Minority
116-677: Alfonso VI ( c. 1040/1041 – 1 July 1109), nicknamed the Brave ( El Bravo ) or the Valiant , was king of León (1065–1109), Galicia (1071–1109), and Castile (1072–1109). After the conquest of Toledo in 1085, Alfonso proclaimed himself victoriosissimo rege in Toleto, et in Hispania et Gallecia (most victorious king of Toledo , and of Spain and Galicia). This conquest, along with El Cid 's taking of Valencia would greatly expand
232-822: A Viking fleet of 100 ships landed in Galicia led by king Gunrod . The Vikings defeated the Galician forces, and killed Sisnando , the bishop of Compostela. The defeat in the Battle of Fornelos left Galicia without an authority capable of facing the Vikings, who for three years camped comfortably, looting different Galician regions. In 971, Gunrod and his Vikings were surprised and defeated by Count Gonzalo Sánchez upon return towards Ría de Ferrol (where they had their stranded ships). The Galician troops captured Gunrod and many of his warriors, executing them all. Sporadic Viking assaults continued in
348-552: A consequence of the serious defeat, the Andalusian taifas stopped paying the parias . The Cid, however, succeeded in re-subjugating the rebel Taifas over next two years. Even though the crusade did not finally materialize, a large number of foreign knights came to the Iberian Peninsula. They included Raymond and Henry of Burgundy , who married Alfonso VI's daughters Urraca (1090) and Teresa (1094), respectively, which led to
464-531: A distinctive style within the context of pre-Romanesque art . Noteworthy features include a mix of architectural styles, experimentation with various artistic elements like modillions or horseshoe arches , and the use of mural painting techniques influenced by both Roman and Caliphal styles. In the realm of painting, illuminated manuscripts like the "beatos" exemplify the vibrancy and evolution of Leonese art, incorporating elements from Byzantine-Merovingian influences to an Islamic-Carolingian character. During
580-444: A half: Bishop Sisnando of Compostela died fighting him, and his successor St Rudesind carried on the struggle until Count Gonzalo Sánchez defeated the invaders and killed Gunrod himself. Count Sánchez destroyed the entire fleet of Gunrod. In 1008, Norman Vikings attacked Galicia, destroying Santiago de Compostela and seventeen other towns, while Olaf Haraldsson of Norway raided Spain's Atlantic coast. There are also reports of
696-424: A major defeat for Alfonso VII of Castile weakened the authority of Castile. The last two kings of an independent Kingdom of León (1157–1230) were Ferdinand II and Alfonso IX . Fernando II led León's conquest of Mérida , a city dating from Roman times. Alfonso IX , besides conquering the whole of Extremadura (including the cities of Cáceres and Badajoz ), was the most modern king of his time, founding
812-512: A nearby sepulchre, equally smooth, lie the remains of several of the king's wives. According to Bishop Pelagius of Oviedo , contemporary of the king, in his Chronicon regum Legionensium ("Chronicle of the Kings of León "), Alfonso VI had five wives and two concubines nobilissimas (most noble). The wives were, according to the bishop, Agnes, Constance, Berta, Isabel, and Beatrice and the concubines Jimena Muñoz and Zaida. Some chroniclers from north of
928-528: A precautionary measure. After becoming a widow, Zaida sought protection at the court of the Leonese king and she and her children converted to Christianity; she was baptized with the name "Isabel" and became the king's concubine. They had one son: Kingdom of Le%C3%B3n The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula . It was founded in 910 when
1044-623: A series of attacks on the Christian lands of north Spain in 1028, 1032, and 1038, and the Christian kingdoms in the north commonly used Vikings as mercenaries in their internecine wars. The County of Castile split off in 931, the County of Portugal separated to become the independent Kingdom of Portugal in 1139. The Kingdom of León expanded south beyond the Douro , and then beyond the Sistema Central in
1160-676: A survivalistic mistrust of nobles from his father. Henry VIII ennobled very few men, and the ones he did were all " new men ": novi homines , greatly indebted to him and with very limited power. The term was specifically applied to the members of the Upper House of the Diet of Hungary in the Apostolic Kingdom of Hungary , the Főrendiház , that can be translated as the House of Magnates , an equivalent to
1276-542: A year later. Fruela's death in 925 was followed by a civil war, after which Alfonso, the eldest son of Ordoño II, emerged as the new king Alfonso IV , ruling from 925 to 932. After a further power struggle, Ramiro , the younger brother of Alfonso IV, became king in 932, having captured his brother Alfonso, as well as the three sons of Fruela II – Alfonso, Ordoño and Ramiro. Alfonso IV may have died soon after, but he left two infant sons, called Ordoño and Fruela. When Ramiro died in 951, he left two sons by two different wives. When
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#17329021695641392-423: Is generally assumed that the old Asturian kingdom was divided among the three sons of Alfonso III of Asturias : García (León), Ordoño ( Galicia ) and Fruela ( Asturias ), as all three participated in deposing their father. When García died in 914, León went to Ordoño, who now ruled both León and Galicia as Ordoño II. At Ordoño's death in 924, the throne went to his brother Fruela II (924–925), who died of leprosy
1508-529: Is in error, and that it was Beatrice, the last wife of Alfonso VI, who as his widow married the Count of Maine. After the death of Agnes, the king had an extra-marital relationship with Jimena Muñoz , "most noble" ( nobilissima ) concubine "derived from royalty" ( real generacion ), according to Bishop Pelagius of Oviedo. They had two illegitimate daughters born between 1078 and 1080: At the end of 1079 Alfonso VI married Constance of Burgundy , with whom he appears for
1624-551: Is scholarly dispute over whether Alfonso was the Iberian king involved, and if so, whether the daughter of William involved was Agatha or a different daughter, Adelaide. In 1069, the betrothal with Agnes , daughter of Duke William VIII of Aquitaine , was signed. At the time, she was barely 10 years old and so it was necessary to wait until she reached age 14 for the official wedding, which took place in late 1073 or early 1074. She appears in royal diplomas until 22 May 1077; from that date,
