X-Nico

15 unusual facts about Alfonso X of Castile


Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd Al-Haqq

Alfonso X arrived back in Castile at the end of the year and negotiated a truce with Abu Yusuf Yaqub.

His father, Alfonso X fled to Seville, his support reduced to the Muslim-heavy districts of Andalusia and Murcia.

The Christian king Alfonso X of Castile had thrown his weight behind the Ashqilula - in part because the Nasrids themselves had sheltered Castilian rebels.

No sooner was this done, that the attention of the Muslim parties turned towards Marinid Algeciras which Alfonso X had decided to take for himself.

Now it was the turn of the Marinids to forge an alliance with Alfonso X of Castile.

News of the deal infuriated the Nasrid ruler Muhammad II al-Faqih of Granada, who promptly sought out the support of Alfonso X of Castile and the Abdalwadid ruler Yaghmorassan of Tlemcen to punish the Marinids.

Alcázar of Segovia

In 1258, parts of the Alcázar had to be rebuilt by King Alfonso X of Castile after a cave-in and soon after the Hall of Kings was built to house Parliament.

Beatrice of Falkenburg

Her paternal uncle, Engelbert II of Falkenburg, archbishop-elector of Cologne, was neither loyal to Richard nor interested in him, but when he became imprisoned during the turmoil, when Richard's candidacy was opposed by Alfonso X of Castile who was elected by Saxony, Brandenburg and Trier, Richard decided to liberate him.

Bible moralisée

It was copied and illustrated between 1226 and 1234 in Paris on the orders of Blanche of Castile for her son Louis IX, who gave it to Alfonso X of Castile; it remains in good condition in the Cathedral of Toledo.

Bible of St Louis

It is generally believed that the first reference to the Bible of St. Louis can be found in the second will and testament of Alfonso the Wise, of January 10, 1284.

Estoria de España

The Estoria de España, also known in the 1906 edition of Ramón Menéndez Pidal as the Primera Crónica General, is a history book written on the initiative of Alfonso X of Castile "El Sabio" ("the Wise"), who was actively involved in the editing.

Henry II, Prince of Anhalt-Aschersleben

In 1257, Henry supported King Alfonso X of Castile as German King and led military actions against the monasteries and archbishops of Magdeburg and bishops of Halberstadt as well as his brothers and cousins.

Libros del saber de astronomía

The Libros del saber de astronomía del rey Alfonso X de Castilla (Books of wisdom of astronomy of King Alfonso X of Castile) is a literary work of the medieval period, composed during the reign of Alfonso X of Castile.

Nuno Fernandes Torneol

He probably worked in the middle of the thirteenth century at the courts of Ferdinand III and Alfonso X of Castile.

Orihuela Cathedral

It was built above a pre-existing Muslim mosque as a simple parish church, and was later converted into a main church by order of King Alfonso X of Castile in 1281.


Henry I of Navarre

Henry initially sought to recover territory lost to Castile by assisting the revolt of Philip, brother of Alfonso X of Castile, in 1270, but eventually declined, preferring to establish an alliance with Castile through the marriage of his son Theobald to Violant of Castile, daughter of Alfonso X. This failed with the death of the young Theobald after he fell from a battlement at the castle of Estella in 1273.

Theobald II of Navarre

When the daughter, Berengaria, of Alfonso X of Castile was betrothed to Louis, eldest son and heir of King Louis, Castile ceded the use of the ports of Fuenterrabía and San Sebastián to Navarre on 1 January 1256.