The Chief of the King's Guard, King's Chief Guard, or Chief of the King's Corps, (guarda-mor do rei, or guarda-mor do Corpo do Rei in Portuguese) was an officer of the Crown of Castile and of the Portuguese Royal Family whose function was to protect the monarch and command his guard.
History
Some authors, when speaking of this position, state that it was more "honorific than effective", although Jaime de Salazar y Acha points out that this may have been the case during the last period of the Late Middle Ages, but not in its beginnings, since in the first instance the king's security was in the hands of his ensign, but the latter in turn would delegate this responsibility to the officer of lower rank who would possibly, over the centuries, evolve into, in the opinion of this historian, the officer known as the Chief of the King's Guard.
When the office of the king's ensign was monopolized by members of the high nobility in the 13th century, such as the Lara and the Haro, as well as by young members of the royalty, and even young boys, the protection of the king was left in the hands of his chief guard. The position is mentioned for the first time in the reign of Sancho IV of Castile. In the Crónica (chronicle) of this monarch, the Portuguese nobleman Esteban Pérez Florián is mentioned as "guard of the King", and in the document from 1290 Diego Gómez de Roa is mentioned as "guard-major of our Body" ("guarda-mor de nosso Corpo").
Around 1424, the position of chief guard was shared by two individuals, although it is not known whether this was because it had then become more of an "honorific than an effective" title, or because they alternated in holding it. However, it is certain that in 1447, during the reign of John II of Castile, and according to what is stated in one of the records of his reign, several individuals held the position, which had already become hereditary for several families of the kingdom, receiving 20,000 maravedis a year.
Duties
In the reign of Alfonso X of Castile, as Manuel González Jiménez has pointed out, the chief of the king's guard was responsible for the safety of the king and his family at court or in his palace, and a small group of men were at his command, including twenty infantry crossbowmen and ten on horseback, who protected the court or the place where the monarch was, although the twenty knights and a similar number of squires on foot were in charge of protecting the monarch and his family.
Other duties of the chief guard were:
Commanding the personal guard that protected the king. Coordinate everything related to the monarch's security and take charge of its organization. Cooperate with other court officials such as the justiças-mores of the Royal House or the king's alguacis-mores, who were in charge of certain police and public order tasks within the court.
List of chiefs of the king's guard
Sancho IV (1284-1295)
(1286) Esteban Pérez Florián. He was also meirinho-mor (person applying justice and overseeing the application of justice on myearrial lands) of León and Asturias, alcalde of Serpa, and Mora and lieutenant of the fortresses of San Esteban de Gormaz, Castrojeriz, Fermoselle and Trastámara. (1290) Diego Gómez de Roa. (1291) Fernán Pérez de Andrade. (1293-1294) Sancho Sánchez de Ulloa. He was a Castilian nobleman of the Ulloa family, also lord of Ulloa and of Monterroso and reposteiro-mor of King Sancho IV of Castile. He was a member of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.
Alfonso XI (1312-1350)
(1327) Juan Martínez de Leiva. He was lord of Leiva, Banhos, A Coruña, and Valdescaray, meirinho-mor of Castile, guard and steward to King Alfonso XI of Castile, meirinho-mor of Biscay, knight of the Order of the Band (cavaleiro da Ordem da Banda), meirinho-mor of Biscay, notary (notário-mor das mordomias rodadas) and chamberlain to the Infanta Leonor of Castile, sister of Alfonso XI and later queen consort of Aragon by her marriage to King Alfonso IV of Aragon. (1327-1340) Alonso Jofré Tenorio. He was lord of Moguer, admiral of Castile, chief guard of the king, alcalde of Seville and alguacil-mor of Toledo. He was the son of Diego Alfonso Tenorio, chief treasurer of the king, and Aldonza Jofre de Loaysa. He died fighting against the Muslims in a naval battle in the Strait of Gibraltar in 1340. (1350) Lope Díaz de Cifuentes. Castilian rico homem (nobleman who fought for the king) and lord of Almansa. He was the son of Diego Ramírez de Cifuentes, adiantado-mor of León and Asturias and lord of Almanza and Cifuentes, and Leonor Fernández de Saldaña.
Peter I (1350-1369)