Unnamed Armenian princess

Two sources, the Livro Velho das Linhagens and the Fragmento both tell the story of an unnamed Armenian princess who, during her pilgrimage to Compostela in Spain, was kidnapped and raped by Mendo Alão, senhor da Vila de Bragança

Now, as to whether this story is true, we simply do not know. It was common practice for these noble families to fabricate fantastical and exotic ancient ancestors for their families. Through this unfortunate princess, they could claim to be the descendants of kings. There is unfortunately no way to verify these legends.

As for the identity of her parents, the sources do not tell us anything. She is simply identified as an Armenian princess.

The problem is that during this period, there were multiple kingdoms in Armenia, and there is no indication as to which dynasty she is supposed to belong to. There are no references to her from Armenian sources.

The genealogist Narciso Binayan Carmona tries to identify her parentage in an article titled "Una princesa armenia en Compostela en el siglo XI: su genealogia."

He states that he believes that the story is true, but does not offer any proof for this belief or explain why he thinks so.

If we accept that she is not a legendary person, the problem is that there were 5 different kingdoms in Armenia during the 11th century.

Most of his article is devoted to setting up the background for Armenian history and has little to do with the princess. He concludes that in his estimation, the best candidate for her parentage comes from the kingdom of Vaspurakan, since they had contacts with Byzantium during this period. He concludes that perhaps she is a relative, maybe a daughter, of Johannes II, King of Vaspurakan the ruler of Vaspurakan during the period of her supposed pilgrimage.

But, he has no evidence for this connection, it is just a guess. It represents an interesting theory, but it is simply that, a theory. There is not enough evidence for it to be represented as fact on the Geni tree and I (Tamas Caldwell-Gilbert) suggest that the connection between the princess and Johannes II, King of Vaspurakan be removed. The connection is not based on sources. His argument is interesting, but it certainly does not rule out any of the other Armenian kingdoms, let alone come close to proving that she existed in the first place. We could include a discussion in their about sections for the theory though.

Sometimes identified as Princess of Vaspurakan, Armenia, Ne Artsrouni, Joana Romães Arcruni of Armenia, but there is no evidence.

(Ne Ardzrouní) Pais

Senek'erim Hovhannes Artsrouni, roi de Vaspourakan +1026 Kouschkousch Bagratid Casamentos e filhos

Casada cerca 1025 com D. Mendo Alaniz, tiveram Ourroana Menendez ca 1025 D. Fernando Mendes «o Velho» de Bragançãos ca 1030-ca 1117 Notas

Foi raptada por seu futuro marido quando, cerca de 1025, ficou instalada no mosteiro de Castro de Avelãs (Bragança), numa peregrinação que fazia a Santiago de Compostela.

Fontes: Manuel Abranches de Soveral («Os Bragançãos», Lisboa 2004, de J. C. L. S. Machado)

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Princesa de Vaspurakan. Habría sido raptada por su futuro marido, Mendo Alao, mientras acompañaba a su padre (Rey de Vaspurakan) en una peregrinación a Santiago de Compostela desde su país, más allá del Mar Negro. Algunos genealogistas dicen que se trata de una fábula. Geneall la trata como verdadera, pero se equivoca casi desde el principio, confundiendo hermanos con padres.

Princesa arménia, da dinastia Arcruni, e filha (ou neta) do rei João Senequerim Arcruni (960 - 1027), último rei de Vaspuracã, e de sua mulher Koushkoush Bagratuni da Armenia, esta filha do Rei Cacício I da Armenia. A princesa terá sido raptada quando vinha a Santiago de Compostela em peregrinação com seu pai João Senequerim visitar o corpo do apóstolo Santiago Maior de Compostela. Os turbulentos acontecimentos que então tinham lugar no seu longínquo reino de Vaspuracã, com ameaça iminente das invasões bárbaras, justificariam esta peregrinação por parte do piedoso rei.