A Legacy of El Cid:

Our European cousins: Diverse royal

European ancestry of an American

family

Figure 1

A Shield from the EL Cid Era-

Basura  

CHAPTERS

1. Ferdinand I “The Great”

EMPEROR OF SPAIN- KING OF CASTILE

AND LEON

2. Rodrigo Diaz De Vivar “EL CID”-

CAMPEADOR -PRINCE OF VALENCIA and

Family

3. García VI el Restaurador,

KING OF NAVARRA

4. Blanca de Navarra, QUEEN

CONSORT OF CASTILLE

5. King Alfonso VIII “THE

NOBLE,” KING OF CASTILLE-EMPEROR OF

SPAIN

6. Berenguela I “THE GRAND,”

QUEEN OF CASTILLE

1

7. Fernando III “THE SAINT,” KING

OF CASTILLE

8. Eleanor of Castile, PRINCESS OF

CASTILE, QUEEN CONSORT OF ENGLAND

AND Edward I KING OF ENGLAND

9. Blanche Bourgogne de Castile

PRINCESS OF CASTILE-QUEEN CONSORT

OF FRANCE and LOUIS VIII Of FRANCE

By

John Pierre Biddle Warden

(ISBN 1503060985).

Preface

pg. 2

Charles the Great Charlemagne (742/747/748 – 28January 814) Figure2

The day I finished this book

I ran across an article purporting

to say that we are all directly

related to Charlemagne. Mr. Lee

thesis cannot be correct because

even he admittedly states that the

formula does not take into account

factors that would influence a

proper answer. Here is a portion

of what he has to relate: On Thu,

2006-08-17, James Leone wrote:

3

“As I was

researching my Lee

ancestral line back into

the Middle Ages, I was

excited to find that I

am apparently a direct

descendant of

Charlemagne, the first

Holy Roman Emperor. As I

dug deeper, I found at

least three separate

lines of descent from

him to me, and I saw

more and more

genealogical sites on

the Web

pg. 4

that claimed similar

descent…30” 1 He goes on

to relate a probability

formula that he claims

makes it certain that we

all are related to

Charlemagne.2

that claimed similar

descent…” 3 He goes on

to relate a probability

formula that he claims

make it sure that we all

are related to

Charlemagne.4

1 Everyone is descended from Charlemagne -Colleen Genealogy,http://www.colleengenealogy.net/everyonecharlemagne.html_br (accessed October 4,2014).

2 Ibid.

3 Everyone is descended from Charlemagne - Colleen Genealogy, http://www.colleengenealogy.net/everyonecharlemagne.html_br (accessed October 4, 2014).4 Ibid.

5

In this writters opinion, this

mathematical formulation is

nonsensical or a non-sequitur for

all practicality. It is an insult

to genealogist who has patiently

traced direct bloodlines. We may

all be related to Charlemagne as we

are related to each other but not

in a direct line. However, to say

we are all directly linked to

Charlemagne is wishful thinking.

The line from Charlemagne in the

8th Century means the calculation

is based on one person being

Charlemagne, and 14,999,999 are not

Charlemagne. It assumes that the

15 or so million males and females,

living at the time, other than

Charlemagne did not exist. They did

not produce, or did or did not

contribute to the holes in the

probability theory. Now the

number of probably descendants is

not just one trillion but 15

million trillion. How can this be?

An utter mind-boggling and

confusing figure. More importantly

pg. 6

it is not a valid value for

researching ancestors.

7

The European population in

2007 is only 731 million.5 It

means that obviously one person is

Charlemagne and whatever the

correct number is -are not

Charlemagne. This formulation is

pure mathematical and is not based

on pure foundational research.

None of the probability formula

takes into account wartime deaths,

couples who do not produce, disease

or the birth and death rates. These

three factors alone could nullify

all likelihood calculations. They

do not account for the monstrous

miscalculation that is produced

using their formula to estimate

todays' population based on their

projections. It probably will

never be entirely accurate for all

families. In many cases, the

ravages of war have destroyed

records. Presently, we can only

consider the exact number of

descendants of those people, who

5 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics of Europe, (Accessed October 24, 2014).

pg. 8

can without mistake calculate their

direct line to Charlemagne. The

adage correctly applies here: Prove

it! It also means that determining

the correct number of the

descendants of the 14,999,999 has

also not been determined. It seems

that to be accurate without

probability curves we need to trace

a direct line to every individual

who was alive in Europe during the

reign of Charlemagne. Obviously

this is an impossibility.

9

What is known is that one

trillion descendants are for all

practical purposes a non-workable

number given that the European

population of today is only 741.2

million according to the United

Nations' estimate. It is not one

trillion! That number could only

be correct if there were no

disease, or wars, great health, no

poverty on earth, and a functioning

two party couple who guarantees at

least one birth per couple. If we

subtract 731 million from one

trillion, we have 999,269,000,000.

The number nine hundred and ninety-

nine billion two hundred and sixty-

nine million is a large mistaken

calculation. The probability

formula simply is false: in and

off itself it points to the

unworkability of the formula given

the correct numerical outcomes.

Where is our common sense? The

calculation is just comparing

apples and oranges. However, here

the mathematicians are more than a

pg. 10

fruit bushel away. Therefore, I

reason that such a calculation is

entirely incorrect in calculating

descendants. I choose to look

only at people who can prove that

they have a direct line to

Charlemagne based on linear

research, not probability. So much

for the defeatist attempt to

neutralize the elitists.

11

While I may criticize Mr. Lee

at the same time, I wish him well

because he has cared enough to

venture into the unknown. I would

also like to thank my patient wife,

Millie, my sister Sue and cousin

Sondra. Thanks also to Sue’s linear

offspring. They gave support to my

ideas for collecting research by

going to other people’s homes and

drearily walking through graveyards

to locate headstones. Gratitude

is for the people I love who have

put up with my incessant seat at

the computer, thanks for your

patience. To my students who have

helped the research along the way;

you all know who you are—thank you.

pg. 12

CHAPTER ONE

FERNANDO I “THE GREAT”

Figure 3

13

In Navarre Spain, the birth of

Sancho III Garcés 6 is sometime

around "992, and the emperor dies

18 October 1035 at the Cathedral of

Pamplona.7 “This Man was able

politically to outmaneuver his

opponents and militarily defeats

them in battle. Many sources call

him Sancho “the Great”8 (Spanish:

el Mayor, Basque: Nagusia). He

acquired the Kingdom of Navarra

through a royal blood line in 1004.

Through conquest and political

maneuvering, the King, increases

his power. Sancho stabilizes the

Christian Empire until the time of

his death in 1035. Bearing the

title of Rex Hispaniarum, he firmly

6 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sancho_II_of_Pamplona (Accessed October 24, 2014)7 Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.comPublication information: Book title: The Latin Chronicle of the Kings of Castile. Contributors:Joseph F. O'Callaghan - Translator. Publisher: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Place of publication: Tempe, AZ. Publication year: 2002. 8https://www.google.com/#newwindow=1&safe=active&q=sancho+iii+navarre&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAGOovnz8BQMDgwYHsxCnfq6-QVJKrqGBEphpmFNkUaTFF5BaVJyfF5yZklqeWFmcM1Xcz9cwJD534fuPEUL1Pcd_K-wCABv4pPVFAAAA (accessed October 5, 2014).

pg. 14

controls a majority of Christian

Iberia. Having gone further than

any of his antecedents in uniting

the divided kingdoms of Iberia, he

leaves a relatively stable empire

at the time of his demise.

It was a warm day in Pamplona,

and the village fills with

visitors. The children are

gleefully playing in the streets as

all await the King’s arrival. A

crowd of numerous people and

nobility has gathered at the

footsteps of the Cathedral. They

were merry and

15

anticipated seeing the King.

Suddenly, a child came running down

the street yelling the King is

coming. His carriage approaches

the steps of the Cathedral and

stops as the crowd continues

hailing the King. As he steps

onto the grounds of the Cathedral,

Sancho is assaulted with swords by

three assassins who have adroitly

and quietly made their way through

the crowd. Now the King steps out

of the carriage immediately he is

thrust from the back, the front,

and the left side, he wobbles

momentarily and then falls bloody

and still; he is dead. “Count

García of Aragon and King of

Pamplona is assassinated by”

members of the Vela family, namely

Bernardo, Nepociano, and Rodrigo.”9

9 Joseph F. O'Callaghan, Trans. The Latin Chronicle ofthe Kings of Castile (Tempe, AZ: Arizona Center forMedieval and Renaissance Studies, 2002), 1,http://www.questia.com/read/120185746.

pg. 16

Garcés judgment becomes

questionable in the area of

succession to the crown. If

indeed, the crowns were elective

the only one it seems that is

electing was the king and not the

Cortes.10 Change is the hallmark

that points to a period of chaos

that deviates from the old Visigoth

idea of election to the crown. For

now and probably from sometime

prior, the crown is not elective

but hereditary. For the unity

that Garcés has so admirably

created shatters in a brief moment

of decision-making. The

achievements of a lifetime implode

when he divides his domains to

provide for his progeny. The

Kingdom of Navarre, this Basque

centered community, continues for

six centuries after his death, but

it never reaches the heights of

power as is achieved under Sancho

“the Great.” Nevertheless,

Pamplona lives and thrives today.

10 Cortes: Spanish council.

17

Figure 4

A Map of

Eleventh Century Spain

pg. 18

It is the unfortunate practice

of this historical time to dispute

the line of succession for almost

every crown. The primary

argument, in this case, is where

Fernando the Great’s place is in

the birth order of King Sancho

III’s four sons. Scholars seem to

have a field day in debating where

in the succession line Fernando

fits. On the one hand, it would be

valuable information to know where

Fernando did belong in the familial

line for the sake of historical

accuracy. On the contrary, it is

as if the debating historians

cannot see the trees for the

forest. It does not matter where

in the line of succession Fernando

belongs; his historical presence is

built not by the succession order

but with pure warrior conquest over

his brothers. Simply put, he

achieves by the sword.

19

According to the most

legitimate charters, he is the

“youngest son” 11 and is probably

born later than 1011, about the

time his parents' marriage

happens.12 One charter names

Sancho's male children in this

order: Ramiro, García, Gonzalo,

and then Fernando. Another scholar

reiterates that there are three

other records from the” Cathedral

of Pamplona’ that list them”13 in

this sequence. “The monastery of

San Juan de la Peña “14 yield four

other records that collaborate this

birth order. One last charter from

Pamplona, dated 29 September 1023,

is authenticated by Sancho's

mother, Jimena Fernandez, and his

11 Martínez Díez, Gonzalo. Sancho III el Mayor: Rey de Pamplona, Rex Ibericus. Madrid: Marcial Pons Historia, 2007, 151–53.12https://www.google.com/#newwindow=1&safe=active&q=sancho+iii+navarre&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAGOovnz8BQMDgwYHsxCnfq6-QVJKrqGBEphpmFNkUaTFF5BaVJyfF5yZklqeWFmcM1Xcz9cwJD534fuPEUL1Pcd_K-wCABv4pPVFAAAA ((accessed October 5, 2014).13 Jaime Goñi Gaztambide, Colección diplomática de la catedral de Pamplona (829–1243) (Pamplona:1997), docs. 5, 7, 12.14 Martínez Díez 2007, 152.

pg. 20

wife, Mayor. Her children, lists as

García, Fernando then Gonzalo, and

their brother, the illegitimate

Ramiro.

21

In San Salvador, Spain de

Leire scholars find “In five

documents of the monastery

….Fernando lists after Gonzalo.

“Two of these documents confirms to

17 April 1014. If authentic, they

place Fernando's birth before that

date.”15 Other documents from the

same sources show: “Three

additional documents from Leire are

only ones to set Fernando second in

the order of succession. They

suffer, however, from different

anachronisms and interpolations.”

It is not amazing given the

historical time span from then to

the present, that so many documents

all reach different conclusions.

From this writer's perspective, it

does not matter historically what

the birth rite or order is: what

matters is the outcome of

individual actions on the events of15https://www.google.com/#newwindow=1&safe=active&q=sancho+iii+navarre&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAGOovnz8BQMDgwYHsxCnfq6-QVJKrqGBEphpmFNkUaTFF5BaVJyfF5yZklqeWFmcM1Xcz9cwJD534fuPEUL1Pcd_K-wCABv4pPVFAAAA ((accessedOctober 5, 2014).

pg. 22

the era.

Figure 5

The

Cathedral at Pamplona

23

Banished Castilian noblemen

murder Count Garcia Sanchez as he

is entering the church of John the

Baptist in León. The King has gone

to the Church where he is scheduled

to marry Sancha, sister, of the

King of León. After the slaying of

Garcia Sanchez and as a young

person, Fernando experiences the

atmosphere of a chaotic Christian

Spain. During this chaotic time,

Fernando becomes the Count of

Castile. Sancho III of Navarre

designates for election his younger

son Fernando, born to the deceased

count's sister Mayor. As the count

of Castile, Sancho III arranges the

marriage of the dead King Garces

bride to be, Sancha, to Fernando in

1023. The Committee recognizes

Sancho as the ruler of Castile

until his death. After his death,

the Committee issues the title of

Count to Fernando. On 7 July 1029,

before the council in Burgos,

Óneca, who is the aunt of the late

King Garcia and Queen Mayor, adopts

pg. 24

Sancho and Mayor, making them her

heirs. “ 16

Burgos,

Spain

Figure 6

A later charter dated 1

January 1030, explicit lists Sancho

as in León (the overlord of

Castile) and Fernando as count in

Castile.”17 The first indication

that Fernando was independently

reigning de facto over “Castile is

a charter of the monastery of San

Pedro de Cardena” 18 Castile

stability is achieved by Sancho's

decision to make his son the Count

of Ardenas

16 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_I_of_León_and_Castile

17 Martínez Díez 2007, 15018 Ibid.

25

Documents indicate that no

Castilian document after 1028

indicates that the only monarch

mentioned is Sancho III. Fernando

is the first count of Castile, who

does not pay homage to the king of

León. “A Counsel appointed

Fernando the Count of Castile”19

when his uncle dies in 1029. He

became the King of León after

defeating his brother-in-law in

1037. Vermudo III dies on the

battlefield at the Battle of

Tameron. Again the ambitions of

his other brother, Garcia III,

silences when Ferdinand’s troops

leave his bloodied corps on the

battlefield. Fernando is the first

to place on his head the emperor's

tiara. Consequently, his heirs

followed this practice... As a

younger son of Sancho III of

Navarre and Mayor of Castile, he

recognizes the suzerain of his

eldest brother, García Sánchez III

of Navarre.

19 Ibid.

pg. 26

As the Leonese declined in

power, Ferdinand begins the rule of

the “Jiménez Dynasty” 20 over

western Spain. This rise to

dominance among Christian rulers of

Iberia placed the state of power

westward from where it had been

located. He has the largest

Christian nation ever developed in

Spain before his death. His death

came 24 December 1065. In 1032,

the intended bride for Sancho

Garces of Castile married Count

Fernando. Princess Sancha brings

property to Castile. Her dowry is

the lands between the Cea and

Pisuerga Rivers.21 After his

father's death, Fernando continues

rule of Castile as a Count.

Contemporary documents stress

Fernando's status as nobility and

subordinate to the King of Leon's

vassalage.

20 The Jiménez or Giménez/Ximenes (Basque pronunciation: [ʃimenes̺]) were an Iberian rulingfamily from the 10th century to the 13th century. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim%C3%A9nez_dynasty.21 Pisuerga River. A river in Spain that runs thru the city of Valladolid.

27

Fernando I and Sancha

Figure

7

pg. 28

A document issued by his

brother states in part that

“emperor” 22 Vermudo reigns in León

and count Fernando governs in

Castile. King Ramiro reigns in

Aragon. King García in Pamplona and

king Gonzalo reigns in Ribagorza."23

In January 1037, two private

Castilian documents both express

Fernando's continuing vassalage to

the Leonese monarchy. In a

dispute over the land area between

Cea and the Pisuerga Rivers

Fernando defeats his brother García

at the Battle of Atapuerca.24 Fernando

continues to wage war, and he slays

his brother Vermudo III and leaves

his body on the field. Fernando

defeats and kills his suzerain at

the Battle of Tamarón in 1037.

22 The use of quotation marks around the wordemperor is to indicate that the useage of theterm was controversial in Europe since it wasonly to be use by the Holy Roman Emperor.

23 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonzalo_of_Sobrarbe_and_Ribagorza (Accessed October 17, 2014).24 Parenthetically “Atapuerca is where some of the first Homo sapiens have been found”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_antecessor (Accessed October 17, 2014)

29

Fernando then claims possession of

León. His wife has succession

rights in Leon. On 22 June 1038

Fernando has himself crowned and

anointed king in León the

progression to power was by simple

steps. Fernando kills his other

brother Garcia Sanchez.

pg. 30

On 1 September 1054 at the

site of Piedrahita, Fernando wages

war and defeats his brother García

at the Battle of Atapuerca, 25 thereby,

reducing Navarre to his vassal

state. He places his brother’s

son, Sancho, under his reign.

Therefore, Fernando now indirectly

rules the city-state of Navarre.

With his late brother’s son in

command at Navarre, Fernando

demands only the city of Bureba to

be included in Castile. Over the

next ten years, he controls more of

the western area of “Navarre at the

expense of Sancho IV and this

accomplishes without further

bloodshed.” 26

25 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand I of León andCastile ( Accessed October 20, 2014)26 Ibid.

31

The people of the Al-Andalus27

are an assorted mixture. Indeed

the Arab elite is a vast minority

of those people and, therefore, are

not responsible for the conquest of

the Iberian Peninsula. These

Arabs are intermarried with the

indigenous Iberians and thus are

assimilated by them. In terms of

sheer numbers, Berber's account for

the conquests on the Iberian

Peninsula more so than any other

people and the Jewish people also

are widely influential. The

offspring of African and European

slaves by this time are integrated

into that society. In the 11th

century, these peoples amalgamate

into the new Andalusian strain.

27 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand I of León andCastile ( Accessed October 20, 2014)

pg. 32

In 1060, Fernando invaded the

taifa of Zaragoza. He attacks

through the upland valley of the

Duero. 28 Berlanga, San Esteban de

Gormaz, and Vadorrey fall to El

Magno. He even gets as close to

Zaragoza as an old ‘’Roman road

that connects Zaragoza to Toledo.’29 30 The success of the attack is

possible because the Emir is

flanked on all sides of his border.

The emir is already making tribute

to Sancho IV of Navarre. Seeing

how close Fernando’s armies have

come to Zaragoza the Emir agrees

also to pay homage to Fernando.

“The tribute lasts until Fernando’s

death.”31

28 Ibid.29 Ibid.30 Ibid.31 Ibid.

33

Now that al-Muqtadir is no

longer a threat, Fernando now turns

the mass of his army southward

toward Toledo. Emir Yahya ibn

Ismail al-Mamun sees impending doom

and witnesses; his countryside

wasted as he waits to make a

decision. Fernando takes Talamanca

and Alcalá de Henares. 32 Perceiving

his country ravaged and plundered,

al-Mamun agrees to pay tribute.

King Fernando now has another

vassal state. Fernando upon payment

leaves satisfied that he had

obtained his objective during this

mission.

Toledo Spain

32

? Reilly, Bernard F., The Kingdom of León-Castilla under King Alfonso VI, 1065–1109. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988.

pg. 34

Figure 9

35

In 1055, Fernando, attacks the

taifa of Badajoz located close to

the Portuguese border. His first

serious campaign of Reconquista is”

an invasion of the lower basin of

the Duero River.” 33 He invades

between the coast and the mountains

that have long been held by León.