1740-517: Is traditionally known as Mozarabic art . This artistic expression, rooted in Visigothic and Andalusian traditions, produced structures ranging from modest single-nave churches to elaborate monastic complexes. Key figures, including monarchs and ecclesiastical leaders, played a pivotal role in shaping this art, with a notable infusion of Andalusian tastes. The art of León during the 9th to 11th centuries successfully merged diverse traditions, creating
1856-634: The Real Adelantamiento of the Kingdom of León, and the Merino mayor of León, among others, many of which lasted until the 19th century. The Castilian monarchs, however, soon began a process of unifying the laws of the two kingdoms, as exemplified by the Siete Partidas . By the 16th century, León became a captaincy-general . In the 19th century, León declared war, together with Galicia and Asturias, against
1972-525: The County of Portugal , had won independence in 1139 to become the Kingdom of Portugal . The union between León and Castile was not accepted by the Leonese people. King Ferdinand III needed two years to suppress the secessionist revolts in the Kingdom of León, so his son Alfonso X restored the independence of the Kingdom of León. However, this was not respected by his son and successor, Sancho IV , whose brother John waited until 1296, following Sancho's death
2088-687: The First French Empire in the Peninsular War , and organised the Junta General del Reino de León as its own government. The modern region of León was established in 1833 and was divided into León, Zamora, and Salamanca provinces. The art of the Kingdom of León, originating in the 10th century and flourishing until the European Romanesque period, is characterized by a unique blend of influences, notably from Al-Andalus , resulting in what
2204-467: The Galician right of inheritance, which granted men and women equality in succession, thus leaving his daughters to be the future queens of León. However, when Alfonso IX died in 1230, his son by Berenguela of Castile , Ferdinand III of Castile , invaded León and assumed the crown. He thus became the first joint sovereign of both kingdoms since the death of Alfonso VII in 1157. The isolated Atlantic province,
2320-575: The Leonese language 's replacement by Castilian. The Kingdom of León and the Kingdom of Castile kept different Parliaments, different flags, different coin and different laws until the Modern Era, when Spain, like other European states, centralized governmental power. The Kingdom of León coexisted as a personal union under the Crown of Castile , with León possessing separate institutions, such as its own cortes ,
2436-480: The Leyenda de Cardeña , a set of legendary narrative materials concerning El Cid which began to develop in the 13th century. According to legend, Alfonso VI was forced by El Cid to take an oath denying that he had been involved in his brother's death, thus giving rise to mutual distrust between the two men, despite Alfonso VI's efforts at rapprochement by offering his kinswoman Jimena Díaz to El Cid in marriage as well as
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#17329021695642552-500: The Meseta high plains, with people coming from Galicia and especially from Asturias and León. This migration of Asturian and Leonese peoples greatly influenced the Leonese language . During the repoblación period, there arose a distinct form of art known as Mozarabic art . Mozarabic art is a mixing of Visigoth, Islamic, and Byzantine elements. Notable examples of the Mozarabic style are
2668-524: The Moors . However, León was one of the first cities retaken during the Reconquista and became part of the Kingdom of Asturias in 742. León was a small town during this time, but one of the few former Roman cities in the Kingdom of Asturias which still held significance (the surviving Roman walls bear the medieval walling upon them). During Visigothic times, the city had served as a bishopric , and incorporating
2784-591: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . Velikaš is the Serbo-Croatian word for 'magnate', derived from veliko ('great, large, grand'). It was used to refer to the highest nobility of Serbia in the Middle Ages and Croatia in the Middle Ages. In Spain, since the late Middle Ages, the highest class of nobility hold the appellation of Grandee of Spain and was known earlier as ricohombres . In Sweden,
2900-555: The University of Salamanca in 1212 and summoning in 1188 the first parliament with representation of the citizenry ever seen in Europe, the Cortes of León . Alfonso IX did not want his kingdom to disappear upon his death and designated his heirs as Sancha and Dulce, the daughters of his first wife. In order to maintain the independence of the Kingdom of León, Afonso IX applied in his testament
3016-460: The baronage . In Poland the szlachta (nobles) constituted one of the largest proportions of the population (around 10-12%) and 'magnat' refers to the richest nobles, or nobles of the nobility - even though they had equal voting rights in Poland's electoral monarchy. In England , the magnate class went through a change in the later Middle Ages. It had previously consisted of all tenants-in-chief of
3132-547: The liberal arts , and the sons were also trained in arms, the "art of running horses in the Spanish usage", and hunting. The cleric Raimundo was in charge of Alfonso's early education. Once king, Alfonso appointed him Bishop of Palencia and referred to him as magistro nostro, viro nobile et Deum timenti ("our master, a noble man who fears God"). Alfonso probably spent long periods in Tierra de Campos , where, along with Pedro Ansúrez ,
3248-477: The parias of the Taifas. When he died in 1065, his territories and the parias were split among his three sons, of whom Alfonso emerged the victor in the classic fratricidal strife common to feudal successions. Few in Europe would have known of this immense new wealth in a kingdom so isolated that its bishops had virtually no contact with Rome, except that Ferdinand and his heirs (the kings of León and Castile) became
