María Ramírez de Medrano

Doña María Ramírez de Medrano (b. La Rioja, 12th century) was a wealthy noblewoman from the illustrious Medrano family, high nobility in the Kingdom of Castile, originally from the Kingdom of Navarre. She was the lady of Fuenmayor, and founder of the hospital, convent and commandery of San Juan de Acre in Navarrete, La Rioja in 1185 for the Order of Saint John; and to provide assistance and protection to pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago. María Ramírez de Medrano was the wife of Fortún de Baztán, lord of Baztán, descendant of the early Navarrese kings. María's son Don Martín de Baztán y Medrano was the bishop of Osma in Soria.

Medrano and the Marquesses of Terán
Dona María Ramírez de Medrano was the ancestor of Diego de Terán, I Marquess of Terán, from the House of Terán, a minor branch of the House of Medrano, who constructed the palace of the Royal Council in the 18th century. Descendants of María Ramírez de Medrano also formed alliances with the Ladrón de Guevara family, a prominent lineage in Castile and Aragon during the Middle Ages. Notable among her descendants was Juan Corbarán de Lehet, who in the 14th century sold the family's castle in Fuenmayor, and was also regent of the Kingdom of Navarre alongside the regent Juan Martínez de Medrano y Aibar.

Lords of Fuenmayor (12th Century)
The noble Medrano family were loyal to the Kings of Navarre since 979. In 1076, a serious dispute between the Kingdoms of Castile and Pamplona (Navarre) over the lands of La Rioja occurred. Castile claimed La Rioja and other Navarrese lands. As a result, nobles in the House of Medrano residing in La Rioja became vassals of King Alfonso VI of León and Castile. However, the main branch of Medrano nobility, residing closer to the capital of Pamplona in Igúzquiza, remained vassals to King Sancho Ramírez of Aragon and Navarre.

Background
Doña María Ramírez de Medrano is from the important Medrano family, direct lineal descendants of their progenitor, a Moorish Prince called Andrés Vélaz de Medrano, who came from the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba and settled in Igúzquiza at the Palace of Vélaz de Medrano in the Kingdom of Navarre in 979.

María Ramírez de Medrano, hailing from the prominent Medrano family of La Rioja, played a significant role in the history of Fuenmayor. Her marriage to Fortún de Baztán (or Bazán), a descendant of early Navarrese royal kings, solidified the family's ties to the region. Doña María Ramírez de Medrano, widow of Don Fortún de Baztán, was the mother of Don Martín de Baztán y Medrano (d. 27 Jul 1201). Don Martín de Baztán y Medrano was ordained a bishop of the Diocese of Osma in Soria in 1188.

The House of Medrano are one of the great families of Fuenmayor, who inherited from Doña María Ramírez de Medrano the title of lords of Fuenmayor, leading to centuries-long disputes with the municipality.

In a lawsuit that was settled in the Royal Chancery of Valladolid over many centuries, the disputed lordship of the Medrano family was settled, although for this, the residents of Fuenmayor had to pay large sums of money to continue maintaining their independence from these lords of Fuenmayor.

Centuries later, Don Diego López de Medrano y Zúñiga was the lord of Fuenmayor and Almarza, ruler of the castle of Aguas Mansas, which the lord of Agoncillo Don Rodrigo Alfonso de Medrano (his paternal uncle) re-built in the 14th century. Diego's father Juan Martínez de Medrano y Hurtado de Mendoza was also the lord of Fuenmayor and Almarza before him.

María Ramírez de Medrano and the Foundation of Fuenmayor
Legend has it that Fuenmayor was founded by three captains of King Ramiro I's troops, who settled in the valley after defeating the Moslems in the Battle of Clavijo (844). Most likely one of those captains are related to Fortún de Baztán, Lord of Bazán, husband of Doña María Ramírez de Medrano, the founder of the Hospital of the Order of Saint John of Acre. María is documented as the lady of Fuenmayor in a later manuscript dated 1411, preserved in the archive of Fuenmayor.

It is also worth noting that the origin of Don Tomás Fernández de Medrano's lordship of Valdeosera also coincided with the battle of Clavijo in 844; Tomás was the most reverend patron and master of the convent of San Juan de Acre in Salinas de Añana, 48.467 miles (79 km) away from the hospital, commandery and convent of San Juan de Acre in Navarrete.