“On 29 November 1057, his army

conquered Lamego and its valleys. “34 Having secured the Duero,

Fernando begins to bring the valley

of the Mondego River under his

control,” first taking Viseu in its

middle stretch on 25 July 1058 and

then moving down towards the sea.”35 It is "a long and grueling

battle" before Coimbra at the mouth

of the Mondego falls. After a six-

month siege, the city succumbs on

July 25.

Mondego River

33 Ferdinand I of León and Castile - Wikipedia, the free .., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_I_of_Le%C3%B3n_br (accessed October 4, 2014).34 Ibid.35 Ibid.

pg. 36

Figure 10

37

“In 1063, using the new income

from his parias,“36 Fernando

organized a "great raid or razzia"

into the taifas of Seville and

Badajoz. Seville and Badajoz,

located deep in the south of Spain,

also pays a ransom for his

withdrawal. This attack is

“probably also designed to remove

Badajoz as a threat during his

“planned siege of Coimbra the next

year”.37 In 1065, Fernando

embarked on his last military

campaign. He invades the taifa of

Valencia and gets as far as the

vicinity of the city itself, where

he defeats the emir Abd al-Malik

al-Muzaffar late in the autumn. The

emir's father-in-law, al-Mamun of

Toledo, seizes “control of

Valencia, and the frightened emir

of Zaragoza” 38 renews his tribute

payments to León. Fernando fell ill

36 Ferdinand I of León and Castile - Wikipedia, the free .., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_I_of_Le%C3%B3n_br (accessed October 4, 2014).37 Ibid..38 Ibid.

pg. 38

in November and returned to his

kingdom.

Fernando is not the first to

call himself by the title

"emperor,” not by himself or his

“scribes, but by the notaries of

his half-brother, the petty king

Ramiro I of Aragon.”39 These

notaries were also calling

Fernando's predecessor as king of

León by the same title. In a royal

Aragonese charter of 1036, before

the Battle of Tamarón, Ramiro

refers to his brother as "emperor

in Castile and León and Astorga".

39 Ibid.

39

A similarly-worded charter

issues in 1041 and again in 1061,

where the order of kingdoms

reverses “and Astorga ignored:

"emperor in León and Castile."40

The first use of the imperial style

dates to the year 1056. It is

implemented "under the rule of the

emperor King Fernando and the

empress Queen Sancha ruling the

kingdom in León and Galicia as well

as in Castile."41 On this basis,

Fernando crowned himself emperor in

1056. Use of the imperial title

occurs on one other occasion during

Fernando's “reign. A document of

1058 dates itself "in the time of

the most serene prince Lord

“42Fernando and his consort Queen

Sancha" and later qualifies him as

"this emperor, the aforesaid

Fernando". After becoming ill

40 Ibid.41 Ferdinand I of León and Castile - Wikipedia, the free .., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_I_of_Le%C3%B3n_br (accessed October 4, 2014).42 Imperator totius Hispaniae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_of_Spain_br(accessed October 25, 2014).

pg. 40

during at Siege of Valencia and the

Battle of Paterna, Fernando dies on

24 December 1065, in León. He

displays many manifestations of

piety. He lays the crown and royal

mantle to one side. Dressing in the

robe of a monk, Fernando lays on a

funeral bier. The platform covered

with ashes attests to the devotion

of his Catholicism.

41

By his will, Fernando divides

his kingdom among his three sons.

The eldest, Sancho, receives

“Castile; the second, Alfonso,

León; and from the latter” parts of

the region of Galicia carve” off to

create a separate state for

García.” Fernando's two daughters

each receives cities: Elvira that

of Toro and Urraca that of Zamora.

In giving his children these

territories, he expresses his

desire that they respect his wishes

and abide by the split. No sooner

than Fernando’s death Sancho and

Alfonso attacked Garcia leaving his

corps on the field of Battle.43 The

remaining brothers then fought each

other. Alfonso escapes to Toledo

and the victorious Sancho reunited

their father's possessions under

his control in 1072. However,

Sancho is murdered that same year,

and the territories passed to the

“suspicious” Alfonso VI.

43 Reilly, Bernard F., The Kingdom of León-Castilla under King Alfonso VI, 1065–1109.Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988.

pg. 42

The Chronicon Complutense, 44

probably written shortly after

Fernando's “death, extols him as

the "exceedingly strong emperor”

(imperator” fortissimos) when

mentioning the siege of Coimbra.

After his death, Fernando's

children took to calling him

"emperor" and "the great" (magnus).

In 1072, Alfonso, Ferdinand's

second son, referred to himself as

"offspring of the Emperor

Fernando."

44 History 9; Chronicon Conimbricense ChroniconComplutense sive Alcobacense, and ChroniconLamecense, PMH SS 1: 2, 18-19; Rodrigo,Historia, 203-5, Bk. 6. “a short medieval Latinhistory, in the form of annals, of events inGalicia and Portugal up to the death ofFerdinand I "the Great", whom the anonymouschronicler lauds as an "exceedingly strongemperor" (imperator fortissimus), in 1065.” ,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronicon_complutense

43

Bernard Reilly45 states:

“Fernando had married Sancha in

late 1032. (19) Bishop Pelayo, who

should have known, names the

children of the marriage as Urraca,

Sancho, Alfonso, García, and

Elvira.” Furthermore, he

surmises that “Since Urraca is

mentioned before any of the sons

this was presumably the order of

their birth as well.”46 It seems

most likely that Alfonso was born

in 1037 and so had attained about

twenty-six years in 1063. We have

no reliable data to establish the

age of the others, but estimates of

roughly twenty-eight for Sancho and

perhaps twenty-three for García

appear reasonable.” 47 Two years

later (1074), Urraca and Elvira

referred to themselves as

"daughters of the Emperor Fernando

45 Noted Medieval Scholar.

46 Reilly, Bernard F., The Kingdom of León-Castilla under King Alfonso VI, 1065–1109. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988.47 Ferdinand I of León and Castile - Wikipedia, the free .., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_I_of_Le%C3%B3n_br (accessed October 4, 2014).

pg. 44

the Great [or, the great emperor

Fernando]." In a later charter of

1087 the following word usage

appears: Fernando is referred to

first as "great emperor", and

finally here appears "emperor"

alongside his consort, is "queen"

then "empress." In the fourteenth

century, the legend appears in

several “chronicles according to

which the Pope, the Holy Roman

Emperor, and the King of France”48

demands a tribute from Fernando. In

certain versions of the event, the

Pope is Urban. Fernando prepares

to pay, but one of his vassals,

later known as El Cid, declares”

war on the Pope, the Emperor and

the Frank.” 49

48 Imperator totius Hispaniae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_of_Spain_br(accessed October 25, 2014).

49 Ferdinand I of León and Castile - Wikipedia, the free .., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_I_of_Le%C3%B3n_br (accessed October 25, 2014).

45

As a result of this action,

the later rescinds their demand.

For this reason "Don Fernando is,

afterward, called ‘the Great’: the

peer of an emperor." “In the

sixteenth century, this account re-

appeared, extended and elaborated”50

on by Juan de Mariana. He “wrote

that in 1055, at a synod in

Florence, the Emperor Henry III

urged “Victor II to prohibit under

severe penalties the use of the

imperial title by “51 Fernando of

León. The use of the word emperor

obviously creates some friction

between the crown of Spain and the

Holy Roman Emperor.

50 Ibid.51 Ibid.

pg. 46

The story of El Cid declaring

war on the King of France and the

Pope simultaneously seems mythical,

but, nonetheless, it may have some

historical truth associated with

this event. Some modern authors

have accept it as a basic truth or

see a kernel of historical truth in

it. Spanish historian A.

Ballesteros argues that Fernando

adopts the title in opposition to

the Holy Roman Emperor's imperial

pretensions. German historian E.

E. Stengel believes the version

found in Mariana.

47

He interprets the now lost

acts of the Council of Florence as

his reference. “Juan Beneyto Pérez

was willing to accept it as based

on tradition and Ernst Steindorff,

the nineteenth-century student of

the reign of Henry III, “52transmits

via the Romancero. Menéndez Pidal,

a noted scholar of the Cid,

accepted the account of Mariana but

placed it in the year 1065.

Figure 7

Coat of Arms of

Castile and Leon

RESOURCES (via Wikipedia)

52 Imperator totius Hispaniae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_of_Spain_br(accessed October 25, 2014).

pg. 48

1. Reilly, Bernard F., The

Kingdom of León-Castilla under King

Alfonso VI, 1065–1109. Princeton:

Princeton University Press, 1988.

2. Martínez Díez, Gonzalo. Sancho

III el Mayor: Rey de Pamplona, Rex

Ibericus. Madrid: Marcial Pons

Historia, 2007, 151–53.

3. Martínez Díez 2007, 152. They

are, by date: 7 April 1014, albeit

improperly dated. (Ranimirus proles

Regis, confirmat. Garseanus, frater

eius, confirmat. Gundisaluus,

frater eius, confirmat. Fernandus,

germanus eius, confirmat.); 21

October 1022 (Garsias ET Ranimirus,

Gundesalbus ET Fernandus, testes.);

and 1033 (in presencia de filios

Regis pernominatos Ranimirus,

Garseanus, Gundesaluus,

Fredinandus), found in Jaime Goñi

Gaztambide, Colección diplomática

de la catedral de Pamplona (829–

1243) (Pamplona: 1997), docs. 5, 7,

12.

49

4. Martínez Díez 2007, 152.

Although all of these contain

anachronisms, they are not entirely

worthless. They are: two dated 21

April 1028, one of 1030 and one

from 5 April 1031, found in Antonio

Ubieto Arteta, Cartulario de San

Juan de la Peña, I (Valencia:

1962), docs. 47–48, 51, 56.

5. Martínez Díez 2007, 152: Sunt

tests Eximina Regina ET mater Regis

Regina dompna Maiora cum filiis

Suis dompno Garsia ET Fredinando ET

Gundesalbo ET fratre eorum Ranimiro

in Goñi Gaztambide 1997, doc. 8.

6. Martínez Díez 2007, 152. They

report 21 October 1022, 26 December

1032, and 1033, found in Ángel J.

Martín Duque, Documentación

medieval de Leire (siglos IX an

XII) (Pamplona: 1983), docs. 20,

23, 24.

pg. 50

7. Martinez Díez 2007, 152. They

read: Domina Maior Regina

confirmat. Ranimirus proles Regis

confirmat. Garseanus frater eius

confirmat. Gundisaluss frater eius

confirmat. Fernandous frater eius

confirmat. In Martín Duque 1983,

docs. 15–16.

8. Martínez Díez 2007, 153. Two

dates to 21 October 1015 and

another to 29 September 1023 found

in Martín Duque 1983, docs. 17–18,

21.

9. Martínez Díez 2007, 152–53.

They are both dated 1024, one to 17

May, and finds in José María

Lacarra, Colección diplomática de

Irache I, (958–1222) (Zaragoza:

1965), docs. 2, 4.

10. Martínez Díez 2007, 84.

11. Martínez Díez 2007, 150:

regnante gratia Dei, Principe

nostro domno Sanctio ET prolis eius

Fredinando comes ("[now] reigning

by the grace of God, the prince our

lord Sancho and his son count

Fernando").

51

12. Martínez Díez 2007, 150:

regnante Rex Sancio in Legione ET

comite Fernando in Castella ("[now]

reigning king Sancho in León and

count Fernando in Castile").

13. Martínez Díez 2007, 150:

Factum ... ipsas kalendas

novembrii, era MLXX currente,

Fredinando Sanzii comitatum gerente

("[this charter makes ... these

kalends of November, currently Era

1070 [AD 1032], Fernando [son] of

Sancho holding the county").

14. Martínez Díez 2007, 150–51.

15. Martínez Díez 2007, 182:

regnante imperator Veremundo in

Leione ET comite Fredinando in

Castella ET Rex Garsea in

Pampilonia ET rex Ranimirus in

Aragone ET rex Gundisalbus in

Ripacorça.

pg. 52

16. In the first Rodrigo Téllez,

on the occasion of his entering the

monastery of San Pedro de Arlanza,

donated his inheritance in

Jaramillo to the monastery

(Martínez Díez 2007, 182: rex

Vermudo et Fredinando comes in

regnis suis). The second issue by

Fernando's great aunt, the

AbbessUrraca of Covarrubias, and

reads: Facta carta conparationis

die sabbato, ipsas kalnedas

januarias, era TLXXVa, Rex Virimudo

ET Frenando comes in regnis Suis

(Martínez Díez 2007, 182).

17. Reilly 1988, 9–10.

18. Reilly 1988, 10–11.

19. Reilly 1988, 11–12.

20. García Gallo 1945, 226 n.

70: Regnante me Ranimiro ... ET

Fredelandus imperator in Castella

ET in Leione ET in Astorga ("me,

Ramiro, reigning ... and Fernando,

emperor in Castile and León and

Astorga").

53

21. This later, from García Gallo

1945, 226 n. 71, reads "King Ramiro

reigning in Aragon ... Fernando,

emperor in León and Castile"

(Regnante Ramiro rege in

Aragonie ... Fredelandus imperator

in Leione ET in Castella).

22. García Gallo 1945, 213 and

226 n. 72: sub imperio imperator is

Fredinandi Regis ET Sancie regine,

imperatrice regnum regentes in

Legione ET in Gallecia vel in

Castella.

23. García Gallo 1945, 213 226

n. 72: in tempore serenissimi

principis domni Fredinandi ET ejus

conjugis Sanciae reginae

perrexerunt ipsum imperatorem

Fredenandum.

24. Some sources give the feast

of John the Baptist, 24 June, as

the date of his death.

25. Reilly 1988, 13.

pg. 54

26. García Gallo 1945, 213 and

226 n. 74, partially quotes the

Chronicon′s entry: Rex Fernandous

cum coniuge eius Sancia Regina,

imperator fortissimus, and simul

cum Sui’s episcopis ... obsedit

civitatem Colimbriam ("King

Fernando with his consort Queen

Sancha, the exceedingly strong

emperor, likewise with his

bishops ... besieged the city of

Coimbra").

27. García Gallo 1045, 226 n.

73: Ego Adefonsus Regis, prolis

Fredinandi ymperatoris.

28. Ego Urraka ET Giluira,

Fredinandi imperatoris magni filie

(García Gallo 1045, 226 n. 73).

55

29. García Gallo 1045, 226 n.

73: "I, Urraca, daughter of King

Fernando ... to the reigning

Emperor Alfonso son of Emperor

Fernando the Great and Queen Sancha

... I, Urraca, daughter of that the

king and emperor Fernando and

Empress Sancha" (Ego Urraca prolis

Fredinandi regis ... Adefonso

imperatore regnante Ferdenandi

magni imperatores et Sancie regine

filio ... Ego Urraca filia ejusdem

regis et imperatoris Federnandi et

Sancie imperatricis).

30. García Gallo 1945, 213–14.

The most likely king of France is

Henry I, though Philip I also fit.

The Emperor would have been Henry

III, or possibly his father, Conrad

II.

31. García Gallo 1945, 214: fué

llamado Don Fernando el Magno: el

par de emperador.

32. García Gallo 1945, 214,

citing Menéndez Pidal 1929, I, 137–

38, and López Ortiz 1942, 43–46.

pg. 56

33. In Revista de Archivos,

Bibliotecas y Museos, 40 (1919):

473, cited in García Gallo 1945,

226 n. 78.

34. Kaisertitel und Souveränitätsidee:

Studien zur Vorgeschichte des modernen

Staatsbegrifts (Weimar: 1939), 7–8, 11–

13, 15–16, and 23, cited in García

Gallo 1945, 226 n. 78.

35. España y el problema de Europa:

contribución a la historia de la idea de imperio

(Madrid: 1942), 46–48, cited in

García Gallo 1945, 226 n. 78;

Steindorff 1881, 484ff.

57

36. He further suggested that the

Spanish response against Rome

encouraged a later Castilian

nationalist reaction against the

Spanish "empire," cf. García Gallo

1945, 214, citing Menéndez Pidal

1929, I, 138 and 256–64, who

completely rejects this thesis. It

is a belief that the origins of the

Jimenez dynasty lay in Gascony

according to the Códice de Roda- a

medieval manuscript, which

represents a unique source for

details of the 9th century Kingdom

of Navarre and neighboring

principalities. The Chronicon

Complutense alcobacense ("Complutensian

Chronicle, that is, [from a

manuscript] of Alcalá de Henares

[ancient Complutum]") is a short

Medieval Latin history. It is in

the form of annals, of events in

Galicia and Portugal up to the

death of Ferdinand I "the Great."

The anonymous chronicler lauds as

one "exceedingly strong emperor"

(imperator fortissimo), in 1065.

pg. 58

CHAPTER TWO:

El CID

ALFONSO AND SPAIN! - RODRIGO DE

VIVAR

AND FAMILY

Figure 8

© Biddle Family Media, Inc.

59

Statue of El Cid in Balboa Park, San

Diego California. John Pierre

Biddle Warden. 2012.

A Replica of the Shield of Rodrigo

de Vivar

Figure 9 © Biddle Family Media,

Inc.

pg. 60

British Author Southey

compiled and scripted, from the

Cronica General de Espana, events

about the life and times of Rodrigo

el Cid Campeador Díaz de Vivar.

Rodrigo is better known to history

as “El Cid." This basic historical

rendition written in 1808 is full

of El Cid’s historical events.

Southey has gathered and

transcribed events that happened

between the years 1252 A.D. and

1284 A.D. It writes some 200 years

after the demise of “El Cid” and

from the administration of Alfonso,

the Wise. This writer has modified

Robert Southey’s account of the

Crónica General de Espana. Thus by

consulting portions of the Cantar

de Mio Cid this writer is rendering

his interpretation based from these

accounts.

61

Alfonso the Wise53 writes the

Cronica General de Espana during his

reign. Knowledgeable in the studies

of his time, Alfonso is also a

troubadour. These combinations

enhance Alfonso's artistic

endeavor. Alfonso reigned between

the years 1252 and 1284, and the

King writes this Chronicle himself,

or administrators under his

immediate direction continue

writing the events. Crónica

General de Espana is the most

ancient of the Prose Chronicles of

Spain. It is the source of the

adventures of El Cid. The Cronica

de Espana describes Rodrigo's

escapades and tells in this

secondary source a history of the

life and times of Rodrigo Diaz de

Vivar.

53 Alfonso X, called the Wise, was the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30May 1252 until his death. During the Imperial election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be King of the Romans on 1 April. Wikipedia

pg. 62

Robert Southey —is already known as

the author of "Thalaba," published

in 1802, and of "Madoc," published

in 1805—He produces and publishes

this "Chronicle of the Cid” in 1808.

The Chronicle tells its readers

that Rodrigo of Bivar trains in the

military arts and that he earns the

respect of the people. He bears

the responsibility to protect the

land from the Moors. Rodrigo is so

skilled in military matters that he

never loses a battle. Although,

many of his enemies are Moors,

Rodrigo also befriends many of

these same people. He also makes

enemies among his own. It was for

these reasons that Rodrigo earns

the epitaph of “leader and

champion” or in Arabic “El Cid."

63

Before “El Cid’s” birth, the

country is without a king.

Therefore, the people meet and

chose two judges, of whom the one

is Nuño Rasuera, and the other Layn

Calvo. Layn married Nuño's

daughter; Elvira Nuñez unites the

two families in blood

relationships. From Nuño Rasuera

King Don Fernando descends.

