Individual Details
Alfonso II King of Aragon
(1152 - 1196)
Alfonso was most likely born at Huesca between 1 and 25 March 1157, the son of Raymond Berengar IV, conde de Barcelona and Petronella, queen of Aragón. Born Raymond Berengar, he was not yet five when his father died. He ascended the united thrones of Aragón (1164) and Barcelona (1162) as Alfonso, his name being changed in deference to the Aragónese, to honour King Alfonso I of Aragón. He had various guardians, honorific and real: Henry II of England was named as a guardian, but in an entirely honorific capacity. So to, perhaps, was the official guardianship of his cousin Ramon Berenguer, count of Provence (d.1166). Documents show that the real power in Catalonia and Aragón was wielded by the seneschal Guillem Ramon de Montcada (d.1173) and Guillem de Torroja (d.1175), powerful lords from influential vicecomital families. Alfonso appears to have attained an acknowledged majority in 1173. He was the first ruler to be both king of Aragón and count of Barcelona. He was also count of Provence from 1181 to 1185.
On 18 January 1174 at Saragossa, Alfonso married Sancha of Castile, daughter of Alfonso VII, king of Castile and León and his second wife Richza/Rikinsa of Poland, who was the daughter of Wladislaw II, king of Poland and duke of Cracow and Slaski and Agnes von Österreich. Alfonso and Sancha had six children, of whom four were to have progeny, including his heir Pedro, who succeeded Alfonso as Pedro II, king of Aragón.
For most of his reign Alfonso was allied with King Alfonso VIII of Castile, both against Navarre and against the Moorish taifa kingdoms of the south. Apart from common interests, kings of Aragón and Castile were united by a formal bond of vassalage the former owed to the latter.
In his Reconquista effort Alfonso II pushed as far as Teruel, conquering this important stronghold on the road to Valencia in 1171. The same year saw him capturing Caspe. Another milestone in his alliance with Alfonso VIII of Castile was a formal treaty the two kings concluded at Cazorla in 1179, delineating zones of conquest in the south along the watershed of rivers Júcar and Segura. Southern areas of Valencia including Denia were thus secured to Aragón.
During his reign Catalonian influence north of the Pyrenees reached its zenith. His realms incorporated not only Provence, but also the counties of Cerdanya and Rousillon (inherited in 1172). Béarn and Bigorre paid homage to him in 1187. Alfonso's involvement in the affairs of Languedoc, which would cost the life of his successor, Pedro II of Aragón, for the moment proved highly beneficial, strengthening Catalonian trade and stimulating emigration from the north to colonise the newly reconquered lands in Aragón.
Alfonso died at Avignon on 25 April 1196. He was a noted poet of his time and a close friend of King Richard the Lionheart.
Source: Leo van de Pas
On 18 January 1174 at Saragossa, Alfonso married Sancha of Castile, daughter of Alfonso VII, king of Castile and León and his second wife Richza/Rikinsa of Poland, who was the daughter of Wladislaw II, king of Poland and duke of Cracow and Slaski and Agnes von Österreich. Alfonso and Sancha had six children, of whom four were to have progeny, including his heir Pedro, who succeeded Alfonso as Pedro II, king of Aragón.
For most of his reign Alfonso was allied with King Alfonso VIII of Castile, both against Navarre and against the Moorish taifa kingdoms of the south. Apart from common interests, kings of Aragón and Castile were united by a formal bond of vassalage the former owed to the latter.
In his Reconquista effort Alfonso II pushed as far as Teruel, conquering this important stronghold on the road to Valencia in 1171. The same year saw him capturing Caspe. Another milestone in his alliance with Alfonso VIII of Castile was a formal treaty the two kings concluded at Cazorla in 1179, delineating zones of conquest in the south along the watershed of rivers Júcar and Segura. Southern areas of Valencia including Denia were thus secured to Aragón.
During his reign Catalonian influence north of the Pyrenees reached its zenith. His realms incorporated not only Provence, but also the counties of Cerdanya and Rousillon (inherited in 1172). Béarn and Bigorre paid homage to him in 1187. Alfonso's involvement in the affairs of Languedoc, which would cost the life of his successor, Pedro II of Aragón, for the moment proved highly beneficial, strengthening Catalonian trade and stimulating emigration from the north to colonise the newly reconquered lands in Aragón.
Alfonso died at Avignon on 25 April 1196. He was a noted poet of his time and a close friend of King Richard the Lionheart.
Source: Leo van de Pas
Events
| Birth | 1152 | ||||
| Death | 1196 | ||||
| Marriage | Sancha Infanta de Castilla |
Families
| Spouse | Sancha Infanta de Castilla (1154 - 1208) |
| Child | Pedro II "the Catholic" King of Aragon (1176 - 1213) |