Name:
Llorenç Alfons María de Agramunt, Conde de Alicante, Cavaller de l'Ordre de Santiago
Date of Birth:
June 9, 1458
Class:
Noble
Religion:
Catholic
Bio:
The second son of the Aragonese General de Agramunt, Llorenç was quite quickly confronted with high expectations and an ambitious nature, often declaring to his father that he would someday overtake his father. Despite this high level of ambition and the General's seeming favoritism toward his younger son, there was not much that Llorenç could do about his birthright. He was the second son and he could not rely on becoming the next Conde de Alicante as he route to success. Instead, he left Alicante at the age of seventeen to become a member of the Order of Santiago. It was with the Order that he became a trusted adviser to certain aspects of the Castilian nobility. This, however, would catch the attention of the King of Castille, who would encourage the Order of Santiago to send the Aragonese knight to Portuguese Morocco, where he had assassins waiting.Llorenç Alfons María de Agramunt, Conde de Alicante, Cavaller de l'Ordre de Santiago
Date of Birth:
June 9, 1458
Class:
Noble
Religion:
Catholic
Bio:
De Agramunt was therefore ordered to travel with a small band to protect Christian merchants across the Strait of Gibraltar. However, in an act of apparent foresight, he requested that his ship's captain travel not for the Portuguese territory, but rather for Melilla. It was there that he and his fellow knights opened a small monastery-hospital in the mercantile district of Melilla, often rushing to the defense of Aragonese merchants who were being assailed by Moroccan criminals.
While he was in Melilla, however, he received the startling news of his father's death. The knight, however, placed his obligations to God and the Order before returning to see his father's corpse (it was widely claimed that Llorenç said that "A great man- the man I chase... He will not.... He must not ever die.") His elder brother- Augustín Virgilio Pastor de Agramunt, who was known for having a sickly disposition- took over the family's estates. It was during this time that very few letters were exchanged between the two brothers, who themselves were never particularly close. Llorenç was not even invited to attend his brother's wedding, reflecting the strained nature of the brothers' relationship.
This strained relationship was not shared with his two sisters, Marta and Candelas, who were ten and fifteen years his juniors, respectively. Despite hardly knowing their brother, the two were often kept in good health by kind and charitable gifts from their brother. They would be the first ones he would visit after hearing the news of his brother's passing to slow fever. With his return to Aragon, he was formally instated as the Count of Alicante, ready to make a name for himself and bring glory to his entire family.
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