Pedro Antonio de Medrano y Albelda (December 14, 1650 â December 1721) was a Knight of the Order of Alcántara, a nobleman and aristocrat from the House of Medrano in Logroño, La Rioja, and a descendant of the Kings of Navarre, who served as the regent of the Royal Council of Navarre on May 9, 1702, during the reign of Philip V of Spain. Pedro de Medrano was a professor in Valladolid, interim judge of Vizcaya in the Chancery of Valladolid and the Biscayan lordship, oidor of the Valladolid Chancery, awarded a habit of the Order of Santiago, and became an oidor in the Council of Orders.
Pedro Antonio de Medrano y Albelda lived through several major European conflicts. He witnessed the Franco-Dutch War (1672âÂÂ1678), the War of the Reunions (1683âÂÂ1684), and most notably, he lived through the War of the Spanish Succession (1701âÂÂ1714).
Born in Logroño, La Rioja, Pedro Antonio de Medrano y Albelda was the son of Pedro de Medrano y Echauz (b. 28 October 1620, Calahorra, Spain) and Josepha de Albelda Barron y Tejada (b. 11 April 1615), daughter of Teresa Manuela de Echáuz y Velasco and Fernando José ÃÂlvarez de Arellano Malo y del RÃÂo. His grandfather Pedro de Medrano y ÃÂñiguez (b. 14 July 1582) came from Murillo de Rio Leza in La Rioja. His grandmother Mariana de Echauz (b. 6 March 1594) came from Calahorra in La Rioja. Pedro de Medrano is a relative of the Counts of Torrubia, the Viscounts of Azpa and Marquesses of Fontellas.
Through his maternal grandmother, Teresa Manuela de Echáuz y Velasco, Pedro de Medrano was a direct descendant of Joan II of Navarre and Philip III of Navarre, extensively detailed in a table of genealogy. Through his paternal grandfather, Pedro de Medrano y ÃÂñiguez, he was also a descendant of the royal House of ÃÂñiguez. A handwritten manuscript still exists, certifying the genealogy and qualifications of Pedro Antonio de Medrano y Albelda y Echauz, a knight of Alcántara from Logroño, for his appointment as a counselor of Orders in 1705.
Pedro Antonio de Medrano began his education, focusing on Latin and literature in Logroño. Subsequently, he pursued Canon Law studies at the University of Valladolid, earning his bachelor's degree on March 30, 1669.
On February 15, 1672, he entered the Colegio Mayor de la Santa Cruz in Valladolid by public examination and in 1672; he began to teach as extraordinary professor in the Faculty of Canons. During this period, he covered various subjects, presided over conclusion events, and replaced several faculty members. During this time, he lectured on the following topics:
Furthermore, during this period he also presided over five concluding acts:
During the years 1672 to 1679, he replaced various holders in his professorships. He also studied law, graduating from high school on May 10, 1681. On March 12, 1685, he won the Chair of Minor Decrees of the Faculty of Canons by competition, and on September 27, 1686, he obtained, also by competition, the Chair of Old Code, of the same Faculty. He taught from this chair for six years until in 1690 he won the Sixth in the Faculty of Canons (March 8) and the Vespers in the Faculty of Law.
Pedro Antonio de Medrano initiated his legal career in 1686, temporarily replacing the judge of Vizcaya in the Chancery of Valladolid as interim, a position he held in the academic years 1686-1687 and 1688âÂÂ1689. He also became interim judge of the Biscayan lordship in 1690.
In 1691, Licenciado Don Pedro Antonio de Medrano y Albelda replaced Licenciado Don Pedro Nicolás de Orellana as Guest Collegiate of Santa Cruz due to OrellanaâÂÂs health issues. In 1692, Licenciado Don Benito de Omaña served as interim Collegiate and Professor while Medrano was absent in Logroño, Haro, and other places to deal with matters of state and other proceedings. Medrano returned to his position in December 1694 and was appointed Oidor on 19 August 1695.