3364-472: The parias . In 1079, he conquered Coria . One of the initiatives of these years, known as the "Treason of Rueda", ended in failure. It took place in 1083 in the castle of Rueda de Jalón , when Alfonso VI received news that the governor of that stronghold, which belonged to the Taifa of Zaragoza, intended to surrender it to the Leonese king. The king's troops were ambushed when they entered the castle and several of
3480-621: The standard-bearer and confidant of King Sancho II, was present at the siege of Zamora, the role he played in this event is not known. Neither can Sancho II's death be blamed on Alfonso VI, who, when his brother was killed, was in exile far from the events. However, this did nothing to prevent speculation that Alfonso was somehow involved in Sancho's murder; despite a paucity of evidence, "minstrels and ballads filled this void with beautiful literary creations devoid of any historical reality". The lingering suspicion over this event would later become part of
3596-510: The 10th, 11th and 12th centuries into the so-called Extremadura Leonesa , whose southern frontier was primarily settled by military orders . The Kingdom of León became part of a personal union with Kingdom of Castile since the 1230s, in dispute from 1296 to 1300. It remained from then on and up to 1833 a constituent realm of the Crown of Castile and then the Spanish Crown. The city of León
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3712-552: The 11th and 12th centuries, the arrival of Romanesque art marked a significant shift in Leonese artistic expression. Masterpieces such as the Basilica of San Isidoro became prominent examples of Romanesque sculpture and painting. This period also laid the foundation for the Romanesque predecessors of the cathedrals of León and Santiago de Compostela . Sculpture, goldsmithing, and heraldry further thrived, with King Alfonso IX pioneering
3828-470: The Almoravids took possession of the remains. The same year, he undertook the repopulation of Salamanca, which protected Coria, and Ávila, which defended the mountain pass that was more accessible from Guadarrama, trying to prepare for an eventual loss of Toledo. To protect the area from the east, in 1104 he besieged and conquered Medinaceli , a key location from which the region of Toledo could be attacked from
3944-457: The British Peers. In feudal Japan, the most powerful landholding magnates were known as daimyo . In the 11th and 12th centuries, the daimyo became military lords of samurai clans with territorial and proprietary control over private estates. Magnates were a social class of wealthy and influential nobility in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania , and later
4060-503: The Caliphate, the Christian kingdoms, who had been sending tribute to the Caliphate, found themselves in a position to demand payments ( parias ) instead, in return for favours to particular factions or as simple extortion . Thus, though scarcely influenced by the culture of the successor territories of the former Caliphate, Ferdinand I followed the example of the counts of Barcelona and the kings of Aragon and became hugely wealthy from
4176-528: The Christian princes of Asturias along the northern coast of the peninsula shifted their capital from Oviedo to the city of León . The kings of León fought civil wars, wars against neighbouring kingdoms, and campaigns to repel invasions by both the Moors and the Vikings , all in order to protect their kingdom's changing fortunes. García is the first of the kings described by the charters as reigning in León. It
4292-410: The Iberian Peninsula. However, Sancho III of Navarre (1004–1035) took over Castile in the 1020s, and managed León in the last year of his life, leaving Galicia to temporary independence. In the division of lands which followed his death, his son Fernando succeeded to the county of Castile. Two years later, in 1037, he defeated the king of León who died in the battle and, because Fernando was married to
4408-487: The Kingdom of Galicia that had been assigned to their younger brother García II. In the wake of the fratricidal war waged between the successors of al-Muzaffar, ruler of the taifa of Badajoz, upon the latter's death in 1068, Alfonso managed to exploit the situation in order to extract economic profit, even though the taifa nominally fell under García's sphere of influence. With the complicity of Alfonso VI, Sancho II invaded Galicia in 1071, defeating their brother García II who
4524-515: The Leonese churches of San Miguel de Escalada and Santiago de Peñalba . During the early 10th century, León expanded to the south and east, securing territory that became the County of Burgos . Fortified with numerous castles , Burgos remained within Leon until the 930s, at which time Count Ferdinand II of Castile began a campaign to expand Burgos and make it independent and hereditary. He took for himself
4640-429: The Leonese king's sister, he became king of León and Galicia. For nearly 30 years, until his death in 1065, he ruled over the kingdom of León and the county of Castile as Ferdinand I of León . Early in its existence, León lay directly to the north of the powerful Caliphate of Córdoba. When internal dissensions divided Al-Andalus ' loyalties in the 11th century, leading to the age of smaller Taifa successor states of
4756-633: The Maghreb. At the end of July 1086, Almoravid troops crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and landed in Algeciras . In Seville, the Almoravid army joined the troops of the Taifa kingdoms, and together they marched to Extremadura . There, on 23 October 1086, they faced the troops of Alfonso VI (who had to abandon the siege of Zaragoza) in the Battle of Sagrajas . Álvar Fáñez, who had been called from Valencia, came and joined
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4872-460: The Muslim armies in their own territory, Ramiro's expeditions turned the valley of the Douro into a no-man's land that separated Christian kingdoms in the north of Iberia from the Muslim states in the south. Ramiro II was nicknamed "The Devil" by Muslims because of his great military skill. As the Leonese troops advanced they were followed by a process of repoblación , which consisted of repopulating
4988-533: The Pyrenees report an earlier espousal, to a daughter of William the Conqueror , King of England and Duke of Normandy named Agatha. Several northern sources report that Alfonso was affianced to Agatha, the daughter of William the Conqueror , King of England and Duke of Normandy , an arrangement negotiated in 1067. She is said to have been sent to Iberia, but to have died before the marriage could take place. There
