Alfonso X (also known asthe Wise,Spanish:el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) wasKing of Castile,León andGalicia from 1 June 1252 until his death in 1284. During theelection of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to beking of Germany on 1 April. He renounced his claim to Germany in 1275, and in creating an alliance with theKingdom of England in 1254, his claim on theDuchy of Gascony as well.
Alfonso was born on 23 November 1221[2] in Toledo, Kingdom of Castile. He was the eldest son ofFerdinand III andElizabeth (Beatrice) of Swabia.[3] His mother was the paternal cousin ofHoly Roman Emperor Frederick II, to whom Alfonso is often compared. His maternal grandparents werePhilip of Swabia andIrene Angelina. Little is known about his upbringing, but he was most likely raised in Toledo. For the first nine years of his life Alfonso was only heir to Castile until his paternal grandfather kingAlfonso IX of León died and his father united the kingdoms of Castile andLeón. He began his career as a soldier, under the command of his father, when he was sixteen years old.
After the accession of KingTheobald I of Navarre, Ferdinand tried to arrange a marriage for Alfonso with Theobald's daughter,Blanche, but the move was unsuccessful. At the same time, he had a romantic relationship withMayor Guillén de Guzmán, who bore him a daughter,Beatrice. In 1240, he married Mayor Guillén de Guzmán, but the marriage was later annulled and their issue declared illegitimate. During the 1240s, alongside his father, he conquered several Muslim strongholds inAl-Andalus, includingMurcia,Alicante andCádiz.
Alfonso succeeded his father as King of Castile and León in 1252. The following year he invaded Portugal, capturing the region of theAlgarve. KingAfonso III of Portugal had to surrender.[citation needed] Despite this Afonso III reached an agreement with Alfonso X that in consenting to marry Alfonso X's daughter,Beatrice of Castile, the captured land would be returned to their heirs. In 1261 Alfonso Xcaptured Jerez. In 1263 he returned Algarve to the King of Portugal and signed theTreaty of Badajoz (1267).
In 1256, on the death ofWilliam II of Holland, Alfonso's descent from the Hohenstaufen through his mother, a daughter of Philip of Swabia, gave him a claim to the German crown through theHohenstaufen line. Alfonso's election asGerman king by theprince-electors encouraged him to enter into complicated schemes that involved excessive expenses but never to success. Alfonso never travelled to Germany, and his alliance with the ItalianGhibelline LordEzzelino IV da Romano deprived him of the support ofPope Alexander IV. His rival,Richard of Cornwall, went to Germany and was crowned in 1257 atAachen.
To obtain money, Alfonso debased the coinage and then endeavoured to prevent a rise in prices by an arbitrarytariff. The little trade that took place in 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 in 1272. Reconciliation with the nobles was brought about by Alfonso's son Ferdinand in 1273.
After Richard of Cornwell's death, the German princes electedRudolph of Habsburg (1273), Alfonso being declared deposed byPope Gregory X. In 1275 Alfonso tried to meet with his imperial vicar in Italy,William VII of Montferrat (who had succeeded Ezzelino), and his Ghibelline allies inPiedmont andLombardy to celebrate the victory against the GuelphCharles I of Anjou and be crowned in Lombardy. However, he was halted in his imperial ambitions in Provence by the Pope who, after a long negotiation, obtained Alfonso's oral renunciation of any claims to the Holy Roman Empire.
Portrait of Alfonso X from the codex Tumbo 'A' de Santiago (Dated between 1229 and 1255)
Throughout his reign, Alfonso contended with his nobles, particularly the families ofNuño González de Lara,Diego López de Haro andEsteban Fernández de Castro, all of whom were formidable soldiers and instrumental in maintaining Castile's military strength in its frontier territories. According to some scholars Alfonso lacked the singleness of purpose required by a ruler who would devote himself to organization and also the combination of firmness with temper needed for dealing with his nobles although this is not a view taken by all.[5][additional citation(s) needed] Others have argued that his efforts were too singularly focused on the diplomatic and financial arrangements surrounding his bid to become Holy Roman Emperor.[citation needed]
Alfonso's eldest son,Ferdinand, died in 1275 at theBattle of Écija against the Moroccan andGranadan invasion armies, leaving two infant sons. Alfonso's second son,Sancho, claimed to be the new heir, in preference to the children of Ferdinand de la Cerda, basing his claim on an old Castilian custom, that ofproximity of blood andagnatic 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's being forced in 1282 to accept Sancho as his heir instead of his young grandsons; only the cities ofSeville,Murcia andBadajoz remained faithful to him. Son and nobles alike supported theMoors when he tried to unite the nation in a crusade; and when he allied himself withAbu Yusuf Yakub, the rulingMarinidsultan of Morocco, they denounced him as an enemy of the faith. A reaction in his favour was beginning in his latter days, but he died defeated and deserted at Seville in 1284, leaving a will, by which he endeavoured to exclude Sancho, and a heritage of civil war.[citation needed]
In 1273, he created theMesta, an association of some 3,000 petty and great sheep holders in Castile, in reaction to less wool being exported from the traditional sites in England.[6] This organization later became exceedingly powerful in the country (as wool became Castile's first major exportable commodity[6] and reported a trade surplus, called "white gold", as the wool amount was critical to the health of the population during the winter), and eventually its privileges were to prove a deadly wound in the Castilian economy. One side effect of the quickly expanding sheep herds was the decimation to the Castilian farmland through which the sheep grazed.[6]
The original function of the Mesta was to separate the fields from the sheep-ways linking grazing areas.
