Alfonso IX of León

Alfonso IX
Alfonso IX, from the Tumbo A cartulary of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
King of León and Galicia
Reign 22 January 1188–24 September 1230
(&1000000000000004200000042 years, &10000000000000244000000244 days)
Predecessor Ferdinand II
Successor Ferdinand III
Consort Theresa of Portugal
Berengaria of Castile
Issue
Sancha
Dulce
Ferdinand III
Alfonso of Molina
Berengaria, Latin Empress
House House of Burgundy
Father Ferdinand II of León
Mother Urraca of Portugal
Born 15 August 1171(1171-08-15)
Zamora
Died 23/24 September 1230(1230-09-24) (aged 59)
Villanueva de Sarria
Burial Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
Religion Roman Catholicism

Alfonso IX (15 August 1171 – 23 or 24 September 1230) was king of León and Galicia from the death of his father Ferdinand II in 1188 until his own death. According to Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406), he is said to have been called the Baboso or Slobberer because he was subject to fits of rage during which he foamed at the mouth.

Contents

Biography

Alfonso was born in Zamora, the only son of King Ferdinand II of León and Urraca of Portugal.[1] He took a part in the work of the reconquest, conquering the whole of Extremadura (including the cities of Cáceres and Badajoz).

He took steps towards modernizing and democratizing his dominion, founding the University of Salamanca in 1212. And in 1188 summoning the first parliament reflecting full representation of the citizenry ever seen in Western Europe, the Cortes of León.[2]

The convening of the Cortes de León in the cloisters of the Basilica of San Isidoro would be one of the most important events of Alfonso's reign. The difficult economic situation at the beginning of his reign compelled Alfonso to raise taxes on the underprivileged classes, leading to protests and a few towns revolts. In response the king summoned the Cortes, an assembly of nobles, clergy and representatives of cities, and subsequently faced demands for compensatory spending and greater external control and oversight of royal expenditures. Alfonso's convening of the Cortes is considered by many historians, including Australia's John Keane,[3] to be instrumental to the formation democratic parliaments across Europe.

The Cortes' 1188 session predates the first session of the Parliament of England, which occurred in in the thirteenth century.

In spite of the democratic precedent represented by the Cortes and the founding of the University of Salamanca, Alfonso is often chiefly remembered for the difficulties his successive marriages caused between him with Pope Celestine III. He was first married in 1191 to his cousin, Teresa of Portugal,[2] who bore him two daughters, and a son who died young. The marriage was declared null by the papal legate Cardinal Gregory.

After Alfonso VIII of Castile was defeated at the Battle of Alarcos, Alfonso IX invaded Castile with the aid of Muslim troops.[2] He was summarily excommunicated by Pope Celestine III. In 1197, Alfonso IX married his second cousin, Berengaria of Castile, to cement peace between León and Castile. For this act of consanguinity, the king and the kingdom were placed under interdict by Celestine.[4]

The Pope was, however, compelled to modify his measures by the threat that, if the people could not obtain the services of religion, they would not support the clergy, and that heresy would spread. The king was left under interdict personally, but to that he showed himself indifferent, and he had the support of his clergy. Berengaria left him after the birth of five children, and the king then returned to Theresa, to whose daughters he left his kingdom in his will.

Children

Alfonso's children by Theresa of Portugal[5] were:

His eldest daughter, Sancha, was engaged to her cousin King Henry I of Castile, but Henry died in 1217 before the marriage could be solemnized. After his heir, from his first marriage (Ferdinand of León) died in 1214, Alfonso wanted to dis-inherit the eldest son from his second marriage (Ferdinand III of Castile). King Alfonso IX invited the former King Consort of Jerusalem John of Brienne to marry his daughter Sancha and thus inherit the Leonese throne through her.

However, his former second wife, Queen Berengaria of Castile sabotaged this plan by convincing John of Brienne to marry her own daughter by Alfonso, Berengaria of León, instead.

Though unmarried and pious spinster, Sancha was the nominal heiress of León-Galicia on her father's death in 1230. Sancha was easily set aside by negotiations, including a good single woman dowry between the former first wife and the former second wife. Sancha became a nun at Cozollos, where she died in 1270; she was later beatified. Her sister Dulce-Aldonza spent her life with her mother in Portugal.

Alfonso's children by Berengaria of Castile were:[6]

Alfonso also fathered many illegitimate children, some fifteen further children born out of wedlock are documented.

Alfonso's children by Aldonza Martínez de Silva[7][8] (daughter of Martin Gomez de Silva & Urraca Rodriguez), later married to Diego Froilaz, Count of Cifuentes:

Alfonso's child by Inés Iñíguez de Mendoza (born c. 1180) (daughter of Lope Iñiguez de Mendoza, 1st Lord of Mendoza (ca. 1140-1189) and wife Teresa Ximénez de los Cameros (ca. 1150-)):

Alfonso's child by Estefánia Pérez de Limia, daughter of Pedro Arias de Limia and wife, subsequently wife of Rodrigo Suárez, Merino mayor of Galicia, had issue):

Alfonso's children by Maua, of unknown origin:

Alfonso's children by Teresa Gil de Soverosa (born c. 1170) (daughter of Dom Gil Vasques de Soverosa & first wife Maria Aires de Fornelos):

Alfonso's other illegitimate child, mother unknown:

Ancestry

Notes

  1. ^ Medieval Iberia: an encyclopedia, Ed. E. Michael Gerli and Samuel G. Armistead, (Routledge, 2003), 54.
  2. ^ a b c Medieval Iberia: an encyclopedia, 54.
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ Moore, John Clare, Pope Innocent III (1160/61-1216): To root up and to plant, (BRILL, 2003), 70-71
  5. ^ Echols, Anne and Marty Williams, An Annotated index of Medieval Women, (Markus Weiner Publishing Inc, 1992), 400-401.
  6. ^ Medieval Iberia: an Encyclopedia, 162.
  7. ^ Ruano, Ruano and Joannes Ribadas, Casa de la Cabrera en Córdoba, (1779), 34.
  8. ^ Doubleday, Simon R., The Lara family: crown and nobility in medieval Spain, (Harvard University Press, 2001), 158.

References

Further reading

Alfonso IX of León
Born: 15 August 1171 Died: 23/24 September 1230
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Ferdinand II		 King of León
1188–1230		 Succeeded by
Ferdinand III
King of Galica
1188–1230