Alfonso IX (León)

Alfonso IX, miniature from the 13th century

Alfonso IX of León (born August 15, 1171 in Zamora ; † September 23 or 24, 1230 in Villanueva near Sarria ) was King of León in the period from 1188 to 1230. According to the records of Ibn Chaldūn , he was nicknamed "El Baboso" (the drool), because he was said to have foamed at his mouth when he was angry.

Life

Alfonso was the only son and successor of King Ferdinand II of León and Urraca of Portugal. He was the cousin of Alfonso VIII of Castile . Although he took part in the Christian fight against the Moors as part of the Reconquista , he came into conflict with the church due to the close relationship to his two wives.

His first marriage was Theresia of Portugal in 1191 , with whom he had two daughters. The only son died young. Theresa (* 1175/76; † June 18, 1250; beatified 1705) was the daughter of Sancho I of Portugal . Pope Celestine III had this marriage declared null and void because they were too closely related, because the two had Alfonso I of Portugal as their grandfather.

In 1197 he married Berenguela of Castile in his second marriage . This time Pope Innocent III. dissolve the marriage in 1204 because of a close relationship, because Berenguela's great-grandfather Alfonso VII was her husband's grandfather. Four children had already emerged from this marriage and Innocent was forced to recognize them as legitimate and capable of succession, despite the annulment of the marriage. While Alfons stayed in León with his children from his first marriage, Berenguela and her children moved back to Burgos to the court of their father, the King of Castile.

His son Ferdinand became King of Castile in 1217 when his mother Berenguela resigned in his favor. Alfons had planned his daughters from his first marriage for León. Since he wanted to disinherit Ferdinand, King Alfonso invited Johann von Brienne to marry his daughter Sancha and thus inherit the Leonese throne. But his second wife, Berenguela, persuaded Johann von Brienne to marry one of their daughters instead.

When Alfons died in 1230, Ferdinand replaced his half-sisters' claims to the throne with 30,000 gold pieces ( aurei ). Sancha then became a nun in the monastery of Santa Eufemia de Cozuelos, where she died in 1270. Her sister Dulce or Aldonza moved to live with her mother in Portugal. Ferdinand succeeded his father in León. As a result, he united the kingdoms of Castile and León, which had been separated since 1157 when Alfonso VII had divided them between his two sons.

progeny

The children of Alfonso and Theresa of Portugal were:

• Sancha (* 1192; † 1270), was engaged to her cousin Henry I of Castile, but who died before the wedding in 1217
• Dulce, also called Aldonza (* 1195; † 1243)
• Ferdinand (* 1204; † August 1214)

The children of Alfonso and Berenguela of Castile were:

• Leonor (* 1198/99; † October 31, 1210)
• King Ferdinand II of Castile / III. of Castile and León. (* 1200; † 1252)
• Berenguela (* 1204; † 1237), married Johann von Brienne in 1224
• Alfons, Duke of Molina (* 1203; † 1272); ∞ Teresa González de Lara, † 1246, daughter of Gonzalo Núñez de Lara ( House Lara );
• Constanza (* 1205; † September 7, 1242) became a nun in Las Huelgas

literature

• Emilio Sáez: Alfons IX . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages (LexMA). Volume 1, Artemis & Winkler, Munich / Zurich 1980, ISBN 3-7608-8901-8 , column 400 f.
• Peter Rassow: The Prince Consort. A Pactum Matrimonale from 1188 , Weimar 1950.

Web links

Commons : Alfonso IX of León  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Rassow p. 77.
2. ↑ Rassow p. 88.
3. ↑ Rassow p. 94.

predecessor	Office	successor
Ferdinand II.	King of León 1188–1230	Ferdinand III.