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Minaya and Álvar Fáñez

Minaya, La Mancha del Júcar-Centro, Albacete

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 1 Activities · 3 Curiosities · 1 Food and drink

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Minaya and Álvar Fáñez

Curiosity · Minaya, La Mancha del Júcar-Centro, Albacete

The name Minaya is linked to the historic byname of Álvar Fáñez, also transcribed as Álvaro Háñez, one of the principal captains of King Alfonso VI of León in the conquest of the taifas of the northern peninsula, the repopulation of the territories won from the Muslims and the defence against the Almoravids. Born around 1047 in the kingdom of León and died in Segovia in 1114, he guarded the frontier of Castile between Cuenca and Toledo, a region known in the 12th century as the land of Álvar Fáñez. His fame as a warrior, already celebrated in the Poema de Almería around 1147, and his role as kinsman and lieutenant of the Cid in the Cantar de Mio Cid explain why his nickname Minaya, formed from the Romance possessive mi and the Basque anai, brother, gave this town its name.

Photo: Justiniano Muñoz (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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