In 1026, Rodrigo came from

solid noble lineage. He is born in

the city of Burgos, and in the

street of St. Martin in the

neighborhood of the palace of the

Counts of Castille. Layn Calvo is

Rodrigo’s grandfather. His father

is Diego Laynez. His mother is

Dona Teresa Rodriguez, the daughter

of Don Rodrigo Alvarez the Count of

Asturias.

pg. 64

During this time, an argument

ensues “between Count Don Gomez the

Lord of Gormaz, and Diego”54 Laynez-

Rodrigo’s father. The Count insults

Diego and gives him a slap across

the face with his glove—the highest

of insults during the Middle Ages.

Now Diego is a man of considerable

years, and his health has long

since passed. It is obvious that

he could not take any physical

vengeance to protect himself, and

so disgraced he retires from the

castle to his home to stay alone

and deliberate about his dishonor.

He could not eat, or sleep, he

sits staring downward. He does not

leave his house, or see his

friends. As if the venom of his

shame would pollute them, he turned

from them in silence. Indeed the

height of his depression

debilitates his usually cheerful

presence.

54 Count Don Gomez - MTDNA Haplogroup W Home,http://www.thecid.com/cid/gomez.htm_br (accessedOctober 4, 2014).

65

Rodrigo is young, and the

Count Don Gomez the Lord of Gormaz

is a mighty and renowned man in

arms, one who gives his voice first

in the Cortes (the Spanish

equivalent of the Council). The

Count is the best warrior in all of

Spain. So powerful is he that he

has thousands of friends spread

throughout the mountain regions.

Rodrigo, however, young and

impatient, is oblivious to these

things when he thinks of the

insults hurled at his father and

the devastating depression that it

causes. It is the first insult -and

Rodrigo vowed- it would be the last

which would be extended to the

blood of Layn Calvo. Rodrigo lives

in the court of King Fernando I,

and he lives in the household of

the King's eldest son, who is to be

the future King Sancho II.

pg. 66

Rodrigo asks nothing of Heaven

but justice. He asks only for a

fair arena, and his father seeing

that his son is pure of heart gives

to him, his sword and his blessing.

Now he is no longer bearing the

responsibility of protecting the

Calvo name. From the bullying, the

power of his father’s physical body

lies dormant before him, yet more

importantly Count Don Gomez's

actions crush Layn’s soul.

67

In his father’s presence,

silently, Rodrigo plots to avenge

the name of Calvo. The sword is

the sword of Mudarra, a hero, in

former times, and when Rodrigo

holds its cross in his hand, he

thinks within himself that his arm

is no weaker than Mudarra's.

Thereafter, he left his home and

challenged Count Gomez to battle.

In a confrontation, Rodrigo

assassinates him. He sliced off his

head with his father’s sword and

carried it home. The Cid rectifies

the insults that have so viciously

destroyed his father’s soul.

Restored and regenerated now is a

new sense of honor delivered to his

father’s home.

pg. 68

Depressed and despondent, the

old man is sitting at the table.

The food is lying before him

untasted. Rodrigo returns and

pointing to the head which hung

from the horse's collar, dropping

blood, he asks his father to look

up. This head is a medicine that

will restore Layne’s appetite. The

tongue that insults is no longer,

and the hand that wrongs severed; I

restore the honor of the Calvo

name.

69

Now history relates that King

Don Fernando argues with King Don

Ramiro I of Aragon over the city of

Calahorra. All claim this city as

their own; in covert pretense the

King of Aragon places it upon trial

by combat He confidently relies

upon the prowess of Don Martin

Gonzalez, who is at that time held

to be the finest warrior knight in

all Spain. King Don Fernando

accepts the challenge and names

Rodrigo of Vivar as his champion.

Rodrigo is not then present, but he

will appear. “His real name is

Rodrigo or Ruy Diaz de Vivar (i.e.

"son of Diego"), a Castilian noble

by birth.”55

55 Full text of "Hernani" - InternetArchive: Digital Library of ..,http://www.archive.org/stream/hernanihu00hugouoft/hernanihu00hugouoft_djvu.txt_br(accessed October 4, 2014).

pg. 70

In the spring of 1063, Rodrigo

fights in the Battle of Graus, where

King Ferdinand's half-brother,

Ramiro I of Aragon, lays siege to

the Moorish town of Cinca, which is

in Zaragoza lands. Al-Muqtadir,

“accompanied by Castilian troops

including El Cid,” 56 fight against

the Aragonite.

Rodrigo emerges victoriously;

Ramiro I is slain on the field of

battle and the Aragonite flee the

field. One legend conveys that,

during the conflict El Cid kills an

Aragonite knight in single combat,

this earned him the honorific title

Campeador (Champion). Finally,

Rodrigo does so well in the facets

of military skill that King

Fernando makes him commander and

chief of his armies.

56 : El Cid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Cid_br (accessed October 4, 2014).

71

As the years passed, the Moors

continued invading Castille. They

come in larger and larger numbers.

Five Kings invade with detachments

of Moors and they past near Burgos,

and cross the mountains of Oca, and

plunder Carrion and Vilforado, and

Saint Domingo de la Calzada, and

Logroño, and Najara. They carry

away many captives both male and

female, and mares, and flocks of

all kinds.

pg. 72

Rodrigo Diaz of Vivar, as

commander of Fernando armies, combs

the country, and finally locates

the Moors in the mountains of Oca.

The Cid descends upon them and

embarrasses them with his military

prowess and maneuvers. He takes

back all their illicit booty and

captures all the five Moorish

Kings. El Cid is thankful that he

can return the illicit plunder to

the people and to secure the safety

of their borders. He says to his

mother that he did not think it a

good thing to keep the Kings in

captivity, but to let them go; and

so he sets them free and tells them

to leave.

73

Accordingly, each returns to

his country, praising and blessing

Rodrigo for his freedom, and the

Moor sent him great gifts, and

immediately the Moor sent him

tribute and acknowledges themselves

to be his vassals. So El Cid now

had the allegiance of five armies.

At the same time, there came before

Alfonso VI, Ximena Gomez, the

daughter of the Count that Rodrigo

had slain. She is the King’s

cousin, who properly addressed the

King “and said, Sir I am the

daughter of Count Don Gomez of

Gormaz, and Rodrigo of Bivar has

slain the Count, my father.”57

57 Count Don Gomez - MTDNA Haplogroup WHome, http://www.thecid.com/cid/gomez.htm_br (accessed October 4, 2014).

pg. 74

I am the youngest. Sir, I come

to ask a favor, that will give me

Rodrigo of Bivar to be my husband,

and I am greatly honored; for I am

sure that he will have more fame

and wealth than any man in your

dominions. Since Rodrigo has

murdered my father, therefore; I am

seeking his protection. In exchange

for that protection, I vow to

forgive Rodrigo a good marriage and

be a good and faithful wife.

What has not been said is that

Ximena and Don Rodrigo had been

lovers since childhood. Their

families had been great friends and

wherever you would find Ximena you

would also find Rodrigo. It would

be difficult indeed to forgive a

man who had slain her father but

the closeness of the two that had

grown through the years held sway.

75

When the King thought it an

appropriate time, he speaks to

Rodrigo and says that Doña Ximena

Gomez, the daughter of the Count

that is slain, has come to ask me

to make Rodrigo, her husband. She

would forgive her father's death;

Alfonso requested him to think it a

good thing. Again what is

cleverly concealed at this point in

time is that Alfonso is Xmena’s

cousin.

So Rodrigo left the King and

took his spouse with him to the

house of his mother. He gives her

to his mother's protection. In the

presence of his mother, he took

Ximena's hand and made a vow. He

proclaims that he would never go

anywhere until he had won five

battles in the field. He

explained that these battles were

necessary for the protection and

security of the realm.

pg. 76

When Ferdinand died, Sancho

II, with the aid of Rodrigo

continues to enlarge his territory,

Rodrigo conquers both Christian

cities and the Moorish cities of

Zamora and Badajoz. When Sancho

learns that Alfonso was planning on

overthrowing him in order to

increase his area, Sancho sent El

Cid to bring Alfonso back so that

Sancho could speak to him. In

Cid’s absence, “Sancho is

assassinated in 1072, as the result

of a pact between his brother

Alfonso and his sister Urraca.

Since Sancho” 58 dies unmarried and

childless, all of his power passes

to his brother Alfonso.

58 Digital heart book, http://watchronpaul.com/books/10421/The-Cid/_br (accessed October 4, 2014).

77

Under Sancho II, son of

Ferdinand, Rodrigo serves “as

commander of the royal troops. In a

war between the two brothers,

Sancho II and Alfonso VI of Leon,”

because of a military maneuver on

the part of Rodrigo, Sancho is

victorious, and his brother is

forced to seek refuge with the

Moorish King of Toledo.

pg. 78

As the leader of the

Castilians, Alfonso never forgave

the Cid for having compelled him to

swear that he, Alfonso, had no hand

in the murder of his brother. “In

1072, Sancho was assassinated at

the siege of Zamora, and he left no

heir. The Castilians had to

acknowledge Alfonso as King”. 59 “So

he was the first person who united

the areas of Castille and Leon.”60

Alfonso VI was the first, who was

called King of both Castille and

Leon. Previous to this time the

lords of Castile are simply called

Counts.

59 Chronicle Of The Cid by Various - epubBooks,https://www.epubbooks.com/book/344-chronicle-of-the-cid_br (accessed October 4, 2014).

60 Ibid.

79

Historically, the earliest

literary treatment of El Cid's life

is found in Carmen Campidoctoris

written by a Catalan partisan to

celebrate El Cid's victory over

Berenguer Ramón II. The author of

the Campidoctoris reports that, as

a young man, according to the epic

of El Cid, Alfonso VI was forced to

say publicly that he has not

participated to kill his brother.

The oath was made openly” in front

of Santa Gadea (Saint Agatha)

Church in Burgos on holy relics

multiple times.”61 This oath giving

is widely reported as the truth

among some historians, “but

contemporary documents on the lives

of both Rodrigo Diaz and Alfonso VI

of Castile and León do not mention

any such event.” 62

61 El Cid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Cid_br (accessedOctober 4, 2014).

62 Ibid.

pg. 80

In 1057, Rodrigo battled

against the Moorish stronghold of

Zaragoza. His conquest makes its

emir, al-Muqtadir, and a vassal of

King Sancho II. Almost immediately,

Alfonso returns from exile in

Toledo and takes his seat as king

of Castile and León. He is deeply

suspected in Castile by the

nobility of the realm, of

involvement in Sancho's murder.

Rodrigo's position as armiger Regis

is taken away and given to

Rodrigo's enemy, Count Garcia

Ordonez.

81

“In 1079, Rodrigo was sent by

Alfonso VI to Seville to the court

of al-Mutamid to collect the parias

owed by that taifa to León–

Castile.”63 While the Cid is in

Seville Granada, assisted by other

Castilian knights, attacks Seville,

and Rodrigo and his forces repulse

the Christian and Grenadine

attackers at the Battle of Cabra, in

the mistaken belief that he was

defending the king's tributary.

The Count Garcia Ordonez and the

other Castilian leaders are taken

captive by the Cid “and held for

three days before being released”64.

63 El Cid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, andhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Cid_br (accessedOctober 4, 2014).

64 El Cid - Shelf3D, http://shelf3d.com/i/El%20Cid_br (accessed October 4, 2014).

pg. 82

In the” Battle of Cabra (1079)”,65 El Cid rallies his troops and

turns “the battle into a rout of

Emir Abdulallh of Granada and his

ally Garcia Ordonez.”66 However, El

Cid's unauthorized expedition into

Granada greatly angers Alfonso and

on May 8, 1080, El Cid confirms the

last document in King Alfonso's

court. This unauthorized expedition

is one of the given reasons for El

Cid's exile. Several other motives

are plausible and may have been

contributing factors. It is

thought that jealous nobles turn

Alfonso against El Cid, or

Alfonso's animosity once again

raises its ugliness towards El Cid

and an accusation of pocketing some

of the monies from Seville help to65http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cabra The Battle of Cabra took place in 1079 in southern Iberia (now Spain) between two Islamic states, Granada and Seville. Each side was aidedby Castilian knights under Alfonso VI. It resulted in a victory for El Cid (Rodrigo Díaz),who routed the invading forces of Emir Abd Allah of Granada and his Christian allies led byCount García Ordóñez.66 Rodrigo "El Cid Campeador" Diaz (1043 - 1099) - Find A Grave .., http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8091411_br (accessed October 4, 2014).

83

seal the fate of El Cid.

Figure 11

pg. 84

At first he goes “to

Barcelona, where Ramón Berenguer II

(1076–1082) and Berenguer Ramón II

(1076–1097)”67 refuse his offer of

service. Then he journeys to the

Taifa of Zaragoza where he receives

a much warmer welcome. Alfonso

never forgives Rodrigo for having,

as of the Castilians, compelling

him to swear that he has no hand in

the murder of his brother. Alfonso

does, though, as a conciliatory

measure, gives his cousin Ximena,

daughter of the Count of Oviedo, to

the Cid in marriage. There

afterwards, in 1081, when he finds

himself firmly entrenched on the

throne, and encouraged by Leonese

nobles Alfonso strikes back.

Rodrigo’ enemies unjustly accuse

him of stealing money; they say he

is embezzling funds from the royal

treasury. Alfonso VI yields to his

feelings of resentment—and he

67 El Cid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Cid_br (accessed October 4, 2014).

85

banishes Rodrigo from the kingdom.

pg. 86

“At the head of a large body

of followers, the Cid”68 finally

joins the Moorish King of Zaragoza,

in whose service he fights against

both Moslems and Christians with

equal vigor. It is during this

exile that he is first called “El

Cid," an Arabic title, which means

the lord. He is very successful in

all his battles never losing any

military encounters. During the

exile years, the Cid conquers city

after city in Spain and claims that

all is done in Alfonso's name. To

regain his integrity, he fought

“against the Moorish armies and

conquered Valencia. By these heroic

acts, he regains the confidence of

the king,”69 after a disastrous

defeat at the hands of the Moors of

68 The Cid by Pierre Corneille - Books Should BeFree, http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/book/Cid-by-Pierre-Corneille_br (accessed October 4, 2014).

69 Cantar De Mio Cid The Story Cantar Del Destierro Cantar De Las, http://www.masterliness.com/a/Cantar.de.Mio.Cid.htm_br (accessed October 4, 2014).

87

Alfonso commanders, Rodrigo return

to Alfonso’s court, and his honor

restored. Alfonso knows he must

now depend on Rodrigo and his honed

fighting skills and leadership.

Rodrigo's function is to restore

the morale of the troops.

In honor of his return, King

Alfonso VI personally marries

Rodrigo’s daughters to two princes

from Carrion (there are some

historical questions about the

assumed marriages). However, when

men from El Cid’s army makes fun of

the princes because they ran from a

Lion; the two beat their wives in

revenge and left their wives tied

to a tree. El Cid demands justice.

The two are beaten in a duel and

stripped of their honor, and they

pay the dowry back to Rodrigo. The

two daughters remarry; one a prince

from Aragon and the other a prince

from Navarre. Through these

marriages, Rodrigo helps to begin

the unification of Spain.

pg. 88

Moctadir invades Valencia in

1088, but afterwards carries “on

operations alone, and finally,

after a long siege,” 70 makes

himself master of the city in June,

1094. He retains possession of

Valencia for five years. Rodrigo

reigns as an independent sovereign

over one of the richest territories

on the Peninsula. El Cid dies

suddenly in 1099 some say of anger

on hearing that his relative, Alvar

Fañez, is vanquished. The army that

El Cid has sent for is decimated.

70 The Cid by Pierre Corneille - Books Should BeFree, http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/book/Cid-by-Pierre-Corneille_br (accessed October 4, 2014).

89

After Cid's death, Doña Ximena

holds Valencia till 1102. Finally,

she is coerced to yield to the

Almoravides and then escaped to

Castile where she dies in 1104. Her

remains are placed by those of” “El

Cid” in the monastery of San Pedro

de Cardeña.”71 Alfonso is convinced

that he can not hold Valencia and

so he burns the city. The great

popular hero in the AGE OF CHIVALRY

in Spain is born in the village of

Vivar near Burgos around 1040;

Rodrigo or Ruy Diaz dies at

Valencia, Spain in 1099. His

adoring countrymen gave him the

honorable epithets of El Cid (lord,

chief) by the Moors and that of

Campeador (champion) by the

Spaniards.

71 "Scenes and Adventures in Spain: From 1835 to 1840", http://www.archive.org/stream/scenesandadvent00msgoog/scenesandadvent00msgoog_djvu.txt_br (accessed October 4, 2014).

pg. 90

“Tradition and legend have

cast a deep shadow over the history

of this brave knight, to such an

extent that some question his very

existence,”72 but there is, however,

no reason to doubt his existence.

Some historians paint Rodrigo as a

free agent, a dishonorable

adventurer, one who battles with

equal vigor against Christians and

Moors alike. They see him as a man

who furthers his greedy ends. In

their view, he destroys a Christian

church with the same zeal as he

destroys a Moslem temple.

72 CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: El Cid - New Advent, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03769a.htm_br (accessed October 4, 2014).

91

To these people El Cid

plunders and murders for gain and

not from a conscientious, patriotic

motive. It must be accepted in

mind, however, that the facts that

discredit him have reached us

through the hostile eyes of Arab

historians and that to deal with

him impartially, “he should be

judged according to the standard of

his country in his historical time

context.”73

73 Ibid.

pg. 92

The Cid of romance, legend,

and ballad is famous. In that role,

he is fancied as the tender, loving

husband and father; the intrepid

and fearless soldier; the noble and

generous conqueror, staunchly loyal

to his country and his king.

Chivalry is the Cid whose name is

hallowed and linked to the

inspiration of Spanish nationalism.

Some historians and artists

describe Rodrigo’s career as being

somewhat legendary, and others see

him as vicious. On the other hand,

there are detractors but mainly

from Arab historians.

93

El

Cid Figure

12

pg. 94

Whatever the real truth is,

the real adventures of El Cid

Campeador has been told over and

over throughout the centuries. “His

name has come down to us in modern

times in connection with a long

series of heroic achievements.”74

El Cid stands out as the central

figure “in the long struggle of

Christian Spain against the

invading Moslem hoards.”75

74 CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: El Cid - New Advent, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03769a.htm_br (accessed October 4, 2014).75 http://www.vernonjohns.org/snuffy1186/elcid.html(accessed October 10, 2014)

95

When his daughters are abused by

their first marriage, El Cid

demands justice. Through the use

of champions and duels the princes

are killed, and justice is served.

Next, the daughter of the Cid marry

again. Rodrigo lives long enough

to see his two daughter happily

married. Cristina Dias Rodriguez,

the oldest daughter of El Cid, was

born in 1077. She had one son in

1099. He is to become King of

Navarre, and he is to be known as

Garcia VII (among other epitaphs)

King of Navarre. Ramiro Sánchez,

Lord of Monzón weds Cristina in

1099 or shortly before the Prince

García Ramírez is born. This

marriage produces the future king

of Pamplona, García Ramírez “the

Restorer,"76 who in 1130 marries his

first wife, Marguerite de L’Aigle.

They are also parents of Elvira

Ramirez, wife of Count Rodrigo

Gomez, son of Count Gomez Gonzaletz

that of Candespina, with the right76http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garc%C3%ADa_Ram%C3%ADrez_of_Navarre

pg. 96

to royal succession. Garcia

Ramirez is the grandson of El Cid.