On 9 May 1702, Pedro Antonio de Medrano was appointed regent of the Royal Council of Navarre [<nowiki/>], succeeding Juan Antonio de Molina. This title has an important detail, since it is the only document appointing a regent that the King did not sign throughout the 18th century. Cardinal Portocorrero signed on behalf of the absent King Felipe V, absent in Italy.
Due to the king's absence, Medrano was not appointed as interim viceroy of Navarre, a role that would have granted him full authority over the region. As a result, his responsibilities were limited to the regency of the high court of Navarre. Nevertheless, Medrano had already given an account of his appointment to the Diputación with a letter dated in Valladolid on April 4.
He was the third noble in the House of Medrano to obtain the coveted regency of Navarre, the previous being GarcÃÂa de Medrano in 1645 and the first being Juan MartÃÂnez de Medrano in 1328, immediately after the succession crisis of the Capetian dynasty.
Pedro Antonio de Medrano served three years as regent before being promoted to a position as an oidor in the Council of Orders in 1705.
In 1705, Pedro Antonio de Medrano received the habit of Santiago and assumed his role in the Council of Orders. He continued to serve in this capacity until his death in December 1721, at the age of seventy-one.
Through his mother Josepha de Albelda Barron y Tejada, Pedro was a member of the House of Albelda, from the Carcaixent branch. His mother's coat of arms displays an azure field, an Or band, accompanied at the top and bottom by an argent tower, charged with gules. This lineage was originally from Abelda or Abelda de Iregua (from which it took its name), near Logroño.
His father Pedro de Medrano y Echauz was the son of Pedro de Medrano y ÃÂñiguez (b. July 14, 1582, in Murillo de Rio Leza, La Rioja, Spain) and Mariana de Echauz, (b. on March 6, 1594, in Calahorra, La Rioja, Spain). His father Pedro de Medrano y Echauz was a knight of the Order of Alcántara, mayor of the Holy Brotherhood in Logroño in 1650 and ruler of Calahorra and its castle in the years 1673 and 1687.
His paternal grandfather Pedro de Medrano y ÃÂñiguez was the son of Pedro de Medrano and Ana de ÃÂñiguez, the latter married on November 10, 1581 in Murillo de RÃÂo Leza, La Rioja. Ana de ÃÂñiguez was from the royal Navarrese House of ÃÂñiguez, and therefore Medrano was a descendant of the royal House of ÃÂñiguez, also known as the first kings of Navarre.
Pedro was a relative of GarcÃÂa de Medrano y ÃÂlvarez de los RÃÂos. Pedro Antonio de Medrano y Albelda's aunt Ambrosia de Medrano y Echauz married Captain Jose Enriquez de Lacarra Cervantes y Angulo, both relatives of Fausto JoaquÃÂn de ElÃÂo y AlduncÃÂn Esparza y Artieda Vélaz de Medrano, IV Marquess of Vessolla. Pedro was also a relative of the 1st viscounts of Azpa from the House of Medrano.
A surviving eulogy from the late seventeenth century provides a first-hand account of the alliance maintained between the Houses of Medrano and Zúñiga. Pedro' Antonio's father Pedro de Medrano y Echauz is noted for having penned a 6-page funeral eulogy in 1686 for Manuel Diego López de Zúñiga y Sarmiento de Silva, 10th Duke of Béjar, in which he "described a portion of the generous ardor with which, on all occasions, the distinguished Valor of the Duke of Béjar stood out, being the first in the Assault of Buda," in 3 sonnets.
His father, in the eulogy of the 10th Duke of Béjar, wrote: <blockquote> "He did not die, no, for he lives crowned, By that which, forewarned, he knew to abhor, he attained immortal life, beloved of God, Making of his Fame a temple for the world, The immortal crown with which you girded yourself."
"Rest, crowned with splendors; for the resounding trumpet of your history is the persuasion of so sacred an example." </blockquote>
Fame, understood as an immediate yet ordered form of memory, functioned as the mechanism by which Don Manuel was elevated by Medrano in panegyrical discourse to the status of the immortal, securing his place within a permanent and exemplary remembrance.
