández (Leonese nobleman)

This name, popularised by the Cantar de Mio Cid for Álvar Fáñez Minaya, is a mix of Romance and Basque parts meaning "my brother".

[9] As the queen's majordomo, Gutierre was usually at court and is often found in the centre of the kingdom, as on 15 October 1116, when he witnessed a donation to the important monastery of Sahagún.

The reason for his downfall is described in the Historia Compostellana ("History of [the Diocese of] Compostela"): At that time Gutierre Fernández captured Count Pedro González, and held him prisoner in the castle Mansilla.

[12] Pedro González de Lara was reputed to be the queen's lover, and his influence on her aroused opposition to their relationship among the high nobility.

[2] The proximity of Mansilla to León (it is twenty miles to the south) and the close relationship between Gutierre and the powerful Ansúrez family both before and after indicate that the ephemeral coup had substantial support in the kingdom.

[14] The historian Bernard Reilly, believe the episode to have taken place in 1119, associates the fighting in León (recorded in the Annales Complutenses) on 18 July that year, when the queen was briefly besieged in her palace, with its final defeat.

The Primera Crónica General even associates Gutierre with proclaiming Alfonso VII king in opposition to his mother, Urraca, although that was done by Count Pedro Fróilaz de Traba.