Descendants of Judah De La Cavalleria
The surname of de la Cavalleria according to the Encyclopedia Judaica was given to the
family by the knights Templar who protected the family and the family in turn administered
the tax system of the Templars. The family made its mark in Catalonia where they produced
administrators and intellectuals. The kingdoms of Castilla and Aragon not only tolerate
the Sephardim but allowed them to participate in the "cultural and economic
life" ( Elliot
page 103). However, Christian tolerance of the Sephardim diminished during the
"plague-stricken" mid-fourteenth century. Hatred of the Sephardim was
fueled by Christian preachers and culminated in the bloody anti-Jewish riots in
Castilla, Aragon, and Catalonia. In 1391 many Sephardim accepted baptism to save their
lives or wealth. Among those who adopted Christianity was Bonafos, a son of Vidal de
la Cavalleria. Eventually, many of the newly baptized Sephardim found their way up
the social ladder by excelling in commerce, medicine, law, arts, and government. Their
wealth and fame opened the door to high society circles and to the court as it was the
case of the de la Cavalleria who adopted Christianity.
- Although the conversos de la Caballeria found fame and wealth,
they created divisions in the family. Bonafos' son Judah became Christian and took the
name of Gaspar, but his daughter Reyna remained Jewish. Much to the grief of the Jewish
community, Vidal Joseph, a learned man who had translated classic works into Spanish and
had written Hebrew poems, also adopted Christianity.
- Pedro de la Cavalleria, a secretary of the royal treasury under King Alfonso V of Aragon, Catalonia, Napoles, y de Sicily (1396-1458), forged a an affidavit of "pureza de sangre" to deny any Jewish blood (Castro 549). Mariana de la Cavalleria. a descendant of the de la Cavalleria who became Christians, married Alonso de Estrada, a royal treasurer of the Spanish crown in the 1520s in México. Etrada was a colorful figure who was supposedly the bastard son of King Ferdinand III (1451-1516) of Aragon. Mariana de la Caballeria was a daughter of Juan Gutierrez de la Cavalleria and Mayor Flores de Guevara. Mariana's grandfather Mene de la Cavalleria relapsed into Judaism. After he died his bones were burned by the Inquisition.
Eventually, as the rest of Sephardim who left Spain rather than convert to Christianity, the members of the de la Cavalleria family who remained faithful to Judaism scattered throughout Europe and the Ottoman empire.
This page contains a family tree and a genealogical report of five generations of de la Cavalleria starting with Judah de la Cavalleria in the 13th century and ending in the 15th century with the children of Pedro de la Cavalleria.
Descendants of Judah De La Cavalleria
Generation No. 1
1. Judah1 De La Cavalleria was born 1230, and died 1286.
Notes for Judah De La Cavalleria:
Bailiff of Saragossa. The surname of de la Cavalleria according to the Encyclopedia Judaica was given to the family by the knights Templar who protected the family and the family in turn administered the tax system of the Templars. Judah aben Lavi de la Caballeria, the bailiff of Zaragoza, administered James I property and overseed judicial matters on behalf of the king. From 1257 to 1276, Judah was one of the most influential Jews in the kingdom of Aragon.
Children of Judah De La Cavalleria are:
2 i. Solomon2 De La Cavalleria, born 1273.
+ 3 ii. Abraham De La Cavalleria.
4 iii. Hasdai De La Cavalleria.
5 iv. Astruc De La Cavalleria.
3. Abraham2 De La Cavalleria (Judah1). He married Bonosa.
Children of Abraham De La Cavalleria and Bonosa are:
+ 6 i. Vidal3 De La Cavalleria, died 1373.
+ 7 ii. Salomon De La Cavalleria.
+ 8 iii. Bonafos De La Cavalleria.
6. Vidal3 De La Cavalleria (Abraham2, Judah1) died 1373. He married Orovida.
Children of Vidal De La Cavalleria and Orovida are:
9 i. Judah4 De La Cavalleria.
+ 10 ii. Bonafos De La Cavalleria.
11 iii. Bonfilla De La Cavalleria.
7. Salomon3 De La Cavalleria (Abraham2, Judah1).
Child of Salomon De La Cavalleria is:
+ 12 i. Benveniste Judah4 de La Cavalleria.
8. Bonafos3 De La Cavalleria (Abraham2, Judah1).
Notes for Bonafos De La Cavalleria:
Converted 1402 Source: Encyclopedia Judaica.
Children of Bonafos De La Cavalleria are:
13 i. Judah4 De La Cavalleria.
Notes for Judah De La Cavalleria:
Converted as Gaspar
14 ii. Reina De La Cavalleria.
Notes for Reina De La Cavalleria:
Remained Jewish
10. Bonafos4 De La Cavalleria (Vidal3, Abraham2, Judah1). He married (1) Leonor de la Cabra. He married (2) Jewish wife.
Notes for Bonafos De La Cavalleria:
He became a Catholic on February 2, 1414, changed his name to Fernando, and divorced his first wife. He had eight children with Leonor de la Cabra, his second wife.
Children of Bonafos De La Cavalleria and Leonor de la Cabra are:
15 i. Leonordo5 De La Cavalleria.
+ 16 ii. Pedro De La Cavalleria.
Child of Bonafos De La Cavalleria and Jewish wife is:
17 i. Tolosa5 de la Cavalleria.
12. Benveniste Judah4 de La Cavalleria (Salomon3, Abraham2, Judah1). He married Tolosana.
Notes for Benveniste Judah de La Cavalleria:
Source: Encyclopedia Judaica. He had four children converted and 2 daughters remained Jewish.
Child of Benveniste de La Cavalleria and Tolosana is:
18 i. Vidal Joseph5 de La Cavalleria.
Notes for Vidal Joseph de La Cavalleria:
Converted as Gonzalo
16. Pedro5 De La Cavalleria (Bonafos4, Vidal3, Abraham2, Judah1). He married Leonor de la Cabra.
Children of Pedro De La Cavalleria and Leonor de la Cabra are:
19 i. Leonardo6 De La Cavalleria.
+ 20 ii. Pedro De La Cavalleria.
20. Pedro6 De La Cavalleria (Pedro5, Bonafos4, Vidal3, Abraham2, Judah1).
Children of Pedro De La Cavalleria are:
21 i. Pablo7 De La Cavalleria.
22 ii. Alfonso De La Cavalleria.
Notes for Alfonso De La Cavalleria:
Vice chancellor of Aragon. He was accused of killing the inquisitor Pedro de Arbues in the Saragossa Cathedral. However, Alfonso was acquitted in 1501. He also opposed the decree of expulsion.
23 iii. Jaime De La Cavalleria.
Sources:
Castro, Americo The Structure of Spanish History Trans. Edmund L. King. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1954
Elliot, J. H. Imperial Spain: 1469-1716. New York, 1963.
Encyclopedia Castellana Judaica
Martinez, Lopez Nicolas Los
Judaisantes Castellanos y La Inquisicion en Tiempo de
Isabel La Catolica Burgos, 1954.