Fuenmayor, one of seven Villas de Campo
On September 1, 1054, Fuenmayor is documented as one of the seven Villas de Campo, namely: Navarrete, Fuenmayor, Coscujos, Hornos de Moncalvillo, Medrano, Vilella (or Velilla), and Entrena. Queen Estefanía de Nájera, widow of King García Sánchez III of Pamplona, received the privilege of joining the villages of Campo, which together with Navarrete, Hornos, Medrano, Entrena, Velilla and Fuenmayor thus benefited from the joint use of water, pastures and paths.

María's commandery of San Juan de Acre (1185)
The establishment of María Ramírez de Medrano's commandery associated with the Order of Saint John of Acre closely aligns with the founding of the town of Navarrete itself, occurring around 1185. In the Middle Ages, a commandery was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived. They were the equivalent for those orders to a monastic grange. The knight in charge of a commandery was a commander.

Origin of Patronage and Flag
María's commandery for her hospital was founded two years prior to the siege of Jerusalem in 1187. Fuenmayor's connection to this hospital may explain the origin of the patronage of Saint John and its flag in Fuenmayor, the "Pendón de San Juan," featuring the Maltese cross. The Order, founded as the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem in the 11th century, later relocated to Acre after the loss of the Holy Land to Saladin in 1187. Subsequently, it moved to Rhodes and eventually to Malta.

Establishment of the commandery (1185)
It was María Ramírez de Medrano's drive and perseverance, supported by her distinguished Medrano lineage and immense wealth, that allowed an endeavor that very few women undertook in this medieval era. Doña María Ramírez de Medrano established a commandery in 1185 to support the hospital and convent of San Juan de Acre that she founded in Navarrete, La Rioja. This provided assistance to pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago and the needy of the region.

Fuenmayor was one of the towns, along with Entrena, Medrano, and the Valle de Baztan (from where Doña María and her husband came), that paid for the maintenance of María's hospital with their tithes, which gave them the right to choose the commander who directed it. The Medrano family held the position of commanders of the hospital of San Juan de Acre for many years.

The selection of the commander was a joint decision made by "the members of the convent residing in the hospital" and by the "locals" (residents of the towns associated with the hospital), who had the authority to remove the commander from office if he failed to fulfill his duties adequately. This commander, upon assuming office, would pledge not to violate the "privileges, freedoms, customs, and traditions," with the understanding that failure to uphold these principles would result in his removal from office, allowing for the appointment of a successor chosen by the community.

In a 1373 manuscript, witnesses testified under oath and confirmed that individuals, including those from Baztán, Entrena, Medrano, and Fuenmayor, appointed the friar Ruy Fernández de Medrano as commander of the hospital. He became commander when Gonzalo, who served as commander in the hospital, passed away, and Ruy de Medrano was appointed as commander by the convent and the locals. Later, due to mismanagement of resources, Ruy Fernández de Medrano was removed, and Rodrigo Alfonso de Logroño took his place. It was also stated that during their time, neither the commander nor the friars attended the prior of Castile's summons or council.

History of the hospital, convent and church of San Juan de Acre (1185)
The establishment of the hospital affiliated with the Order of Saint John of Acre closely coincided with the founding of Navarrete, La Rioja.

The oldest document in the archive of Fuenmayor is a parchment dated 1373, which includes the sentence given in Valladolid on June 21, 1373, which confirms the privileges, uses and customs of the San Juan de Acre hospital founded by María Ramírez de Medrano in the 12th century, digitized by the Government of La Rioja and included in the catalog of medieval documents prior to 1500.

Line 119 in a 1378 manuscript states that the towns of Baztán, where Doña María Ramírez de Medrano's husband was from, along with Entrena, Medrano, and Fuenmayor, were all part of the jurisdiction or domain of María's hospital of San Juan de Acre in Navarrete.

The surviving document in the Municipal Archive, dated 1378, sheds light on the rights and obligations of Fuenmayor's inhabitants in the Hospital of San Juan de Acre. María Ramírez de Medrano is mentioned in this manuscript regarding her establishment of the hospital and house on her own lands for the welfare of friars and nuns residing there. In the document preserved in the Municipal Archive, it can be read that Doña María Ramírez de Medrano founded the "hospital and house" on her own lands for "hospitality and for the command and provision of the friars and nuns who lived there," and so that it would not depend on the Prior of Castile, the founder María donated to the Order of Saint John her properties in Logroño, in the "San Salvador neighborhood, from the new wall to the old wall with the churches of San Salvador and San Blas" (the old wall could correspond to the current calle Portales, formerly called "Rúa de Las Tiendas") and her possessions in Varea and Lardero.

