, Alfonso Vii Of León And Castile

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Alfonso VII of León and Castile
b: 1 MAR 1105
d: 21 AUG 1157
Biography
Alfonso VII (1 March 1105 – 21 August 1157), born Alfonso Raimúndez,called the Emperor (el Emperador), became the King of Galicia in 1111[1]and King of León and Castile in 1126. Alfonso first used the titleEmperor of All Spain, alongside his mother Urraca, once his mother vestedhim with the direct rule of Toledo in 1116. Alfonso later held anotherinvestiture in 1135 in a grand ceremony reasserting his claims to theImperial title. He was the son of Urraca of León and Raymond of Burgundy,the first of the House of Burgundy to rule in the Iberian peninsula.

Alfonso was a dignified and somewhat enigmatic figure. His rule wascharacterised by the renewed supremacy of the western kingdoms ofChristian Iberia over the eastern (Navarre and Aragón) after the reign ofAlfonso the Battler. He also sought to make the imperial title meaningfulin practice, though his attempts to rule over both Christian and Muslimpopulations was even less successful. His hegemonic intentions never sawfruition, however. During his tenure, Portugal became de factoindependent, in 1128, and was recognized as de jure independent, in 1143.He was a patron of poets, including, probably, the troubadour Marcabru.

In 1111, Diego Gelmírez, Bishop of Compostela and the count of Traba,crowned and anointed[2] Alfonso King of Galicia in the cathedral ofSantiago de Compostela.[3] He was a child, but his mother had (1109)succeeded to the united throne of León-Castile-Galicia and desired toassure her son''s prospects and groom him for his eventual succession. By1125 he had inherited the formerly Muslim Kingdom of Toledo. On 10 March1126, after the death of his mother, he was crowned in León andimmediately began the recovery of the Kingdom of Castile, which was thenunder the domination of Alfonso the Battler. By the Peace of Támara of1127, the Battler recognised Alfonso VII of Castile. The territory in thefar east of his dominion, however, had gained much independence duringthe rule of his mother and experienced many rebellions. After hisrecognition in Castile, Alfonso fought to curb the autonomy of the localbarons.

When Alfonso the Battler, King of Navarre and Aragón, died withoutdescendants in 1134, he willed his kingdom to the military orders. Thearistocracy of both kingdoms rejected this. García Ramírez, Count ofMonzón was elected in Navarre while Alfonso pretended to the throne ofAragón. The nobles chose another candidate in the dead king''s brother,Ramiro II. Alfonso responded by occupying La Rioja, conquering Zaragoza,and governing the realms in unison. From this point, the arms of Zaragozabegan to appear in those of León.

In several skirmishes, he defeated the joint Navarro-Aragonese army andput the kingdoms to vassalage. He had the strong support of the lordsnorth of the Pyrenees, who held lands as far as the River Rhône. In theend, however, the combined forces of the Navarre and Aragón were too muchfor his control. At this time, he helped Ramon Berenguer III, Count ofBarcelona, in his wars with the other Catalan counties to unite the oldMarca Hispanica.

A vague tradition had always assigned the title of emperor to thesovereign who held León. Sancho the Great considered the city theimperiale culmen and minted coins with the inscription Imperator totiusHispaniae after being crowned in it. Such a sovereign was considered themost direct representative of the Visigothic kings, who had beenthemselves the representatives of the Roman Empire. But though appearingin charters, and claimed by Alfonso VI of León and Alfonso the Battler,the title had been little more than a flourish of rhetoric.

In 1135, Alfonso was crowned "Emperor of Spain" in the Cathedral ofLeón.[4] By this, he probably wished to assert his authority over theentire peninsula and his absolute leadership of the Reconquista. Heappears to have striven for the formation of a national unity which Spainhad never possessed since the fall of the Visigothic kingdom. Theelements he had to deal with could not be welded together. The weaknessof Aragon enabled him to make his superiority effective. After Afonso Iof Portugal recognised him as liege in 1137, Alfonso VII lost thetournament at Arcos de Valdevez in 1141 thereby affirming Portugal''sindependence.[5] In 1143, he himself recognised this status quo andconsented to the marriage of Petronila of Aragon with Ramon Berenguer IV,a union which combined Aragon and Catalonia into the Crown of Aragon.

