ALFONSO X DE CASTILLA: BIOGRAPHY AND CULTURAL CONTRIBUTIONS - HISTORY - 2024

Alfonso X of Castilla (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 tenure 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. He even managed to occupy Jerez in a very effective counter offensive that ended up conferring on Salé and Cádiz between 1260 and 1262.

Portrait of Alfonso X the Wise. Source: By Manuel Rodríguez (graveur), via Wikimedia Commons

In addition to his excellent governance and defense of territorial and economic interests, trades 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 recognized 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, between praises and miregres (miracles), where he expressed his Marian devotion and placed the Virgin Mary as an unattainable and immaculate maiden and him as the enamored troubadour.

Biography

The birth and its parents

Alfonso came to the world in 1221, on November 23, in the city of Toledo, just when the festival 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 Saint.

As a child, Urraca Pérez was assigned as a foster parent, and García Fernández de Villamayor as a guide. She spent her childhood under the care of these two characters, between Celada del Camino, Allariz (Galicia) and Villaldemiro. In Alleriz she learned Galician-Portuguese, the language in which she would later write her 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.

Alfonso, the hardened infant

By 1231, and when he was 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. The magnates Gil Manrique and Álvaro Pérez de Castro el Castellano accompanied him in this undertaking.

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 Cordovan territory, 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 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 Fernando III.

Murcia and Seville campaigns

Alfonso assumed his title of heir to the throne at the age of nineteen, 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, among which the Murcia campaign in 1243 stands out, 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 Aragón, who would later be his father-in-law, and they signed the Treaty of Almizra on March 26, 1244. This treaty set out 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 its dominions.

Marriage of Alfonso and Death of Fernando III

Alfonso X the Wise. Source: https://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:Alfonso_X_el_Sabio_(Ay Ayuntamiento_de_Le%C3%B3n).jpg

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. of 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 the marriage with 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, the Infante Alfonso was proclaimed king. Alfonso X of Castilla y León.

Internal state policy

If something characterized the government of Alfonso X were the constant reforms that he carried out on the kingdoms of Castile, León, and the rest that were in his charge during his mandate.

The line of work of Alfonso X the Wise turned its 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 forced to expel 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.

Unification of jurisdictions

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 had the Royal Charter drawn up, which would allow to reorganize and unify 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 great losses.

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.

State foreign policy

Alfonso X and the nomination for emperor

After the death of William II of the Netherlands, several delegations from the Roman Empire spread out across the vast territories of Europe, and other areas under the power of the emperor, 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 much criticism, and considerable opposition due to the expenses that such a nomination entailed.

In Castile, a notable number of nobles opposed it, not least in Soria. In fact, in this last town the mutiny that history called the Conjuration of Soria broke out.

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 firmly 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 ​​reaching the splendor that his ancestor, the Emperor, had. Alfonso VII.

The unfortunate last years of Alfonso X

After battling the resistance that opposed his coronation as emperor, and being defeated, Alfonso X faced another regrettable number of misadventures, notably the death of his heir in 1275.

Not being enough with that, innumerable betrayals of power flourished within the family group itself. Three years later, in 1278, he failed to conquer Algeciras.

Disputes for the throne after the death of the firstborn

The death of Fernando de la Cerda -his first-born- after trying to control an invasion in Andalusia by the North Africans, triggered 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 Las Siete Partidas 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, gave way to his abruptly changing his decision, having to support his grandchildren, Fernando's children, and not his son.

Betrayal of Sancho and Death of Alfonso

Sancho could not stand and rebelled against his father, along with many of the nobles. Such was the magnitude of Sancho's revolt that Alfonso X was deprived of all his powers, but not the title of king. Only Murcia, Badajoz and Seville continued to be under Alfonso's command.

The Wise King, coming under so many attacks by his own son, cursed him and left him out of the will, disinheriting him completely.

Death

Alfonso X died on April 4, 1284, in Seville. Despite Sancho having been disinherited, he was crowned king on April 30, 1284, in Toledo.

Cultural contributions

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.

Alfonso X and his Court. Source:

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 that love for culture and her son's wisdom.

The

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. Works such as the Speculum, the Royal Charter of Castile, the Siete Partidas and the Grande e General Estoria are due to the Alfonsi court.

The Toledo School of Translators

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.

References

1. Alfonso X of Castile. (S. f.). (N / a): Wikipedia. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org
2. Alfonso X "El Sabio". (S. f.). Spain: Region of Murcia. Recovered from: regmurcia.com
3. Alfonso X the Wise. (S. f.). (N / a): Escritores.org. Recovered from: Escribres.org.el
4. Bautista Pérez, F. (S. f.). Biography of Alfonso X the Wise. Spain: Cervantes Virtual. Recovered from: cervantesvirtual.com
5. Alfonso X the Wise. (Sf). (n / a): Biographies and Lives. Recovered from: biografiasyvidas.com