García de Medrano y Álvarez de los Ríos, Lord of San Gregorio (Valladolid, 20 July 1604 – 3 September 1683)^[1] was a prominent Spanish statesman who held numerous high-ranking positions throughout his career. He served as regent and interim viceroy of the Kingdom of Navarre, Fiscal (prosecutor), mayor and regent of Seville, and professor at the University of Salamanca. He was also a Knight of the Order of Santiago, perpetual regidor of Soria and procurator in the Cortes, crime prosecutor of the Royal Audiencia and Chancery of Valladolid, auditor of Valladolid, auditor of the Council of Finance and the Council of the Indies, Minister of Finance, Minister of the Council of the Indies, President of the Chamber of Magistrates in Seville, Prosecutor and Councilor of the Royal Council of Castile, Minister of Justice, Minister of Castile and His Majesty's Chamber, and Councilor of the Spanish Inquisition.^[2]

In 1657 he presided over the Hall of Mayors of Castile and later reformed the University of Alcalà and the College of San Eugenio. He served as Councilor of the Royal Council of Castile until his death in 1683.

García de Medrano y Alvarez de los Rios, Lord of San Gregorio, was born in Valladolid on 20 July 1604. He was the son of García de Medrano y Castejón, a Knight of Santiago and a member of the Royal Council of Castile, who was married to María Álvarez de los Ríos. This marriage became the foundation of one of the most prominent families of royal legal officials (togados) serving the Spanish Monarchy throughout the 17th and 18th centuries.^[3]

The Medrano family, known for their extensive landholdings and wealth, played a key role in managing Soria’s municipal affairs during the 15th century, building their wealth through corn cultivation and sheep farming.^[4] By the 16th century, they had risen to prominent positions in central administration, with members serving on the Royal Council of Castile.^[5] According to genealogical proofs provided by García de Medrano y Castejón, this branch of the family not only owned the entailed estate and fortress of San Gregorio but also possessed 15,000 sheep.^[6]

García's son, García de Medrano y Mendizábal, was granted the title of 1st Count of Torrubia, a Spanish noble title created on 29 August 1694 by King Charles II of Spain. His second son, Andrés de Medrano y Mendizábal, succeeded him as the 2nd Count of Torrubia after his elder brother died without heirs.^[7]

Their ancestral estate is situated in San Gregorio, approximately seven kilometers from La Rubia in the province of Soria.^[5] In 1677, García de Medrano added a new construction or renovation to the Castle of San Gregorio, commemorated in stone above the entrance.^[8]

His mother María Álvarez de los Ríos, from the noble House of Álvarez de los Ríos, was born in Soria and baptized in the parish of Santa María Magdalena on 27 September 1561.^[3]

García de Medrano y Álvarez de los Ríos is the paternal grandson of García de Medrano y Vinuesa, born in Soria, and his wife Catalina de Castejon. His grandfather was lord of San Gregorio.^[6]

Garcia de Medrano is the paternal great–grandson of Diego López de Medrano, Lord of San Gregorio, and Francisca de Vinuesa, who were known for being immensely wealthy.^[6]

Garcia de Medrano is the great–great–grandson of Diego López de Medrano y Vergara, Lord of San Gregorio, a member of His Majesty's Council, and Magdalena Bravo de Lagunas, well-known for their nobility in the Kingdom of Castile.^[6]

García de Medrano is also the great-uncle of Francisco Antonio de Agurto Salcedo Medrano Zúñiga, Captain General and Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands.^[9]

On 18 October 1626, García de Medrano y Álvarez de los Ríos entered the Colegio Mayor de San Bartolomé (Salamanca), graduating in Canons.^[6] According to Ruiz y Vergara:

He graduated as a Licentiate in Canons at the College in 1636. On October 17, the Council gave him the position of Sixth Chair of Property, above all the other professors who had been promoted before him.^[10]

In the year 1630, he was a judge of studies, and two years later, he was appointed to hold the mayorship and prosecutorship of the Audiencia of Seville until 1636.^[10] García served as the perpetual regidor of Soria (or the perpetual legal representative of the king in the municipality of Soria), and procurator in the Cortes.^[11]

His academic career led him to occupy the Chair of Canons on 17 October 1636, and that of Sextus (Sextus Decretalium) and Clementines (Clementine Constitutions) at the University of Salamanca, as professor. He was Doctor of Canons on September 4, 1638.^[2]

In 1641, Philip IV of Spain appointed him prosecutor of the Chancery of Valladolid and on February 10, 1643, auditor of Valladolid.^[2]

García de Medrano was elected regent of the Kingdom of Navarre on 17 January 1645 following the death of Gabriel Vigil.^[2] He remained in this position until 1648.