5104-505: The Queen was buried in Sahagún . Finally, he points out that "If such an important event had taken place, it would not make much sense [...] that Alfonso VI immediately married another princess who was a member of Agnes' family". Agnes and the king's next wife, Constance, were cousins in the third degree, both of them descendants of William III, Duke of Aquitaine . Salazar y Acha concludes that Orderic
5220-600: The Tudor period, after Henry VII defeated Richard III at Bosworth Field , Henry made a point of executing or neutralising as many magnates as possible. Henry would make parliament attaint undesirable nobles and magnates, thereby stripping them of their wealth, protection from torture, and power. Henry also used the Court of the Star Chamber to have powerful nobles executed. Henry VIII continued this approach in his reign; he inherited
5336-521: The Wise in 1277. The sepulchre that contained the remains of the king, now having disappeared, was supported on alabaster lions, and was a large ark of white marble, eight feet long and four wide and tall, being covered by a smooth black lid. The tomb was usually covered by a silk tapestry, woven in Flanders , bearing the image of the king crowned and armed, with the representation of the arms of Castile and León on
5452-459: The assassination of Sancho IV of Navarre in 1076, leaving only minor sons, the local Navarrese nobility divided over the succession to the Navareese crown. Alfonso VI had immediately taken possession of Calahorra and Najera, and also received the support of the nobility of Vizcaya - Álava and La Rioja , while the eastern nobility supported Sancho Ramírez of Aragon , who moved into the remainder of
5568-521: The authors of the Anonymous Chronicle of Sahagún , who met the monarch and was present at his death, he died at age 62 after reigning 44 years. This indicates that he was born in the second half of 1047 or in the first half of 1048. Pelagius of Oviedo wrote that Alfonso was 79 when he died, but that would place his birth around 1030, before his parents' marriage. According to the Historia silense ,
5684-537: The autumn of 1108. Although the marriage was celebrated at the end of the following year, it did not lead to the expected stability, but to a long civil war that lasted eight years. Alfonso VI died in Toledo on 1 July 1109. The king had come to the city to try to defend it from an imminent Almoravid attack. His body was taken to the locality of Sahagún , and was buried in the Royal Monastery of San Benito, thus fulfilling
5800-494: The castle of Aledo . He also occupied Mayrit (now Madrid ) in 1085 without resistance, probably by capitulation. The incorporation of the territory situated between the Sistema Central and the Tajo river would serve as the base of operations for the Kingdom of León, from where he could launch more attacks against the Taifas of Cordoba , Seville , Badajoz and Granada . The conquest of
5916-464: The city again. Abdallah ibn Buluggin of Granada had distanced himself definitively from Yusuf ibn Tashfin and Alfonso VI promised to help him in exchange for his submission. In June 1090, the Almoravids launched a third attack, deposed the king of Granada, defeated the governor of Córdoba, and after the Battle of Almodóvar del Río , entered Seville and sent King al-Mutamid into exile. In the second half of
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#17329021695646032-532: The city into Asturias brought legitimacy to the Asturian monarchs who sought to lead a unified Iberian church, during a time when most of the Iberian Peninsula was governed by Muslim powers. León was created as a separate kingdom when the Asturian king, Alfonso the Great , divided his realm among his three sons. León was inherited by García I (910–914) who moved the capital of the kingdom of Astures to León. His successor
6148-503: The crown, a group of more than a hundred families. The emergence of Parliament led to the establishment of a parliamentary peerage that received personal summons, rarely more than sixty families. A similar class in the Gaelic world were the Flatha . In the Middle Ages, a bishop sometimes held territory as a magnate, collecting the revenue of the manors and the associated knights' fees . In
6264-489: The decline of the reign of Alfonso VI that had begun in 1086 with the defeat at Sagrajas. In 1099, the Almoravids conquered a large number of the castles that defended Toledo and the surrounding areas and, in the following year, they tried unsuccessfully to seize the city. Henry of Burgundy, Alfonso's son-in-law, was in charge of defending Toledo since the king, at that time, was in Valencia inspecting its defenses. El Cid had died
6380-478: The defensive. Nevertheless, he was able to retain Toledo, the main target of the Almoravid attacks. Alfonso VI asked the Christian kingdoms of Europe to organize a Crusade against the Almoravids, who had recovered almost all the territories he had conquered, with the exception of Toledo, where the king remained strong. To reinforce his position, he reconciled with El Cid , who came to Toledo in late 1086 or early 1087. As
6496-484: The desertion of many of the rulers of the taifas. When the emir came again to the peninsula, he decided to depose all the taifa rulers and became the sole king of the entire Al-Andalus territory. Thanks to the Muslim defeat in Aledo, Alfonso VI had been able to resume the collection of the parias by threatening the ruler of the city that he would chop all the trees in the territory of Granada and then went to Seville to subjugate
6612-529: The east along the valley of the Jalón River . In 1104, 1105, and 1106, the king made several incursions into Andalusian territory, reaching Málaga in 1106, and returned with many Mozarabs , who settled in his kingdom. In 1108 the troops of the Almoravid Tamim, governor of Córdoba and son of Yusuf ibn Tashfin, attacked Christian territories, but this time the chosen city was not Toledo but Uclés . Alfonso VI
6728-440: The elder son Ordoño III , who ruled from 951 to 956, suddenly died aged little more than thirty, he was succeeded by his younger half-brother Sancho I "The Fat" (956–966), as Ordoño had failed to produce a legitimate heir. Sancho's son Ramiro had been born in 961 and was only about five years old when his father died. He was also the only legitimate member of the direct family line. His mother Teresa Ansúrez had retired into