In 1099 García VII Ramírez 77

is born in Navarre, Spain. His

father, Ramiro, was 29 and his

mother, Cristina, was 22. He had

one daughter in 1133. He dies in

1150 in Larca, Spain," at the age

of 51."

RESOURCES (Via Wikipedia)

1. Actas Del Congreso Internacional el Cid,

Poema e Historia (12-16 de Julio de

1999), Ayuntamiento de Burgos,

2000, págs. 55-92. ISBN 84-87876-

41-2

77 Son of Ramiro Sánchez, señor deMonzón andElvira Cristina Rodriguez Diaz deVivarHusband of Marguerite del'Aigle; N.N. and Urraca la Asturiana Alfonso deCastillaFather of Sancho VI el Sabio, rey deNavarra;Blanca de Navarra, reina consorte deCastilla;Margherita di Navarra, regina consortedi Sicilia;Rodrigo García; Vela Ladrone deGuevara and 1 otherBrother of Alfonso Ramírez, señor deCastroviejoand Cdesa. Elvira Ramírez. Geni.com.

97

2. Ramón Menéndez Pidal,

«Autógrafos inéditos Del Cid y de

Jimena en dos diplomas de 1098 y

1101,» Revista de Filología

Española, t. 5 (1918), Madrid,

Sucesores de Hernando, 1918.

Digital copies Valladolid, Junta de

Castilla y León. Consejería de

Cultura y Turismo. Dirección

General de Promociones e

Instituciones Culturales, 2009-

2010. Original in Archivo de la

Catedral de Salamanca, caja 43,

legajo 2, n. º 72.

3. Alberto Montaner Frutos y Ángel

Escobar, «El Carmen Campidoctoris y la

materia cidiana,» in Carmen Campidoctoris

Poema Latino del Campeador, Madrid,

Sociedad Estatal España Nuevo

Milenio, 2001, pág. 73 [lam.]. ISBN

978-84-95486-20-2

4. Alberto Montaner Frutos,

«Rodrigo el Campeador como princeps en los

siglos XI y XII»

pg. 98

5. Georges Martin «El primer testimonio

cristiano sobre la toma de Valencia (1098), »

en el número monográfico «Rodericus

Campidoctor» de la revista

electrónica e-Spania, n. º 10

(diciembre de 2010). Online since

January 22nd, 2011. URL <http://e-

spania.revues.org/19945> Last time

visited November 28th, 2011.

Complete text (Edition of the Latin

text) in José Luis Martín & al.,

Documentos de los Archivos

Catedralicio y Diocesano de

Salamanca (siglos XII-XIII),

Salamanca, Universidad, 1977, doc.

1, p. 79-81.

6. A b Chaytor, Henry John (1933).

"Chapter 3: The Reconquista." A History of

Aragon and Catalonia, London: Methuen.

Pp. 39–40.

99

7. The Historia Roderick says that

the other two Castilian leaders

were Diego Pérez and Lope Sánchez.

De los Rios, José Amador (1863).

"Capitulo 3: Primeros Monumentos

Escritos de la Poesía Castellana

(Chapter 3: First Written Monuments

of Castilian Poetry)." Historia

Crítica de la Literatura Española,

Tomo III, (II Parte, Subciclo I)

(The History and Criticism of

Spanish Literature, Volume III,

(Second Part, subpart I)) (in

Spanish). Madrid, Spain: J.

Rodriguez. P. 104.8. ^ a b c d

Perea Rodríguez, Óscar. "Díaz de

Vivar, Rodrigo El Cid, (1043-

1099)." Retrieved 23 April 2012.

9. Alonso, J. I. Garcia; Martinez,

J. A.; Criado, A. J. (1999).

"Origin of El Cid's sword revealed

by ICP-MS metal analysis."

Spectroscopy Europe (John Wiley &

Sons, Ltd.) 11 (4)

Translations into English

pg. 100

Robert Southey, Chronicle of the

Cid, 1808, prose translation with

other matter from chronicles and

ballads, with an appendix including

a partial verse translation by John

Hookham Frere.

John Ormsby, The Poem of Cid,

1879, with introduction and notes.

Archer Milton Huntington, Poem of

the Cid, (1897–1903), reprinted

from the unique manuscript at

Madrid, with translation and notes.

Lesley Byrd Simpson, the Poem of

the Cid, 1957.

W.S. Merwin, the Poem of the Cid,

1959.

Paul Blackburn, Poem of the Cid: a

modern translation with notes,

1966.

Fuentes Ian Michael, 1976,

(Introducción) a su Ed, Ian

Michael, 1976, 'Introduction' to

his ed. DePoema de Mío Cid, Madrid,

Castalia p. 39. ISBN 978-84-7039-

171-2.

101

Alberto Montaner Frutos, 2011, La

Historia Roderici y el archivo cidiano:

cuestiones filológicas, diplomáticas, jurídicas e

historiográficas, e-Legal History Review, 12,

Alberto Montaner Frutos, 2011,

"History and the file Roderici

cidiano: philological issues,

diplomatic, legal and

historiographic,' e-Legal History

Review, 12, ISSN 1699-5317 ISSN

1699-5317.

Wikipedia.com The legendary sword of

“El Cid-Tizona. (Accessed September 24,

2014).

pg. 102

COUNTESS ALVIRA CRISTINA DIAZ

RODRIGUEZ DE VIVAR

Maria "and Cristina, daughters of

Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, are “beaten

and left for dead by their

husbands, the lords of Carrión.

Cristina was eventually remarried

to Ramiro Sanchez.”78 This

particular story of the beatings of

the daughters of El Cid according

to many sources may well be false.

The sources for such a tale simply

are not in place. What is known is

that the two daughters eventually

married into royal families. 79

78 Ramiro Sánchez, Lord of Monzón - Wikipedia, the free .., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramiro_S%C3%A1nchez,_Lord_of_Monz%C3%B3n_br (accessed October 4, 2014).79 See Appendix A.

103

CHAPTER 3

KING GARCÍA RAMÍREZ, THE RESTORER

Do not confuse this Garcia for

the earlier one of the same name, a

Navarre’s sub-king, García Ramírez

of Viguera. Historians report

“García Ramírez, sometimes García

IV, V, VI or VII (died 21 November

1150),”80 is called the Restorer

(Spanish: el Restaurador), is Lord

of Monzón and Logroño, and, from

1134, King of Navarre. He

"restored" the freedom” of the

Navarrese crown after 58 years of

union with the Kingdom of Aragon.”81

80 : García Ramírez of Navarre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garc%C3%ADa_Ram%C3%ADrez_of_Navarre_br, and (accessed October 4, 2014).81 Ibid.

pg. 104

The birth of Garcia takes

place during the early part of the

“twelfth century.” His father,

Ramiro Sánchez of Monzón, is the

son of Sancho Garcés, illegitimate

son of García Sánchez III of

Navarre and half-brother of Sancho

IV. His mother Cristina is a

daughter of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar,

better known in the annals of

history as El Cid.” 82 He is the

grandson of El Cid.

Garcia Ramirez IV King of

Navarre

Figure 12

Garcia Rameriez

82 Ibid.

105

In 1076, as a consequence of

the murder of king Sancho IV by his

siblings, Navarre united with

Aragon. However, with the loss of

the childless warrior king Alfonso

the Battler in 1134 the succession

fell into dispute. In his unusual

will, Alfonso had left the combined

kingdoms to three crusading orders,

which effectively neutralized the

Papacy from exercising a role in

selecting among the potential

candidates. The nobility83 quickly

rejected the will, with that of

Aragon favoring Alfonso's younger

brother Ramiro, a monk.

83 : García Ramírez of Navarre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garc%C3%ADa_Ram%C3%ADrez_of_Navarre_br (accessed October 4, 2014).

pg. 106

The nobility of Navarre is

skeptical of Ramiro abilities, and

whether having the necessary

temperament, he is able to resist

the incursions by their western

neighbor. The western neighbor was

another claimant, King Alfonso VII

of León and Castile. They, perhaps

chafing under the continued

Aragonese hegemony, initially

favored a different candidate,

Peter of Atarés, a grandson of

Alfonso's illegitimate uncle,

Sancho Ramírez, Count of Ribagorza.84

84 Ibid.

107

A convocation of the bishops

and nobility convenes at Pamplona.85

The meeting is to compare

leadership qualities between Peter

and Ramiro. Peter alienates the

convention as he acts arrogantly.

Consequently, they are in favor of

an heir from their dynasty, García

Ramírez, Lord of Monzón. Garcia is

the husband of Cristina de Vivar,

the daughter of El Cid.

He like Peter descended from

an illegitimate brother of a former

king. The nobility and clergy of

Navarre select Garcia to reign as

King. At the same time, Ramiro

enthrones at Aragon, and he

strongly opposed Garcia’s election

in Navarre.

85 Ibid.

pg. 108

In a light of this, the Bishop

of Pamplona grants García his

church's treasure to fund his

government against Ramiro's

pretensions. Among Garcia’s other

early supporters were Lop

Ennechones, Martinus de Leit, and

Count Latro, who carries “out

negotiations on the king's behalf

with Ramiro.”86

“Eventually, however, in

January 1135 with the Pact of

Vadoluongo the two monarchs reached

a mutual accord of "adoption": 87

Deeming García as a "son" and

Ramiro as a "father" attempts to

maintain both the freedom of each

kingdom and the de facto supremacy

of the Aragonese.

86 : García Ramírez of Navarre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garc%C3%ADa_Ram%C3%ADrez_of_Navarre_br (accessed October 4, 2014).87 Ibid.

109

In May 1135, García declares

himself a vassal of Alfonso VII.

The security and lordship of

Castile now operate under the

vassalage of Garcia. Therefore,

Alfonso recognizes Garcia’s royal

status. Now that Garcia submits

to Castile it operates as an act of

protection for Navarre. It results

in putting Navarra in an offensive

alliance against Aragon.

Now that García turns to

Alfonso, this law forced Ramiro to

marry and to produce an heir.

Ramiro then forges an alliance with

Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona.

“On the other hand, García may have

been responding to Ramiro's

marriage, which proved beyond doubt

that the king of Aragon seeks

another heir other than his distant

relative and adopted son.” 88

88 Descendants of HALFDAN "the Aged" Sveidasson (c.762-c.800), http://www.ffish.com/family_tree/Descendants_Halfdan_Sveidasson/D1.htm_br (accessed October 4, 2014).

pg. 110

Before September 1135, Alfonso

VI grants García the area of

Zaragoza as a fief. [Seven]

Recently conquered from Aragon,

this outpost of Castilian authority

in the east is “clearly beyond the

military capacity of Alfonso to

control and provides further

reasons for the recognition of

García in Navarre in return for not

only his homage, but his holding

Zaragoza on behalf of Castile. “89

In 1136, Alfonso VI now does

homage to Zaragoza and, therefore,

he recognizes Ramiro as King of

Zaragoza. In 1137, the suzerainty

of Zaragoza changed hands to

Raymond Berengar of Catalonia. ,

however, Alfonso retains reign over

it because Garcia’s reign over it

has closed. “Sometime after 1130,

but before his succession, García

marries Marguerite de l'Aigle.”90

89 García Ramírez of Navarre - Wikipedia, thefree encyclopedia,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garc%C3%ADa_Ram%C3%ADrez_of_Navarre_br (accessed October 4,2014).

90 Ibid.

111

She is to bear him a son and

successor, Sancho VI, as well as

two daughters whom kings marry.

The elder, Blanche, is born after

Berengar IV has confirmed by a

peace treaty to another bride in

1149, despite the count's existing

betrothal to Petronilla of Aragon,

but García dies before the marriage

could be carried out. Instead, she

marries Sancho III of Castile.

King Sancho's younger

daughter, Princess Margaret,

marries King William I of Sicily.

Garcia’s relationship with his

first queen is, “however, shaky.

She took on many lovers and showed

favoritism to her French

relatives.”91 She generates a

second son named Rodrigo, but her

husband refused to recognize as his

own.”92

91 Ibid.

92 Ibid.

pg. 112

“On 24 June 1144, in León,

García marries “Urraca, called "La

Asturiana" (the Asturian),

illegitimate daughter of Alfonso

VII by Guntroda Pérez, “93 to

strengthen his relationship with

his overlord. “This type of

marriage was common among the

nobility.”94 The marriage must

ennoble on the basis of wealth and

position not love.

93 Ibid.

94 Descendants of HALFDAN "the Aged" Sveidasson (c.762-c.800), http://www.ffish.com/family_tree/Descendants_Halfdan_Sveidasson/D1.htm_br (accessed October 4, 2014).

113

In 1136, García obliged to

surrender Rioja to Castile but, in

1137, he allies with Alfonso I of

Portugal and confronts Alfonso VII.

They confirmed the peace between

1139 and 1140. He is thereafter an

ally of Castile in the Reconquista

and is “instrumental in the

conquest of Almería in 1147. In

1146, he occupied Tauste, which

belonged to Aragon, and Alfonso VII

intervenes to mediate peace between

the two kingdoms.”95

García dies on 21 November

1150 in Lorca, near Estella, and

entombs “in the cathedral of Santa

María la Real in Pamplona.”96

Garcia's eldest son, Sancho VI-the

Wise, succeeds him. Garcia leaves

one daughter by Urraca: Sancha,

she “married successively Gaston V

of Béarn, “97 and then Pedro

Manrique de Lara.

95 Ibid.96 Ibid.97 García Ramírez of Navarre (Refinisher) - Pics,Videos .., http://www.spokeo.com/Garcia+Vi+Of+Navarre+1_br (accessed October 4, 2014).

pg. 114

He leaves a widow in the

person of his third wife, Ganfreda

López. García greatest legacy

besides the restoration is “the

primary monument of his reign, the

monastery of Santa María de la

Oliva in Carcastillo. It is a fine

example of Romanesque

architecture.”98

Figure 13

98 Ibid.

115

Chapter 4

Alfonso VIII “The Noble”

The daughter of García Ramírez

— Blanche de Navarre and Sancho III

de Castile gave birth to Alfonso

VIII in Soria, Spain on 11 November

1115. Epitaphs given to Alfonso

VIII (11 November 1155 – 5 October

1214) were "The Noble" or "el de

las Navas.” The latter is a

reference to his victory “at the

Battle of las Navas de Tolosa”. “This

battle marked the beginning of the

end of Muslim rule in Spain.” 99

These epitaphs are a reflection on

his character and his fighting

skills.

99 Britain in the New World [ushistory.org] - USHistory, http://www.ushistory.org/us/2.asp(accessed October 15, 2014).

pg. 116

He is the King of Castile from

1158 to his death and also the King

of Toledo. The conquests of the

Almohad Caliphate sites on the

Peninsula is the legacy he leaves

to the Spanish Christians.

Previously, Alfonso is defeated in

Alarcos by the hands of the

Almohads. But, thereafter, the

power of the Almohads breaks when

Alfonso leads a coalition of

Christian princes and foreign

crusaders against them.

In 1212, at the Battle de the

Navas de Tolosa, Alfonso is completely

victorious. The battle marks

Alfonso VIII de Castile as a solid

leader. It also celebrates a turn

of the tide of Christian fortunes

and supremacy on the Iberian

Peninsula. Leon and Castile and

Aragon are lead to a closer

coalition with each other, thereby

cementing the rule of these three

Christian areas.

117

To control the regency was to

control the kingdom, so it was

thought by a majority of nobles.

Immediately, the various noble

houses plunged Castile into turmoil

while rivaling for the open

position of reagent. The child

king to be lives by the actions of

a squire. When nobles approached

too close for comfort the squire

took him to a royal Stronghold so

that rival families could not harm

him.

The two major contenders for

the regency were the powerful noble

houses of Lara and Castro. His

uncle, Ferdinand II de Leon even

vied for the honor. During the

year of 1159, Garcia Garces de Aza

took custody of Alfonso; however,

he did not have enough money to

support him. The problem of

regency came to a head when the

Castro and Lara families met in

battle in March of 1160.

pg. 118

While the Castro family won

the Battle de Lobregal, the

guardianship of Alfonso and the

rule of the kingdom went to

Manrique Perez de Lara. By the age

of fifteen, Alfonso stepped forward

to take control of his kingdom.

“He wrest his capital, Toledo, away

from the Lara Family.” He is named

after his grandfather, Alfonso VII,

although his childhood, arguably,

did not resemble the life of his

emperor grandfather. Traumatic

events marked his early upbringing.

First came the death of his

mother and within the space of

three years his father died.

Although a hapless infant, he is

proclaimed king when only three

years of age. The rowdy nobles of

the realm consider his presence

merely a nuisance as they plot

their expected course. To control

the regency was to control the

kingdom, so it is thought by a

majority of nobles.

119

Immediately, the various

noble houses plunge Castile into

turmoil while rivaling for the open

position of reagent. The child

survives by the actions of a

squire. As the nobles approached

too close for comfort - the squire

took him to a royal Stronghold so

that rival families could not harm

him.

The two major contenders for

the regency are the powerful noble

houses of Lara and Castro. His

uncle, King Ferdinand II de Leon

even vies for the honor. During

the year of 1159, Garcia Garces de

Aza takes custody of Alfonso;

however, he does not have enough

money to support him. The problem

of regency comes to a head when the

Castro100 and Lara families meet in

battle in March of 1160.

100 A high ranking political family of Spain.Centered on Granada during the Middle Ages.

pg. 120

Alfonso gives to the Knights

de Templar the municipality of

Uclés for a source of income. In

1177, it was from here that plans

and executions with the Knights

commence and end in the reconquest

of Cuenca. From the date of 21

September, the citizens on the

feast of Saint Matthew celebrate

their independence from the Moors.101 Through negotiations and with

political wrangling Alfonso allies

the major Christian kingdoms of

Iberia.

Now Navarre, León, Portugal,

and Aragon will stand and fight

against the “Almohads.”102 So

elaborate was his plan that by “the

Treaty de Cazola of 1179,” expansion

plans for future military conquest

of encompassing areas of the future

were in place.

101 Moor, Berbers, and Almoravids all Muslimtribes involved in the conquest of Spain.

102 Berber people who controlled the IberianPeninsula 1199–1214) are defeated at theBattle in the Sierra Morena by an alliance ofthe Christian princesof Castile, Aragon, Navarre, and Portugal. 

121

The king of Castile also in

1186 retrieves a part of the land

area that lies between the

triangular land areas, of Burgos to

Soria and then to Longoria, known

as La Rioja. Because of his love

of learning, Alfonso founds the

first university in Castile and

locates it in Plasencia. “The city

is built from the ground up” and

contains six gates, 68 towers and a

double line of walls. After

founding Plasencia (Cáceres) in

1186, he embarks on a major

initiative.

Figure 14

Present day Plasencia.

pg. 122

He addresses a problem that

has plagued Spain's entities for

centuries. Reconquista is his

ultimate goal, and he needs a

united nobility to accomplish this.

Ultimately, Alfonso is able not

only to unite his nobles but to

unite most Christian kingdoms of

Spain to wage the Pope's

Reconquista.

123

The principal town of Alacros

in Castile came under attack by the

Almohads. Concurrently, in 1195

Alfonso is forced to come to its

aid. What follows is unfortunate

for Castile. Alfonso loses the

fray and in battle nearly escapes

with his life. Caliph Abu Yaqub

Yusuf as-Mansur assumes that his

victory has stabilized the Moor

interests in the Iberian Peninsula

and unwisely leaves for Africa.

