page_title: Gutierre Fernández de Castro
hierarchical_section_title: Gutierre Fernández de Castro
caption_attribution_description: Español: Ruinas del castillo de Castrojeriz (Burgos, España).
context_page_description: Gutierre Fernández de Castro was a nobleman and military commander from the Kingdom of Castile. His career in royal service corresponds exactly with the reigns of Alfonso VII and his son Sancho III. He served Alfonso as a courtier after 1134 and as majordomo. He was the guardian and tutor the young Sancho III from 1145. Before his death he was also briefly the guardian of Sancho's infant son, Alfonso VIII.
  Gutierre took part in several military campaigns of reconquest against the Almoravid Emirate to the south of Castile. In 1139, on the king's orders, he began the successful Siege of Oreja. More often he was occupied defending the eastern frontier from invasion by Aragon or Navarre, and for this purpose the king invested him with many royal fiefs in this region. Towards the end of his life Gutierre was the elder statesman of the Castro family, and he died before his family's rivalry with the Laras developed into open civil war early in the reign of Alfonso VIII. Despite his high standing at court and his illustrious military career, Gutierre was never promoted to the rank of a count, which was the highest title borne by the Castilian aristocracy in the twelfth century.
context_section_description: Gutierre Fernández de Castro (flourished 1124–66) was a nobleman and military commander from the Kingdom of Castile. His career in royal service corresponds exactly with the reigns of Alfonso VII (1126–57) and his son Sancho III (1157–58). He served Alfonso as a courtier after 1134 and as majordomo (1135–38). He was the guardian and tutor the young Sancho III from 1145. Before his death he was also briefly the guardian of Sancho's infant son, Alfonso VIII.
  Gutierre took part in several military campaigns of reconquest against the Almoravid Emirate to the south of Castile. In 1139, on the king's orders, he began the successful Siege of Oreja. More often he was occupied defending the eastern frontier from invasion by Aragon or Navarre, and for this purpose the king invested him with many royal fiefs in this region. Towards the end of his life Gutierre was the elder statesman of the Castro family, and he died before his family's rivalry with the Laras developed into open civil war early in the reign of Alfonso VIII. Despite his high standing at court and his illustrious military career, Gutierre was never promoted to the rank of a count, which was the highest title borne by the Castilian aristocracy in the twelfth century.
caption: Ruins of the castle of Castrojeriz, which Gutierre helped to besiege in 1131 and which he later held as a fief of the crown from 1140 until 1166. The Castro name derives from this place: Gutierre's parents owned land in the village.
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "Exif_JPEG_422", "Image Make": "YAKUMO", "Image Model": "Mega-Image 410", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2006:07:26 13:46:12", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "Copyright,Mega-Im USER,2003", "Image ExifOffset": "256", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail Software": "MI410   V1.14 2004/11/08", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "829", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4204", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/1000", "EXIF FNumber": "24/5", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "10", "EXIF ApertureValue": "24/5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Average", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1600", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1200", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "2", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}