Manuel of Castile
Manuel of Castile (1234 – 25 December 1283, The first Lord of Villena and Peñafiel, Cuéllar, and Escalona, was an "Infante", son of Ferdinand III of Castile and his wife Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen. Life. Born in Carrión de los Condes, the name Manuel was given to him to commemorate his maternal grandmother's roots in Imperial Byzantium. He was granted the Seigneury of Villena in 1252, created for him to govern that lordship as "apanage" (a medieval micro-state that would return to the central crown if the minor lineage ends with no successor). This lordship would grow  by receiving the cities around the Vinalopó River (Elda valley, Aspe, Crevillente, Elche). He also received the "Adelantamiento" of the Kingdom of Murcia. Manuel travelled to Italy in 1259 as part of the embassy sent by his father to Pope Alexander IV. Later, when his brother became king Alfonso X the Wise, served him as Alférez and Majordomo of the king. He died at Peñafiel in 1283 and was buried in the Monastery of Uclés. His son Juan Manuel, who succeeded him in Villena and Peñafiel among the others, and became prince of Villena, was a notable medieval writer. Manuel  of Castile, as son of Ferdinand III of Castile, belonged to the royal House of Burgundy of Castile and León, but he was also the first of a new family branch, the House of Manuel of Villena. Family. He married twice. His first wife, whom he married in 1260 in Soria was Constance of Aragon, daughter of James I of Aragon. Two children were born of this marriage: His second marriage after Constança's death was in 1274/1275 to Beatrice of Savoy, daughter of Amadeus IV of Savoy. One child was born of this marriage: Children from other women include