Then the city of Calatrava falls to

the Moor as the Moor exploits the

surrounding area. Toledo now

becomes the stalwart boundary

between the Castilians and the

Moor.

pg. 124

Now, however, the days of the

Almohads are numbered. Pope

Innocent III in 1212 launches a

crusade against the Almohads. The

Christian opposition to the Moor is

the Castilians under Alfonso, the

Franks, the Catalans and Aragonese

under Peter II and Navarrese under

Sancho VII. There was also a

contingent of the military orders

present. Three major cities of

Benavente, Alarcos, and Calatrava

surrender before the onslaught.

This time Alfonso and his allies

are successful, and the power of

the Almohad diminishes in

increments. The historic and

decisive battle ensues at the”

Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa on 16 July,

1212.”103 The Moorish caliph

Muhammad an-Nasir now in turn

tastes the bitterness of defeat

103 Álvaro Núñez de Lara (died 1218) - Wikipedia,the free ..,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%81lvaro_N%C3%BA%C3%B1ez_de_Lara_(died_1218) (accessed October15, 2014).

125

Figure 15

Battle of Las Navas de la

Tolosa

pg. 126

By means of a letter,

Berenguela contacts her sister

Blanche-the Queen of France. She

writes a letter describing the

action of the battle. Berenguela

relates that the number of dead is

estimated to be up to 70,000 men,

15,000 women. From ours, however,

about 200 were found to have

fallen. The booty found in the

Saracen tents in gold and silver,

clothes, animals, cannot be

estimated because of the vast size

of the plunder; 20,000 pack animals

can scarcely carry the darts and

arrows alone; the tents of those

who fled were estimated at 100,000.

127

She goes on to relate that

their father did not retain

anything of all that the booty for

his use or his men’s, but he

divided it all among the kings of

Navarre and Aragon, and those who

were with them and the whole ...

expedition. A little more than

twenty-four month’s later Emperor

Alfonso dies. His faithful Queen,

Leonor of England, Queen of

Castile, dies only twenty-six days

later. The Emperor leaves an

amazing legacy for a medieval

Spanish ruler. Alfonso has ruled a

long fifty-six years. As a result

of his successes, illustrious lives

lie in wait for his children.

pg. 128

One of his daughter Berenguela

becomes the mother of Saint

Fernando III, King of Castile and

Leon. Another daughter, Blanca,

marries the King of France, Louis

VIII, and becomes the mother of a

second saint, Saint Louis IX King

de France. Alfonso’s descendants

double in their divinely chosen

path.

Then the son of only eleven years,

Enrique I take the throne of

Castile.

129

Eleanor Plantagenet and Alfonso

VIII delivers Enrique I on 14 April

1204, but Enrique (or Henry) is

forced to take the throne when his

older brother Ferdinand dies.

Henry marries Mafalda de Portugal,

daughter of Sancho I of Portugal.

The regency resumes by Henry's

older sister Berenguela de Castile,

wife of Alfonso IX of Leon. In

1215, Henry marries Mafalda de

Portugal, daughter of Sancho I of

Portugal. Consanguinity between the

two becomes an issue, and the Pope

dissolves the marriage in 1216.

Henry I of Castile dies a year

later from a freak accident. A

tile fell off the roof and struck

him in the head while playing with

his peers. Consequently, his

sister Berenguela succeeds him.

Then she renounces the throne so

that her son can rule.

Henry I The Boy King

pg. 130

Figure 13

CHAPTER 5

BERENGUELA I “THE GRAND,” QUEEN OF

CASTILE

131

Eleanor of Aquitaine and King Henry

II of England are the grandparents

of Queen consort Berenguela104 of

Castile. Likewise, she is the

older daughter of Eleanor

Plantagenet, Princess of England,

and her husband King Alfonso VIII

of Castile. Also carrying the same

first name is Berenguela, the

granddaughter of Alfonso VII of

León. Berenguer IV of Barcelona

knows her as his sister through a

matrilineal link she is related to

the most powerful personages of the

historical period, - Queen Eleanor

of Aquitaine and King Henry II of

England. Also, Queen Berenguela is

the Queen consort of King Alfonso

IX of Leon.

The older daughter of Alfonso

VIII of Castile and Eleanor

Plantagenet of England holds the

throne as regent for her brother

Henry and then for her son

Fernando.

104 Another name for Berenguela isBerengaria.

pg. 132

Berenguela should have been the

reigning Queen of Castile but

instead nobly gives up her throne

for her son- Fernando. Eventually,

the king unites the kingdoms of

Castile and León while still under

his reign. Eleanor births her

daughter Berenguela in Segovia,

Spain. She is educated, in an

effective and efficient way, by her

mother Eleanor of Castile, who

gives the same education for all

her children. Berenguela's

character is excellent, as well.

Her sisters Urraca and Blanche of

Castile, both become Queens in

their right, as well as have the

traits of excellent education and

character instilled in them by

their mother.

133

After the marriage plans end, with

the assassination of Duke Conrad,

her mother’s matchmaking skills

begin anew. Weighing the choice's

mother Lenore decides to stay

within Spain’s borders. She

chooses Alfonso IX, King of Leon.

In 1197, the union took place. Her

dowry is large including several

castles and land revenues. In

return, Castilla returns to Leon

all territories incurred as a

result of former wars. Berenguela

bears five children to the

marriage, including Fernando, the

future king who united both under

his scepter and became Saint

Fernando.

pg. 134

When King Alfonso died in

1214, his third surviving son

became King of Castile. Enrique I

or Henry was only ten years old,

thereon, a regency rule

predominated until such time as

Henry was ready to rule. The

king’s mother reigned under the

regency for 24 days until the time

of her death. Berenguela, now the

heir presumptive, then ruled under

the regency in place of her younger

brother. Henry I was still in line

to rule but because of his tender

age his sister, Berenguela, reigned

instead. It was during this time

that the internal agitation began

in the area. It involved the

nobles but mainly from the House of

Lara. In order to avoid civil

discordance and agitation

Berenguela negotiates with the

political factions. She turns over

the regency of the king and the

realm to Count Álvaro Núñez de

Lara. This political move quiets

factions of the nobility- but only

135

for a little while. What it

accomplishes is a split among the

nobility.

Circumstances change suddenly when

Henry dies on 6 June 1217. His

death caused by a blow to the head

from a tile that came loose

accidentally while he was playing

with some other children at the

palace of the Bishop of Palencia.

His guardian, Count Álvaro Núñez de

Lara, tries to hide the fact,

taking the king's body to the

castle of Tariego, though it is

inevitable that the news must reach

Berenguela.

The new sovereign is well aware of

the danger her former husband poses

to her reign. Berenguela fears

that Alfonso IX will claim the

crown for himself. Therefore, she

keeps her brother's death and her

accession secret from Alfonso

before finally abdicating in her

son's favor on 31 August.

pg. 136

When King Alfonso VIII died in

1214, his third surviving son

became King of Castile. Enrique I

or Henry was only ten years old,

thereon a regency rule,

predominated until such time as

Henry was ready for rule. The

king’s mother reigned under the

regency for 24 days until the time

of her death; the devoted Queen

died less than four weeks after her

King. Berenguela, now the heir

presumptive, then ruled under the

regency. Henry is still in line to

rule but because of his tender age

his sister, Berenguela, reigns

instead.

137

However, a special parliamentary

session is held in the Cortez

during February 1216. Holding this

session in Valladolid, notable

aristocracy are present. They

agreed to place their trust in

Queen Berenguela and to oppose the

actions of the de Lara family.

The country is not stable in May,

so Berenguela decides to send her

son to his father in Leon. She

then takes refuge in the castle of

Autillio de Campos. One further

attempt is initiated to avoid war

with the Lara family but to no

avail. Alvaro Nunez de Lara was a

man of many Alvaro Nunez de Lara

was a man of many talents and has

emanated from a power family.

Their power lies both in the realms

of Leon and Castile. His brothers

sought their route to success

through the royal offices of

Castile and did Alvaro. He and his

brothers took part in the Battle of

Las Navas de Tolosa. This famous

Spanish battle marks the beginning

pg. 138

of the end of Muslim rule in Spain.

His father was ranked as an

ancestor of the counts of Castile.

The mother of the three de Lara

brothers is Theresa Fernandez. Her

relatives are from the powerful

Galician house of Traba. She is a

descendant of an illegimate child

of King Alfonso VI. So the family

has a royal connection. Her

relatives are from the powerful

Galician house of Traba. When her

husband Nunez de Lara dies, she

marries King Fernando II of Leon.

As a result, her children are

raised in the royal household along

with the future King Alfonso IX.

139

His brothers were also counts of

the area. Count Alvaro Nunez de

Lara served in Kings post of

majordomo and also as bearing the

standard in Battle. His brothers,

Fernando and Gonzalo, held similar

prestigious posts. The account of

his bravery during the Battle of Las

Navas de Tolosa is found in the

ancient text of Chronica latina regum

Castellae. Because of his bravery

in battle King Alfonso VIII granted

Alvaro the town of Castroverde and

the payments that it included.

pg. 140

Prince Ferdinand of Leon,

who was the son of Alfonso IX of

Leon and his first wife Teresa of

Portugal dies at the age of twenty-

two. Now it was hoped that

Fernando III who was the son of

Alfonso IX’s second wife,

Berenguela of Castile, would

succeed his father. All this

complexity of succession had to

take into account Alfonso’s two

daughters, Sancha and Dulce, and

their position on the matter.

Nonetheless, just days later King

Alfonso VIII dies. Queen Eleanor

because of sickness cedes the

regency to Berenguela.

141

Just a few days after this action

Queen Eleanor dies. In a Castilian

council a majority of the nobility

thought that Berenguela was letting

the Church have too much of a say

so in the regency of Henry I. They

were in agreement that the regency

should go to Alvaro Nunez de Lara.

Alvaro kidnapped the young King and

Berenguela is faced with an action

already completed. Nonetheless,

Alvaro had to promise the council

he would levy no taxes or take any

lands on penalty of high treason.

This was not a new path that was

strolled for Alvaro since his

father had done the same as regent

for King Alfonso VIII. In 1216

Alvaro requested that Berenguela

give up six of her castles.

pg. 142

In the spring of 1216 Alvaro

issued a document stating the King

Henry would rule in Toledo and

Castile and the rest of the country

was to be ruled by Alvaro.

Obviously, a power grab was in the

offing. Furthermore he suggested

to Alfonso IX that his ex-wife give

up all of her castles. He claims

that he is acting under King

Henry’s orders. His sister

Berenguela is not sure what is

going on so she cedes the castle to

Alvaro. When Berenguela sent a

messenger to ask her brother what

was going on and to meet with her,

Alvaro has the messenger killed.

143

There was a fake letter

circulated by Alvaro stating that

Berenguela should kill her brother

the King. This drove most of the

nobility to the side of Berenguela.

Because of the political pressure

placed on Queen Berenguela she

calls for her son Fernando III to

leave his father Alfonso IX and

come to her.

pg. 144

The year 1217 brought

all of these events to a head.

According to the Chronica latina

regum Castellae the year 1217 was

the worst year for tension

ever recorded. Alvaro is not

making friends, in fact he is

quickly making enemies during

the progress of the year.

War finally breaks out between

the forces of Alvaro and the

supporters of Queen Bereguela.

At first the battles proceed

slowly for Bereguela because

her brother King Henry is

spotted among Alvaro’s troops.

Alfonso IX troops surrounded

Castejon. Here Alvaro took

sick and he headed for Toro

and later die there.

145

Chapter 6

SAINT FERNANDO III OF CASTILE AND

LEON

The noble king of Castile

and Leon is Ferdinand III (5 August

1199 – 30 May 1252). Some

historians refer to him also as

Fernando the Great, and other refer

to him as King Fernando the Saint.

He appears in Zamora, Ispanjia 5

August 1199 and dies in Seville, 30

May 1252. Fernando is the King of

Castile from 1217 and King of León

from 1230 as well as King of

Galicia from 1231. Spain is

beginning to have greater Christian

unity. [1] Alfonso IX of Leon is

his father and Berenguela of

Castile is his mother.

pg. 146

As a result of his second

marriage in 1237 to Joan, Countess

of Ponthieu, he also becomes Count

of Aumale... Ferdinand III matches

the record of his illustrious

ancestor El Cid for never losing in

any battle against any foe whether

Almohad or otherwise. The

conquering sword Lobera of Fernando

results in the acquisition of the

Kingdoms of Seville, Cordoba, Jaen,

and Murcia. Through

Succession rights and negotiation

he also combines Leon with Castile.

The core Christian countries of the

Peninsula at this juncture begin

evolving into modern day Spain.

147

Early in his childhood the

Pope declared that Fernando’s

mother and father’s marriage is not

legal due to the common charge of

consanguinity. The couple appeal

for a dispensation. Berenguela

marries King Alfonso IX, her uncle,

because the couple delays their

separation the Pope excommunicates

them. During the time of their

marriage, they produced four

children other than Fernando -

Sancha, Dulce, Alfonso of Molina,

and Berenguela. As a result of

the Pope’s actions Berenguela

returns to Castile, and Alfonso

stays in Leon. The children remain

in Leon. As a conciliatory move

Pope Innocent III legitimizes the

children. The Pope also declares

that her castles and her dowry be

returned to her.

pg. 148

The Kings of Leon and Castile

meet to discuss the allocation of

the castles and the dowry. Alfonso

VIII is impressed with Fernando and

asks that he come to his court for

training. Not only did Alfonso IX

allow this but he also includes the

three sisters of Fernando.

Shortly, thereafter, the

Muslim threat begins anew for

Spain. Alfonso with the Pope

alerts the Kings of Christendom.

Knights and foot soldiers begin

pouring into Castile at the Pope’s

urging. So it is that in 1212, the

King that has lost the battle at

Alarcos now defeats a large army of

Almohads at the Battle of the Navas de

Tolosa. This battle marks the

beginning of the Christian

supremacy on the Iberian Peninsula

after 500 years of Muslim

domination. In just 200 more years

the Muslims are expelled from the

Spanish Peninsula.

149

Fernando never knew any one

king greater than his mother’s

father Alfonso VIII. It is later

that the de Lara family attempts to

take over the regency of Fernando,

this after the debacle of King

Henry I’s regency and death. Even

his father moves to invade Castile

at the suggestion of Don Alvaro

Nunez de Lara. However, Fernando

makes peace with his father leaving

him free to fight against the de

Lara family. Fernando never likes

the idea of his father’s betrayal

of all the other Christian kingdoms

when he has refused to send an army

to help the Christians in their

fight against the Almohads.

pg. 150

Earlier in his life, Fernando

has the best training that a royal

could have. His grandfather is a

great warrior and the king to be

receives training at his hand and

although Fernando has a religious

bent concerning his personality he

loves practicing with weapons and

studying war strategies. When

Fernando is ten years old, the

history writers report that he has

a disease and is taken to a

monastery where he miraculously

recovered. From that time forward,

the Virgin Mary is his guardian

angel. His daily prayers and

commitments are dedicated to the

Virgin. In his prayers, he

promises her (he called her My

Lady) that he would give Andalusia

over to her and build monuments to

her name. As soon as Fernando

conquers the de Lara family he then

devotes the remainder of his life

to conquering the rest of

Andalusia.

151

Chapter 7

Eleanor of Castile and Edward I of

England

pg. 152

Eleanor of Castile is the

first queen of Edward I of England.

She opens her Spanish eyes to the

world in 1241 and dies November 28,

1290. Eleanor is the Countess of

Ponthieu succeeding her mother. She

ruled Ponthieu with her husband and

her mother. The Countess commences

her life in Spain and is the

daughter of Ferdinand III the Saint

and Joan, the French Countess of

Ponthieu. The name Eleanor or

(Alienor) comes from her great

grandmother, the Queen of England.

Two of her brother dies

prematurely. She has an older

brother Ferdinand and a younger

brother Louis. She also has a half-

brother, Alfonso X of Castile. Both

of the Kings of Castile father and

son, Ferdinand III and Alfonso X,

support the arts. So it is that

Eleanor is habituated and

acculturated to the literary arts.

153

The first attempt to marry Eleanor

was a practical one. She is to

marry Theobald II of the Kingdom of

Navarre. He is the King of Navarre

and the marriage proposal on the

part of the Castilians is to secure

its border with the Navarre.

However, Theobald II’s mother would

have none of this proposal, she

states its smacks of Castilian

control over Navarre. Instead in

1252 in a treaty with James I of

Aragon she promises that Eleanor

would never marry Theobald.

pg. 154

Secondly, fate seems to be gently

smiling upon Eleanor. The King of

Castile had a long-standing claim

on the territory of Gascony that is

in Aquitaine and borders Castile.

Nonetheless, the English King Henry

did not want to lose this area

because of its valuable commercial

products. He has already placed

more troops in Gascony. So a

compromise is composed in which

Eleanor would marry Henry’s son

Edward and Castile would give up

all claims to Gascony. Quite out

of character King Henry pushes up

the time of the ceremony so the

marriage would take place almost

immediately.

155

King Henry has made extravagant

plans for the knighting of Edward

in England, but he is so proud of

his diplomatic marriage that he

instead sent Edward to Spain to

marry Eleanor. Here King Alfonso

would knight Edward just before the

wedding is to take place. On

November 1, 1254, Edward I and

Eleanor are married in the

monastery of Las Huelgas, Burgos,

Castile Spain. To each other they

were second cousins once removed.

pg. 156

King John of England is Edward's

grandfather and Eleanor, John’s

wife, was Edward’s great-

grandmother. King Henry II and

Eleanor of Aquitaine are the

parents of King John and Eleanor of

England. At home Edward’s vassals

thought that this marriage would

bring hordes of Eleanor’s relatives

to England. They feared that the

generosity of the King would ruin

the English economy. Many Castilian

relatives visited but instead spent

their money on the English economy.

The visitors were far from ruinous,

and parenthetically she was too

young to influence their decisions

to travel. The pseudo excuse pro-

offered was irrelevant for the

people of England had already made

up their minds that this marriage

was bad.

157

Perhaps to maintain the Queen’s

privacy there is little in the way

of records concerning Eleanor’s

life in England until the outbreak

of the Second Barons’ War. A

divided kingdom pits the Barons’

again King Henry and his

supporters. Rather than retreating

to her home base, Eleanor stayed in

England throughout the Barons’

conflict. She gave aid to her King

in every respect, even going to the

extreme of importing archers from

her mother’s homeland of Ponthieu,

located at the point where the

Somme meets the sea, northern

France. When Queen

Jeanne dies, Eleanor of Castile

inherited Ponthieu. Upon the

death of Eleanor, Ponthieu reverted

to Edward II in 1290. Isabella of

France was granted the land as part

of her dower in 1308. She lost her

dower in 1324 when all of her lands

confiscates to the crown.

Subsequently, she and Mortimer

triumphed in 1327, and the land is

pg. 158

restored to her dower.

The progression of the Baron’s

war took several twists and turns

but ultimately consisted of two

main battles. During the hiatus of

baronial battle Simon de Montfort

perpetrated revolt in London after

winning the first Battle of Lewes in

1264. Here he took Eleanor prisoner

and confines her to the Westminster

Place in 1264. Simon Montfort also

captures Prince Edward during this

period. When royalist forces win

the Battle of Evesham and order

returns in England, Edward and

Eleanor took an active part in

reforming the English government.

Eleanor’s status improved markedly

after she delivers to the English

people three daughters.

Consequently, she births John,

Henry, and Eleanor, who are healthy

offspring.

159

England is politically calmer by

the late 1200’s. Eleanor and Edward

leave to join their uncle, Louis

IX, The Saint, of France on the

Eighth Crusade. However. King Louis

IX died in Carthage, Africa. The

couple stays the winter in Sicily

and then journeys on to Acre.