Should the Prior of Castile fail to meet these expectations, the hospital retained the right to appropriate the revenues from the bailiwick of Logroño (the properties entrusted to the Order of Saint John by the founder María Ramírez de Medrano to exempt the hospital). Due to the papal decree of 1113, her hospital, church, convent and commandery were under the independent authority of the Order of Saint John (Pie postulatio voluntatis).

12th century
Around 1185, Doña María Ramírez de Medrano, the widow of Don Fortún de Baztán, facilitated the establishment of the hospital and entrusted it to the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. Her son, Don Martín de Baztán y Medrano, who also served as the bishop of the Diocese of Osma, oversaw the construction of the hospital's Romanesque church and the expansion of its facilities between 1189 and 1201.

Exemption of the hospital of San Juan de Acre and donations to the Order of Saint John
Witnesses testified under oath about the appointments and operations of the hospital founded by Doña María Ramírez de Medrano. María's hospital enjoyed exemption due to her donations to the prior of San Juan de Acre and the Order of Saint John. When Doña María Ramírez de Medrano, Lady of Fuenmayor, built the said hospital on her own land, she made it exempt from any jurisdiction and servitude for the purpose of providing charity and supporting the commander and convent, and so that the prior serving at the time of the Order of Saint John in Castile could outfit the friars with habits and crosses, as she had granted this order the district or bailiwick of San Salvador in Logroño.

13th century
This historical timeline is substantiated by the earliest surviving document from 1200, where the abbess of Cañas, Toda García de Baztán y Medrano, sold land in Fuenmayor to Don Martín de Baztán y Medrano, her brother, for the hospital built by their mother in Navarrete.

Throughout the 13th century, additional textual evidence emerges. In 1274, Don Pedro Sánchez de Corefia made a contribution to the hospital by offering houses in Rincón de Soto. Similarly, in 1292, various representatives of the clergy from beyond the Ebro River, including those from Navarrete, negotiated terms with regards to the payment of two thousand maravedis, as requested by king Philip IV of France and Navarre.

14th century: manuscripts and legal proceedings
Moving into the latter half of the 14th century, more insights are recorded. The oldest document preserved in the Municipal Archive is a manuscript dated 1373, detailing the rights and duties of the residents of Fuenmayor and other towns in the Hospital of San Juan de Acre, founded by María Ramírez de Medrano, one of Fuenmayor's most important residents in 1185. This manuscript is a copy made by the scribe Diego López of the proceedings conducted by Fray Miguel Sánchez and Fray Pascual, commander and prior respectively of the monastery of Buradón in the province of Burgos. It discusses the "liberties, franchises, good practices, and customs" of the hospital established by Doña María Ramírez de Medrano, as well as the ruling issued by the prior of the Order of Saint John in the kingdoms of Castile and León regarding the maintenance of these privileges and rights.

In its 120 lines, the document contains copies of statements and testimonies related to the lawsuit, along with other matters concerning the topic, and finally, the rulings that were issued. From these declarations and inquiries emerge the rights and privileges of the hospital, which the ruling commands to be upheld "now and for all time, according to the best and most comprehensive understanding contained in said inquiries."

According to a manuscript dating back to the 17th century, a commitment letter from either 1374 or 1375 references Fray Don Ruy Fernández de Medrano, the Prior of the monastery established by Doña María Ramírez de Medrano. This document is incorporated into the proceedings involving the inhabitants of Ceniceros and those of Nájera. Additional records from the parish archives, dating to the latter half of the 14th century, detail conflicts between the hospital of San Juan de Acre and the churches of Fuenmayor and Navarrete.

15th and 16th century
These disputes persist into the 15th century. The 16th century marks a period characterized by a lack of documentary evidence.

17th century
By the 17th century, the institution of the Hospital of Saint John of Acre is documented in the Book of the Hospital, having transitioned into a secular establishment.

18th century
In the 18th century, further disputes arise between the hospital and the churches of Fuenmayor and Navarrete.

