Doña María la Brava

Born in the palace of Monroy in Plasencia, she moved to Salamanca until the end of her days. The life of María de Monroy is set in the context of the conflict between noble factions in the city of Salamanca in the mid-15th century. The story tells of the revenge taken by María de Monroy, who led a group of armed men from Villalba de los Llanos in pursuit of her sons’ murderers. Having dispatched spies, they managed to discover their whereabouts in Portugal. María and her men arrived at the house where the brothers Gómez and Alonso had sought refuge, and there she took her revenge on them, returning later to Salamanca with the heads of both, which she threw on the tombs of her sons, buried in the church of Santo Tomé. The people nicknamed María Rodríguez de Monroy, María la Brava, who has become an archetype of female fortitude and severity in the face of such a singularly gruesome event.

Source:

• https://dbe.rah.es/biografias/43027/maria-rodriguez-de-monroy