Eleanor gave birth to a daughter in

the city of Acre in Palestine. The

city of Acre is the daughter's

namesake. Her name was “Joanna of

Acre." While encamped there is an

assassination attempt on Edward.

Edward receives a wound in his

shoulder and stories circulate that

Eleanor nursing heals him. The

Crusade was a military disaster and

while there they received word that

King Henry dies.

pg. 160

The now new King Edward I and

Eleanor make their way back from

the Crusade. They travel at a

leisurely pace through Italy and

Gascony to return to England.

Edward slowly proceeds to Britain

because, even in his absence; the

nobility has crowned him king.

Crowning kings in their absence is

a lesson the nobility learned early

on so they could keep the country

stable. When they arrive in

England, they are both crowned

together.

161

In many instances,

arrangements for royal marriage in

the middle ages did not always

portend a happy future. It is this

style of marriages that grew

stagnant in the middle Ages. It is

because they were based primarily

on political or boundary standards

and not on love. Be as it may, all

documentary evidence indicates that

both Edward and Eleanor were in

love. Edward is one of the few

kings known not to have had tawdry

affairs.

pg. 162

Rarely are the couple ever

absent one from the other. She is

on the Crusades with her husband

and on military campaigns in Wales.

Here is a loyal and steadfast

spouse. Every year at Easter time

and on Easter Monday Edward

participates in a slightly decadent

relationship. Eleanor’s ladies

would pile on him in his bed. He

had to pay each one to get off so

he could then go to Eleanor’s

bedroom. This yearly episode was

so important to him that even after

her death he continued the game in

her honor. Some writers indicate

that Edward hated ceremonies, and

they offer as an example that, in

1290, he refused to attend the

marriage of Earl Marshal Roger

Bigod, Fifth Earl of Norfolk. This

incident was not so much for the

dislike of ceremonies as it was for

the dislike of the Earl. Once the

Earl had refused to go to France

and to War and Edward retorted he

would or he will hang. The Earl

163

responds that he will not hang nor

go to war in France. Nonetheless,

Eleanor thoughtfully (or

sympathetically) paid minstrels to

play for Edward while the King sat

alone during the wedding.

pg. 164

It seems difficult for Edward to

contemplate a new marriage after

Eleanor’s death. There were nine

years that went by before Edward

engages in marriage once again.

The King exhibited deep devotion

for his deceased wife and states in

a letter to the abbot of Cluny:

"whom living we dearly cherished,

and whom dead we cannot cease to

love ".—in essence these are the

sentiments of a king truly in love.

His actions go beyond eloquent

writing and deep respect for her

memory. Edward goes even further

in ordering twelve embroidered

stone crosses. They mark the route

of her funeral procession between

Lincoln and London. Three of

those stone crosses has survived

the ravages of time and were almost

intact today. Parenthetically,

only one of Eleanor's four sons

survived childhood. A monarchical

catastrophe such as this creates

apprehension on the part of Edward.

If this son did not survive the

165

succession lines would go to the

daughters that may create further

problems in England. Edward,

however, despite his loss he

marries again after nine years.

His new wife Marguerite bore him

new sons but still Edward mourned

in memorial services each year for

Eleanor.

pg. 166

Edward wants the Queen to have her

income irrespective of the

governmental money of Britain. The

king himself makes a special

process that aids the Queen. The

King would give her debts that she

forecloses on lands pledged for the

debts. However, her reputation was

even more soiled by her association

with Jewish moneylenders. In the

space of sixteen years, Eleanor was

able to amass a sizeable yearly

income from her venture into the

land markets. There were rumors

enough that they finally came to

the Queen’s ear. While dying the

Queen pleaded with Edward to have

an investigation and if there was

any wrong doing on her part to

rectify the offence or offences.

The investigations show that there

were numerous wrongdoings on the

part of her administrative

assistances. The number of people

in England thought that she was

making Edward rule harshly.

167

Edward is in control of whatever

impact Eleanor might make on the

political history of the king’s

reign. Like a good husband,

Edward listens to his wife’s advice

but would choose to make his

decision. It seems that the only

area of agreement that both shared

completely was at what age their

daughters could marry.

Consequently, Eleanor role was one

of a diplomatic nature. She would

receive foreign ambassadors at

Court and bestow any honors due.

His response was not to the letter

of the law but consistent with the

spirit of the law. Edward always

honored his obligations to

Eleanor’s father. When King

Alfonso X request that Edward send

English knights to Castile he does

send knight, however, they are from

Gascony. Historians comment that

Eleanor did take part in some minor

dispute resolution, but Edward

always gave her the experts to aid

her and was always prepared to stop

pg. 168

her if she went too far. Mainly,

she was more engaged in subscribing

to the arts than she was in

political activity. Therefore, her

critics had little if nothing to

fear from the activities of Queen

Eleanor.

169

Eleanor is more interested in

romance writings and stories of the

Saints than she is in the more

mundane political intrigue. Her

interests in literature were

extremely broad. During the

Crusades, Eleanor has De Re

Militari by Vegetius translated.

She gives it as a gift to Edward

because this was the excepted gift-

giving during the Middle Ages for

lovers and friends and leaders in

the military. This treatise,

written around the fifth century,

is used by military commanders

during the Middle Ages and some

elements were incorporated in the

American army. For instance,

Vegetius recommends that soldiers

discipline is most important, and

the training must last at least

four months. During the 1960’s the

U.S. army had the similar length of

time schedule at work in the

service. The first eight weeks were

called “Basic Training” and the

next eight weeks were called

pg. 170

Specialization. During her tenure

as the Countess of Ponthieu a

religious leader wrote a work

addressed to Eleanor concerning

angels and what they are. An

author writes a biography of one of

the Counts of Ponthieu for the

Queen.

171

Eleanor patronized many of her

cousins but given the

xenophobia of England she was

careful to line up her female

cousins with land barons. King

Edward gives his tacit

approval to which Eleanor

wisely chooses mates for the

England landowner. It is his

belief that when these persons

marry each other they are more

likely to form a support

system for the King and Queen.

She would explicitly not

include male cousins from her

country given the dislike of

foreigners in England. Eleanor

had a strong religious

background. Not at all

unnoticed, Eleanor made sure

that alms were given to the

poor, but she would not

personally participate. The

Queen favored the Dominican

Order friars and made sure

that they had a solid

foundation in England. She

pg. 172

encouraged their work at the

University of Oxford and the

University of Cambridge and

gave generously to them.

The queen cultivates and enhances

the English gardens surrounding the

royal castles and introduces ponds

and swans to the royal scenery

while embellishing the grounds with

vines and roses. While the king

preferred falcons for his hunt the

Queen, preferred packs of hunting

dogs. She also establishes an

herbarium near her castle. One

example of overt flaunting of the

royal power was the gift of a cup

of 238 gold florins. (Double

Florin: 4 shillings).

173

The Queen's records do not

indicate that she had any

particular interest in a single

saint. Eleanor is interested more

in supporting monks than bishops in

England. The Queen aided struggling

scholars in Cambridge and Oxford

and help to support several

monasteries. She also introduces to

England the Merino breed of sheep.

It was fall, and the year is 1290

when Edward receives news that

Margaret, the Maid of Norway and

heiress to the throne of Scotland

is dead.

pg. 174

The parliament has just

dismissed in Nottinghamshire.

Edward waits in the area he is

awaiting news of the events in

Scotland. When the news concerning

Margaret is confirmed, Edward

begins his journey to the city of

Lincoln, which is 141 miles north

of London, to pay proper respect.

Queen Eleanor followed the King’s

procession making slower progress

because of a bout of malaria she

had contacted in Gascony. She still

is not fully recovered from the

fever, and she would never reach

Lincoln.

175

Eleanor was a healthy woman

for most of her life after all she

has survived sixteen pregnancies.

However, it was just after the

birth of her last child, that

financial accounts show increasing

payments of medicines for the

queen's use. The only hint of her

illness came from a letter to

England from a person in the royal

entourage who noted that the queen

had double quartan fever. Keeping

in line with the already

established history of selfless

service this was a trip of duty

that Eleanor had always succeeded

in supporting her husband, but

Eleanor had not yet healed from the

disease she encounters in Gascony.

She weakened and yet proceeded to

go to Lincoln with the King, but it

was a trip she would never

complete.

pg. 176

As the entourage reaches the

village of Harby, about 22 miles

(35 km) from Lincoln the queen

could travel no more. The journey

stops at this point and Richard de

Weston offered his house for her

accommodation. At her bedside is

Edward her closest companion. He

listens to her concerns for

restitution and forgiveness for the

things that she may have done in

her life and for him to pledge to

make it right. She dies in the

Weston House on the evening of the

28 November 1290.

177

Edward ordered that, for every

overnight stop, they made on the

route back to London and the

Westminster Abbey, memorial crosses

are to be erected. There is to be a

large memorial cross built at each

of the overnight stops in honor of

Eleanor. Today these crosses are

referred to as the Eleanor Crosses.

This idea is not new, and Edward

probably based it on his Cousin

Louis IX’s funeral procession. Only

three crosses survive till this

day, and there were twelve of these

"Eleanor crosses" built at the end

of the 1200’s. They built the

crosses at Charing, Dunstable,

Geddington, Grantham, Lincoln,

Northampton, Stamford, St Albans,

Stony Stratford, Waltham, Woburn,

and Westcheap. The best preserved

is that at Geddington.

pg. 178

Chapter 8

BLANCHE OF CASTILE, LOUIS THE LION

AND SAINT LOUIS

179

Louis VIII also known as the Lion,

draws first breath on 5 September

1187 and expels last breath on 8

November 1226. He reigns as King

of France from 1223 to 1226. The

House of Capet is the ancestry of

Louis. Louis VIII is the son of

Philip Augustus and Isabelle of

Hainaut. He is born on the Île de

la Cité in Paris France. Louis is

also Count of Artois, inheriting

that land from Isabelle. Artois

belongs to the crown until Louis IX

under instructions from his father

gives it to his younger brother

Robert. Louis is married at the

age of 12 to Blanche of Castile,

who is the niece of King John of

England his sister, Eleanor of

England and the daughter of Alfonso

VIII of Castile, Spain. Arranging a

marriage is King Philip Augustus of

France and King John of England.

Louis and Blanche's marriage takes

place on 23 May 1200.

pg. 180

King John of England began his

French campaign of reconquest for

Normandy. From Philip II in

August 2012... John is confident of

ultimately winning back the former

territories of England from the

French. He makes alliances with

the Count of Flanders, Ferdinand,

who has the finest foot soldiers in

Europe. He allies with Count

Renaud of Boulogne and the Holy

Roman Emperor Otto IV. Philip’s

forces are to be split in half by

pushing north-east from Poitou

towards Paris. Ferdinand, Renaud,

Otto, are supported by William

Longespee, who marches from

Flanders. Philip II August

positions himself on the northern

front against the Otto IV and his

allies, Louis VIII’s mission is

against the Angevin possessions in

middle France. King John

outmaneuvers Prince Louis army and

retakes Anjou. He then besieges

the castle of Roche-au-Moine

forcing Louis into a battle

181

position. King Philip Augustus II

of France wins the Battle of

Bouvines again the Holy Roman

Emperor dashing all hope of King

John’s reconquest of Angevin

properties in France.

pg. 182

The First Barons’ War began in

England in 1215. It was a struggle

fought be a group of English baron

against the unpopular King John of

England. Due to their

dissatisfaction with King John the

barons offered the throne to Prince

Louis. Louis invades England

unopposed and proceeds to London.

There is little resistance entering

London. Once there Louis becomes

King of England. King Alexander

of Scotland and many nobles

gathered to pay homage to Louis.

But his proclamation would be short

lived. Louis captured the English

city of Winchester and now

controlled over half of the

England. But just when it seems

that England is his, King John's

dies in October 1216. This event

causes some of the rebellious

barons to back John’s son for King.

Henry III is only nine years old.

183

Blanche of Castile also known as

Blanca de Castilla in Spanish. She

breathes first breath in Palencia,

Spain, 4 March 1188, and all

recorded sources indicate that she

is dazzling when she reaches

maturity. She dies sixty-four

years later on 27 November 1252.

Blanche is the daughter of King

Alfonso VIII, Emperor of Spain and

his English wife Queen Eleanor.

She is the daughter of Henry II

King of England. She marries King

Louis VIII of France and serves as

the Queen Consort. During her

tenure, she acts twice as regent

during Louis XIV’s absences from

Paris.

pg. 184

Alfonso VIII, Blanche's

father, establishes the Abbey of

Santa Maria la Real de las Helga,

which Blanche visits several times

during her childhood. Later in

life, she would establish

Cistercian abbeys and would

eventually be buried in one. Early

on a treaty of Le Goulet is agreed

to between King John and Philip

Augustus in which Urraca, Blanche's

sister, is promised to Philip's

son, Louis VIII. However, their

grandmother Eleanor of Aquitaine,

upon getting acquainted with the

two sisters, judges that Blanche's

personality is better suited to

meet the needs for a queen consort

of France. Consequently, Queen

Eleonore crosses the Pyrenees in

the spring of 1200 Eleanor crosses

the Pyrenees with Blanche and

offers her to Louis instead.

185

On 22 May 1200 a treaty is finally

signed, King John gives his niece

Blanche the following fiefs:

Gracay and Issoudun and those of

Andre de Chuvigny. The marriage

takes place the next day, at Port-

Mort on banks of the Seine, in King

John’s territory because King

Philip Augustus of France lay under

an interdict from the Catholic

Church. Because of Blanche’s young

age, the marriage is not

consummated for a few years and

Blanche gives birth to her first

child in the year 1205.

pg. 186

Blanche is the niece of King John

and, therefore, would likely be in

the English succession line.

Because she is married to Prince

Louis VIII of France during the

English Barons War Prince Louis was

offered to rule England by some

barons in 1215-1216. However, the

barons switch their allegiance upon

the death of King John in October

1216. Their allegiance now goes

to John's nine year old son Henry.

Louis is in a precarious position

for he has already invaded England

and taken most of the English land

by force. Now he must fight to

maintain his position in London.

His father Philip Augustus refuses

to assist Prince Louis, but Blanche

comes to the rescue. She tells

Philip if he would not help Louis

then she will sell her children to

aid him. Philip repents and gives

Blanche what she needs. Blanche

organizes two fleets. However, on

the way to England they sink in a

battle with the English ships. The

187

defeat of the French at Lincoln

Castle in England spells doom for

Louis and Blanche's hopes to rule

England. Louis sues for peace and

compensation follows for his losses

providing that he gives up claim to

the English throne.

pg. 188

King Philip Augustus dies on 14

July 1223, and Louis VIII now

becomes king. His reign begins on

6 August 1223. Louis VII continues

to follow his father’s footsteps,

and grabs land away from the

Angevins. He seizes Avignon,

Languedoc, Poitou and Saintonge

from the English. Louis

reverses the policies that were set

by his father on 1 November 1223;

he does not allow debt to Jews to

be recorded. The interest rates of

these debts were excessive. Usury

(lending money with interest) is

illegal for Christians. Usury was

seen as a vice in which other

people profited by one’s

misfortune. For committing

usury, it is a punishable church

crime from the Catholic Church by

excommunication. Jews, of course,

were not Christian so they could

not be excommunicated. The attempt

by Louis VIII is to curb this

practice is commendable because it

is a constant source of friction

189

between the Church and the French

state.

The proposal is accepted by twenty-

six barons, with one exception.

Theobald IV, the Count of

Champagne, does not agree. His

agreements with the Jews are

extremely profitable for him.

Theobald IV stands as a major force

against the Capetian regime, and he

is hostile toward the

administration of the King. It is

during the siege of Avignon that

he performs only perfunctory

service of 40 days, and then left

abruptly for home amid charges of

treachery for he is accused of

poisoning King Louis.

pg. 190

The Count of Toulouse, Raymond

VII, was excommunicated by the

council of Bourges in 1225. Also,

the Council of Bourges declares a

crusade against the Albigensian,

whom the council maintains is

supported by the southern barons.

In order to enforce his royal

rights the Lion happily and

physically engages in the conflict.

Count of Foix, Roger Bernard the

Great, tried to keep the peace, but

the king will have no part of it.

Thereupon, the counts of Foix and

Toulouse go to war against him. The

king is hugely successful, but he

is unable to complete the task

before he dies. Upon returning

to Paris, the “Lion” succumbs and

becomes ill with dysentery. He

dies on the 8th of November 1226.

King Louis is buried in a crypt at

the Saint Denis Basilica. His son

Louis IX, “Saint Louis," succeeds

him on the throne.

191

Chapter 9

Louis IX of France “The Saint”

pg. 192

Blanche is awarded the regency

at Louis’s request to his barons on

his deathbed in November 1226.

Blanche, by then is 38 years old

and becomes regent and guardian of

his children. Of her thirteen

children, six had died, and Louis,

the heir to the throne of France is

but twelve years old. She has him

crowned in Reims and forced

hesitant barons to swear allegiance

to him. The political landscape is

critical while many of the

rebellious southern nobles are

still uncontrolled. In order to

gain more support Blanche releases

Count Ferdinand of Flanders from

prison. Ferdinand has long been an

enemy of the crown. Also, she

grants land and castles to Philip

Hurepel one of the sons of Philip

II. A League of Barons was formed

in 1226, and Blanche has to break

their allegiance apart from one

another. The Count of Champagne

Theobald IV and the papal legate to

France helps Blanche to break up

193

the League. Her organizing an

army and it sudden appearance on

the scene gave the Baron’s League

pause.

pg. 194

Blanche has to muster an army

two more times in order to protect

the Crown’s interests against

southern rebellious nobles and the

encroachment of Henry III of

England. A kidnapping attempt of

Louis occurs by one of the barons,

but the people of Paris gather and

rise to his rescue. Blanch

concluded the Treaty of Paris in

1229. According to its terms, the

Count of Toulouse Raymond VII pays

homage to King Louis IX. Ten

thousand pounds for ten years are

also paid to Hugh of La Marche.

Hugh, on the other hand, is also to

give up all lands conquered by

Simon de Montfort to Louis IX.

Blanche also manages to stop Count

Hugh X of Lusignan and the English

Queen dowager Isabelle, now

Countess of Angouleme, from joining

the side of the English. Later,

however, Pierre Mauclerc supports

the English and the fief of

Brittany rebels against Saint Louis

in 1230.

195

The warfare during the Middle

Ages follows a predictable pattern,

one of the campaigns during the

warm months and rest during the

cold months. Queen Blanche,

however, put together a surprise

attack in the midst of winter and

even went with her soldiers during

this campaign. The rebellion is

quickly quashed, and her success

embellishes the prestige of the

crown. There is little doubt that

the inordinate strength of St.

Louis’s mother immensely

contributes to the stability of his

reign and the lifelong influence

she has on her son. Her fearless

actions put an end to all gossip

circulating about her fornications

with the Count of Champagne and

Romano Bonaventura.

pg. 196

In 1234 at the age of 20, he

was married to Margaret of

Provence. She is the senior

daughter of Count Ramon and

Beatrice of Savoy. Blanche had an

overbearing relationship with

Margaret of Provence, her daughter

in law, due no doubt to the healthy

relationship she had with her son.

Jean de Joinville, a contemporary

friend of King St. Louis, reveals

that when Queen Margaret is

birthing, and Louis is present

Queen Blanche asks her son to

leave the room saying he had no

place to be there. One biographer

of the time notes that Queen

Blanche does not want Margaret and

Louis to be alone except when they

go to bed.

