Alfonso X of Castile (1221-1284), also known as “el Sabio”, was a Spanish monarch who ruled the kingdoms of Castilla y León between 1252 and 1284. During his mandate he made considerable economic reforms regarding the currency and the property, which ended up being very beneficial for the inhabitants of his kingdom..
Not content with improving the quality of life of the Castilians and Leonese in the economic part, he also tried to defend his territories tooth and nail against the threat posed by the Moors at that time. It even occupied Jerez in a very effective counter offensive that ended up conferring on Salé and Cádiz between 1260 and 1262..
In addition to his excellent governance and defense of territorial and economic interests, jobs that demanded great demands on time and mental and physical effort, King Alfonso X still had time to develop a remarkable literary, legal, historical and scientific work..
To carry out such exalted and demanding work of written and investigative production, he had a whole court of work and numerous scribes who followed him everywhere..
The very prestigious and renowned School of Translators of Toledo also collaborated with him in his investigative work, leaving as a result a magnificent scientific and literary legacy for the Spanish language, mostly in prose..
In addition to the above, he had a wide poetic creation in the Galician-Portuguese language, highlighting his Cantigas de Santa María, with more than 400 poems, including praise and look at (miracles), where he expressed his Marian devotion and placed the Virgin Mary as an unattainable and immaculate maiden and him as the troubadour in love.
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Alfonso came to the world in 1221, on November 23, in the city of Toledo, just when the feast of San Clemente was being celebrated. His mother was Beatrice of Swabia, daughter of the King of Germany, Philip of Swabia, and his father was Ferdinand III, who was nicknamed the Holy.
As a child, Urraca Pérez was assigned as a foster parent, and García Fernández de Villamayor as a guide. He spent his childhood under the care of these two characters, between Celada del Camino, Allariz (Galicia) and Villaldemiro. In Alleriz he learned Galician-Portuguese, a language in which he would later write his Cantigas de Santa María.
As for his education, it was given to him at the court of Toledo, being prepared in a variety of fields of knowledge. It was there that he began to socialize with the heirs of the nobility of León and Castilla..
For the year 1231, and having just 9 years old, Alfonso, who was in Salamanca, was sent by his father Fernando III to end Muslim rule in the provinces of Córdoba and Seville. He was accompanied in such company by the magnates Gil Manrique and Álvaro Pérez de Castro el Castellano.
The campaign began in Salamanca, then they passed through Toledo, there they were joined by a group of forty hardened knights from Toledo. Then they headed for Andújar, from where they went to completely devastate the territory of Córdoba, even exterminating the entire population of Palma de Río..
After the massacre, they headed to Seville, and later to Jerez de la Frontera, and there they set up a camp and rested, right on the banks of the Guadelete River. There they faced the Emir Ibn Hud, in the renowned battle of Jerez, emerging victorious after defeating the Moorish army, strategically divided into flocks.
After the victory, the magnates took Alfonso to the kingdom of Castile to meet his father, King Ferdinand III..
Alfonso assumed at the age of nineteen his title of heir to the throne, and from that moment he exercised command in the kingdom of León. Not long after, he carried out several military operations of interest to his throne, including the Murcia campaign in 1243, while his father was convalescing..
In order to conquer Murcia he had to fight for two years. Thanks to the help of some Muslim leaders in the area, he managed to gain key dominance points in the offensive..
While he was gaining space, he reached an agreement with Jaime I of Aragon, who would later be his father-in-law, and they signed the Treaty of Almizra on March 26, 1244. This treaty established the borders that should be established between the kingdoms.
By 1246 he supported Sancho II of Portugal in the Portuguese civil war, against Alfonso de Bolonia, who was Sancho's brother. A year later, in 1247, he prepared to participate in a campaign to conquer Seville, culminating in 1248.
That same year began the invasion and dominance of the Taifa Kingdom of Murcia, a territory that had been granted in the Treaty of Almizra. After the victory, the cities of Elche, Alicante, Murcia, Lorca, Villena and Cartagena were added to his dominions..
Just two years after the conquest of Seville, Alfonso married the daughter of Jaime I of Aragón, the Infanta Violante de Aragón, with whom he had contracted betrothal in 1245. The union took place in 1249, on January 29 in the city. from Valladolid.
Many comments arose around this union because of how long it took the infant to get pregnant. People began to murmur that it was sterile, however later it remained in a state in the lands of Alicante.
Three years and four months after his marriage to the Infanta Violante, Fernando III el Santo, Alfonso's father, died on May 30, 1252. Two days later, on June 1 of the same year, Infante Alfonso was proclaimed king Alfonso X of Castile and Leon.
