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Birth:          11 Nov 1155 Soria, Castile
Death:          5 Oct 1214 

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonso_VIII_of_Castile
Alfonso VIII (11 November 1155[2] – 5 October 1214), called the Noble (El Noble) or 
the one of the Navas (el de las Navas), was the King of Castile from 1158 to his death 
and King of Toledo.[3][4] He is most remembered for his part in the Reconquista and 
the downfall of the Almohad Caliphate. After having suffered a great defeat with his 
own army at Alarcos against the Almohads in 1195,[5] he led the coalition of Christian 
princes and foreign crusaders who broke the power of the Almohads in the Battle of 
the Navas de Tolosa in 1212, an event which marked the arrival of a tide of Christian 
supremacy on the Iberian peninsula.[6]

His reign saw the domination of Castile over León and, by his alliance with Aragon, he 
drew those two spheres of Christian Iberia into close connection.
Regency and civil war[edit]

Alfonso was born to Sancho III of Castile and Blanche, in Soria on 11 November 
1155.[7] He was named after his grandfather Alfonso VII of León and Castile, who 
divided his kingdoms between his sons. This division set the stage for conflict in the 
family until the kingdoms were re-united by Alfonso VIII's grandson, Ferdinand III of 
Castile.[8]

His early life resembled that of other medieval kings. His father died in 1158. Though 
proclaimed king when only two years of age,[6] Alfonso was regarded as merely 
nominal by the unruly nobles to whom a minority was convenient. Immediately, Castile 
was plunged into conflicts between the various noble houses vying for ascendancy in 
the inevitable regency. The devotion of a squire of his household, who carried him on 
the pommel of his saddle to the stronghold of San Esteban de Gormaz, saved him from 
falling into the hands of the contending factions.[9] The noble houses of Lara and 
Castro both claimed the regency, as did the boy's uncle, Ferdinand II of León. In 1159 
the young Alfonso was put briefly in the custody of García Garcés de Aza, who was 
not wealthy enough to support him. In March 1160 the Castro and Lara met at the 
Battle of Lobregal and the Castro were victorious, but the guardianship of Alfonso and 
the regency fell to Manrique Pérez de Lara.

Alfonso was put in the custody of the loyal village Ávila. At barely fifteen, he came 
forth to do a man's work by restoring his kingdom to order. It was only by a surprise 
that he recovered his capital Toledo from the hands of the Laras.[9]

Marriage and Foreign Relations[edit]

During the regency, his uncle Sancho VI of Navarre took advantage of the chaos and 
the king's minority to seize lands along the border, including much of La Rioja. In 
1170, Alfonso sent an embassy to Bordeaux to Henry II of England and Eleanor of 
Aquitaine to seek the hand of their daughter Eleanor.[10] Due to the bride's young 
age of 9, the marriage was finalized at Burgos, before 17 September 1177.[11] The 
marriage treaty helped provide Alfonso with a powerful ally against his uncle. In 1176, 
Alfonso asked his father-in-law to arbitrate the disputed border territories. While 
Alfonso received back much which had been taken from him, he did have to pay 
significant monetary compensation.[10]

In 1186, he recuperated part of La Rioja from the Kingdom of Navarre.[citation 
needed]

In 1187, Alfonso negotiated with Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor who was seeking to 
marry his son Conrad to Alfonso's eldest child and heir, Berengaria. In April 1188 they 
agreed on a treaty in Seligenstadt which made clear that she was the heir of Castile 
after any sons of Alfonso, and that Conrad would only co-rule as her spouse. This 
became relevant in her ultimate succession to the throne, even though the marriage to 
Conrad was never consummated and later annulled. The treaty also documented 
traditional rights and obligations between the sovereign and the nobles in Castile. In 
July 1188, Alfonso convened his court in Carrión de los Condes to allow the nobles to 
review and ratify the treaty. At that court, Alfonso knighted both Conrad and Alfonso 
IX of León, who would ultimately marry Berengaria. The younger Alfonso had come to 
seek the support and acknowledgement of his ascent to the throne of León from his 
older cousin. The elder Alfonso granted this in exchange for acknowledgement that 
the king of Castile was overlord of the king of León.[12]

The relationship between the cousins Alfonso continued to be filled with conflict. In 
1194, the papal legate negotiated a treaty between them to temporarily end the 
conflict. However, after Castile was defeated at the Battle of Alarcos, the younger 
Alfonso seized the opportunity to again attack his cousin. Castille defended itself with 
papal support. A more lasting peace was achieved finally by the older Alfonso's 
daughter Berengaria getting married to the younger Alfonso in 1197.[13] The 
annulment of this marriage by the pope drove the younger Alfonso to again attack his 
cousin in 1204, but treaties made in 1205, 1207, and 1209 each forced him to 
concede further territories and rights.[14][15] The treaty in 1207 is the first existing 
public document in the Castilian dialect.[16]

Around 1200 when his brother in law John was on the English throne, Alfonso began 
to claim that Gascony was part of Eleanor's dowry, though there was nothing in the 
marriage treaty to indicate this. In 1205, he invaded, hoping to make good on his 
claim. By 1208, he gave up on the venture, though his heirs would come back to this 
claim generations later.[17]

Reconquista[edit]

In 1174, he ceded Uclés to the Order of Santiago and afterwards this became the 
order's principal seat. From Uclés, he began a campaign which culminated in the 
reconquest of Cuenca in 1177. The city surrendered on 21 September, the feast of 
Saint Matthew, ever afterwards celebrated by the citizens of the town.

Alfonso took the initiative to ally all Christian kingdoms of the peninsula — Navarre, 
León, Portugal, and Aragon — against the Almohads. By the Treaty of Cazola of 1179, 
the zones of expansion of each kingdom were defined.