In November 1645, he presided over the interim viceroy position in Navarre^[12] in the absence of the Count of Oropesa. He later served as a consultant to the viceroy during the Cortes of 1645 and 1646.^[5]

Despite his brief time in Navarre, he made a strong impact, leading the kingdom to request in 1648 that his replacement be of equal standing, describing him as:

a distinguished figure in governance and letters, worthy as is Don García.^[5][13]

On April 2, 1648, he was elevated to the position of judge of the Council and the General Accounting Office of the Treasury, though he did not officially assume the role until January 27 of the following year.^[5]

He was also appointed prosecutor of the Council of Castile on September 11, 1652.^[2]

Shortly after, on September 25, 1652, he was elected regent of the Audiencia of Seville and therefore, Councilor of Castile.^[2]

In 1657, he presided over the Chamber of Magistrates in the Audiencia of Seville as President.^[2]

In 1657, García de Medrano presided over the Hall of Mayors of Castile and was appointed by the king of Spain as a visitor and reformer to the University of Alcalá and the College of San Eugenio.^[14]

Garcia de Medrano was appointed Councilor of the Supreme Council and General Inquisition on 10 September 1664, he replaced García de Porres, a position he swore on 23 December 1664.^[2]

On March 26, 1670, he was elected a member of the Royal Chamber of Castile. Retired in June 1678, he was reinstated in his office on January 1, 1680.^[2]

Although King Charles II was reluctant to grant retirements to members of the Council of Castile, García de Medrano was authorized to retire in 1678 due to his advanced age and the fact that he attended council meetings only 15 to 20 days a year. Shortly thereafter, he was officially granted retirement, but by January 1680, he returned to his duties, serving until his death on 3 September 1683.^[5]

At the time of his passing, García de Medrano y Álvarez de los Ríos had under his patronage several religious institutions in Spain.^[5]

In Burgos, Medrano patronized the Convent of Las Huelgas, a royal Cistercian monastery founded in 1187 by King Alfonso VIII and Queen Eleanor of England. This convent held significant prestige, serving as a burial site for Castilian royalty and maintaining a privileged status under the direct authority of the monarchy.^[15]

García supported the Convent of San Isidro in Madrid, a Jesuit institution known for its theological scholarship and missionary work, reinforcing the intellectual and spiritual influence of the Society of Jesus.^[16][17] He also contributed to the Mercedarian Discalced Convent in Madrid, a reformed branch of the Order of Mercy, which was dedicated to the ransom of Christian captives held by Muslim powers. His patronage of the Royal Monastery of San Antón in Madrid, a prestigious institution tied to the Spanish monarchy and the Antonine Order, further solidified his connection to both the Crown and the Church, particularly in the charitable treatment of those afflicted by Saint Anthony’s Fire (ergotism).^[18]

Beyond the capital, his support extended to the Carmelite Convent in Duruelo, the first reformed Carmelite monastery founded by Saint Teresa of Ávila in 1568. As a center of monastic renewal and ascetic devotion, the convent embodied the ideals of the Counter-Reformation, emphasizing spiritual discipline and a return to stricter religious observance.^[19]

In the 17th century, the kings' oversight of the universities they established or safeguarded prompted the dispatch of visitors and reformers.^[21] García de Medrano was entrusted with the inspection and reform of the Colegio de Málaga at the University of Alcalá de Henares by royal commission.^[5]

García de Medrano was the main envoy sent to the University of Alcala. The reforms implemented marked the conclusion of the university's independence, a principle previously endorsed by the Catholic Church.^[21] In the year 1657, Garcia de Medrano presided over the Hall of Mayors of Castile and was visitor of the University of Alcalá. A reformation ordered by Philip IV was carried out at the University of Alcalá de Henares. The overseer and reformer for this task was Doctor Garcia de Medrano, a member of His Majesty's council and chamber, and of the Supreme Council and General Inquisition.^[14][22]

García de Medrano was tasked with executing the reformation and fulfilling the visitation in the year 1665, with the implementation being carried out in the subsequent year, 1666.^[20] The reforms instituted by visitor García de Medrano y Álvarez de los Ríos in 1665 stipulated that chairs in law, theology, and medicine would undergo a competitive process every six years. As for the eight chairs in arts, they held a tenure of only four years, resulting in two chairs becoming vacant annually.^[23] Whenever a vacancy arose for any reason, the information was announced in classes and posted publicly for fifteen days. At the conclusion of this period, individuals interested in competing for the chair would present themselves before the rector and councilors of the College of San Ildefonso.^[14]