If something characterized the government of Alfonso X, it was the constant reforms that he carried out on the kingdoms of Castile, León, and the rest that were in his charge during his tenure..
The line of work of Alfonso X the Wise turned his territory into a modern state that would benefit in the long run the consolidation of the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, who would later be charged with the expulsion of the Arabs from the Iberian Peninsula and the expansion of power. of the Spanish state throughout Europe and America.
Among the most Solomonic measures of the Sage was the creation of the Honored Council of the Mesta, in 1273. In this council he conferred privileges and prerogatives to the shepherds, among which the exempting them from military service, the much-needed rights of passage and of grazing.
From the legislative point of view, Alfonso X applied profound reforms to achieve the unification of the jurisdictions of his kingdom. In order to consolidate this idea, he ordered the drafting of the Royal Charter, which would allow the reorganization and unification of the different cities under his command..
Another of the state policies that had a great impact on him was the repopulation of all the corners of his kingdom that, because of the war, had suffered heavy casualties..
This made it possible to reinforce the defense posts and increase the production of the different items in favor of the food and economic protection of its inhabitants..
After the death of William II of the Netherlands, various delegations from the Roman Empire spread out across the vast territories of Europe, and other areas under the emperor's power, to ask the kings if they wanted to run for supreme office and take the place of the late William..
Alfonso X was tempted and in fact accepted the proposal. However, the monarch received a lot of criticism, and considerable opposition due to the expenses that said postulation entailed..
In Castile a notable number of nobles objected, not least in Soria. In fact, in this last town the riot that history called the Conjuration of Soria.
But it was not only a matter of nobles to oppose the ambitions of Alfonso X, Pope Gregory X himself was one of those who reliably opposed his nomination, with the sole motive of weakening the foundations of the empire..
Despite the enormous amounts of money spent by Alfonso X to achieve his imperial dream, the enormous pressure of the Roman church truncated his dreams, and in 1275 he had to give up the idea of achieving the splendor that his ancestor, the Emperor, had. Alfonso VII.
After battling the resistance that opposed his coronation as emperor, and being defeated, Alfonso X faced another regrettable number of misadventures, among which the death of his heir in 1275 stands out..
That being not enough, countless betrayals of power flourished within the family group itself. Three years later, in 1278 he failed when trying to conquer Algeciras.
The death of Fernando de la Cerda -his first-born- after trying to control an invasion in Andalusia by the North Africans, unleashed a series of events that would lead to the total deterioration of the power of Alfonso X.
According to the Castilian common law, the one who should opt for the throne if the first-born died was the second-born, that is: Sancho. However, there was a legal variant introduced by Roman law called The Seven Games where it was established that the heir to the crown should be one of the deceased's children.
Alfonso X initially supported his son Sancho. However, the pressures aroused later, both internally and externally, led to her abruptly changing her decision, having to support her grandchildren, Fernando's children, and not her son.
Sancho could not bear and rebelled against his father, along with many of the nobles. Such was the magnitude of Sancho's revolt that they dispossessed Alfonso X of all his powers, but not the title of king. Only Murcia, Badajoz and Seville continued to be under the command of Alfonso.
The Wise King, coming under so many attacks by his own son, cursed him and left him out of the will, disinheriting him completely.
Alfonso X died on April 4, 1284, in Seville. Despite Sancho having been disinherited, he was crowned king on April 30, 1284, in Toledo..
If something characterized the mandate of Alfonso X was the development of his policies in favor of culture and learning, not in vain did they call him the "Wise Man". His educational preparation greatly influenced that..
The need to know the why of things was the catalyst for his great intellectual growth. His mother had a lot to do with this. Queen Beatrix of Swabia forged herself by studying at the Sicilian court after the death of her parents. She influenced her son's love of culture and wisdom.
Among the most important contributions of Alfonso X the Wise are the Cantigas de Santa María, considered a treasure of medieval literature. Alfonso promoted the creation of the "alfonsí court", where he brought together the most respectable composers and writers of the time to help him create works of real quality and weight..
Under his reign the arts had a place of honor, serving himself, in his role as king, as one of the main patrons of Castilla y León. It is due to the Alfonsi court works such as the Speculum, Royal Charter of Castilla, the Seven games and the Grande e General Estoria.
Another of the contributions of great repercussion of Alfonso X to the Hispanic culture was the formation of the Toledo School of Translators. To achieve such an undertaking he summoned scholars of the Latin, Arabic and Hebrew languages. He had the good fortune to bring together Jews, Christians and Muslims in the same working group for this purpose.
He also developed a considerable number of schools for learning the various languages of the Iberian Peninsula. He was in charge of taking the General Studies of Salamanca to the rank of University, in 1254, as well as that of Palencia, in 1263.
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