6844-406: The eldest child of Ferdinand I and Sancha, a daughter called Urraca , was born when her parents were still Count and Countess of Castile , so her birth could be placed in 1033–34. The second child and eldest son, Sancho , must have been born in the second half of 1038 or in 1039. The third child and second daughter, Elvira , may have been born in 1039–40, followed by Alfonso in 1040–41, and finally
6960-466: The establishment of the Anscarid and Capetian dynasties in the peninsular kingdoms. Some of the crusaders unsuccessfully besieged Tudela in the winter of 1087, before withdrawing. That same year, the king crushed a revolt in Galicia aimed at releasing his brother García II. In 1088 Yusuf ibn Tashfin crossed the Strait of Gibraltar for the second time, but was defeated at the siege of Aledo and suffered
7076-464: The extensive and strategic Taifa of Toledo, the control of Valencia and the possession of Aledo, which isolated Murcia from the rest of Al-Andalus , worried the Muslim sovereigns of the Iberian Peninsula . The military and economic pressure on the Taifa kingdoms led the rulers of the Taifas of Seville, Granada, Badajoz, and Almeria to seek help from Yusuf ibn Tashfin , the Almoravid Emir who ruled
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#17329021695647192-466: The fall of Toledo as marking a basic change in relations with the Moorish south, turning from the simple extortion of annual tribute to outright territorial expansion. Alfonso VI was drawn into local politics by strife within Toledo and inherited the political alliances of the city-state. He found himself faced with problems unfamiliar to him, such as appointing and dealing with a Catholic bishop in Toledo and
7308-519: The first time in royal charters on 8 May 1080. She was the childless widow of Count Hugues III of Chalon-sur-Saône and daughter of Duke Robert I of Burgundy and his first wife, Hélie de Semur-en-Brionnais, and great-granddaughter of King Hugh Capet of France. She was also the niece of Abbot Hugh of Cluny and aunt of Henry of Burgundy. From this union, which lasted until Constance's death in 1093, six children were born, but only one reached adulthood: Bishop Pelagius of Oviedo mentions Zaida as one of
7424-418: The following fourteen years of his reign expanding his territories through conquests such as that of Uclés and the lands of the Banu Di-l-Nun family. In 1072 he entitled himself rex Spanie . In 1074, in alliance with Al-Mamun , ruler of the Taifa of Toledo, Alfonso waged an offensive against the Zirid ruler of the Taifa of Granada , Abd Allâh , taking the strategic fortress of Alcalá la Real . Following
7540-412: The greatest benefactors of the Abbey of Cluny , where Abbot Hugh (died 1109) undertook construction of the huge third abbey church, the cynosure of every eye. The Way of Saint James called pilgrims from Western Europe to the supposed tomb of Saint James the Great in Santiago de Compostela , and the large hostels and churches along the route encouraged building in the Romanesque style. Alfonso VI
7656-441: The high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities in Western Christian countries since the medieval period. It also includes the members of the higher clergy, such as bishops , archbishops and cardinals . In reference to the medieval , the term is often used to distinguish higher territorial landowners and warlords , such as counts , earls , dukes , and territorial- princes from
7772-452: The immunity of his patrimony. These events and their consequences would eventually come to be considered historical by many later chroniclers and historians; however, most modern historians deny that such an event ever took place. Thanks to Sancho II's death, García II could regain his own throne of Galicia; however, the following year, on 13 February 1073, Alfonso summoned García to a meeting, whereupon he imprisoned his younger brother. Garcia
7888-424: The king appears alone in the documentation. Agnes is said to have died on 6 June 1078, On the other hand, Orderic Vitalis , an English chronicler of the 12th century, said that the marriage of Agnes and Alfonso VI had been annulled in 1080 for reasons of consanguinity, and that Agnes was remarried in 1109 to Count Elias I of Maine . Reilly suggests that the marriage had been annulled in 1077, probably because of
8004-452: The king of Seville failed to enhance his image as the champion of the Muslims of the peninsula against the Almoravids; and, finally, in the west, the alliance with the king of Badajoz did not stop the North Africans from conquering this territory. As the price for this alliance, Alfonso VI had obtained Lisbon , Sintra , and Santarém , but lost them in November 1094 when his son-in-law Raymond of Burgundy, responsible for defending these cities,
8120-498: The king with the death of Raymond of Burgundy in September and the agreement with Urraca so that she remained as sovereign Lady of Galicia, except in the case of remarrying since, in that case, Galicia would pass to her son. The death of Sancho in the Battle of Uclés on 29 May 1108 left Alfonso VI without his only male heir. He then chose his eldest legitimate daughter Urraca as his successor, but decided to marry her to his rival and famous warrior King Alfonso I of Aragon and Navarre in
8236-443: The king's forces. The battle ended with the defeat of the Christian troops, who returned to Toledo to defend themselves. The Emir, however, did not take advantage of the victory since he had to rush back to Africa because of the death of his son. The defeat marked the beginning of a new era in the Iberian Peninsula that lasted about three decades, in which the military initiative was taken by the Almoravids and Alfonso VI had to remain on
8352-462: The king's two concubines and says that she was the daughter of Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad , ruler of the Taifa of Seville . In fact, she was his daughter-in-law, married to his son Abu Nasr Al-Fath al-Ma'mun, ruler of the Taifa of Córdoba . In March 1091, the Almoravid army besieged the city of Córdoba. Zaida's husband, who died during the siege on 26–27 March, sent his wife and children to Almodóvar del Río as
