Suero de Quiñones

Suero de Quiñones (c. 1409 – 11 July 1456), called ("he of the pass"), was a Leonese knight, nobleman, and author in the Kingdom of León (then part of the Crown of Castile). He gained fame for his Paso Honroso, a pas d'armes (passage of arms), at the Órbigo River in 1434.

Early life Suero was born in 1409 in the Kingdom of León, the second of ten children of wealthy Leonese landowner , known as El Afortunado (The Fortunate One) and scion of the House of Quiñones, and his wife María de Toledo.

By the 1420s, Suero and his elder brother were active participants in Castilian political life as members of the court of Constable of Castile Álvaro de Luna.

Later years In 1449, to avoid paying off a debt to a Jewish lender, Suero reportedly rallied the Christian population of León against the city's Jews, inspired by the claim that the Jews were collectively responsible for Jesus's death. On Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, Suero and his companions attacked the Jewish quarter and killed many Jews, including the lender to whom Suero owed money. To celebrate the pogrom, Suero and his supporters drank wine. According to Margarita Torres, this incident may be the root of the matar judíos tradition in Spain, whereby revelers drink Leonese lemonade during Holy Week.

Legacy Suero became legendary in Spanish history and was mentioned by protagonist Don Quixote de la Mancha in the legendary 1605 Spanish novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes.