Alfonso IX of León

Alfonso IX
Depiction on the Tumbo A cartulary of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
King of León and Galicia
Reign	22 January 1188 – 24 September 1230
Predecessor	Ferdinand II
Successor	Ferdinand III
Born	15 August 1171 Zamora
Died	23/24 September 1230 (aged 59) Villanueva de Sarria
Burial	Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
Consort	Theresa of Portugal Berengaria of Castile
Issue among others...	Fernando Sancha Dulce Constance, Abbess of Las Huelgas Ferdinand III Alfonso of Molina Berengaria, Latin Empress
House	House of Ivrea
Father	Ferdinand II of León
Mother	Urraca of Portugal
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.

He took steps towards modernizing and democratizing his dominion and founded the University of Salamanca in 1212. In 1188 he summoned the first parliament reflecting full representation of the citizenry ever seen in Western Europe, the Cortes of León.^[1]

He took a part in the work of the Reconquest, conquering the area of Extremadura (including the cities of Cáceres and Badajoz).

Family

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.^[2]

Reign

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.^[3]

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,^[4] 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 CE. 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.

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. In 1197, Alfonso IX married his first cousin once removed, Berengaria of Castile, to cement peace between León and Castile.^[5] For this second act of consanguinity, the king and the kingdom were placed under interdict by representatives of the Pope.^[6] In 1198, Pope Innocent III declared Alfonso and Berengaria's marriage invalid, but they stayed together until 1204.^[7] 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.^[8][9] The treaty in 1207 is the first existing public document in the Castilian dialect.^[10]

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.

Children

In 1191, he married Theresa of Portugal,^[11] daughter of King Sancho I of Portugal and Queen Dulce of Aragon.^[12] Between 1191 and 1196, the year in which their marriage was annulled, three children were born:

• Sancha (1191–before 1243)^[13] unmarried and without issue. She and her sister Dulce became nuns or retired at the Monastery of San Guillermo Villabuena (León) where she died before 1243.
• Ferdinand(1192/1193–1214),^[14] unmarried and without issue.
• Dulce (1193/1194–1248).^[15]

On 17 November 1197 he married infanta Berengaria of Castile, daughter of King Alfonso VIII of Castile and Leonor of England. Five children were born of this marriage:

• Eleanor^[16] (1198/1199 - 11 November 1202).
• Constance (1 May 1200 - 7 September 1242), became a nun at the Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas, Burgos, where she died.^[16]
• Ferdinand III of Castile (1201–1252). King of Castile in 1217 after the deat of Henry I of Castile and of León in 1230 after the death of his father.^[16]
• Alfonso (1202–1272), Lord of Molina due to his first marriage to Mafalda González de Lara.^[16]
• Berengaria of León (1204–1237), in 1224 married John of Brienne,^[16]

Alfonso also fathered many illegitimate children. After the annulment of his first marriage and before wedding Berengaria, he had a relationship which lasted about two years with Inés Íñiguez de Mendoza, daughter of Iñigo López de Mendoza and María García, with whom he had a daughter born around 1197:

• Urraca Alfonso, the wife of Lope Díaz II de Haro, Lord of Biscay.^[17]

He had another relationship afterwards with a noblewoman from Galicia, Estefanía Pérez de Faiam. In 1211, King 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. She was the daughter of Pedro Menéndez Faiam, who confirmed several royal charters of King Alfonso IX, and granddaughter of Menendo Faiam, who also confirmed several diplomas issued in Galicia as of 1155 by King Ferdinand II of León. After the relationship ended, Estefanía married Rodrigo Suárez with whom she had issue. In her will, she asked to be buried in the Monastery of Fiães in northern Portugal.^[18]

Alfonso IX and Estefanía were the parents of:^{[lower-alpha 1]}

• Ferdinand Alfonso of León (born in 1211),^[18] 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: ^[20]

• Fernando Alfonso de León (ca. 1214/1218 – Salamanca, 10 January 1278), archdeacon of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela,^[20] who had issue with Aldara de Ulloa.

Of his relationship with the noblewoman from Portugal, Aldonza Martínez de Silva, daughter of Martim Gomes da Silva and his wife Urraca Rodrigues,^[21] which lasted from 1214 to 1218, three children were born:

• Rodrigo (ca. 1214 – ca. 1268), lord of Aliger and Castro del Río, and Adelantado of the March of Andalusia, he married Inés Rodríguez, daughter of Rodrigo Fernández de Valduerna,^[22] Lord of Cabrera and alférez of King Alfonso IX.
• Aldonza (died after 1267). Married count Pedro Ponce de Cabrera,^[23] and had issue. They are the ancestors of the Ponce de León family.
• Teresa Alfonso of León.^{[lower-alpha 2]}

King Alfonso's most long-lasting relationship, which began in 1218 and lasted until his death in 1230,^[26] was with Teresa Gil de Soverosa.^[27] 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 1239:^[28]

• Sancha (d. 1270). Married Simon Ruiz, Lord of Los Cameros.^[29] She later became a nun at the convent of Santa Eufemia de Cozuelos which she had founded.^[29]
• María (died after July 1275).^{[lower-alpha 3]} 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.^[29]
• 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.^[30]
• Urraca (d. after 1252). First married García Romeu,^[29] and then Pedro Núñez de Guzmán.^[29]

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.^{[lower-alpha 4]}

Death

Alfonso IX of León 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 throne of León from his father. This was thanks to the negotiations of his mother, Berengaria, who convinced her stepdaughters to renounce their claim on the throne.^[32] 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.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Alfonso IX of León

