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Alfonso IX of León

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Alfonso IX (15 August 1171 – 23 or 24 September 1230) was King of León from the death of his father Ferdinand II in 1188 until his own death.

Alfonso IX
Depiction on the Tumbo A cartulary of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
King of León and Galicia
Reign22 January 1188 – 24 September 1230
PredecessorFerdinand II
SuccessorSancha and Dulce (de jure)
Ferdinand III (de facto)
Born15 August 1171
Zamora
Died23/24 September 1230(1230-09-24) (aged 59)
Villanueva de Sarria
Burial
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1191; ann. 1196)​
​
​
(m. 1197; ann. 1204)​
Issue
among others...
HouseCastilian House of Ivrea
FatherFerdinand II of León and Galicia
MotherUrraca of Portugal

He took steps towards modernizing and democratizing his dominion and founded the University of Salamanca in 1218. In 1188 he summoned the first parliament reflecting the fullest representation of the citizenry ever seen in Western Europe, the Cortes of León.[1]

Alfonso took part in the Reconquista, conquering several territories within Extremadura, capturing Mérida and Badajoz in 1230, which allowed for the eventual conquest of Seville during the reign of his son Ferdinand III.[2] He was also involved in numerous conflicts with Pope Celestine III, being interdicted on account of the nature of his marriages.

Biography

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Early life

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Alfonso was born in Zamora. He was the only son of King Ferdinand II of León and Urraca of Portugal.[1] His father was the younger son of Alfonso VII of León and Castile, who divided his kingdoms between his sons, which set the stage for conflict in the family until the kingdoms were re-united by Alfonso IX's son Ferdinand III of Castile.[3]

Alfonso IX had great difficulty in obtaining the throne through his given birthright. In July 1188 his cousin Alfonso VIII of Castile required the younger Alfonso to recognize the elder as overlord in exchange for recognizing the younger's authority in León.[4]

Reign

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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 town 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 John Keane,[5] to be instrumental to the formation of democratic parliaments across Europe. Note that Iceland had already held what may have been what is Europe's first parliament, the Þingvellir, in 930. However, the Cortes' 1188 session predates the first session of the Parliament of England, which occurred 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 first cousin, Theresa of Portugal,[1] who bore him two daughters, and a son who died young. The marriage was declared null by the papal legate Cardinal Gregory for consanguinity.[6]

After Alfonso VIII of Castile was defeated at the Battle of Alarcos, Alfonso IX invaded Castile with the aid of Muslim troops.[1] He was summarily excommunicated by Pope Celestine III.[7] In 1197, Alfonso IX married his first cousin once removed, Berengaria of Castile, to cement peace between León and Castile.[8] For this second act of consanguinity, the king and the kingdom were placed under interdict by representatives of the pope.[9] In 1198, Pope Innocent III declared Alfonso and Berengaria's marriage invalid, but they stayed together until 1204.[10] 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.[11][12] The treaty in 1207 is the first existing public document in the Castilian dialect.[13]

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.[6]

In 1211 Alfonso IX of León and Galicia gave the castle of Alcañices to the Templar Order,[14] where inhabitants celebrated the great victories of the order.[15]

 
Shield of Alfonso IX displayed in the Tumbo A manuscript of 12th century.

Death

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Alfonso IX of León and Galicia died on 24 September 1230. His death was particularly significant in that his son, Ferdinand III of Castile, who was already the King of Castile, also inherited the thrones of León and Galicia from his father. This was thanks to the negotiations of his mother, Berengaria, who convinced her stepdaughters to renounce their claim on the throne.[16] In an effort to quickly consolidate his power over León, Ferdinand III abandoned a military campaign to capture the city of Jaén immediately upon hearing news of his father's death and traveled to León to be crowned king. This coronation united the Kingdoms of León and Castile which would go on to dominate the Iberian Peninsula.

Marriages and issue

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Alfonso IX married twice, both times to near relatives, and remarkably, both of his marriages were annulled for consanguinity. Apart from the eight children born of these two marriages, Alfonso also fathered numerous progeny with women of lower rank.

Marriages and legitimate issue

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In 1191, Alfonso married his first cousin Theresa of Portugal,[17] who was his mother's brother's daughter. Theresa was the daughter of King Sancho I of Portugal and Queen Dulce of Aragon.[18] The marriage was annulled five years later, on grounds of consanguinity but three children had been born by then, being:

  • Sancha (1191 – before 1243)[19] unmarried and without issue. She and her sister Dulce became nuns or retired to the monastery of San Guillermo Villabuena in León, where she died before 1243.
  • Ferdinand (1192/1193 – 1214),[20] unmarried and without issue.
  • Dulce (1193/1194 – 1248).[21]

