Individual Details
Alfonso X "The Wise" King of Castilla y León
(1221 - 1284)
Alfonso was born in Toledo on 23 November 1221, the eldest son of Fernando III, king of Castile and León, and Elisabeth von Hohenstaufen. His epithets were 'the Astronomer' and 'the Wise', more accurately translated as 'the Learned'.
On 26 November 1248 Alfonso married Yolande/Violante of Aragón, daughter of Jaime I 'the Conqueror', king of Aragón, and Violante of Hungary, daughter of Andras II, king of Hungary. Alfonso and Yolande had ten children of whom two daughters and four sons would have progeny. Alfonso also had children by several mistresses.
As a writer and intellectual, Alfonso gained considerable scientific fame based on his encouragement of astronomy and the Ptolemaic cosmology as known to him through the Arabs. (Because of this, the Alphonsus crater on the Moon is named after him). His fame extends to the preparation of the Alfonsine tables, based on calculations of al-Zarqali Alzarquel. One famous quote attributed to him was supposedly said upon hearing an explanation of Ptolemy's theory of astronomy and being shown the extremely complicated mathematics required to 'prove' it: 'If the Lord Almighty had consulted me before embarking on creation thus, I should have recommended something simpler.' The validity of this quotation is questioned by some historians.
Alfonso supported the long-established program of translation traditionally known as the School of Translators of Toledo that increased the flow of ancient Greek and Arabic knowledge into Christian Europe. Welcoming Jewish as well as Christian scholars to his court, Alfonso sponsored a translation of the Talmud. After the revolt by his son Sancho, however, Alfonso turned against the Jewish community of Toledo, imprisoning them in their synagogues and demolishing their homes.
As a ruler, Alfonso showed legislative capacity, and a wish to provide his kingdoms with a code of laws and a consistent judicial system. The _Fuero Real_ was undoubtedly his work. He began the code called the _Siete Partidas,_ but this was only promulgated by his great-grandson. Because of these achievements, he is one of the 23 lawmakers depicted in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives.
Alfonso was the first king who initiated the use of the Castilian language extensively, although his father, Fernando III had begun the use of it for some documents instead of Latin, as the language used in courts and churches, and in books and official documents.
Alfonso lacked the singleness of purpose required of a ruler who would devote himself to organisation, and also the combination of firmness with temper needed for dealing with his nobles.
Alfonso's descent from the Hohenstaufen through his mother, a daughter of Philipp von Hohenstaufen, emperor-elect, gave him a claim to represent the Swabian line. Alfonso's election by the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire after the death in 1254 of Konrad IV von Hohenstaufen, the young emperor-elect, misled him into wild schemes that involved excessive expense but never took effect. To obtain money, he debased the coinage and then endeavoured to prevent a rise in prices by an arbitrary tariff. The little trade of his dominions was ruined, and the burghers and peasants were deeply offended. His nobles, whom he tried to cow by sporadic acts of violence, rebelled against him.
Alfonso's eldest son Fernando de Castile de La Cerda died in 1275, leaving two infant sons. Alfonso's second son Sancho claimed to be the new heir, in preference to the children of Fernando de La Cerda, basing his claim on an old Castilian custom, that of proximity of blood and agnatic seniority. Alfonso preferred to leave the throne to his grandsons, but Sancho had the support of the nobility. A bitter civil war broke out, resulting in Alfonso being forced in 1282 to accept Sancho as his heir instead of his young grandsons. Son and nobles alike supported the Moors when Alfonso tried to unite the nation in a crusade; and when he allied himself with Abu Yusuf Yakub, the ruling Merini sultan of Morocco, they denounced him as an enemy of the faith.
A reaction in Alfonso's favour was beginning in his later days, but on 12 April 1284 he died defeated and deserted at Seville, leaving a will by which he endeavoured to exclude Sancho, and a heritage of civil war.
Alfonso commissioned or co-authored numerous works of music during his reign. These included _Cantigas d'escarnio e maldicer, General Estoria_ and the _Libro de los juegos_ ('Book of Games'). Among the most important of his works was the celebrated _Cantigas de Santa Maria_ ('Song to the Virgin Mary'), one of the largest collections of monophonic songs to survive from Medieval times. The _Cantigas de Santa Maria_ consists of 420 poems written in Galician-Portuguese with musical notation. The poems are for the most part on miracles attributed to the Virgin Mary. One of the miracles Alfonso relates is his own healing in Puerto de Santa Maria.
Source: Leo van de Pas
On 26 November 1248 Alfonso married Yolande/Violante of Aragón, daughter of Jaime I 'the Conqueror', king of Aragón, and Violante of Hungary, daughter of Andras II, king of Hungary. Alfonso and Yolande had ten children of whom two daughters and four sons would have progeny. Alfonso also had children by several mistresses.
