Fernando I of Navarre
| Fernando I | |
|---|---|
 Fernando I in a 13th-century miniature | |
| King of Navarre and Aragon | |
| Reign | 21 July 1104 - 23 August 1127 |
| Predecessor | Antso IV |
| Successor | Fernando II |
| King of Valencia | |
| Reign | 20 December 1108 - 23 August 1127 |
| Successor | Fernando II |
| Born | 18 August 1073 Pampalona |
| Died | 23 August 1127 (aged 54) Jaca |
| Burial | Santa María la Real de Nájera |
| Consort | Patricia de Poitou (m. 1091; d. 1125) |
| Issue | Rodrigo Fernandez Fernando II of Navarre |
| House | Jimena |
| Father | Antso IV of Navarre |
| Mother | Adelhaid of Hungary |
Fernando I, known as Fernando the Careless (Fernando el Descuidado; 18 August 1073 - 23 August 1127), was king of Navarre and Aragon from 1104 and the first king of Valencia from 1108 until his death. In his wars against the Muslims of the Iberian Peninsula he conquered considerable portions of land in southeastern Spain. Despite his cognomen he is remembered as a capable administrator.
Before the throne
Fernando was born at Pampalona on 18 August 1073, three months after his father King Antso IV had crowned himself king of Aragon. His childhood is obscure except for references to the prince being provided with a riding-master. In 1080 his mother Queen Adelhaid was murdered. In 1089 Fernando attained his majority and was dubbed a knight by his father in the presence of the nobles and prelates of Navarre and Aragon.
On 1 August 1091 Fernando married Patricia de Poitou, duchess of Gascony. During most of the 1090s he lived as duke of Gascony at Roquefort in southern France, where he gained valuable administrative experience leading his wife's council. In 1097 Patricia inherited the duchy of Poitou on the death of her sister Aines and the duke and duchess moved to Poitiers. In the spring of 1099 Fernando acted as regent of Gascony and Poitou during his wife's pregnancy. After the duchess gave birth to a son, Rodrigo Fernandez, in July the prince was recalled to Navarre by his father.
King of Valencia
On 21 July 1104 Antso IV died and Fernando became king of Navarre and Aragon. On 28 August he was crowned king of Navarre at Pampalona, and on 7 October he received the Aragonese crown at Barbastro.