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- BIOGRAPHY
Rodrigo was a magnate and _ricohombre_ from Palencia who played a key role in the medieval history of the Iberian Peninsula. He was the son of Gutierre Téllez and Urraca Diaz.
Rodrigo was the first of his lineage to use the patronymic Girón. Owner of vast holdings and estates, Rodrigo and his relatives formed one of the most powerful clans in Tierra de Campos since the time of the Banu Gómez.
About 1160 Rodrigo married Maria Rodriguez de Guzmán, daughter of Rodrigo Muñoz, señor de Guzmán e Roa, and Mayor Diaz de Orozco. Eight children were born of this marriage, as attested by a donation they made, after their father had died, in 1194 to the Order of Calatrava of their inheritance in Dueñas Castle. Their son Gonzalo Ruiz and daughter Teresa are recorded with progeny.
_Mayordomo mayor_ (high steward) of King Alfonso VIII of Castile between 1173 and 1193 except for short intervals, Rodrigo and his descendants were part of one of the most powerful families in the medieval kingdom of Castile and León and played an important role in the definitive unification of the crowns of both kingdoms. He participated in several major battles during the _Reconquista_ in southern Spain.
Rodrigo governed several estates, including Gatón de Campos, Monzón, Torremormojón, Montealegre, half of Carrión and Liébana, all of which, except the last, were situated in Tierra de Campos. For his loyalty and services to the crown, he was generously rewarded, In 1179 King Alfonso VIII granted him Borox and allowed him to build public baths and ovens in Toledo as well as a watermill at the Tagus River.
In 1189 Rodrigo was governing Higares Castle in Mocejón and the surrounding lands which he gave that year to the bishop and Cathedral of Toledo.
Rodrigo's first wife Maria Rodriguez died before 1190. Rodrigo married for the second time Ximena Osorio, daughter of Count Osorio Martinez. There was no issue from this marriage.
In 1191 Rodrigo and Ximena donated 'for their souls' half of the income and properties at Dueñas Castle in the province of Ciudad Real, to the Order of Calatrava, leaving the other half for the offspring of his first marriage. In this donation, the couple also included half of Borox, and Mocejón, as well as the ovens and watermill in Toledo.
Rodrigo died in 1193 and was buried at Palencia Cathedral.
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