As a writer and intellectual, Alfonso gained considerable scientific fame based on his encouragement of astronomy and the Ptolemaic cosmology as known to him through the Arabs. (Because of this, the Alphonsus crater on the Moon is named after him). His fame extends to the preparation of the Alfonsine tables, based on calculations of al-Zarqali Alzarquel. One famous quote attributed to him was supposedly said upon hearing an explanation of Ptolemy's theory of astronomy and being shown the extremely complicated mathematics required to 'prove' it: 'If the Lord Almighty had consulted me before embarking on creation thus, I should have recommended something simpler.' The validity of this quotation is questioned by some historians.
Alfonso supported the long-established program of translation traditionally known as the School of Translators of Toledo that increased the flow of ancient Greek and Arabic knowledge into Christian Europe. Welcoming Jewish as well as Christian scholars to his court, Alfonso sponsored a translation of the Talmud. After the revolt by his son Sancho, however, Alfonso turned against the Jewish community of Toledo, imprisoning them in their synagogues and demolishing their homes.
As a ruler, Alfonso showed legislative capacity, and a wish to provide his kingdoms with a code of laws and a consistent judicial system. The _Fuero Real_ was undoubtedly his work. He began the code called the _Siete Partidas,_ but this was only promulgated by his great-grandson. Because of these achievements, he is one of the 23 lawmakers depicted in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives.
Alfonso was the first king who initiated the use of the Castilian language extensively, although his father, Fernando III had begun the use of it for some documents instead of Latin, as the language used in courts and churches, and in books and official documents.
Alfonso lacked the singleness of purpose required of a ruler who would devote himself to organisation, and also the combination of firmness with temper needed for dealing with his nobles.
Alfonso's descent from the Hohenstaufen through his mother, a daughter of Philipp von Hohenstaufen, emperor-elect, gave him a claim to represent the Swabian line. Alfonso's election by the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire after the death in 1254 of Konrad IV von Hohenstaufen, the young emperor-elect, misled him into wild schemes that involved excessive expense but never took effect. To obtain money, he debased the coinage and then endeavoured to prevent a rise in prices by an arbitrary tariff. The little trade of his dominions was ruined, and the burghers and peasants were deeply offended. His nobles, whom he tried to cow by sporadic acts of violence, rebelled against him.
Alfonso's eldest son Fernando de Castile de La Cerda died in 1275, leaving two infant sons. Alfonso's second son Sancho claimed to be the new heir, in preference to the children of Fernando de La Cerda, basing his claim on an old Castilian custom, that of proximity of blood and agnatic seniority. Alfonso preferred to leave the throne to his grandsons, but Sancho had the support of the nobility. A bitter civil war broke out, resulting in Alfonso being forced in 1282 to accept Sancho as his heir instead of his young grandsons. Son and nobles alike supported the Moors when Alfonso tried to unite the nation in a crusade; and when he allied himself with Abu Yusuf Yakub, the ruling Merini sultan of Morocco, they denounced him as an enemy of the faith.
A reaction in Alfonso's favour was beginning in his later days, but on 12 April 1284 he died defeated and deserted at Seville, leaving a will by which he endeavoured to exclude Sancho, and a heritage of civil war.
Alfonso commissioned or co-authored numerous works of music during his reign. These included _Cantigas d'escarnio e maldicer, General Estoria_ and the _Libro de los juegos_ ('Book of Games'). Among the most important of his works was the celebrated _Cantigas de Santa Maria_ ('Song to the Virgin Mary'), one of the largest collections of monophonic songs to survive from Medieval times. The _Cantigas de Santa Maria_ consists of 420 poems written in Galician-Portuguese with musical notation. The poems are for the most part on miracles attributed to the Virgin Mary. One of the miracles Alfonso relates is his own healing in Puerto de Santa Maria.
Source: Leo van de Pas
Events
| Birth | 1221 | ||||
| Death | 1284 | ||||
| Marriage | Violante Infanta de Aragon |
Families
| Spouse | Violante Infanta de Aragon (1236 - 1301) |
| Child | Infanta Beatriz de Castilla (1253 - 1280) |
| Child | Sancho IV "The Brave" King of Castilla y León (1258 - 1295) |
| Spouse | María Guillen de Guzmán ( - 1262) |
| Child | Beatriz of Castilla (1242 - 1303) |
| Father | Saint Fernando III King of Castilla (1200 - 1252) |
| Mother | Elisabeth von Hohenstaufen (1202 - 1234) |