8468-453: The kingdom at his death. To turn them against each other, he gave Henry and Teresa the government of the County of Portugal , until then ruled by Raymond, which comprised the lands from the Minho river to Santarém, while the government of Raymond was limited to Galicia. Other scholars, however, have shown that the pact could not have been made before 1103, suggesting instead that Henry's appointment
8584-463: The kingdom, for the consecration of the Basílica of San Isidoro , Ferdinand I summoned a Curia Regia to make known his testamentary dispositions, under which he decided to distribute his patrimony among his children, a distribution that would not become effective until the death of the monarch in order to prevent any disputes arising after his death: The historian Alfonso Sánchez Candeira suggests that
8700-487: The kingdom. After the two kings reached an accord, Sancho Ramírez was recognized as king of Navarre and Alfonso VI annexed the territories of Álava , Vizcaya , part of Guipúzcoa and La Bureba , adopting in 1077 the title of Imperator totius Hispaniae ("Emperor of all Spain"). His great territorial expansion came at the expense of the Taifa Muslim kingdoms. Alfonso VI continued their economic exploitation by means of
8816-472: The lack of children. However, Gambra disagrees and believes that there are no reliable sources to support this assertion. In addition to being implied by Orderic, the alleged repudiation appears only in a volume of L'art de vérifier les dates and, according to Gambra, "it is impossible, in the absence of better references, to grant credit to the assertion of Agnes' repudiation". In addition, he indicates that Lucas de Tuy , in his Chronicon mundi , indicates that
8932-499: The meeting of a council in Carrión de los Condes in January 1103 because from that date onwards, Sancho began to confirm royal charters before his brothers-in-law Raymond and Henry of Burgundy. In May 1107, Alfonso imposed the recognition of Sancho as heir, despite the probable opposition of his daughters and sons-in-law, in the course of a Curia Regia held in León. The situation improved for
9048-565: The monks delivered the two boxes with the royal remains to a relative of one of them, who kept it hidden until 1902, when these were discovered by Rodrigo Fernández Núñez, a professor at the Institute of Zamora Rodrigo. The mortal remains of Alfonso VI are now in the Monastery of the Benedictine nuns of Sahagún, at the foot of the temple, in a smooth stone ark and with a cover of modern marble, and in
9164-466: The most important magnates of the kingdom were killed. In 1074, Alfonso VI's vassal and friend Al-Mamun, king of the Taifa of Toledo died of poisoning in Córdoba , and was succeeded by his grandson Al-Qádir, who asked for help from the Leonese monarch to end an uprising against him. Alfonso VI took advantage of this request to besiege Toledo, which finally fell on 25 May 1085. After losing his throne, Al-Qádir
9280-463: The north of Spain even into the 11th century. In 1008, Galicia and the Douro region were attacked, and in 1014 or 1015 a major raid was launched against the city of Tui at the mouth of the Minho River . The Vikings managed to successfully capture the bishop and many of the town's inhabitants. The Knýtlinga saga and Gesta Danorum describe another big raid after this one, in the year 1028. It
9396-579: The previous year and his widow, Jimena, was governing the city. In 1102, Alfonso VI sent troops to help Valencia against the Almoravid threat. The battle took place in Cullera and ended without a clear winner, although Valencia fell into Almoravid hands regardless because Alfonso decided it was too expensive to defend. Alfonso VI supervised the evacuation of Valencia in March and April and set fire to it before leaving; in May,
9512-455: The previous year, to be crowned as John I, King of León, Galicia and Seville. In 1301, he abdicated, and the king of Castile assumed the Crown of León, reuniting the two kingdoms. Though the kings of Castile and León initially continued to take the title King of León as the superior title, and to use a lion as part of their standard , power in fact became centralized in Castile, as exemplified by
9628-478: The problem of his succession. Berta had died without giving him an heir at the end of 1099; shortly after, Alfonso married Isabel who gave him two daughters, but no sons. To further complicate the situation, in March 1105 his grandson Alfonso Raimúndez , son of Urraca and Raymond of Burgundy, was born, a possible contender to the throne in detriment to Sancho Alfónsez, the king's son with Zaida. Montenegro thinks that Alfonso VI legitimized Sancho probably coinciding with
9744-447: The reasons leading King Ferdinand I to divide the kingdom (with Alfonso VI inheriting the royal title) are unknown, but the distribution was probably made because the king considered it proper that each son should inherit the region where he had been educated and spent his early years. After his coronation in the city of León in January 1066, Alfonso VI had to confront the expansionist desires (although Alfonso would prove himself as having
9860-501: The recently founded monastery of San Pelayo, of which her sister-in-law Elvira was the abbess. Another nun, Sancho's full sister Elvira Ramírez emerged as regent during his long minority. Under the regency of Elvira, fresh raids of the Northmen were repelled from the coast of Galicia. In 968, Gunrod of Norway, the Viking leader, established himself on Galician soil and held out for a year and
9976-408: The same or more so) of his brother Sancho II, who, as the eldest son, considered himself the sole legitimate heir of all the kingdoms of their father. The conflicts began after the death of their mother Queen Sancha on 7 November 1067, leading to seven years of war among the three brothers. The first skirmish was the Battle of Llantada , a trial by ordeal in which both brothers agreed that the one who
10092-486: The settling of garrisons in the small Muslim strongholds, the taifas , which were dependent on Toledo and which often bought the king's favour with gold from their trade with Al-Andalus and the Maghreb . Alfonso VI thus found his role as a Catholic king redefined as he governed large cities with sophisticated urban, Muslim subjects and growing Christian populations. The two kingdoms of León and Castile were split in 1157, when