As a ruler, Alfonso showed legislative capacity, and a wish to provide the kingdoms expanded under his father with acode of laws and a consistent judicial system. TheFuero Real[further explanation needed] was undoubtedly his work. He began medieval Europe's most comprehensive code of law, theSiete Partidas, which, however, thwarted by the nobility of Castile, was only promulgated by his great-grandson. Because of this, and because thePartidas remain fundamental law in the American Southwest,[7] he is one of the 23 lawmakers depicted in the House of Representatives chamber of theUnited States Capitol.
From a young age Alfonso X showed an interest in military life and chivalry. In 1231 Alfonso traveled with Pérez de Castron on a military campaign in lower Andalusia. Writing inEstoria de España, Alfonso describes having seenSt. James on a white horse with a white banner and a legion of knights fighting a war above the soldiers of Spain.[8] This vision of a heavenly army fighting in Jerez and participation in military campaigns likely left Alfonso X with a high degree of knowledge and respect for military operations and chivalric knights. Alfonso's respect for chivalry can also be seen in his writing of Spanish law. Spanish Chivalric conduct was codified in theSiete Partidas (2,21) where he wrote that knights should be, "of good linage and distinguished by gentility, wisdom, understanding, loyalty, courage, moderation, justice, prowess, and the practical knowledge necessary to assess the quality of horse and arms (Siete Partidas, 21,1–10)."[9] These efforts to make a codified standard of chivalric conduct were likely meant to both encourage strength of arms (prowess) and to restrain the use of violence for onlyjust (state-sponsored) usage.
King Alfonso X developed a court culture that encouraged cosmopolitan learning. Alfonso had many works previously written inArabic and Latin translated into vernacular Castilian in his court. Alfonso "turned to the vernacular for the kind of intellectual commitments that formerly were inconceivable outsideLatin."[10] He is credited with encouraging the extensive written use of theCastilian language instead of Latin as the language used in courts, churches, and in books and official documents (although his father,Ferdinand III, had begun to use it for some documents). This translation of Arabic and Classic documents into vernacular encouraged the development of Spanish sciences, literature, and philosophy.
From the beginning of his reign, Alfonso employed Jewish, Christian and Muslim scholars at his court, primarily for the purpose of translating books fromArabic andHebrew into Latin and Castilian, although he always insisted on personally supervising the translations. This group of scholars formed his royalscriptorium, continuing the tradition of the twelfth-century Escuela de Traductores de Toledo (Toledo School of Translators). Their final output promoted Castilian as a learning language both in science and literature, and established the foundations of the newSpanish language. This evolved version of the Castilian language also acquired significant relevance in the royal chancery, where it came to replace Latin, which until then had been the language commonly used for royal diplomacy in Castile and León.[11]
The very first translation, commissioned by his brother, Fernando de la Cerda—who had extensive experience, both diplomatic and military, among the Muslims of southern Iberia and north Africa—was a Castilian version of theanimal fableKalila wa-Dimna,[12] a book that belongs to the genre ofwisdom literature labeledMirrors for Princes: stories and sayings meant to instruct the monarch in proper and effective governance.
The primary intellectual work of these scholars centered on astronomy and astrology. The early period of Alfonso's reign saw the translation of selected works of magic (Lapidario,Picatrix,Libro de las formas et las ymagenes) all translated by a Jewish scholar namedYehuda ben Moshe (Yhuda Mosca, in the Old Spanish source texts). These were all highly ornate manuscripts (only theLapidario survives in its entirety) containing what was believed to be secret knowledge on the magical properties of stones andtalismans. In addition to these books of astral magic, Alfonso ordered the translation of well-known Arabic astrological compendia, including theLibro de las cruzes andLibro conplido en los iudizios de las estrellas. The first of these was, ironically, translated from Latin (it was used among theVisigoths), into Arabic, and then back into Castilian and Latin.[13] Most of the texts first translated at this time survive in only one manuscript each.