Alfonso was a pious prince. He introduced the Cistercians to Iberia byfounding a monastery at Fitero. He adopted a militant attitude towardsthe Moors of Al-Andalus, especially the Almoravids. From 1138, when hebesieged Coria, Alfonso led a series of crusades subjugating theAlmoravids. After a seven-month siege, he took the fortress of Oreja nearToledo and, as the Chronica Adefonsi Imperatoris tells it:

“ . . . early in the morning the castle was surrendered and the towerswere filled with Christian knights, and the royal standards were raisedabove a high tower. Those who held the standards shouted out loud andproclaimed "Long live Alfonso, emperor of León and Toledo!" ”

In 1142, Alfonso besieged Coria a second time and took it. In 1144, headvanced as far as Córdoba. Two years later, the Almohads invaded and hewas forced to refortify his southern frontier and come to an agreementwith the Almoravid Ibn Ganiya for their mutual defence. When Pope EugeneIII preached the Second Crusade, Alfonso VII, with García Ramírez ofNavarre and Ramon Berenguer IV, led a mixed army of Catalans and Franks,with a Genoese–Pisan navy, in a crusade against the rich port city ofAlmería, which was occupied in October 1147. A third of the city wasgranted to Genoa and subsequently leased out to Otto de Bonvillano, aGenoese citizen. It was Castile''s first Mediterranean seaport.[6] In1151, Alfonso signed the Treaty of Tudilén with Ramon Berenguer. Thetreaty defined the zones of conquest in Andalusia in order to prevent thetwo rulers from coming into conflict. Six years later, Almería enteredinto Almohad possession. Alfonso was returning from an expedition againstthem when he died in pass of Muradel in the Sierra Morena, possibly atViso del Marqués (Ciudad Real).[7]

Alfonso was at once a patron of the church and a protector, though not asupporter of, the Muslims, who were a minority of his subjects. His reignended in an unsuccessful campaign against the rising power of theAlmohads. Though he was not actually defeated, his death in the pass,while on his way back to Toledo, occurred in circumstances which showedthat no man could be what he claimed to be — "king of the men of the tworeligions." Furthermore, by dividing his realm between his sons, heensured that Christendom would not present the new Almohad threat with aunited front.

In November 1128, he married Berenguela,[8] daughter of Ramon BerenguerIII, Count of Barcelona. She died in 1149. Their children were:
Sancho III of Castile (1134–1158)
Ramon, living 1136, died in infancy
Ferdinand II of León (1137–1188)
Constance (c.1138–1160), married Louis VII of France
Sancha (c.1139–1179), married Sancho VI of Navarre
García (c.1142-1145/6)
Alfonso (c.1144-by 1149)

In 1152, Alfonso married Richeza of Poland, the daughter of Ladislaus IIthe Exile.[9] They had:
Ferdinand, (1153–1157)
Sancha (1155–1208), the wife of Alfonso II of Aragón.

Alfonso also had two mistresses, having children by both. By an Asturiannoblewoman named Guntroda Pérez, he had an illegitimate daughter, Urraca(1132–1164), who married García Ramírez of Navarre, the mother retiringto a convent in 1133.[10] Later in his reign, he formed a liaison withUrraca Fernández, widow of count Rodrigo Martínez and daughter ofFernando Garcés de Hita, an apparent grandson of García Sánchez III ofNavarre, having a daughter Stephanie the Unfortunate (1148–1180), who waskilled by her jealous husband, Fernán Ruiz de Castro.
Facts
  • 1 MAR 1105 - Birth - ; Caldas de Reis
  • 21 AUG 1157 - Death - ; Sierra Morena
  • 1126 - Reign - Emperor ; All Spain
  • 1135 - Crowned - Emperor ; All Spain At The Cathedral of León
Ancestors
   
 
   
  
  
 
Alfonso VII of León and Castile
1 MAR 1105 - 21 AUG 1157
  
 
  
Alfonso VI of León and Castile
BEF JUN 1040 - June 29/July 1, 1109
 
   
  
