Alfonso VIII "The Nobel" King of Castile^{[1, 2]}

1155 - 1214  (58 years)

 Set As Default Person

• Name	Alfonso VIII "The Nobel" King of Castile
  Born	11 Nov 1155	Soria,Castile & Leon,Spain   [3]
  Gender	Male
  Died	6 Oct 1214	Burgos, Castile, Spain   [4]
  Age	58 years
  Buried	16 Oct 1214	Gutierre Munoz, Avilia, Castile, Spain
  Notes	Alfonso VIII, byname EL DE LAS NAVAS (Spanish: He of Las Navas) (b.1155--d. Oct. 6, 1214, Burgos, Castile), king of Castile from 1158, sonof Sancho III, whom he succeeded when three years old, and grandson ofAlphonso VII, is a great name in Spanish history, for he led thecoalition of Christian princes and foreign crusaders which broke thepower of the Almohades at the battle of the Navas de Tolosa in 1212. Hispersonal history is that of many mediaeval kings. He succeeded to thethrone on the death of his father, Sancho, at the age of a year and ahalf. Before Alfonso came of age his reign was troubled by internalstrife and the intervention of the kingdom of Navarre in Castilianaffairs. Though proclaimed king, he was regarded as a mere name by theunruly nobles to whom a minority was convenient. The devotion of a squireof his household, who carried him on the pommel of his saddle to thestronghold of San Esteban de Gormaz, saved him from falling into thehands of the contending factions of Castro and Lara, or of his uncle,Ferdinand of Leon, who claimed the regency. The loyalty of the town ofAvila protected his youth. He was barely 15 when he came forth to do aman's work by restoring his kingdom to order. Throughout his reign hemaintained a close alliance with the kingdom of Aragon, and in 1179 heconcluded the Pact of Cazorla, which settled the future line ofdemarcation between Castile and Aragon when the reconquest of MoorishSpain was completed. From 1172 to 1212 he was engaged in resistance tothe Moorish Almohad invaders, who defeated him in 1195. In the same yearthe kings of Leon and Navarre invaded Castile, but Alfonso defeated themwith the aid of King Peter II of Aragon. It was only by a surprise thathe recovered the capital, Toledo, from the hands of the Laras. In 1212Alfonso secured a great victory at Las Navas de Tolosa over the Almohadsultan and thereby broke Almohad power in Spain. His marriage withLeonora of Aquitaine, daughter of Henry II of England, brought him underthe influence of the greatest governing intellect of his time. AlphonsoVIII was the founder of the first Spanish university, the 'studiumgenerale' of Palencia, which, however, did not survive him.[Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1961 ed., Vol. 1, p. 687-8, ALPHONSO VIII;Encyclopaedia Britannica CD '97]
  Person ID	I2163	Wilson-Maynard Family Tree
  Last Modified	8 Jan 2012

  
  

  Father	Sancho III King of Castile,   b. 1134,   d. 31 Aug 1158  (Age 24 years)
  Mother	Blanche of Navarre,   b. aft. 1133,   d. 12 Aug 1156  (Age ~ 22 years)
  Married	January 30, 1151	Catahorra
  Family ID	F1641	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Eleanor Princess of England, Queen Castile,   b. 13 Oct 1162, Domfront, Normandy, France ,   d. 31 Oct 1214, Las Huelgas, Brugos, Spain  (Age 52 years)
  Married	Sep 1177	OF CASTILE, , SPAIN   [5]
  Children	1. Berengaria of Castile,   b. ABT. Jun 1180, Burgos, Castile, Spaine ,   d. 8 Nov 1246, Burgos, Castile, Spaine  (Age ~ 66 years)   2. Urraca Princess of Castile,   b. 1187, Toledo, Castile, Spain ,   d. 3 Nov 1220, Coimbra, Portugal  (Age 33 years)   3. Blanche Alphonsa Princess of Castile,   b. 23 May 1188, PALENCIA, CASTILE, , SPAIN ,   d. 30 Nov 1253, Paris, Seine, France  (Age 65 years)   4. Henry 1 CASTILE,   b. 1214,   d. 1217 ob.s.p.   5. Sancho CASTILE, Prince,   b. 5 Apr 1180   6. Enrique CASTILE, Prince,   b. Abt 1182   7. Ferdinand CASTILE, Prince,   b. 29 Nov 1189   8. Constance of CASTILE, Proncess,   b. 1191   9. Matilda CASTILE, Princess,   b. 1192   10. Sancha CASTILE, Princess,   b. 1193   11. Enrique 1 CASTILE, King Castile,   b. 14 Apr 1204, Castile,Spain ,   d. 7 Jun 1217, Palencia,Leon,Spain  (Age 13 years)   12. Eleanor of Castile, Princess,   b. 1195, Castile,Spain ,   d. 1253, Castile,Spain  (Age 58 years)
  Family ID	F921	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 11 Nov 1155 - Soria,Castile & Leon,Spain Married - Sep 1177 - OF CASTILE, , SPAIN Died - 6 Oct 1214 - Burgos, Castile, Spain Buried - 16 Oct 1214 - Gutierre Munoz, Avilia, Castile, Spain  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Photos

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• Sources

  [S14582] Encyclopedia Britannica, Treatise on, Ferdinand III, Alfonso VIII. Links Ferdinand III with Berengaria, and Alfonso VIII--also Leon with Castile. [S14596] Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists, 7th Edition, by Frederick Lewis Weis, additions by Walter Lee Shippard Jr., 113-27. [S14582] Encyclopedia Britannica, Treatise on, Alfonso VIII. 1155-year only [S14582] Encyclopedia Britannica, Treatise on, Alfonso VIII. [S14596] Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists, 7th Edition, by Frederick Lewis Weis, additions by Walter Lee Shippard Jr., 110-27. 1169