19th century: decline of the hospital
The hospital founded by Doña María Ramírez de Medrano remained operational until the disentailments of the 19th century. Despite its eventual closure, the church and hospital buildings endured, albeit in a dilapidated state, until the late 19th century.

20th century: preservation efforts and legal proceedings
In 1887, architect Luis Barrón undertook the project to construct a new cemetery in Navarrete. As part of this endeavor, the portico and windows of the original hospital were relocated to the new cemetery, preserving elements of María Ramírez de Medrano's legacy. Even in the 1920s, the Municipal Archive contains legal actions related to claims for money from the assets of this institution. Today, the path leading to the ruins of the hospital is still known as the "path of the order."

Several sculptural fragments and capitals, representing both vegetal motifs and historical scenes, have been found during excavations and are now housed in local museums or the town hall, contributing to the understanding of the site's rich historical and artistic legacy. In the 20th century, the remaining sculptures and architectural elements were consolidated and restored, with some being relocated to the municipal cemetery to serve as its portal. This work included sealing cracks and cleaning architectural elements to preserve the remaining structures.

21st century
Today, the ruins of the hospital, consolidated and restored, stand as a testament to María Ramírez de Medrano's enduring impact on the region. Located at the entrance of the Camino de Santiago in Navarrete, these remnants serve as a reminder of her commitment to providing aid to pilgrims and the needy during the medieval era.

Architectural Design and Structure of the Church of San Juan de Acre
The Romanesque church in Navarrete, attributed to María Ramírez de Medrano and built by her son Martín de Baztán y Medrano, Bishop of the Diocese of Osma, is a historic landmark with a complex architectural and artistic narrative. This church was part of a broader complex, including a hospital for pilgrims, and showcases the transition from Romanesque to Gothic architectural styles. The church and hospital complex was founded around 1185 by María Ramírez de Medrano, the widow of Fortún de Baztán, and was handed over to the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. Her son, Martín de Baztán y Medrano, expanded the works between 1189 and 1201. Initially believed to be a basilica with three naves, archaeological investigations in 1990 revealed the church had a Greek cross plan with a single nave. The semi-decagonal head of the church had columns at the interior angles and buttresses on the outside. The unique structure included a vault with three ribs leading from the triumphal arch key to the corbels at the angles of the apse. The nave was divided into two uneven sections by a pointed arch, supported by cruciform pillars. The church's design included a northern main entrance, unusual for La Rioja, where entrances are typically situated to the south. This was likely due to the proximity of the Camino de Santiago. The main door was flanked by cylindrical towers, with one containing a spiral staircase leading to the tribune and possibly the attached hospital. The exterior walls were made of ashlar masonry, with rubble filling the center.

Sculptural Elements
The church's sculptural work is considered protogothic, merging Romanesque themes with early Gothic stylistic elements. This is evident in the portal's multi-lobed oculus and in the thematic capstones and archivolts. The capitals feature a mix of acanthus leaves, geometric patterns, and figurative sculptures, including two confronted bird-sirens and a griffin. The iconography largely centers on the theme of the struggle between good and evil, depicted through various allegories and symbols such as fights between knights, humans and beasts, and zoomorphic struggles. This thematic choice aligns with the ideals of the Military Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Acre.

Symbolism
The Romanesque church in Navarrete, associated with María Ramírez de Medrano and further developed by her son, Martín de Baztán y Medrano, Bishop of Osma, serves as a monumental embodiment of the era's religious and cultural ideologies through its rich symbolic architecture and sculptural details. The iconography further extends to include the depiction of Saint Michael slaying the dragon and scenes of human figures in combat or in allegorical representation of virtues and vices. These motifs are indicative of the Christian's spiritual journey and the constant presence of divine guidance and protection. Notably, the church features unique symbols like the Janus head, traditionally a Roman deity associated with beginnings, transitions, and duality, placed at the portal's apex to symbolize protection and the passage from the earthly to the spiritual realm. The symbolism extends to themes of pilgrimage, with the church's location on the Camino de Santiago and its architectural elements welcoming travelers. Sculptures of animals and humans in various interactions allegorically portray life's temptations, virtues, and the soul's quest for salvation, underscoring the church's didactic role in illustrating the path to eternal life and the importance of virtuous living. It reflects the period's religious devotion and the societal emphasis on the eternal struggle between good and evil.