  
Constance of Burgundy
- September/October 1093
 
Family Group Sheet - Child
PARENT (M) Raymond of Burgundy
Birth
Death
Marriageto Urraca of León and Castile
FatherWilliam I, Count of Burgundy
MotherStephanie
PARENT (F) Urraca of León and Castile
Birth
Death
Marriageto Raymond of Burgundy
FatherAlfonso VI of León and Castile
MotherConstance of Burgundy
CHILDREN
MAlfonso VII of León and Castile
Birth1 MAR 1105Caldas de Reis
Death21 AUG 1157Sierra Morena
Marriagemistressto Guntroda Pérez
Marriagemistressto Urraca Fernández
MarriageNOV 1128to Berengaria of Barcelona
Marriage1152to Richeza of Poland, Queen of Castile
Family Group Sheet - Spouse
PARENT (M) Alfonso VII of León and Castile
Birth1 MAR 1105Caldas de Reis
Death21 AUG 1157 Sierra Morena
Marriagemistressto Guntroda Pérez
Marriagemistressto Urraca Fernández
MarriageNOV 1128to Berengaria of Barcelona
Marriage1152to Richeza of Poland, Queen of Castile
FatherRaymond of Burgundy
MotherUrraca of León and Castile
PARENT (F) Guntroda Pérez
Birth
Death
Marriagemistressto Alfonso VII of León and Castile
Father?
Mother?
CHILDREN
FUrraca of Castile, Queen of Navarre
Birth1132
Death
Marriage24 JUN 1144to García Ramírez of Navarre
Family Group Sheet - Spouse
PARENT (M) Alfonso VII of León and Castile
Birth1 MAR 1105Caldas de Reis
Death21 AUG 1157 Sierra Morena
Marriagemistressto Guntroda Pérez
Marriagemistressto Urraca Fernández
MarriageNOV 1128to Berengaria of Barcelona
Marriage1152to Richeza of Poland, Queen of Castile
FatherRaymond of Burgundy
MotherUrraca of León and Castile
PARENT (F) Urraca Fernández
Birth
Death
Marriagemistressto Alfonso VII of León and Castile
Father?
Mother?
CHILDREN
Family Group Sheet - Spouse
PARENT (M) Alfonso VII of León and Castile
Birth1 MAR 1105Caldas de Reis
Death21 AUG 1157 Sierra Morena
Marriagemistressto Guntroda Pérez
Marriagemistressto Urraca Fernández
MarriageNOV 1128to Berengaria of Barcelona
Marriage1152to Richeza of Poland, Queen of Castile
FatherRaymond of Burgundy
MotherUrraca of León and Castile
PARENT (F) Berengaria of Barcelona
Birth
Death1149
MarriageNOV 1128to Alfonso VII of León and Castile
FatherRamon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona
MotherDouce I, Countess of Provence
CHILDREN
MSancho III of Castile
Birth
Death
Marriageto Blanche of Navarre
MFerdinand II of León
Birth
Death
Marriageto Urraca of Portugal
FSancha of Castile, Queen of Navarre
Birth
Death
Marriageto Sancho VI of Navarre
FConstance of Castile
Birth
Death
Marriageto Louis VII of France
Family Group Sheet - Spouse
PARENT (M) Alfonso VII of León and Castile
Birth1 MAR 1105Caldas de Reis
Death21 AUG 1157 Sierra Morena
Marriagemistressto Guntroda Pérez
Marriagemistressto Urraca Fernández
MarriageNOV 1128to Berengaria of Barcelona
Marriage1152to Richeza of Poland, Queen of Castile
FatherRaymond of Burgundy
MotherUrraca of León and Castile
PARENT (F) Richeza of Poland, Queen of Castile
Birth
Death
Marriage1152to Alfonso VII of León and Castile
FatherWładysław II the Exile
MotherAgnes of Babenberg
CHILDREN
FSancha of Castile, Queen of Aragon
Birth
Death
Marriageto Alfonso II of Aragon
Descendancy Chart
Alfonso VII of León and Castile b: 1 MAR 1105 d: 21 AUG 1157
Alfonso VIII of Castile b: 11 NOV 1155 d: 5 OCT 1214
Alfonso IX of León b: 15 AUG 1171 d: 23/24 SEP 1230
Eleanor of Castile b: ABT 1245 d: 1290
Edward I b: 17 JUN 1239 d: 7 JUL 1307
Edward II b: 25 APR 1284 d: 21 SEP 1327
Edward III b: 13 NOV 1312 d: 21 JUN 1377
