The Lordship of Villena (es|Señorío de Villena) was a feudal state located in southern Spain, in the kingdom of Castile. It bordered to the north with Cuenca and to south with the city of Murcia.
The territory was structured in two political centers: the Land of Alarcón, to the north, and the Land of Chinchilla to the south. Less central were the towns of Iniesta, the Land of Jorquera, Hellín, Tobarra, Almansa, Yecla, Sax and Villena, which, despite giving the name to the lordship, was territorially peripheral, although it previously included the cities along Vinalopó river (Sax, Elda, Novelda, Elche). The borders changed with the time, provided the temporary addition of some towns (Villarrobledo, Lezuza, Munera, Jumilla and Utiel in the 15th century) and the loss of some other towns.
The lordship has a double historical origin. On the one side, the towns and villages of the Land of Jorquera, Hellín, Ves, Tobarra, Almansa, Yecla, Sax and Villena were owned by Infante Manuel of Castile, so it began to be called the Land of don Manuel. On the other side, the Land of Alarcón and Iniesta belonged to the crown during the 12th and 13th centuries, being incorporated to the lordship by Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena, who had a very wide jurisdiction in his land and made it become a Duchy and, finally, a Principality.
Upon the death of Don Manuel, the manor was inherited by his son, Don Juan Manuel, second lord, prince and first duke of Villena. It was he who would expand the manor and lead it to its period of greatest splendour, acquiring with his possessions an autonomy practically comparable to that of the peninsular kingdoms, playing with its border situation between Castile and Aragon. This phase of great power and autonomy would lead him to elevate the title to Duchy and even to a lifelong Principality, going so far as to mint his own currency or maintain a personal retinue of more than a thousand knights.
The Duchy returned to the Crown in 1366 after his only son Fernando Manuel had no male offspring.
The title of Marquess of Villena was giving to Alfonso I, Duke of Gandia, but this title returned to the Crown in 1385 when his son Pedro was killed in the Battle of Aljubarrota.
In the XV century the title of Duke of Villena was recreated and taken away several times, until it returned to the Crown in 1445.
Finally, the title of Marquess of Villena was recreated in 1445 for Juan Pacheco and still exists today.
| Holder | Period | Relation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lord of Villena | ||||
| Manuel of Castile | 1336-1283 | |||
| Don Juan Manuel | 1283-1336 | his son | ||
| Duke of Villena (1st Creation) | ||||
| Don Juan Manuel | 1336-1348 | |||
| Fernando Manuel de Villena | 1348-1350 | his son | ||
| Blanca Manuel de Villena | 1350-1361 | his daughter | ||
| Juana Manuel, Queen of Castile | 1361-1366 | her aunt | ||
| .... | Returned to the Crown | |||
| Duke of Villena (2nd Creation) | ||||
| Maria of Castile, Queen of Aragon | 1409-1415 | |||
| Henry of Trastámara | 1420-1424 | her brother in law | ||
| Catherine of Castile | 1424-1425 | his wife | ||
| Henry IV of Castile | 1436-1445 | her nephew | ||
| .... | Returned to the Crown | |||
. José María Soler. Digitalised by the Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes. Historia de Villena: desde la Prehistoria hasta el siglo XVIII. History of Villena: from Prehistory to the 18th Century. August 12, 2009. 1st. 2006. Fundación Municipal José María Soler & M.I. Ayuntamiento de Villena. Villena. Spanish. 978-84-934950-0-8.