Rahel la Fermosa

Rahel la Fermosa (German Rachel the Beautiful, actually Rahel Esra ; * around 1165 in Toledo ; † 1195 ibid) was, according to legend, the mistress of King Alfonso VIII of Castile .

Rahel was the daughter of the Jewish merchant Jehuda Ibn Esra from Toledo. Her father sat on the Privy Council and was fundraiser for the King of Castile . In 1183 Rachel, called Rahel la Fermosa , became the mistress of King Alfonso VIII (1155–1214). In order to escape the vengeance of his wife, Queen Eleonore (1162–1214), the two lovers lived secluded in the Palacio de Galiana in Toledo. Under their influence, a number of Jews were appointed to important positions at the court of Castile, which led to strife among the clergy and nobility. After the king was lured away by an excuse, the queen's followers murdered Rachel and her father.

Palacio de Galiana in Toledo

The love story between the Jewess Rahel and King Alfons does not appear in contemporary chronicles, but is mentioned for the first time around 1292 in the Castigos para bien vivir , which King Sancho IV had drafted as an educational guide for his son. The story was referred to the realm of fable by Gaspar Ibáñez de Segovia (1628–1708), Marquis de Mondéjar, and other later literary historians. The historicity of Rahel la Fermosa is therefore controversial among historians.

literature

Lion Feuchtwanger : The Jewess of Toledo . Berlin (1995) 2008 ISBN 978-3-7466-5638-0
Franz Grillparzer : The Jewess of Toledo . Vienna (1855)
Abraham S. Marrache : La Historia de Fermosa, la amante de Alfonso VIII . (Roman) Hebraica Ediciones, Madrid 2009, ISBN 978-84-612-8930-1 .
Kenneth R. Scholberg: Jewess of Toledo. In: Encyclopaedia Judaica . 2nd Edition. Volume 11, Detroit / New York a. a. 2007, ISBN 978-0-02-865939-8 , pp. 255-256 (English).
Lope de Vega : Los paces de los reyes y judía de Toledo (drama) (German: The reconciliation of the royal couple and the Jewess of Toledo ) (1610-1612)

Individual evidence

↑ Agapito Rey . Castigos e documentos para vivir bien ordenados por el Rey Don Sancho IV Indiana University, 1952 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
↑ Miriam Shadis: Berenguela of Castile (1180-1246) and Political Women in the High Middle Ages. Palgrave Macmillan, New York 2010, ISBN 978-0-312-23473-7 , pp. 48-50 ( limited preview in Google book search).
^ Harenberg Lexikon der Weltliteratur, 1994 study edition, ISBN 3-611-00338-7 , p. 2983

personal data
SURNAME	Rahel la Fermosa
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Rahel Esra (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Mistress of King Alfonso VIII of Castile
DATE OF BIRTH	around 1165
PLACE OF BIRTH	Toledo
DATE OF DEATH	1195
Place of death	Toledo

[1] Agapito Rey . Castigos e documentos para vivir bien ordenados por el Rey Don Sancho IV Indiana University, 1952 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).

[2] Miriam Shadis: Berenguela of Castile (1180-1246) and Political Women in the High Middle Ages. Palgrave Macmillan, New York 2010, ISBN 978-0-312-23473-7 , pp. 48-50 ( limited preview in Google book search).

[3] Harenberg Lexikon der Weltliteratur, 1994 study edition, ISBN 3-611-00338-7 , p. 2983