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
Predecessor	Ferdinand II
Successor	Ferdinand III
Born	(1171-08-15)15 August 1171 Zamora
Died	23/24 September 1230(1230-09-24) (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 Burgundy
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.

In 1188 he established the Cortes of León, considered Western Europe's first parliament.

Biography

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

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.

Reign

Alfonso IX had great difficulty in obtaining the throne through his given birthright.

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, 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 Thingvellir, in 930 CE. [My citation is my mother, who visited Iceland in 1930—she was 13—and was there for the 1000th anniversary. There is another citation is found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Þingvellir ]

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 cousin, Theresa of Portugal, 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. 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. In 1198, Pope Innocent III declared Alfonso and Berengaria's marriage invalid, but they stayed together until 1204.

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.

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. 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 fathers 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.

Children

Alfonso's children by Theresa of Portugal were:

• 1) Ferdinand (ca. 1192 – August 1214, aged around 22), unmarried and without issue
• 2) Sancha (ca. 1193–bef. 1243), 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.
• 3) Dulce, (1194/ca. 1195 - ca./aft. 1243), unmarried and without issue

Alfonso's children by Berengaria of Castile were:

• 4) Eleanor (1198/1199 - 11 November 1202)
• 5) Constance (1 May 1200 - 7 September 1242) became a nun at Las Huelgas, Burgos, where she died.
• 6) King Ferdinand III the Saint (1201–1252)
• 7) Alfonso, 4th Lord of Molina (1203–1272)
• 8) Berengaria of León (1204–1237), married John of Brienne

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

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

• 9) Pedro Alfonso de León, 1st Lord of Tenorio (ca. 1196/ca. 1200–1226), Grand Master of Santiago, married N de Villarmayor, and had issue
• 10) Alfonso Alfonso de León, died yong
• 11) Fernando Alfonso de León, died young
• 12) Rodrigo Alfonso de León (ca. 1210 - ca. 1267), 1st Lord of Aliger and Governor of Zamora, married ca. 1240 to Inés Rodriguez de Cabrera (ca. 1200-), and had issue
• 13) Teresa Alfonso de León (ca. 1210-), wife of Nuño González de Lara el Bueno, lord of Lara
• 14) Aldonza Alfonso de León (ca.1215–1266), wife, first, of Diego Ramírez Froilaz, nephew of her stepfather, without issue, and then before June 1230 married Pedro Ponce de Cabrera (bef. 1202-between 1248 and 1254), and had issue, ancestors of the Ponce de León family.

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-)):

• 15) Urraca Alfonso de León (ca. 1190/ca. 1197-), first wife ca. 1230 of Lope Díaz II de Haro (1192-15 December 1236), 6th Sovereign Lord of Viscaya and had issue, including Mécia Lopes de Haro.

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):

• 16) Fernando Alfonso de León (born c. 1211), died young

Alfonso's children by Maua, of unknown origin:

• 17) Fernando Alfonso de León (ca. 1215/1218/1220 - Salamanca, 1278/1279), Archdean of Santiago, married to Aldara de Ulloa and had issue

Alfonso's children by Teresa Gil de Soverosa (born aft. 1175) (daughter of Gil Vasques de Soverosa and first wife Maria Aires de Fornelos):

• 18) María Alfonso de León (ca. 1190/1200/1222 - aft. 1252), first married Álvaro Fernández de Lara, without issue, married as his second wife Soeiro Aires de Valadares (ca. 1140-) and had issue and later mistress of her nephew Alfonso X of Castile
• 19) Sancha Alfonso de León (1210/ca. 1210–1270), a nun at the convent of Santa Eufemia in Cozuelos de Ojeda after divorcing without issue Simón Ruíz, Lord of Los Cameros
• 20) Martín Alfonso de León (ca. 1210/ca. 1225-1274/ca. 1275)
• 21) Urraca Alfonso of León (ca. 1210/1228 - aft.1252, married twice, first to García Romeu of Tormos, without issue, then Pedro Núñez de Guzmán, son of Guillén Pérez de Guzmán and María González Girón, with issue.

Ancestry

Family 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

References

• Doubleday, Simon R., The Lara family: crown and nobility in medieval Spain, Harvard University Press, 2001.
• Echols, Anne and Marty Williams, An Annotated index of Medieval Women, Markus Weiner Publishing Inc, 1992.
• Medieval Iberia: an encyclopedia, Ed. E. Michael Gerli and Samuel G. Armistead, Routledge, 2003.
• Moore, John Clare, Pope Innocent III (1160/61-1216): To root up and to plant, BRILL, 2003.
• Ruano, Ruano and Joannes Ribadas, Casa de la Cabrera en Córdoba, 1779.

Further reading

• Florez, Enrique. Reinas Catolicas, 1761
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Alphonso IX". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
• 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.