10208-404: The sides, and a crucifix at the head of the tomb. The tomb that contained the remains of Alfonso VI was destroyed in 1810, during the fire at the Royal Monastery of San Benito. The mortal remains of the king and those of several of his wives were collected and preserved in the abbey chamber until 1821, when the monks were expelled, and were then deposited by the abbot Ramón Alegrías in a box, which
10324-522: The son of Ansur Díaz and nephew of Count Gómez Díaz de Saldaña (both members of the Banu Gómez lineage), he learned the art of war and what was expected of a knight. As the second son of the king of León and count of Castile, Alfonso would not have been entitled to inherit the throne. At the end of 1063, probably on 22 December, taking advantage of the fact that numerous magnates had gathered in León , capital of
10440-452: The support of the Leonese nobility and his sister Urraca, who remained strong in the city of Zamora, a lordship that Ferdinand I had granted her previously. When Urraca refused to exchange Zamora for other cities that Sancho had offered her in an effort to control the fortress of Zamora, "key to the future expansion south of the Duero ", Sancho besieged the city. However, during the siege, Sancho II
10556-541: The system of parias , and succeeded in subduing most of the Taifa kingdoms as his tributaries, enforced by the threat of military intervention. In 1074, he probably recovered payment of the parias of Toledo, and the same year, helped by troops of that city, he cut down trees on the lands of the Taifa of Granada , which consequently also began to pay him taxes. In 1076, the Emir of Zaragoza, who wished to seize Valencia without being disturbed by Alfonso VI, agreed to resume payment of
10672-634: The territory and influence of the Leonese/Castilian realm, but also provoked an Almoravid invasion that Alfonso would spend the remainder of his reign resisting. The Leonese and Castilian armies suffered decisive defeats in the battles of Sagrajas (1086) , Consuegra (1097) and Uclés (1108) , in the latter of which his only son and heir, Sancho Alfónsez , died, and Valencia was abandoned but Toledo remained part of an expanded realm that he passed to his daughter. The son of Ferdinand I, King of León and Count of Castile and his wife, Queen Sancha, Alfonso
10788-489: The throne, was killed in battle. As a consequence, the reconquista came to a 30-year standstill, and the County of Portugal eventually became an independent kingdom. The military situation was also serious since the Almoravids almost immediately seized the entire defensive border of the Tagus valley from Aranjuez to Zorita and there were uprisings of the Muslim population in this region. Alfonso VI, already old, had to deal with
10904-450: The title Count of Castile, in reference to the many castles of the territory (around Burgos), and continued expanding his area at the expense of León by allying with the Caliphate of Córdoba , until 966, when he was defeated by Sancho I of León . Sancho I died towards the end of 966 and five year old Ramiro III (966–982) ascended to the throne of León. In the second year of his reign, 968,
11020-413: The use of personal emblems, contributing to the visual language of heraldry that became crucial in medieval battles. 42°35′54″N 05°34′13″W / 42.59833°N 5.57028°W / 42.59833; -5.57028 Magnate The term magnate , from the late Latin magnas , a great man, itself from Latin magnus , "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to
11136-513: The wishes of the monarch. The mortal remains of the king were deposited in a stone sepulchre, which was placed at the feet of the church of the Royal Monastery, until the reign of Sancho IV , who deemed it unseemly that his ancestor was buried at the foot of the temple and ordered the tomb to be moved inside and placed in the church's transept, near the tomb of Beatriz, Dowager Lady of Los Cameros and daughter of Infante Frederick of Castile who had been executed by orders of his brother, King Alfonso X
11252-470: The year, all the southern taifas had been conquered by the Almoravids and Alfonso was not able to fulfill his promise to help the king of Seville. The king suffered setbacks on all fronts: in the east he failed to seize Tortosa due to the late arrival of the Genoese fleet that was to take part in its capture; further south, Al-Qádir was deposed in a revolt; in the south, his relation with Zaida, daughter-in-law of
11368-505: The youngest of the siblings, García , sometime between 1041 and 24 April 1043, the date on which King Ferdinand I, in a donation to the Abbey of San Andrés de Espinareda , mentions his five children. All of them except Elvira signed a document in the monastery of San Juan Bautista de Corias on 26 April 1046. All the children of King Ferdinand I, according to the Historia silense , were educated in
11484-416: Was Ordoño II of León (914–924). Ordoño II was also a military leader who brought expeditions from León south to Seville , Córdoba , and Guadalajara , in the heart of the Muslim territory. After a few years of civil wars during the reigns of Fruela II , Alfonso Fróilaz and Alfonso IV , Ramiro II (931–951) assumed the throne and brought stability to the kingdom. A brave military commander who defeated
11600-492: Was Sancho II's enemy, his murder occurred in a warlike attack during the siege, not near the city walls, but rather in a nearby forest where Dolfos lured the Castilian king away from his armed protection. The violent death of Sancho II, who had no descendants, allowed Alfonso VI to reclaim his throne as well as Sancho's and Garcia's original inheritances of Castile and Galicia, respectively. Although Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (El Cid),
11716-405: Was a "Leonese infante [prince] with Navarrese and Castilian blood". His paternal grandparents were Sancho Garcés III , king of Pamplona and his wife Muniadona of Castile , and his maternal grandparents were Alfonso V of León (after whom he was probably named) and his first wife Elvira Menéndez . The year of Alfonso's birth is not recorded in the medieval documentation. According to one of