Within the Doctrine of Medrano, immortality is the lawful continuation of natural precepts across generations. It is preserved through fame only when that fame reflects instruction in virtue, piety, and reasoned statecraft. It is the reward for fidelity to doctrine rather than conquest or ambition. As Diego Fernández de Medrano y Zenizeros wrote to the Prince of Asturias, "fame promises immortality," but only for those who rise through princely imitation, lawful governance, and enduring virtue. In this doctrine, fame is not the source of immortality but its vessel. The true continuity of a prince or noble house depends on the preservation of doctrine across time, upheld in letters, in law, and in service to the common good. Diego previously articulated and preserved the virtues and fame of Luis Méndez de Haro, valido of Philip IV, presenting them as enduring exemplars within the Medrano system of virtuous advancement and historical continuity.
Pedro's father explicitly linked the 10th Duke of Béjar to the favor of the Virgin Mary: <blockquote> "Consumed by holy zeal, his spirit rose to Heaven [â¦] Devotion to Mary [â¦] made him blessed, to enjoy on his feast day the Eternal Day." </blockquote>
The death of the 10th Duke of Béjar occurred, as he himself had predicted, on 16 July 1686, the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Although physicians had abandoned all hope of his survival from the moment he was wounded, his passing on that day was interpreted as confirmation of the Virgin's favor and of her protective intercession on his behalf, as expressed in his words: "I shall live until tomorrow, which is the day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and I hope she will take me on her day."
The House of Medrano's close ties with the Dukes of Béjar persisted. On 7 July 1771, Tadeo de Medrano y Acedo wrote a letter to Manuel's grandson, JoaquÃÂn López de Zúñiga y Castro, 12th Duke of Béjar. In this letter, Tadeo informs the Duke of a military campaign in which Charles III of Spain led an army of over 14,000 men, including Turks and Moors, and recounts how he had the fortune to witness the first shots fired during the battle.
Don Pedro Antonio de Medrano y Albelda married Teresa Josefa Alvarez de Arellano Echauz y Velasco Malo y de Vera in 1705. His wife was the daughter of Joseph Fernando Alvarez de Arellano Malo y del Rio and Teresa Manuela de Echauz y Vera.
His wife was the maternal granddaughter of Martin de Echauz y Velasco (b. 1626, Calahorra, La Rioja, Spain), a descendant of Prince Louis of Navarre, Duke of Durazzo. Teresa Josefa was the maternal great-granddaughter of the III lord's of Santa Cruz del Valle Urbión, Soto, and Garganchón (Pradoluengo, Burgos), and V of Riocavado de la Sierra, Cathalina de Velasco y Roxas and Jeronimo de Echauz y Velasco.
Don Pedro and Dona Teresa had a son and heir named Don Pedro de Medrano y Alvarez de Arellano, born in Logrono, La Rioja.
His son Don Pedro de Medrano y Alvarez de Arellano married Doña Maria Francisca de Blancas y Ezpeleta in 1738, and together they had a daughter named Doña MarÃÂa Micaela de Medrano, and one son and heir named Don Pedro Manuel de Medrano, born in 1740.
His great-grandson Don Pedro Manuel de Medrano married Joaquina González Samaniego in 1757, together they had a daughter named Mê Vicenta de Medrano (born in 1771). In 1804, his daughter Vicenta married Manuel Mê Mancebo, and together they had one son named Francisco de Paula Mancebo y Medrano (1805-1877).
Francisco married Micaela ÃÂgreda in 1834 and together they had one son named Pelayo Mancebo (1845-1912). Pelayo married Casilda de Igón in 1872.
Their son Francisco de Paula Mancebo de Igón (1873-1935) became the II Count of RÃÂocavado, who married Mê Josefa Tremoya in 1901, with succession [<nowiki/>]. His grandson, the 4th Count of RÃÂocavado, was named Francisco Javier de Miranda y Mancebo (b. 1928).