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster b: 6 MAR 1340 d: 3 FEB 1399
10 Henry Beaufort b: ABT 1375 d: 11 APR 1447
Edward III b: 13 NOV 1312 d: 21 JUN 1377
10 John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster b: 6 MAR 1340 d: 3 FEB 1399
Edward II b: 25 APR 1284 d: 21 SEP 1327
Edward III b: 13 NOV 1312 d: 21 JUN 1377
10 John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster b: 6 MAR 1340 d: 3 FEB 1399
Edward III b: 13 NOV 1312 d: 21 JUN 1377
10 John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster b: 6 MAR 1340 d: 3 FEB 1399
Edward II b: 25 APR 1284 d: 21 SEP 1327
Edward III b: 13 NOV 1312 d: 21 JUN 1377
10 John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster b: 6 MAR 1340 d: 3 FEB 1399
Marie of Brabant, Queen of France b: 13 MAY 1254 d: 12 JAN 1321
Edward I b: 17 JUN 1239 d: 7 JUL 1307
Edward III b: 13 NOV 1312 d: 21 JUN 1377
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster b: 6 MAR 1340 d: 3 FEB 1399
10 Henry Beaufort b: ABT 1375 d: 11 APR 1447
Edward II b: 25 APR 1284 d: 21 SEP 1327
Edward III b: 13 NOV 1312 d: 21 JUN 1377
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster b: 6 MAR 1340 d: 3 FEB 1399
10 Henry Beaufort b: ABT 1375 d: 11 APR 1447
Alfonso IX of León b: 15 AUG 1171 d: 23/24 SEP 1230
Theresa of Portugal, Queen of León b: 4 OCT 1178 d: 18 JUN 1250
Eleanor of Castile b: ABT 1245 d: 1290
Edward I b: 17 JUN 1239 d: 7 JUL 1307
Edward II b: 25 APR 1284 d: 21 SEP 1327
Edward III b: 13 NOV 1312 d: 21 JUN 1377
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster b: 6 MAR 1340 d: 3 FEB 1399
Henry Beaufort b: ABT 1375 d: 11 APR 1447
Edward II b: 25 APR 1284 d: 21 SEP 1327
Edward III b: 13 NOV 1312 d: 21 JUN 1377
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster b: 6 MAR 1340 d: 3 FEB 1399
10 Henry Beaufort b: ABT 1375 d: 11 APR 1447
Eleanor of Castile b: ABT 1245 d: 1290
Edward I b: 17 JUN 1239 d: 7 JUL 1307
Edward II b: 25 APR 1284 d: 21 SEP 1327
Edward III b: 13 NOV 1312 d: 21 JUN 1377
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster b: 6 MAR 1340 d: 3 FEB 1399
10 Henry Beaufort b: ABT 1375 d: 11 APR 1447
Alfonso II of Aragon b: MAR 1157 d: 25 APR 1196
Alfonso II, Count of Provence b: 1174 d: 1 DEC 1209
Edward III b: 13 NOV 1312 d: 21 JUN 1377
10 John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster b: 6 MAR 1340 d: 3 FEB 1399
Henry III b: 1 OCT 1207 d: 16 NOV 1272
Edward I b: 17 JUN 1239 d: 7 JUL 1307
Eleanor of Castile b: ABT 1245 d: 1290
Edward II b: 25 APR 1284 d: 21 SEP 1327
Edward III b: 13 NOV 1312 d: 21 JUN 1377
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster b: 6 MAR 1340 d: 3 FEB 1399
10 Henry Beaufort b: ABT 1375 d: 11 APR 1447
Edward III b: 13 NOV 1312 d: 21 JUN 1377
10 John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster b: 6 MAR 1340 d: 3 FEB 1399
Edward II b: 25 APR 1284 d: 21 SEP 1327
Edward III b: 13 NOV 1312 d: 21 JUN 1377
10 John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster b: 6 MAR 1340 d: 3 FEB 1399
Marie of Brabant, Queen of France b: 13 MAY 1254 d: 12 JAN 1321
Edward I b: 17 JUN 1239 d: 7 JUL 1307
Edward III b: 13 NOV 1312 d: 21 JUN 1377
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster b: 6 MAR 1340 d: 3 FEB 1399
10 Henry Beaufort b: ABT 1375 d: 11 APR 1447
Edward II b: 25 APR 1284 d: 21 SEP 1327
Edward III b: 13 NOV 1312 d: 21 JUN 1377
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster b: 6 MAR 1340 d: 3 FEB 1399
10 Henry Beaufort b: ABT 1375 d: 11 APR 1447