11832-531: Was arrested in Santarém and imprisoned in Burgos until he was exiled to the Taifa of Seville , then under the rule of Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad . After eliminating their brother, Alfonso VI and Sancho II titled themselves kings of Galicia and signed a truce. The truce was broken with the Battle of Golpejera on 12 January 1072. Although Sancho II's troops were victorious, he decided not to persecute his brother Alfonso, who
11948-499: Was defeated by the Almoravid army that had taken Badajoz shortly before. The only good news for Alfonso VI was the recovery of Valencia in June by El Cid, who had defeated the Almoravid army that had advanced against him in the Battle of Cuarte on 21 October. This victory set the eastern border for about a decade. According to some historians, Alfonso VI later defeated a conspiracy of his sons-in-law Raymond and Henry who had plotted to divide
12064-465: Was forced to do so. Their raid of the region failed, and they withdrew under harassment by the troops of Fáñez. After this important conquest, Alfonso VI was entitled al-Imbraţūr dhī-l-Millatayn ("Emperor of the Two Religions") and as a gesture to the important Muslim population of the city, he promised them, in addition to respecting their properties, the right to use the main mosque. This decision
12180-645: Was founded by the Legio VII Gemina ("twin seventh legion") of the Roman Empire . It was the headquarters of that legion in the Late Roman Empire and was a centre for trade in gold , which was mined at Las Médulas nearby. In 569, the city was conquered by the Arian Visigothic king Liuvigild , who did not harass the already well-established Catholic population. In 717, León fell again, this time to
12296-479: Was held at the castle of Luna for seventeen years, where he eventually died on 22 March 1090. With his two brothers out of the way, Alfonso VI was able to secure the loyalty of both the high clergy and the nobility of his territories with ease; to confirm this, he spent the next two years visiting them. Now established on the Leonese throne, and with the title of "Emperor", a relic of the Gothic tradition, Alfonso VI spent
12412-556: Was imprisoned in Burgos and later transferred to the monastery of Sahagún, where his head was shaved and he was forced to wear a chasuble . Thanks to the intercession of their sister Urraca, Sancho and Alfonso reached an agreement under which Alfonso VI was able to take refuge in the Taifa of Toledo under the protection of his vassal Al-Mamun , accompanied by his childhood friend, the faithful Pedro Ansúrez and his two brothers Gonzalo and Fernando. Alfonso VI, from his exile in Toledo, obtained
12528-456: Was in Sahagún , recently married, elderly and with an old wound that prevented him from riding. Álvar Fáñez, governor of the lands of the Banu Di-l-Nun, was the commander of the army. He was accompanied by Sancho Alfónsez , the king's only son and heir. The armies clashed in the Battle of Uclés on 29 May 1108 and the Christian troops suffered another defeat. The young Sancho Alfónsez, heir to
12644-442: Was later revoked by the newly appointed archbishop of Toledo , Bernard of Sédirac , who took advantage of the king's absence from Toledo and with the support of Queen Constance . The occupation of Toledo—which allowed Alfonso VI to incorporate the title of King of Toledo with those he already used ( victoriosissimo rege in Toleto, et in Hispania et Gallecia )—led to the taking of cities such as Talavera and fortresses including
12760-445: Was led by Ulv Galiciefarer , who tried to go to the Riá de Arousa area and then became a mercenary for Rodrigo Romániz, but was defeated by the bishop of Compostela. The last recorded raids occurred during the period 1047–1066 when Cresconius , the bishop of Compostela, fought and won several battles against the Vikings. The Kingdom of León continued to be the most important of all those of
12876-455: Was made in response to the military defeat of 1094. In 1097, there was a fourth Almoravid invasion. Alfonso received the news when he was on his way to Zaragoza to assist his vassal Al-Mustain II in his confrontation with King Peter I of Aragon and Navarre . Once again, the Almoravid objective was Toledo, and they defeated the Christian forces at the Battle of Consuegra on 15 August, thus confirming
12992-423: Was murdered. According to tradition, during the siege a nobleman named Vellido Dolfos appeared before the king, claiming to have changed his loyalty from Urraca to Sancho. Under the pretense of showing him the weak parts of the city's walls, Dolfos separated the king from his guard and killed him with a spear. Although there is no clear evidence that Sancho II's death was due to treason rather than deceit, since Dolfos
13108-517: Was one of the most important kings of León of the Middle Ages . He assumed control of first León, and later Castile and Galicia, when his brother died attacking the Leonese city of Zamora . He was crowned Emperor of Spain over all the kings of the Iberian Peninsula. The 1085 taking of Toledo by Alfonso VI of León was seen as an epochal event in medieval Iberia, as Toledo was the first major Andalusi city conquered by Christians. Modern historians see
13224-460: Was placed in the southern wall of the chapel of the Crucifix until January 1835, when the remains were collected again and placed in another box and taken to the archive where the remains of the wives of the sovereign were at that time. The purpose was to place all the royal remains in a new sanctuary that was being built at that time. However, when the Royal Monastery of San Benito was dissolved in 1835,
13340-425: Was sent by Alfonso VI as king of the Taifa of Valencia under the protection of Álvar Fáñez . To facilitate this operation and to recover payment of the parias owed by the city, which had failed to pay him since the previous year, Alfonso VI besieged Zaragoza in the spring of 1086. In early March, Valencia accepted the rule of Al-Qádir; Xàtiva resisted requesting the aid of the rulers of Tortosa and Lérida until he
13456-414: Was victorious would obtain the kingdom of the defeated brother. Although Sancho II was the winner, Alfonso VI did not comply with the agreement; even so, relations between them remained cordial as evidenced by the fact that Alfonso was present at the wedding of Sancho II to an English noblewoman named Alberta on 26 May 1069. This was the same event where both decided to join forces to divide between themselves
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