This group oversaw the "taking of points" (tomas puntos), where a boy or trusted person randomly selected three text passages with a knife blade. The rector designated three distinctions, allowing contestants, ranked by seniority, to choose one for their 24-hour Latin lecture preparation before delivering it.^[14] Originally, these competitive lectures were heard by the students, who then cast their votes based on preference. However, despite stringent regulations, this process led to considerable tumult and corruption. Consequently, the crown eventually annulled this provision of the founder, reserving the final selection for the Council of Castile.^[24]

Student voting for chairs at Salamanca was abolished in 1641, it seems likely that similar steps would have been taken at Alcalá about the same time. By the mid-eighteenth century, the council had shifted to allocating chairs solely based on seniority and college connections. Additionally, Medrano's six-year limit on tenure was observed only in a formal manner. Vacancy edicts were posted for only three days in the classroom of the professor whose term had ended. This professor would naturally enter the competition, be assumed as the sole candidate, and thus "repossessed" of their chair without a genuine contest.^[14]

Furthermore, the powers of the cloister were confined by Medrano to matters related to granting degrees, waiving courses, and the minutiae of academic administration. The cloister lacked control over the university's finances, the selection of professors, and the design of the curriculum.^[25] However, it did possess the privilege to choose councilors from the faculties of theology, canon law, and medicine to represent its interests in the rector's deliberations.^[26]

The College of San Eugenio, also known as San Ambrosio, was located on Nebrija Street. In the 16th century, it formed part of a block alongside the College of San Isidro and the Hospital of San Lucas. Initially accommodating 36 students specializing in Latin and Greek, the number was later reduced to 16 following reforms implemented by García de Medrano. In the early 19th century, the college was relocated to Santa Balbina.^[27]

García de Medrano y Álvarez de los Ríos was married to María Ignacia de Mendizábal y Uribe, the daughter of Gregorio López de Mendizábal.^[28] Dr. Gregorio López de Mendizábal (1590–1647) was a distinguished jurist who held several prominent positions, including Fiscal in Granada (1623), Oidor in Granada (1628), Alcalde de Casa y Corte (1635), and Councilor of Castile (1642).^[3]

Together García and Maria had three sons:

• García de Medrano y Mendizábal, I Count of Torrubia, born in Madrid on 7 September 1652, and died on 3 March 1695.

• Andrés de Medrano y Mendizábal, 2nd Count of Torrubia, born in Seville on 5 November 1654, and died in Madrid on 22 December 1720.^[29]

• Domingo de Medrano y Mendizabal, born in 1650, died in 1672. Baptized in Madrid on March 15, 1650.

His son Domingo became a knight of the Order of Calatrava at just nine years old and inherited the family estate of San Gregorio, which he left to his younger brother, García, as he had no heirs. He died at a young age. After studying at the Colegial Mayor de Santa Cruz de Valladolid, he started his administrative career, having taken on the role of auditor for the Audiencia of Seville on November 11, 1672, when he passed away.^[30]

In 1668-1669, Domingo de Medrano was a professor and rector at the University of Salamanca. He married María de Robles, together they had a daughter named Águeda de Medrano. On May 10, 1664, Francisco de Aragüés y Medrano, son of José de Aragüés y Abarca and María de Medrano, married Águeda de Medrano, daughter of Domingo de Medrano and María de Robles. The couple were second cousins.^[31]

For at least about 160 years, many members in the House of Medrano were linked to the University of Salamanca: in 1508, Luis de Medrano was the rector and his sister Luisa de Medrano was the first female professor at the University of Salamanca and Europe.^[32] The next generation of the Medrano family also produced two rectors at the University of Salamanca: Domingo and García de Medrano y Mendizábal, both fourth nephews of Luisa de Medrano and knights of the Order of Calatrava. The Book of the university's Claustro for the year 1668-1669 describes Domingo's abdication and García's election for the rest of the year very clearly. The Book of the university's Claustro of 1668-1669 indicates that Domingo de Medrano, due to urgent business in Madrid, was forced to resign, and was succeeded by García de Medrano y Mendizábal, undoubtedly his brother.^[33]

Garcia de Medrano's great-great-granddaughter Maria became Duchess of Gor, Grandee, by marriage. The title's name refers to the town of Gor in the province of Granada. García de Medrano's great-great-granddaughter Duchess María del Carmen Chacón Medrano married Nicolás Mauricio Álvarez de las Asturias Bohorques y Vélez Ladrón de Guevara, Verdugo y Enríquez de Sevilla, I Duke of Gor.