After founding Plasencia (Cáceres) in 1186, he embarked on a major initiative to unite 
the Castilian nobility around the Reconquista.

In 1195, after the treaty with the Almohads was broken, he came to the defence of 
Alarcos on the river Guadiana, then the principal Castilian town in the region. At the 
subsequent Battle of Alarcos, he was roundly defeated by the caliph Abu Yaqub Yusuf 
al-Mansur. The reoccupation of the surrounding territory by the Almohads was quickly 
commenced with Calatrava falling first. For the next seventeen years, the frontier 
between Moor and Castilian was fixed in the hill country just outside Toledo.

Finally, in 1212, through the mediation of Pope Innocent III, a crusade was called 
against the Almohads. Castilians under Alfonso, Aragonese and Catalans under Peter 
II, Navarrese under Sancho VII, and Franks under the archbishop of Narbonne, 
Arnaud Amalric, all flocked to the effort. The military orders also lent their support. 
Calatrava first, then Alarcos, and finally Benavente were captured before a final battle 
was fought at Las Navas de Tolosa near Santa Elena on 16 July. The caliph 
Muhammad al-Nasir was routed and Almohad power broken.[6]

Cultural legacy[edit]

Alfonso was the founder of the first Spanish university, a studium generale at 
Palencia, which, however, did not survive him.[9] His court also served as an 
important instrument for Spanish cultural achievement.

Alfonso died at Gutierre-Muñoz[18] and was succeeded by his surviving son, Henry I.

Alfonso was the subject for Lion Feuchtwanger's novel Die Jüdin von Toledo (The 
Jewess of Toledo), in which is narrated an affair with a Jewish subject in medieval 
Toledo in a time when Spain was known to be the land of tolerance and learning for 
Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The titular Jewish woman of the novel is based on 
Alfonso's paramour, Rahel la Fermosa.[19] Scholars continue to debate the historical 
truth of this relationship.[20] The 1919 film The Jewess of Toledo by Franz Höbling is 
also based on this relationship.[21]

Children[edit]

With Eleanor[22] Alfonso had 11 children:[23]


Name

Birth

Death

Notes

Berengaria Burgos,
 1 January/
 June 1180 Las Huelgas near Burgos,
 8 November 1246 Married firstly in Seligenstadt on 23 April 1188 with Duke Conrad II 
of Swabia, but the union (only by contract and never solemnized) was later annulled. 
Married in Valladolid between 1/16 December 1197 with King Alfonso IX of León as 
his second wife.[24] After their marriage was dissolved on grounds of consanguinity in 
1204, she returned to her homeland and became regent of her minor brother King 
Henry I. Queen of Castile in her own right after the death of Henry I in 1217, quickly 
abdicated in favor of her son Ferdinand III of Castile who would re-unite the kingdoms 
of Castile and León. 
Sancho Burgos,
 5 April 1181 26 July 1181 Heir of the throne since his birth, died aged three months. 
Sancha 20/28 March 1182 3 February 1184/
 16 October 1185 Died in infancy. 
Henry 1184 1184? Heir of the throne since his birth, died either shortly after being 
born or in infancy. His existence is disputed among sources. 
Urraca 1186/
 28 May 1187 Coimbra,
 3 November 1220 Queen of Alfonso II of Portugal 
Blanche Palencia,
 4 March 1188 Paris,
 27 November 1252 Married to Louis VIII of France 
Ferdinand Cuenca,
 29 September 1189 Madrid,
 14 October 1211 Heir of the throne since his birth. On whose behalf Diego of Acebo 
and the future Saint Dominic travelled to Denmark in 1203 to secure a bride.[25] 
Ferdinand was returning through the San Vicente mountains from a campaign against 
the Muslims when he contracted a fever and died.[26] 
Mafalda Plasencia,
 1191 Salamanca,
 1211 Betrothed in 1204 to Infante Ferdinand of Leon, eldest son of Alfonso IX and 
stepson of her oldest sister. 
Eleanor 1200[27] Las Huelgas,
 1244 Married in Ágreda on 6 February 1221 with James I of Aragon. 
Constance c.?1202[27] Las Huelgas,
 1243 A nun at the Cistercian monastery of Santa María la Real at Las Huelgas in 
1217, she became known as the Lady of Las Huelgas, a title shared with later royal 
family members who joined the community.[27] 
Henry Valladolid,
 14 April 1204 Palencia,
 6 June 1217 Only surviving son, he succeeded his father in 1214 aged ten under the 
regency firstly of his mother and later his oldest sister. He was killed when he was 
struck by a tile falling from a roof. 

Through his daughters, Berengaria and Blanche, he was the grandfather of two 
monarchs who became saints of the Roman Church.

Parents
ALFONSEZ Sancho III "the Desired" (1134 - 31 Aug 1158)
OF NAVARRE Blanche (Blanca) (ABT 1134 - 12 Aug 1156)

Siblings
SANCHEZ Alfonso VIII "the Noble" (11 Nov 1155 - 5 Oct 1214)

Marriage To ____ Eleanor (13 Oct 1162 - 25 Oct 1214)
    m. 1170 

Notes
contract marriage. Note date of children's births

Parents
PLANTAGENET Henry II "Curt Mantel" (5 Mar 1133 - 6 Jul 1189)
D'AQUITAINE ET POITOU Eleonore (ABT 1121 - 31 Mar 1204)

Children by ____ Eleanor 13 Oct 1162 - 25 Oct 1214
OF CASTILE Bernegaria (Berenguela) (Jun 1180 - 8 Nov 1246)
DE CASTILE Urraca (ABT 1185 - 3 Nov 1220)
DE CASTILE Blanche (Blanca) Alphonsa (BEF 4 Mar 1188 - 27 Nov 1252)

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