Álvar Fáñez

Álvar Fáñez, also written Háñez, († April 1114 in Segovia ) was a Castilian nobleman in the late 11th and early 12th century.

In March 1086 Álvar finished in the reign of King Alfonso VI. of León - Castile, the rule of Amiriden in Valencia and installed there in place of Yahya al -Qadir as vassals. During the invasion of the Iberian Peninsula by the Almoravids in 1091 Álvar was sent with an army to support the besieged Seville, but suffered in a battle of Almodóvar del Río against Sir ibn Abu Bakr defeat. On February 13, 1099 Álvar is first documented in records in the office of city superintendent ( alcalde ) of Toledo. On May 29, 1108 he fought in the disastrous Battle of Uclés in which the Crown Prince Sancho Alfónsez was killed. Álvar itself was one of the few to escape from the battlefield and organize the defense of the upper Tagus Valley. On July 22, 1109 in León, he was one of the first documentary witnesses issued by Queen Urraca certificate, which he signed as " Duke of Toledo " ( Toletule dux ), which identifies him as military commander of the city and its surrounding area. However, in the battle against the Almoravids in 1113 he had to accept the loss of the strategically important castle Oreja. In April 1114 Álvar was killed in Segovia during a popular uprising.

Married with Mayor was Álvar Pérez († after the April 23, 1148 ), a daughter of Count Pedro Ansúrez, with whom he had two daughters:

• Eilo Álvarez ( † after 1156 ); 1 ∞ with Rodrigo Fernández de Castro, 2 ∞ with Count Ramiro Fróilaz.
• Urraca Álvarez (†? ); ∞ with Count Rodrigo Velázquez.

As a literary figure Álvar Fáñez has made in the Cantar de Mio Cid, in which he as a loyal friend of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar ( " El Cid " ) occurs. In the history of film El Cid (1961 ) embodied the role of " Fanez " by the Italian actor Massimo Serato.