Alfonso VIII, centre, and Queen Eleanor, left.

Alfonso VIII (11 November 1155, Soria – 5 October 1214), son of Sancho III of Castile and Blanche of Navarre,^[1] was also called the Noble or el de las Navas. He was the King of Castile from 1158 to his death in 1214. He is most remembered for his part in the Reconquista and the downfall of the Almohad Caliphate. After having suffered a defeat at Alarcos, he won a decisive victory at Las Navas de Tolosa near Santa Elena on 16 July, 1212.^[2]

[edit] Cultural legacy

Alfonso was the founder of the first Spanish university, a studium generale at Palencia, which, however, did not survive him. His court also served as an important instrument for Spanish cultural achievement. His marriage (Burgos, September 1180) with Eleanor (Leonora), daughter of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine, brought him under the influence of the greatest governing intellect of his time. Troubadours and sages were always present, largely due to the influence of Eleanor.

Alfonso died at Gutierre-Muñoz and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Henry I, named after his maternal grandfather.

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 historical paramour, Rahel la Fermosa.

[edit] Children

With Eleanor of England he had 10 children:^[3]

• Berengaria, or Berengaria, (August 1180 – 8 November 1246), married Alfonso IX of Leon
• Sancho (1181)
• Sancha (1182 – 3 February 1184)
• Urraca (1186 – 1220), married Alfonso II of Portugal
• Blanche (4 March 1188 – 26 November 1252), married Louis VIII of France
• Ferdinand (29 September 1189 – 1211), on whose behalf Diego of Acebo and the future Saint Dominic travelled to Denmark in 1203 to secure a bride^[4]
• Mafalda (1191 – 1204)
• Constance (1195 – 1243), abbess of Santa María la Real of Las Huelgas
• Eleanor (1200 – 1244), married James I of Aragon
• Henry I (14 April 1204 – 1217), successor

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• COSTA, Ricardo da. "Love and Crime, Chastisement and Redemption in Glory in the Crusade of Reconquest: Alfonso VIII of Castile in the battles of Alarcos (1195) and Las Navas de Tolosa (1212)". In: OLIVEIRA, Marco A. M. de (org.). Guerras e Imigrações. Campo Grande: Editora da UFMS, 2004, p. 73-94 (ISBN 85-7613-023-8).
• Vicaire, M.-H. "Une ambassade dans les Marches," in Pierre Mandonnet, Saint Dominique: l'idée, l'homme et l'oeuvre Vol. 1. Desclée De Brouwer: Paris, 1938.
• Foundation for Medieval Genealogy on Alfonso VIII of Castile, marriage and issues
• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• MARRACHE, Abraham S. "La Historia de Fermosa, la amante de Alfonso VIII", Hebraica Ediciones, Madrid (2009) http://www.historiadefermosa.com
• Medieval Iberia: an encyclopedia, Ed. E. Michael Gerli and Samuel G. Armistead, Routledge, 2003.