197

During the Middle Ages, there

is increasing Anti-Semitism and

Queen Blanche in 1239 demanded that

Jews receive a fair hearing in the

French courts. The Queen presided

over a formal disputation in the

king's court. King Saint Louis

wants to burn the book of the Jews,

the Talmud, and other religious

instructions, but Blanche will not

allow this to happen and assures

Rabbi Rehiel of Paris that this

would not happen.

The noble ranks of Dukes and

Counts primarily ruled their

territories in France after the

breakup of the Charlemagne

dynasties. There are many

petite despotisms scattered

throughout France during this era.

It was the House of Capet from 978

A.D., however, that claimed the

title of King of France. The

princes' of the Capetian dynasty

for some 200 years had little power

on the outside of their princely

territories.

pg. 198

Capetian territories lie in

Northern France between the rivers

of Loire and the Seine. It was

very fertile land although not huge

it contains two large towns,

Orleans and Paris. Because the

counts and dukes had many

resources, they would not allow the

monarchy to interfere with their

internal affairs.

“On the other hand, they pay

homage to the kingship and on some

occasions send troops to enhance

the king’s army.”105 On some other

occasions, the dukes or counts

declare war on the monarchy.

Nevertheless, the idea of a central

head of the country remained as it

also does in the neighboring

country of Germany. The German

monarchs have some peculiar

weakness. While their power is

stronger than the French kings,

they do not tend to preserve one

dynastic power over a number of

years. 105 http://usna.edu/Users/history/abels/hh315/capetian.htm (Accessed October 19, 2014).

199

Instead, they are bogged down

with having the crown of the Holy

Roman Empire within the bounds of

their territory. Finally, they were

constantly bickering with the Pope

and attacking small kingdoms in

Italy. French monarchs, on the

other hand, tried not to stir up

enemies and waste their power;

instead they tended to bid their

time and extend their power in

degrees as opportunities presented

themselves over the years.

pg. 200

Consequently, as the

French monarchs moved

cautiously, they gained the

blessings of the Church rather

than use disruptive tactics.

In doing this they had the

support instead of the

animosity of the Church. The

Popes favored the growth of

the French monarchy because it

acted as a buffer against the

power of the Holy Roman

Emperor. Also, the clergy of

France considered the monarchy

as protectors against the

oppression of some lay people.

201

Therefore, the prime

task

of the French Monarchy is to

consolidate and increase their

power among the various

factions of the nobility.

Secondly, is to weaken the

independence of the status quo

of the feudal system and bring

under their direct control the

various land areas of certain

nobility for the Crown. Being

successful means that the

monarchy is once again a

powerful entity, and it is to

restore the former glory of

the Empire of Charlemagne.

pg. 202

Monarchial power in France

slowly begins increasing especially

under the bellicose rule of Louis

VI and the conquest of the

combative nature of the French

nobility. The power of the Crown

begins growing for a century and a

half until that power is no longer

weak but is now resilient. In the

mid to late thirteenth-century, the

power of the French monarchy is so

great that they are replacing some

of the heads of vassal lands and

placing them under the king’s

ownership. Now the monarchy grows,

and when subjects dare now to

oppose the Crown, successful

disciplinary attacks occur.

Finally, it is the policy of three

reigns of Capetians- Louis VI thru

Philip Augustus- that draw the

fragmented parts of France into a

whole and indigenous united nation.

It is left to Louis VIII and Louis

IX to firmly consolidate the power

of the Crown over the nobles.

203

The Norman House was merge by

marriage with that of Anjou and by

a further marriage inherited

Aquitaine. In France, the greatest

authority both north and south of

the Loire River is the English

King, at least that monarch ruled

until the debacles of King John of

England. There is a vast

difference in culture and customs

in the areas of Gascony, Normandy,

Anjou and Aquitaine than existed on

the English island. It takes a

man of considerable energy and

Henry II of England, who first

united these territories, is just

such a man of noticeable energy and

practicality in war and peace.

These traits aid his endeavors to

keep united the various far flung

counties of France united under the

English monarchy. King Henry can

collectively keep the provinces in

unity under his seal, and he added

the areas in France of Berry,

Vixen, and Brittany to the Crown.

However, he is never able to corral

pg. 204

the ambitions of the French King.

All Louis the VII can do is to

harass Henry, but he cannot

seriously cripple the power of the

Plantagenet’s.

The successor of Louis VI is

Philip Augustus, King of France.

He achieves much more. Like America

in the mid-eighteenth century,

under Philip Augustus, France

completes its Manifest Destiny in

the thirteenth century. Philip

marries the niece of the Count of

Flanders and then proceeds to make

war against Flanders. Ah… family

life. It is during Philips reign

that Flanders is added to the

Capetian House.

205

Noticeably neutral is the

English King, who at the time is at

peace with France and he adroitly,

keeps neutral in the French

disputes over Flanders. He even

helps to negotiate peace.

Nonetheless, it is not long before

the old rival’s dispute each

other’s interests once again.

Hostilities end by the advent of

the Third Crusade and the death of

Henry III.

pg. 206

Philip does not want to join

the Crusades. His only inclination

to do so is that he is aware of the

feelings of the French as a

Christian nation and that they

demand that something is done to

save the destruction of Jerusalem.

He does not tarry for long before

continuing the attack on the family

of Henry II. Nor did he wait for

its conclusion to resume his

attacks upon the great enemy of the

French, he took advantage of the

dissensions that continued to

prevail in the family of his

rivals. Philip protected John

Plantagenet against Richard, and

after Richard's death, he upheld

Arthur, John nephew, against John.

At the end finding no satisfactory

solution in this disagreement,

Philip makes peace in 1200 A.D. He

bolsters the peace by having his

eldest son Louis VIII marry Blanche

of Castile, who is the daughter of

Alfonso VIII King of Castile, and

is also King John of England’s

207

niece.

Philip’s chance for revenge

against King John comes two years

later, when John, who more than any

other royal, has stained his crown

by his outrageous and reprehensible

behaviors. For example, King John

kidnaps, Isabella of Angouleme, who

is betrothed to the Hugh X “the

Brown” of Lusignan, Count of La

Marche. The abduction naturally

enrages the Count but not much can

be done instantly for the Count is

a vassal of King John. Philip on

the basis of King John’s homage as

Count of Poitou summons John to

appear before the Royal Court.

Philip of France is at peace with

England, and the King intends to

keep it that way. He keeps above

the fray in the dispute and then

helps to come to an agreement

between the two parties.

Eventually, the King of France and

the King of England will war on one

another again.

pg. 208

King Philip is less than happy

when suggested that he go on a

Crusade. He enters upon that

undertaking less from inclination

than in obedience to the prevailing

sentiment of Christendom, which

demands overwhelmingly that an

endeavor resembling all-out war

should take place against the

Infidel, and restore the kingdom of

Jerusalem from its recent

destruction. Nonetheless,

dissention continues to prevail in

the family of Philip’s rivals. He

opposes one of Henry's sons to the

other and after King Richard dies

he supports John against Arthur's

claim to the English throne. He

finds no prospect of immediate

success, and he makes peace in the

year 1200. Philip Augustus cements

it by marrying his eldest son Louis

with Blanche, John's niece, and the

daughter of the Alfonso VIII King

of Castile.

209

In August 1012, King John of

England begins his French campaign

of reconquest for Normandy. From

Philip II, John is confident of

ultimately winning back the former

territories of England from the

French. He makes alliances with

the Count of Flanders, Ferdinand,

who has the finest foot soldiers in

Europe. He allies with Count

Renaud of Boulogne and the Holy

Roman Emperor Otto IV. Philip’s

forces split in half by pushing

north-east from Poitou towards

Paris. King John is responsible

for this battle plan. Ferdinand,

Renaud, Otto, are supported by

William Longespee, who marches from

Flanders. Philip II August

positions himself on the northern

front against the Otto IV and his

allies, Louis VIII’s mission is

against the Angevin possessions in

middle France. King John

outmaneuvers Prince Louis army and

retakes Anjou. He then besieges

the castle of Roche-au-Moine

pg. 210

forcing Louis into a battle

position. King Philip Augustus II

of France wins the Battle of

Bouvines again the Holy Roman

Emperor dashing all hope of King

John’s reconquest of Angevin

properties in France.

Two years later opportunities

occur for Philip Augustus ‘revenge

on King John. John, more than any

other monarch in history indulges

in private passions to the

detriment of his Crown. He enrages

the Count of La Marche, his

greatest vassal in Poitou, when he

kidnaps and then marries the counts

bride. Furthermore, King John

earns the hatred of the people of

Brittany and the condemnation of

all men by his murder of his nephew

Arthur. Normandy is overrun by

Philip Augustus and falls to his

conquest. The people hardly

objected since King John has lately

introduced heavy taxation.

211

Philip confirmed his conquest

by leniency of treatment to the

conquered and by preserving the

privileges of the vanquished.

Detested by many of his vassals

King John descends into a moral

morass. He not only fails to

recover his losses, but endures in

the following years the loss of

other continental properties

including Poitou, Touraine, Anjou,

and Maine. They now come under the

prevue of France. King John is

forced to relinquish everything

that is north of the river Loire.

Philip's land doubles in size and

France enjoys a seven-year peace.

The lull in warfare gives Philip

time to increase his authority in

the new land areas. The policy of

the Apostolic Holy Roman Emperor

See divides Western Christendom

into two factions. The head of the

Catholic Church is Pope Innocent

III. On the one side, the Pope is

pursuing his inevitable feud

against the Holy Roman Emperor.

pg. 212

John of England is on the other

side, and the Emperor Otto is

behind the troop of the Emperor,

who is his uncle. John is

excommunicated by the Pope, and the

Holy Father plans to take the crown

from John and offer his kingdom to

Philip. However, this is not done

when John finally submits to the

Pope’s ruling. Philip turned his

arms against the Counts of Flanders

and Boulogne, who having reason

before to complain of his

encroachment had revealed

themselves in this juncture as the

allies of his enemies. Their

friends did not desert them; a

coalition formed which hoped to

destroy the French King and to

split his swollen monarchy into

fragments. But the fortune of

battle was otherwise. The

confederated army of Otto IV the

Holy Roman Emperor and his allies

lose at the battle of Bouvines.

Otto fled wounded and broken from

the field; Ferdinand of Flanders

213

and Reginald of Boulogne finish the

battle as prisoners. Meanwhile,

Prince Louis drives the King of

England from Poitou; Flanders

becomes compliant, and the French

lands grow and the kingdom is

strengthened.

pg. 214

King John’s invasion of France

meets some successes in the

beginning stages during the year

1202. In the end, John has to

abandon the expedition in France

and return to England mainly; as a

result, of his treatment of his

continental nobles in France. They

simply refused to fight for him.

The Anglo-French war dragged on

from 1202 until 1214. It

culminated in the Battle of Bouvines.

The victory of Philip Augustus led

to the effective loss of the

Angevin Empire on the Continent. A

year later the intolerable

disorders of England and the

failure of the First Baron’s

Rebellion leads the barons of that

country to offer its crown to

Prince Louis of France because his

wife is King John’s niece.

215

Philip’s victory places John

in a weak position in England, and

the King was forced by twenty-five

barons to sign the Magna Carta in

1215. It also sets the stage for a

minority of barons to offer the

crown of England to Prince Louis of

France. Prince Louis invades

England unopposed and proceeds to

London. There is little resistance

entering London. Once Louise

arrives in London, he is proclaimed

King of England. King Alexander

of Scotland and many nobles gather

to pay homage to Louis. However,

his occupation of England would be

short lived. Louis’s reign in

England is sixteen months in

duration. Louis captures the

English city of Winchester and now

controls over half of the England.

[8] But just when it seems that all

of England is within his grasp,

King John's dies in October 1216.

This event causes some of the

rebellious barons to back John’s

son for King. Henry III is only

pg. 216

nine years old.

Accordingly, John's death

reverses the situation and now the

nation is prone to view Prince

Louis as a foreign invader.

Princess Blanche raises men and

money to help Louis to come home to

the continent while surrounded by

English forces. She has put

together a large convoy and

equipped it with men. Blanche’s

ingenuity is astounding under the

circumstances, however, the convoy

sinks at sea through the actions of

the English fleet. Louis’ father

Philip Augustus does not support

his son’s efforts toward obtaining

the English crown. He thinks it

unwise, overreaching, and

dangerous.

217

The Pope forbids the invasion,

and Louis suffers excommunication

for carrying out the battle because

now the Pope is supporting King

John. It is hard for the Pope to

support a wretched soul such as

King John accept for the following

event. In a genius move, King

John donates all of his kingdoms to

the Pope so now it is the Pope’s to

protect. Eventually, Louis is

extricated from the situation in

England, and a peace treaty ensues.

A consolidation of power is

taking place in northern France

under Philip’s leadership.

Meanwhile, in southern France, the

Languedoc area is afflicted by a

curious religion called Albigensian

or Cathar and Pope Innocent III

labels the belief a heresy. About

this time Cistercian monk, Pierre

de Castelnau, is crossing a bridge

at the Rhone River when a knight

spears him with a lance.

pg. 218

The Pope accuses Raymond VI

of Toulouse of protecting the

knight that committed the murder.

After all the same Pierre de

Castelnau who, was the Pope’s

Legate, had excommunicated Count

Raymond. The count has a motive to

be complicit in the murder. Since

the Count also refuses to act

against the Cathar the Pope then

excommunicates him and declares a

Crusade against the Albigensian.

The sudden killing of the Papal

Legate is the immediate cause of

launching a crusade that will last

twenty-one years.

219

This Cathar belief is

extremely complicated, and it took

many forms. The belief system of

this religion is a relative of

Zoroastrianism. The religion has

its origins in ancient times. In

Zoroastrianism, the universe is

controlled by two powers. One

power for good- lightness and

another power for evil- darkness.

Accordingly, the Christian

understood the religion as a heresy

and too simplistic to carry the

truth. Nevertheless, some people

of southern France were embracing

this religion. On the other hand,

the European Catholic view is to

maintain orthodoxy, confine

speculation. The Catholic belief

is one of complete and

unquestioning faith in the

doctrines of the Church. Going to

Church regularly, doing of good

works, and full faith in the

policies of the Church are the

Catholic standard. This view leaves

no room for constant questioning

pg. 220

and larger than life ideas.

221

King Philip Augustus would not

actively participate in the

Albigensian Crusade. He did not

see these people as an enemy. He

sees the Holy Roman Emperor and the

King of England-as, his enemy.

Atrocities and cruelty were the

hallmarks of the Albigensian

Crusade. The Crusaders fought

against their fellow countrymen as

if they were Muslims. There is

no mercy after the Battle of Beziers.

Twenty thousand human beings were

slaughtered at this city in the

name of Christ. When asked how the

soldiers could tell the difference

between Cathar and Catholics the

purported answer is: “Kill them all

… God will sort the differences.”106 For the struggle had changed

from a religious war to political

conflict. It is one with

Montfort's endeavor to establish

himself politically in Languedoc,

and neither the King of Aragon nor

the King of England wished the106 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_at_B%C3%A9ziers ( Accessed October 17, 2014).

pg. 222

Count of Toulouse to be crushed to

the profit of France and the Pope.

But the combined forces were

defeated at A D Muret, and the

Councils of Montpellier * I2I3 and

the Lateran declared Raymond

deprived of Toulouse and all his

possessions west of the Rhone,

which were assigned to Montfort and

his heirs. The crusaders had

conquered but could not hold

Languedoc.107 After a short time,

the whole country rose against

them. Barely surviving in the

field, Montfort was nevertheless

able to maintain the siege of the

city of Toulouse for nine months

until a stone split his head during

the siege from a catapult.

The Coat of Arms

of Languedoc

107 Lengadòc [ˌleŋɡɔˈðɔ]) is a formerprovince of France, now continued in themodern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillonand Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France,and whose capital city was Toulouse, now inMidi-Pyrénées.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languedoc( Accessed October 30, 2014).

223

Figure 16

pg. 224

Louis marched again and had

some successes; but, failing to

take Toulouse in face of the

obstinate defense of the citizens,

he retired, having accomplished the

forty days of service which earned

the indulgences promised to the

crusade. Amaury got no more aid and

lost the whole province with the

exception of a few strong places.

It seems that the King, advanced in

age and failing in health, shrank

from a new and arduous task, or

perhaps he considered the fruit not

yet ripe. At any rate he refused

the cession, which Amaury offered

in his straits, of all the

territories which the two Councils

had bestowed on the House of

Montfort. Philip Augustus died in

1223, leaving an immense treasure,

and a Crown marvelously increased

in., strength and reputation over

that which he had received. His son

Louis, eighth of the name,

succeeded him without trouble or

opposition, being the first prince

225

of the Capetian House, who had not

been solemnly crowned and

associated in the kingdom during

his father's lifetime. He was

already in the prime of his years,

an approved soldier and zealous

churchman, of a bold and upright

character, ambitious of power, but

inferior to Philip in prudence and

politic genius.

pg. 226

He was willing to suppress

the southern heresy which had

sprung into new vigor with the

expulsion of the invaders; and

accepted Amaury's cession, subject

to the Pope's confirmation. But

“Honorius at this moment had

changed his views and was more

anxious to promote the crusade of

Palestine that the Emperor

Frederick was undertaking.” 108 He

discouraged, therefore, any renewal

of the attack on Toulouse; and the

King, though reluctant, obeyed. The

Pope's exhortations to peace with

England were less favorably heard.

Louis not only rejected the demand

for the restoration of Normandy

which Henry III put forward,

alleging a stipulation of the

treaty that closed the late

unfortunate invasion; but, the

existing truce having expired; he

prepared to complete the conquest

108 Full text of "Saint Louis (Louis IX. ofFrance): the most ..,http://www.archive.org/stream/saintlouislouisi00perruoft/saintlouislouisi00perruoft_djvu.txt(accessed October 17, 2014).

227

of Poitou. With a great army, which

was joined by many magnates of

France, he entered that province,

captured the strong town of

Rochelle, and continued as far as

the river Garonne a march that

resembled a triumphal progress

rather than a campaign. The Count

of La Marche came over to his side,

and the whole country yielded

almost without resistance, having

small affection for the English

suzerain, who, distracted by

quarrels with his baronage, seemed

to have abandoned Aquitaine to its

fate.

pg. 228

An expedition that crossed in

the following year recovered

little. The Emperor had deferred

his crusade, and the Pope reverted

to the affairs of Languedoc. He

sent a Legate into France to

procure a suspension of hostilities

“against the English, and to

arrange for the destruction of the

heretics.”109 A council of French

prelates convoked at Bourges

refused to be satisfied with the

assurances of Raymond of Toulouse,

son of the Count whom Montfort had

dispossessed. The final decision

was referred to the Pope; who

through the mouth of the Legate, in

the assembly of barons and bishops

at Paris, excommunicated Raymond

and his adherents, and called for

the King to take possession of the

fiefs renounced by Amaury of

Montfort. The papal mandate, the

urgent entreaties of the prelates,

who declared that he alone could

accomplish the business, and his

109 Ibid

229

own inclination, led Louis to

consent. The crusade was preached

zealously throughout France and was

undertaken by a vast multitude of

all ranks. The clergy contributed a

tenth of its revenues to the war.