On 17 November 1197, Alfonso IX married his first cousin once removed, the infanta Berengaria of Castile. Berengeria was the daughter of King Alfonso VIII of Castile and his wife Queen Leonor of England. Her paternal grandfather, Sancho III of Castile, had been a brother of Alfonso's own father Ferdinand II of León. Thus, both Alfonso IX and Berengaria belonged to the same dynasty or family. The marriage was annulled on grounds of consanguinity, but not before five children had been born, namely:

Affairs and illegitimate issue

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Alfonso also fathered many illegitimate children. After the annulment of his first marriage and before marrying for the second time, he had a relationship which lasted about two years with Inés Íñiguez de Mendoza, daughter of Iñigo López de Mendoza and María García.[27] This affair produced a daughter born around 1197:

Alfonso had another relationship afterwards with a noblewoman from Galicia, Estefanía Pérez de Faiam. She was the daughter of Pedro Menéndez Faiam, who confirmed several royal charters of King Alfonso IX, and the granddaughter of Menendo Faiam, who also confirmed several diplomas issued in Galicia as of 1155 by King Ferdinand II of León. In 1211, Alfonso gave her lands in Orense where her family, as can be inferred from her last will dated 1250, owned many estates, as well as in the north of Portugal. After the relationship ended, Estefanía married Rodrigo Suárez with whom she had further issue. In her will, she asked to be buried in the Monastery of Fiães in northern Portugal.[29] Alfonso IX and Estefanía were the parents of possibly two sons, but definitely of one, being:[b]

  • Ferdinand Alfonso of León (born in 1211),[29] died young.

According to Spanish historian Julio González, after his relationship with Estefanía, the king had a lover from Salamanca, of unknown origin, whose name was Maura and with whom he had issue:[31]

Alfonso also had a relationship with a noblewoman from Portugal, Aldonza Martínez de Silva, daughter of Martim Gomes da Silva and his wife Urraca Rodrigues,[32] which lasted from 1214 to 1218. Three children were born to them:

Some families that arrive to Los Altos de Jalisco in Mexico like Gutierrez descend from the union of Alfonso with Aldonza Martínez de Silva

King Alfonso's most long-lasting extra-marital relationship, which began in 1218 and lasted until his death in 1230,[38] was with Teresa Gil de Soverosa.[39] A member of the Portuguese nobility, Teresa was the daughter of Gil Vasques de Soverosa and his first wife María Aires de Fornelos. They had four children, all of them born between 1218 and 1230:[40]

  • Sancha (d. 1270). Married Simon Ruiz, Lord of Los Cameros.[41] She later became a nun at the convent of Santa Eufemia de Cozuelos which she had founded.[41]
  • María (died after July 1275).[d] Her first marriage was with Álvaro Fernández de Lara. She was then the concubine of her nephew King Alfonso X of Castile and, according to the Count of Barcelos, her second husband was Suero Arias de Valladares.[41]
  • Martín (died 1268/1272), married to Maria Mendes de Sousa, founders of the Monastery of Sancti-Spíritus, Salamanca. There was no issue from this marriage.[42]
  • Urraca (d. after 1252). First married García Romeu,[41] and then Pedro Núñez de Guzmán.[41]

Although Alfonso IX is supposed to have had another son, Pedro Alfonso de León, there is no documentary proof that he was the king's son or that he was the Grand Master of the Order of Santiago.[e]