As an intellectual he gained considerable scientific fame based on his encouragement ofastronomy, which includedastrology at the time and thePtolemaiccosmology as known to him through theArabs. He surrounded himself with mostly Jewish translators who rendered Arabic scientific texts into Castilian at Toledo. His fame extends to the preparation of theAlfonsine tables, based on calculations ofal-Zarqali, "Arzachel".Alexander Bogdanov maintained that these tables formed the basis forCopernicus's development of aheliocentric understanding in astronomy.[14]Because of this work, the lunar craterAlphonsus is named after him. One famous, but apocryphal, quote attributed to him upon his hearing an explanation of the extremely complicated mathematics required to demonstratePtolemy's theory of astronomy was "If the Lord Almighty had consulted me before embarking on creation thus, I should have recommended something simpler."[15] Gingerich (1990) says that a form of this alleged quotation was mentioned (but rejected) as early as the 16th century by the historianJerónimo de Zurita, and that Soriano Viguera (1926) states that "nothing of the sort can be found in Alfonso's writings."[16] Nevertheless,Dean Acheson (U.S. Secretary of State, 1949–1953) used it as the basis for the title and epigraph of his memoirPresent at the Creation.[17]
Alfonso also commissioned a compilation ofchronicles, theCrónica general, completed in 1264. This chronicle sought to establish a general history and drew from older chronicles, folklore and Arabic sources.[18] This work enjoyed renewed popularity starting in the sixteenth century, when there was a revival of interest in history;Florián de Ocampo published a new edition andLorenzo de Sepúlveda used it as the chief source of his popularromances. Sepúlveda wrote a number of romances having Alfonso X as their hero.
Alfonso's court compiled in Castilian a work titledGeneral Estoria. This work was an attempt at a world history that drew from many sources and included translations from theVulgate Old Testament mixed with myths and histories from the classical world, mostly Egypt, Greece, and Rome.[18] This world history was left incomplete, however, and so it stops at the birth of Christ.[19] The main significance of this work lies in the translations from Latin into Castilian.[19] Much like his chronicles, the ability of Alfonso's court to compile writings from a variety of cultures and translate them into Castilian left a historic impact on Spain.
Alfonso X is credited with the first depiction of anhórreo, a typical granary from the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. The oldest document containing an image of anhórreo is Alfonso'sCantigas de Santa Maria (song CLXXXVII) from XII A.C. In this depiction, three rectangularhórreos of Gothic style are illustrated.
Alfonso also had theLibro de ajedrez, dados, y tablas ("Libro de los Juegos" (The Book of Games)) translated into Castilian from Arabic and added illustrations with the goal of perfecting the work.[20] It was completed in 1283.[21] The Libro de juegos contains an extensive collection of writings onchess, with over 100chess problems andchess variants.[22]
Alfonso X commissioned or co-authored numerous works of music during his reign. These works includedCantigas d'escarnio e maldicer and the vast compilationCantigas de Santa Maria ("Songs to the Virgin Mary"), which was written inGalician–Portuguese and figures among the most important of his works. TheCantigas de Santa Maria form one of the largest collections of vernacularmonophonic songs to survive from theMiddle Ages. They consist of 420 poems with musical notation. The poems are for the most part onmiracles attributed to theVirgin Mary. One of the miracles Alfonso relates is his own healing inPuerto de Santa María.[23]
Violante was twelve or thirteen years old at the time of her marriage to Alfonso; she produced no children for several years and it was feared that she was barren. Alfonso almost had their marriage annulled, but they went on to have eleven children:
Berengaria (1253 – after 1284). She was betrothed to Louis, the son and heir of KingLouis IX of France, but her fiancé died prematurely in 1260. She entered the convent in Las Huelgas, where she was living in 1284.
Ferdinand de la Cerda, Infante of Castile (23 October 1255 – 25 July 1275). He married Blanche, the daughter of King Louis IX of France, by whom he had two children. Because he predeceased his father, his younger brother Sancho succeeded to the throne.
^Márquez (1995) says "Some historians have been only too quick to label him, most unfairly, as a brilliant intellectual who was bungling and inefficient in practical affairs."
^The medieval church : the world of clerics and laymen. Burns, Robert I., Alfonso X, King of Castile and Leon, 1221–1284., Scott, Samuel Parsons. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 2001. pp. xix.ISBN9780812217384.OCLC847550277.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
^Musser Golladay (2007:31). Although Musser Golladay is not the first to assert that 1283 is the finish date of theLibro de Juegos, thea quo information compiled in her dissertation consolidates the range of research concerning the initiation and completion dates of theLibro de Juegos.
^Wollesen, Jens T. "Sub specie ludi...: Text and Images in Alfonso El Sabio's Libro de Acedrex, Dados e Tablas", Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 53:3, 1990. pp. 277–308.
^Keller, John E. (2015).Daily life depicted in the Cantigas de Santa Maria. Cash, Annette Grant, 1943–. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. p. 31.ISBN9780813159096.OCLC900344519.
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