The King of England was threatened

with excommunication if he troubled

France; the King of Aragon

forbidden, under the same penalty,

to assist the Count of Toulouse.

pg. 230

The rendezvous of the

crusaders begins at Bourges, a

month after Easter, 1226. They

amounted, and it is said, to fifty

thousand horse. The King, leaving

Queen Blanche at Paris to govern in

his absence, led them to Lyons and

down the valley of the Rhone,

finding no opposition till he came

to Avignon. The heretics were

strong in that rich and fortified

city, and either through hostility

or fear passage was denied to the

royal army. Louis laid siege with

all his forces. The defense was

vigorous and prolonged, for the

town was well-furnished with men

and machines of war. The besiegers

lost great numbers in assaults and

through sorties, and were

distressed by the summer heats and

the plague which followed, and by

failure of food and forage, as the

Count of Toulouse had wasted the

surrounding country. “At the end of

forty days Count Theobald of

Champagne, declaring that he had

231

fulfilled the period of service to

which he was bound by feudal law,

withdrew from the camp. His

defection was suspect.”110 He

aligns with magnates, who saw their

forces being exhausted for the

aggrandizement of royal power.

Nevertheless the King persisted in

the siege, and after three months

the town was brought to capitulate.

It received easy terms: a fine of

money, the delivery of hostages,

the breach of its walls, and

filling up of the moat.

110 Full text of "Saint Louis (Louis IX. ofFrance) : the most ..,http://www.archive.org/stream/saintlouislouisi00perruoft/saintlouislouisi00perruoft_djvu.txt(accessed October 17, 2014

pg. 232

The army, much diminished by

its losses and the return of many

of the crusaders, proceeded through

Languedoc to within a few miles of

Toulouse. There was no resistance

anywhere, Count Raymond having

gathered his forces within the

walls of his capital and left the

country unoccupied except by a

peaceful population or those who

favored the invader. Louis bypassed

Toulouse, thinking he would attempt

a siege next spring. So he left

part of his army at strategic

points and marched homewards. At

Montpelier in, he fell sick of

dysentery and fever brought on by

the unhealthy stress of

campaigning. On November 8th,

1226 the Lion dies. Before doing

so, he calls all of his loyal

barons and bishops and has them

swear to be loyal and faithful to

the new King and to support Blanche

as the guardian and regent of Louis

IX.

233

The son of Blanche of Castile

and Louis VIII, Louis is born on 25

April 1214 at Poissy, near Paris,

it marks eight centuries of history

since his birth. Baptized in La

Collegial Notre-Dame church in

Poissy, his clerical tutors taught

him, the lingua franca of the day,

Latin. Latin during this period is

not a subject for Royalty. Some of

his other subjects are government,

military arts, writing and public

speaking. His grandfather, King

Philip II of France, dies when

Louis is nine years of age. His

father, Louis VIII, a member of the

Capetian Dynasty, then inherits the

throne. On 8 November 1226 Louis’s

father dies, and Louis is only

twelve years old. Within thirty

days, Louis is crowned Louis IX of

France. Blanche inherits the

regency of Louis IX according to

the last wishes of Louis VIII.

pg. 234

There is no conclusive date

given for the start of his reign.

France’s contemporaries see his

reign as a co-equal role between

the king and his mother. According

to some historians, this is a

skewed view of Louis’s reign.

Louis began rule immediately. It

is true that his mother is his

regent, but she stays in the

background of Louis' decisions.

Historians, though, believe he

begins the reign sometime in the

year 1234. His mother, Blanche has

already been Queen in her right and

probably allows Louis to make his

decisions with her aid. Because of

her unswerving trust in him at the

tender age of she only aids in his

decisions. Queen Blanche is more

or less an advisor for Louis’

kingly evaluations. She is Regent

two more times during Louis’

absence from France. Margaret of

Provence becomes Louis’ bride on 27

May 1234. Eleanor, Margaret’s

sister, marries King Henry III of

235

England. France and England now

have a common tie.

Portions of the nobility were

in Corbeil during 1228. They

involved their crews in an

insurrection against the monarchy.

There is a conspiracy afoot by the

insurrectionists to kidnap the king

when he stops at Montlhéry. The

Queens spies are everywhere, and

she learns of the plot.

Summoning the chivalrous faithful

to her presence, Queen Blanche

convinces the people to present a

show of force at Mouthier thereby

dissuading the conspirators to act.

The group agrees wholeheartedly,

and the young king is saved through

the graces of the people.

Accordingly, some years later in

1236, Louis IX. Now controls the

throne. Blanche transfers all power

into his hands, and now the vassals

fear and respect the monarch. It

has been an arduous and turbulent

decade and now the power of the

monarchy blossoms.

pg. 236

The death of Louis VIII has

left a void in the life of Queen

Blanche of Castile. She is now

burdened with the responsibility of

raising five young children. She is

faced with feinting off lovers and

traitors Louis is the eldest of

the children (Louis IX), and he

will become the esteemed St. Louis.

He is just twelve years old.

Queen Blanche as directed by the

last words of King Louis VIII

becomes regent of France. In that

role, she ensures that her children

are given the best masters and that

they are raised by religious

persons who place the fear of God

within them. The Queen plays a

crucial role in enabling France to

profit somehow from the ill-aimed

war with the Albigenses.

237

Blanche helps to neutralize

the conflict in Languedoc.

Raymond VII, who is madly in love

with the Queen, and Queen Blanche

sign The Treaty of Paris in 1229.

The Count of Toulouse, Raymond VII,

creates seneschalships between her

and Raymond VII. The Count of

Toulouse attaches to the monarchy

shares of Languedoc and also

forming the seneschalships of

Carcassonne and Beaucaire. The

brother of the King, Alphonse,

inherits the seneschalships if

there is no heir born to the

daughter of Raymond. His daughter

is Jeanne. When Margaret of

Provence is thirteen, she marries

King Louis IX.

pg. 238

During the regency, jealousy

rears its ugly head when Queen

Blanche separates Margaret and

Louis for six years. Even

thereafter Blanche seems to show

resentment toward Queen Margaret In

1236 Margaret sister, Eleonore,

married King Henry III of England.

A few years afterwards the sister

of this princess married Henry III,

King of England. Now the King of

France and the King of England are

brother-in-laws. Soon, however,

Louis IX would be plagued with an

uprising from the nobility. The

Counts de la Marche, de Foix and

several other areas unite with King

Henry against Louis.

239

The conflict between elements

of the French nobility climaxed in

1242 in The Battle of Taillebourg. This

battle wages between the troops of

Alphonse of Poitiers and his

brother the Capetian King Louis IX

and the rebel Hugh X of Lusignan

with his followers and Henry III of

England. Many pundits question the

wisdom of this conflict in view of

the fact that the Mongols are at

Europe’s door. Every battle that

the Mongols has engaged in their

warriors exterminate all

opposition. Their policy is

surrender, and you are enslaved

resist and you are put to the

sword. Margret sold the city of

Damietta for four-tenths of a

million lire so that she could

ransom her husband from the Moor.

She can secure his freedom and the

freedom of his knights. His

knight’s return, but he prefers to

stay some four years longer. He

implores his knights to return to

him in Syria. Here is spent a

pg. 240

fortune on fortifying Sidon, D’Acre

and other sites in Palestine where

Christians live.

When the news of this

political disaster (the taking of

Jerusalem) and conquest reaches the

Continent St. Louis is ill and lies

almost dying. However, after he

recovers he determines to set a new

crusade to deliver the Holy Land

from the Mongols. Upon recovery

from his illness Louis assembles an

army and sets sail from Argues-

Mortes to land in Egypt by way of

Cyprus. He left France in 1248.

Unfortunately, his choice of

embarking from Argues-Mortes is

ultimately tied to the failure of

this adventure.

241

Louis spends a year in Cyprus

preparing for his invasion of

Egypt. Finally upon arriving at

the shore of Egypt he leaps into

the sea with sword in hand, at

running to be first ashore he is

successful. The enemy retreats and

Louis and his army take Dametia.

Here the army remains for five

months. Finally, they march

without any hesitation to Mansurah.

Turks surround the Knights, and

then fight their battles with Greek

fire and in response Louis commands

the issuing of the battle cry.

pg. 242

The Count of Artois, the

King’s brother, imprudently

advances on Mansourah and surprises

the town, but upon entry he is

surrounded there and killed along

with the accompanying knights. The

king, who had been unable to

alleviate their plight, instead

charges on a camp of the Saracens,

carried the battle and closes

himself up in it. There disease and

repeated assaults carried off one-

half of his army, and in the end he

is taken.

243

There disease and repeated

assaults carry off one-half of his

army, and he is himself taken

dangerously ill. He orders a

retreat from Damietta. He has left

the Queen and a powerful garrison,

but Turkish galleys blocks the

passage of the river, and he falls,

with all his knights, into the

hands of the Mussulmans. Queen

Margaret, at Damietta, proved

herself worthy. Margret sold the

city of Damietta for four-tenths of

a million lire so that she could

ransom her husband from the

Mussulman. She can secure his

freedom and the freedom of his

knights. His knights return to the

Continent, but he prefers to stay

some four years longer. He

implores his knights to return to

him in Syria. Here he spends a

fortune on fortifying Sidon, D’Acre

and other sites in Palestine where

Christians live.

pg. 244

During 1252 Queen Blanche

dies, and Louis grieves heavily. As

a result of his mother’s death, he

speaks to no one for some two days

before he makes preparations to

return to France. With a swarthy

complexion and slightly wrinkled

edifice after two years in the

Middle East, Louis returns from the

fields of the bloody abattoir to

France. In order to fend off his

years of disappointment in the Holy

Lands, he throws his efforts into

the reformation of his country.

In so doing, he shows his talents

in the legislative field. He

reforms the court system and

thereby deprives the nobles of

their authority in their lands. It

is during this period that the King

introduces France to Justinian law.

The Justinian laws are far superior

to the old feudal system. He

effectuates change by training

lawyers to train the nobles in the

study of the new law.

245

Saint Louis creates a

parliament with the lawyers he has

patiently trained and calls it the

court of justice. Judicial affairs

are now in the hands of Louis’s

lawyers. This change effectively

nullified the power base of the

nobility and ensures the absolute

power of the monarchy. The

practicality of this move

effectively shows by the

appointment of the king’s lawyers

to the parliament where the lawyers

simply seconds all legislation

proposed by the king. Private

wars among nobility are illegal,

and judicial combats proscribed.

pg. 246

This sincere and benevolent

monarch attempts to put an end to

the private wars between his barons

and prohibits combats by honor,

ordering instead that judicial

debates should be replaced for

these encounters, and he

considerably enlarges the influence

of the crown by establishing 'royal

cases." He sits purposefully to

hear the causes between disputants.

In further reforms, he permitted no

city to exist independent of the

king. Nor did the king permit

cities to be rendered independent

of his authorization. By the

ordinance of 1256, Louis changes

the communes into royal towns.

Their mandate is to place four

candidates from which the king will

choose a person to be mayor. The

mayor is responsible only to the

king.

247

While Saint Louis epitaphs are

pious and saintly, the rest of the

family does not appear to meet this

standard. Tempestuous and perilous

for France his family begins its

misadventures. A cruel and

ambitious prince, Charles of Anjou,

is Saint Louis’s brother. It

sounds almost anathema to mention

“saint” and “cruel” in the same

family. However, as the old saying

goes: “you can divorce your spouse,

but you cannot divorce your family.

Beatrice of Provence, who is

Charles’s wife makes Louis anxious.

When the Pope offers Naples and

Sicily to Louis, he turns it down

but offers it to his brother

Charles.

pg. 248

He hopes thereby to put some

distance between the crown of

France and Charles. The

complication is that Manfred of

Swabia rules Sicily and it has to

be taken by force. However, since

Manfred is the son of Frederick II,

who is on the outs with the Pope

Louis finds no problem in the

undertaking. Then with the

blessing of Louis, Charles sails

for Sicily with a fleet and army,

then within six years he has

conquered Naples and Sicily. He

defeats Manfred at the Battle of

Benevento on the plains of

Granadilla in 1266 and is crowns as

King of Naples and Sicily.

249

Current events in the Middle

East again attract the attention of

Saint Louis. The Greeks retake

Constantinople in 1261 and the

Latin Empire in the East ends.

The crushing event captivates the

attention of Louis IX more than

ever. The Christians who are split

in the Middle East are quickly

taken advantage of by a series of

raids from the sultan of Egypt.

Thousands of Christians are

massacred in Antioch. Blood and

carnage are foul in the street of

Christian cities. The areas of

Palestine, Jaffa, Caesarea, and

Antioch fall to the sultan’s

conquest. Saint Louis takes up the

cross once more and again embarks

for the Middle East. He sails for

Tunis and lands close to ancient

Carthage. All have to suffer a

multitude of wicked incidents, from

the barren dryness of the soil, the

devastating blistering heat of the

sun, and the arrows of the Moors.

The dysentery carries away one-half

pg. 250

of his army. He faces a

strategically unsound nightmare of

now being unable to move.

Charles of Anjou, Louis’s

uncle, enters into the port of

Carthage as Louis dies. He has a

fleet and a new army. Later that

year an armistice ensues and a once

proud army returns to the

Continent, ravaged from the heat,

exhaustion, and the dysentery

derived from the African desert.

Philip returns to France with the

casualties of war: his uncle

Alphonso, died shortly afterwards

without offspring, and his death

made Philip heir to the county of

Toulouse. Philip has lost his

father, his brother, his wife, his

son, the “Count of Nevers, and his

brother-in-law, Thibaut II, Count

of Champagne, King of Navarre.”111

111 Full text of "The history of nations, Volume9",http://www02.us.archive.org/stream/TheHistoryOfNationsVolume9/TheHistoryOfNationsVolume9_djvu.txt (accessed October 17, 2014).

251

pg. 252

APPENDEX 1

Rodrigo Diaz

de Vivar,

Count of

Valencia

(1043 -

1099) “El

Cid” is the

28th great

grandfather

of the

present

Descendants

of the

Plantagenet’

s,

Beauforts,

Stewarts,

Grahams,

Patton’s,

Clicks,

Pitts, and

Biddles.

253

Cristina Rodriguez DE VIVAR

(1077 - 1116)

Daughter of Rodrigo Diaz de

Vivar, Prince of Valencia

Garcia VII Garcia KING OF

NAVARRE (1110 - 1150)

Son of Cristina Rodriguez DE

VIVAR

Blanca Garcia De NAVARRE

Daughter of Garcia Ramirez VII

KING OF NAVARRE and mother to

Alfonso VIII

King García of Navarre, Ramírez

"The Restorer" (- 1150)

Son of Blanca Garcia De NAVARRE

Blanche Ramírez PRINCESS OF

NAVARRA (1188 - 1253)

Daughter of King García of

Navarre, Ramírez "The Restorer"

Louis IX "the Saint" Capet KING

OF FRANCE (1215 - 1270)

Son of Blanche Ramírez PRINCESS

OF NAVARRA

Philip III Capet KING OF FRANCE

(1245 - 1285)

Son of Louis IX "the Saint"

Capet KING OF FRANCE

Philip IV KING OF FRANCE (1268

- 1314)

Son of Philip III Capet KING OF

FRANCE

Princess Isabella De France

(1292 - 1358)

Daughter of Philip IV KING OF

FRANCE

Edward III Plantagenet KING OF

ENGLAND (1312 - 1377) son of

Princess Isabella De France

Prince and Knight John of Gaunt

1st Duke of Lancaster

Plantagenet (1340 - 1398) son

of FII Plantagenet KING OF

ENGLAND

John Beaufort, 1st Earl of

Somerset (1373 - 1410) son of

Prince and Knight John of Gaunt

1st Duke of Lancaster

Plantagenet

Joan Beaufort, Queen Consort of

the Scots (1404 - 1445)

daughter of John Beaufort, 1st

Earl of Somerset

John Stewart (1440 - 1512)

Son of Joan Beaufort, Queen

Consort of the Scots

John Stewart, 2nd Earl of

Atholl (1478 - 1522)

Son of John Stewart

Lady Dorothea Ruthven of

Avondale (1552 - 1627)

Daughter of John Stewart, 2nd

Earl of Atholl

Margaret Ruthven, Countess of

Montrose (1577 - 1618)

Daughter of Lady Dorothea

Ruthven of Avondale

James Graham, 5th Earl and 1st

Marquess of Montrose (1612 -

1650) son of Margaret Ruthven,

Countess of Montrose

Lord, John Graham (1630 - 1668)

Son of James Graham, 5th Earl

and 1st Marquess of Montrose

Graham, William Provost James

Graham (1648 - 1751) son of

Lord, John Graham

Christopher Graham (1670 -

1746) son of Graham, William

Provost James Graham

Rebecca Jane (Graham) Walkup

(1742 - 1769)

Daughter of Christopher Graham

Florence Graham (1760 - 1840)

Daughter of Rebecca Jane

(Graham) Walkup

Samuel Patton (1788 - 1870)

Son of Florence Graham

Nancy A. Patton (1805 - 1890)

Daughter of Samuel Patton

Harry Harvey Click (1830 -

1900)

Son of Nancy A. Patton

John Harvey Click (1863 - 1964)

Son of Harry Harvey Click

Essie Click (1891 - 1966)

Daughter of John Harvey Click

Marjorie Louise Pitts (1924 -

2007)

Daughter of Essie Click

John Pierre Biddle Warden You

are son of Marjorie Louise

Pitts -

Appendix 2

Charlemagne, Emperor of the West is your 35th

great grandfather.

John Pierre Biddle Warden 

 → Marjorie Pitts 

your mother→ Esse Click 

her mother

 →John Harvey Click 

her father

 →Harry Harvey Click 

his father

 →David Click 

his father

 →Susan Click 

his mother

→ Samuel W Drake 

her father

 →Cornelius Drake 

his father

 →William Drake 

his father →

 John Drake 

his father→

 Aeltjie Adams Drake (Brouwer) 

his mother→

Magdalena Jacobse Verdon 

her mother →

 Maritje Thomas Badye Badie 

her mother →

 Thomas Badie 

her father →

 Karl II, Markgraf von Baden-Durlach 

his father →

Ernst, Markgraf von Baden-Durlach 

his father →

 Christoph I, Markgraf von Baden 

his father→

Katharina von Österreich-Habsburg, Markgräfin zu

Baden-Baden 

his mother

 →

 Cymburgis of Masovia 

her mother →

 Siemowit IV Mazowiecki, książę 

her father →

Eufemia Eufemie Opavská 

his mother →

 Mikuláš II Opavský av Schlesien-Troppau, kníže 

her father

 →

 Justine von Hohenzollern-Nürnberg 

his mother

 →

Adelheid von Frontenhausen 

her mother

 →

 Heinrich II, Graf von Lechsgemünd-Frontenhausen 

her father

 →

 Heinrich II, Graf von Lechsgemünd-Frontenhausen 

his father→

 Heinrich I Graf von Lechsgemünd 

his father→

 Kuno I von Lechsgemünd, I 

his father→

 Heinrich I an der Pegnitz, Graf an der Pegnitz 

his father

 →

Gerberga von Grabfeldgau von Gleiberg, Gräfin

von Kinziggau 

his mother

 →

 Héribert I von Kinziggau, Pfalzgraf von

Gleiberg 

her father

 →

Cunégonde de Vermandois 

his mother→Herbert I, comte de Vermandois 

her father→ Pépin II, seigneur de Péronne 

his father →

 Bernard, King of Lombardy 

his father

 →

"Pépin" Carloman, King of Italy, son of

Charlemagne & Hildegard 

his father

 →

 Charlemagne, Emperor of the West 

his father112

112 www. Geni.com. The complete Genealogy verified by Heritage, andAncestry.com.

INDEX

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