16. William I, Count of Burgundy               8. Raymond of Burgundy                       17. Stephanie               4. Alfonso VII of León and Castile                             18. Alfonso VI of León and Castile               9. Urraca of León and Castile                       19. Constance of Burgundy               2. Ferdinand II of León                                   20. Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona               10. Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona                       21. Maud of Apulia               5. Berengaria of Barcelona                             22. Gilbert I, Count of Gévaudan               11. Douce I, Countess of Provence                       23. Gerberga, Countess of Provence               1. Alfonso IX of León                                         24. Henry of Burgundy               12. Henry, Count of Portugal                       6. Afonso I of Portugal                             26. Alfonso VI of León and Castile               13. Theresa of León                       27. Ximena Moniz               3. Urraca of Portugal                                   28. Umberto II, Count of Savoy               14. Amadeus III, Count of Savoy                       29. Gisela of Burgundy               7. Maud of Savoy                             30. Guigues III of Albon               15. Mahaut of Albon                       31. Mathilde

Notes

1. 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.^[19]
2. There is controversy among historians and genealogists on her supposed marriage to Nuño González de Lara el Bueno, lord of Lara. According to Pedro Afonso, Count of Barcelos, followed by other historians,^[24] 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, suppossedly 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. 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. This filiation is suggested by a document dated 1243 where King Alfonso X of Castile reminds his friend and vassal, Count Nuño that he had "... begged and asked my father king Ferdinand to give you land and to make you a knight and give you in marriage donna Teresa Afonso, my cousin, granddaughter of the King of León". That is, that Teresa was the cousin of King Alfonso X and granddaughter of Alfonso IX.^[25]
3. 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).
4. "...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)^[31]

References

1. Gerli 2003, p. 54.
2. Shadis 2010, p. xix.
3. Shadis 2010, p. 53.
4. "Un anglosajón prueba que en León y no en Inglaterra nació la democracia" article in Diario de León (in Spanish)
5. Shadis 2010, p. 61-62.
6. Moore 2003, pp. 70-71.
7. Reilly 1993, p. 133.
8. Shadis 2010, pp. 78-84.
9. Túy 2003, p. 324, 4.84.
10. Wright 2000.
11. Echols 1992, pp. 400-401.
12. Fernandes Marques 2008, pp. 62, 87.
13. Fernandes Marques 2008, pp. 89, 140.
14. Fernandes Marques 2008, p. 140.
15. Fernandes Marques 2008, p. 140 y 143.
16. Martínez Díez 2007, p. 47.
17. Calderón Medina 2011, pp. 262–263.
18. Calderón Medina 2011, pp. 264–265.
19. Calderón Medina 2011, p. 264 n.31.
20. Calderón Medina 2011, p. 265.
21. Calderón Medina 2011, pp. 266–267.
22. Calderón Medina 2011, pp. 267–268.
23. Calderón Medina 2011, pp. 268–270.
24. Calderón Medina 2011, p. 269.
25. Alonso 2002, p. 119.
26. Calderón Medina 2011, p. 275.
27. Calderón Medina 2011, p. 270.
28. Calderón Medina 2011, pp. 268, 270 and 275.
29. Calderón Medina 2011, p. 276.
30. Calderón Medina 2011, pp. 275–276.
31. Ayala Martínez 1997, p. 245 n.14.
32. Shadis 2010, p. 3.

Bibliography

• Alonso, Isabel (2002). "Desheredamiento y desafuero, o la pretendida justificación de una revuelta nobiliaria". Cahiers d'Études Hispaniques Médiévales (in Spanish) (25): 99–129. ISSN 2108-7083.
• Ayala Martínez, Carlos de (1997). "Las órdenes militares en el siglo XII castellano. La consolidación de los maestrazgos". Anuario de Estudios Medievales (in Spanish) (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CSIC: Institución Milá y Fontanals) (27). ISSN 0066-5061.
• Calderón Medina, Inés (2011). "Las otras mujeres del rey: El concubinato regio en el reino de León (1157- 1230)". Seminário Medieval 2009–2011 (PDF) (in Spanish). Coordinators:Ferreira, María do Rosário; Laranjinha, Ana Sofia; Ribeiro Miranda, José Carlos. Oporto: Instituto de Filosofía da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto. pp. 255–289. ISBN 9789898459145.
• Doubleday, Simon R. (2001). The Lara family: crown and nobility in medieval Spain. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674034297.
• Echols, Anne; Williams, Marty (1992). An Annotated index of Medieval Women. Markus Weiner Publishing Inc. ISBN 9780910129275.
• Fernandes Marques, Maria Alegría (2008). Estudos sobre a Ordem de Cister em Portugal (in Portuguese). Coímbra: Estudos da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Coimbra. ISBN 972-772-019-6.
• Gerli, E. Michael; Armistead, Samuel G., eds. (2003). Medieval Iberia: an encyclopedia. Routledge. ISBN 9780415939188.
• Martínez Díez, Gonzalo (2007). Alfonso VIII, rey de Castilla y Toledo (1158-1214) (in Spanish). Gijón: Ediciones Trea, S.L. ISBN 978-84-9704-327-4.
• Moore, John Clare (2003). Pope Innocent III (1160/61-1216): To root up and to plant. Brill. ISBN 9781423712138.
• Reilly, Bernard F. (1993). The Medieval Spains. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521394369.
• Shadis, Miriam (2010). Berenguela of Castile (1180–1246) and Political Women in the High Middle Ages. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-23473-7.
• Túy, Lucas (2003). Rey, Emma Falque, ed. Chronicon mundi. Turnhout: Brepols. ISBN 9782503037417.
• Wright, Roger (2000). El tratado de Cabreros (1206): estudio sociofilológico de una reforma ortográfica. London: Queen Mary and Westfield College. ISBN 9780904188592.

Further reading

• Florez, Enrique. Reinas Catolicas, 1761
•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Alphonso". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
• 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.
• 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.