Notes

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  1. ^ King Fernando's year of birth is not recorded. According to the Chrónica latina de los reyes de Castilla, he was 16 years old when he became king of Castile in 1217 which would mean that he was born in 1201. Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada, a contemporary of Fernando, said that he was 18 years old in 1217 which would indicate that his birth was in 1199, two years after his parents' marriage.[25][26]
  2. ^ It is possible that, besides Ferdinand Alfonso, they also had another son, John Alfonso, who appears in several documents with the children that Estefanía had with her husband Rodrigo Suárez.[30]
  3. ^ There is controversy among historians and genealogists on her marriage to Nuño González de Lara. According to Pedro Afonso, Count of Barcelos, followed by other historians,[35] Nuño's wife was this Teresa, daughter of King Alfonso IX and Aldonza Martínez de Silva. Luis de Salazar y Castro believed that her father was Pedro Alfonso de León, supposedly an illegitimate son of Alfonso IX. Spanish historian Julio González González argued that Nuño's wife could have been the daughter of Urraca Alfonso, illegitimate daughter of King Alfonso IX, and her husband Lope Díaz II de Haro.[36] Szabolcs de Vajay rules out these last two filiations since her patronymic would have been Pérez or López rather than Alfonso and suggests that she could have been an illegitimate daughter of Alfonso of Molina. Nevertheless, Teresa confirms her filiation and marriage in a sale that she made in November 1254 in which she declares that she is the daughter of King Alfonso, granddaughter of King Fernando II of León and Galicia, and wife of Nuño González de Lara.[37]
  4. ^ On 4 July 1275, María donated a fourth part of Lougares to the Monastery of Santa María de Melón (document published by the Real Academia Gallega Archived 2016-05-06 at the Wayback Machine).
  5. ^ "...for Rades [Francisco de Rades y Andrada], in the space of time corresponding to the government of Fernando Pérez Chacín, there were really two Grand Masters: Fernando Pérez Chacín, who died or was removed a year after his election, and Pedro Alfonso, elected in 1225 who died a year later. For [Derek William] Lomax, there was only one Grand Master in this short period of time: Fernando Pérez Chacín. In fact, documentation proves that this historian is right, rather than the chronicler who mentioned a non-existent Grand Master, supposedly an illegitimate son of King Alfonso IX" (loose translation)[43]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Gerli & Armistead 2003, p. 54.
  2. ^ "Spain – The rise of Castile and Aragon". Britannica. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
  3. ^ Shadis 2010, p. xix.
  4. ^ Shadis 2010, p. 53.
  5. ^ "Un anglosajón prueba que en León y no en Inglaterra nació la democracia". Diario de León (in Spanish). Londres. June 19, 2006. Archived from the original on 2009-06-23. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  6. ^ a b   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Alphonso s.v. Alphonso IX.". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 735.
  7. ^ Lower 2014, p. 605.
  8. ^ Shadis 2010, p. 61-62.
  9. ^ Moore 2003, pp. 70–71.
  10. ^ Reilly 1993, p. 133.
  11. ^ Shadis 2010, pp. 78–84.
  12. ^ Túy 2003, p. 324, 4.84.
  13. ^ Wright 2000.
  14. ^ Martínez Díez, Gonzalo (1993). Los Templarios en la Corona de Castilla (1st ed.). Burgos: La Olmeda, D.L. p. 103. ISBN 9788460462774.
  15. ^ Historia (October 22, 2015). "Apéndice I. Los lugares del Temple". In Martínez, Gemma; Mínguez, Nines (eds.). Templarios. Del origen de las cruzadas al final de la Orden del Temple (1st ed.). Madrid: Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, S. A. U. p. 417. ISBN 9788401015731.
  16. ^ Shadis 2010, p. 3.
  17. ^ Echols & Williams 1992, pp. 400–401.
  18. ^ Fernandes Marques 2008, pp. 62, 87.
  19. ^ Fernandes Marques 2008, pp. 89, 140.
  20. ^ Fernandes Marques 2008, p. 140.
  21. ^ Fernandes Marques 2008, p. 140 y 143.
  22. ^ a b c d e Martínez Díez 2007, p. 47.
  23. ^ a b Flórez 1761, p. 348.
  24. ^ Flórez 1761, p. 355.
  25. ^ Rodríguez López 2004, p. 30.
  26. ^ Flórez 1761, pp. 347–348.
  27. ^ Calderón Medina 2011, p. 262.
  28. ^ Calderón Medina 2011, pp. 262–263.
  29. ^ a b Calderón Medina 2011, pp. 264–265.
  30. ^ Calderón Medina 2011, p. 264 n.31.
  31. ^ a b Calderón Medina 2011, p. 265.
  32. ^ Calderón Medina 2011, pp. 266–267.
  33. ^ Calderón Medina 2011, pp. 267–268.
  34. ^ Calderón Medina 2011, pp. 268–270.
  35. ^ Calderón Medina 2011, pp. 269.
  36. ^ Sánchez de Mora 2004, p. 633 and n. 8.
  37. ^ Martínez Martínez 1997, Doc. 495, pp. 359–360.
  38. ^ Calderón Medina 2011, p. 275.
  39. ^ Calderón Medina 2011, p. 270.
  40. ^ Calderón Medina 2011, pp. 268, 270 and 275.
  41. ^ a b c d e Calderón Medina 2011, p. 276.
  42. ^ Calderón Medina 2011, pp. 275–276.
  43. ^ Ayala Martínez 1997, p. 245 n.14.

Bibliography

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Further reading

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  • Sánchez Rivera, Jesús Ángel, "Configuración de una iconografía singular: la venerable doña Sancha Alfonso, comendadora de Santiago", Anales de Historia del Arte, nº 18 (2008), Madrid, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, pp. 167–209.
  • Szabolcs de Vajay, "From Alfonso VIII to Alfonso X" in Studies in Genealogy and Family History in Tribute to Charles Evans on the Occasion of his Eightieth Birthday, 1989, pp. 366–417.
 
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Alfonso IX of León
Cadet branch of the House of Ivrea
Born: 15 August 1171 Died: 23/24 September 1230
Regnal titles
Preceded by King of León and Galicia
1188–1230 		Succeeded by
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