Alfonso VI (before June 1040 – July 1, 1109), nicknamed the Brave, was King of León from 1065 to 1109 and King of Castile since 1072 after his brother's death. As he was the first Alfonso to be King of Castile, he is sometimes referred to as Alfonso I of Castile. In 1077, he proclaimed himself "Emperor of All Hispania". Much romance has gathered around his name. Events March War of Independence of Western Xia occurred. ... July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 183 days remaining. ... Events Battle of Naklo Battle of Hundsfeld Fulk of Jerusalem becomes count of Anjou Alfonso I of Aragon marries Urraca of Castile Crusaders capture Tripoli Anselm of Laon becomes chancellor of Laon Births July 25 - Afonso, first king of Portugal Deaths Alfonso VI of Castile Anselm of Canterbury, philosopher and... The city of León was founded by the Roman Seventh Legion (for unknown reasons always written as Legio Septima Gemina (twin seventh legion). It was the headquarters of that legion in the late empire and was a center for trade in gold which was mined at Las Médulas... Events December 28 - Westminster Abbey is consecrated. ... Events Battle of Naklo Battle of Hundsfeld Fulk of Jerusalem becomes count of Anjou Alfonso I of Aragon marries Urraca of Castile Crusaders capture Tripoli Anselm of Laon becomes chancellor of Laon Births July 25 - Afonso, first king of Portugal Deaths Alfonso VI of Castile Anselm of Canterbury, philosopher and... A former kingdom of Spain, Castile comprises the two regions of Old Castile in north-western Spain, and New Castile in the centre of the country. ... Events William I of England invades Scotland, and also receives the submission of Hereward the Wake. ... Sancho II (1040-1072), called the Strong, or in Spanish, el Fuerte, was king of Castile (1065-1072) and León (1072). ... This is a list of kings and queens of Castile. ... Events January 26 - Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor visits Pope Gregory VII as a penitent, asking him remove sentence of excommunication Robert Curthose instigates his first insurrection against his father, William the Conqueror Seljuk Turks capture Nicaea Süleyman I of Rüm becomes the leader of the Sultanate of... The title of Imperator (totius) Hispaniae (Latin for Emperor of (All) Spain was borne, traditionally, by the monarchs of León, from at least the tenth century. ...

As the second and favorite son of King Ferdinand I of Castile and Princess Sancha of León, Alfonso was allotted León, while Castile was given to his eldest brother Sancho, and Galicia to his youngest brother Garcia. Sancho was assassinated in 1072. Garcia was dethroned and imprisoned for life the following year. Ferdinand I of Castile, El Magno or the Great, (d. ... Sancha of León (1013 in Leon, Spain - 1067 in Leon, Spain) was a daughter of Alfonso V of Leon by Elvira Mendes and Queen consort of Castille. ... Sancho II (1040-1072), called the Strong, or in Spanish, el Fuerte, was king of Castile (1065-1072) and León (1072). ... Garcia II of Galicia and Portugal (11th century), was one of the three sons and heirs of Ferdinand I of Castile-León. ...

In the cantar de gesta The Lay of the Cid, he plays the part attributed by medieval poets to the greatest kings, and to Charlemagne himself. He is alternately the oppressor and the victim of heroic and self-willed nobles — the idealized types of the patrons for whom the jongleurs and troubadours sang. He is the hero of a cantar de gesta which, like all but a very few of the early Spanish songs, like the cantar of Bernardo del Carpio and the Infantes of Lara, exists now only in the fragments incorporated in the chronicle of Alfonso the Wise or in ballad form. A cantar de gesta is the Spanish version of the Old French chanson de geste. ... A page from the original codex, starting from line 1922 El Cantar de Mio Cid is the oldest conserved Spanish cantar de gesta. ... A portrait of Charlemagne by Albrecht Dürer that was painted several centuries after Charlemagnes death. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For the article about the night club in West Hollywood, California, see: Troubadour (nightclub). ... Bernardo del Carpio is a legendary hero of medieval Spanish legend, comparable to El Cid, thought with less historical evidence of his actual existence. ... Alfonso X and his court. ...

His flight from the monastery of Sahagun, where his brother Sancho endeavoured to imprison him, his chivalrous friendship for his host Almamun of Toledo, caballero aunque moro, "a knight although a Moor", the passionate loyalty of his vassal, Pero (Pedro) Ansúrez, and his brotherly love for his sister Urraca of Zamora, may owe something to the poet who took him as a hero. Sahagún The second town in population in Cordoba, also called The Cultural City of Cordoba. From this town there are many important people in the arts and politics in the country. ... The silver Anglia knight, commissioned as a trophy in 1850, intended to represent the Black Prince. ... Moorish Ambassador to Queen Elizabeth I of England The Moors were the medieval Muslim inhabitants of al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula including present day Spain and Portugal) as well as the Maghreb and western Africa, whose culture is often called Moorish. ... Urraca of Zamora was an 11th century Infanta of Castile at the time of the Spanish reconqista. ...

They are the answer to the poet of the nobles who represented the king as having submitted to taking a degrading oath at the hands of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (El Cid) to deny intervention in his brother's death in the church of Santa Gadea at Burgos, and as having then persecuted the brave man who defied him. Statue of El Cid in Burgos. ... Santa Gadea is the name of a church dedicated to Saint Agatha in Burgos, Spain. ... The cathedral Our Lady of Burgos. ...

When every allowance is made, Alfonso VI stands out as a strong man fighting as a king whose interest was law and order, and who was the leader of the nation in the reconquest. He impressed himself on the Arabs as a very fierce and astute enemy, but as a keeper of his word. A story of Muslim origin, which is probably no more historical than the oath of Santa Gadea, tells of how he allowed himself to be tricked by Ibn Ammar, the favourite of Al Mutamid, the King of Seville. They played chess for an extremely beautiful table and set of men, belonging to Ibn Ammar. Table and men were to go to the king if he won. If Ibn Ammar gained he was to name the stake. The latter did win and demanded that the Christian king should spare Seville. Alfonso kept his word. This article needs translation. ... For other uses, see Seville (disambiguation). ...

Whatever truth may lie behind the romantic tales of Christian and Muslim, we know that Alfonso represented, in a remarkable way, the two great influences then shaping the character and civilization of Spain.

Alfonso was defeated on October 23, 1086, at the battle of Zallaqa, at the hands of Yusuf ibn Tashfin, and Abbad III al-Mu'tamid, and was severely wounded in the leg. Combatants Castile Almoravids Commanders Alfonso VI Yusuf ibn Tashfin Strength About 60,000 About 30,000 Casualties 59,500 dead Unknown The Battle of az-Zallaqah الزلاقة (October 23, 1086) was a battle between the Almoravid Yusuf ibn Tashfin and Castilian King Alfonso VI. Yusuf ibn Tashfin replied to the call... Yusuf ibn Tashfin يوسف ابن تاشفين or Tashufin (died in 1106), was the Almoravid ruler in Muslim Spain and North Africa. ... Abbad III al-Mutamid (1027 - 1095), was the third and last ruler (reigned 1069-1091) of Sevilla in Spain from Abbadid dynasty. ...

Alfonso married at least five times and had two mistresses and a fiancée. His first wife was Agnes of Aquitaine, daughter of William VIII of Aquitaine. They married in 1069 and divorced due to consanguinity later. They had no children. His second wife, who he married in 1081, was Constance of Burgundy, the mother of their daughter Urraca of Castile. Prior to his marriage with Constance, he was betrothed to Agatha, one of the daughters of William I of England. In 1093, he married Bertha, hypothesized to have been daughter of William I, Count Palatine of Burgundy. Following her death, he married an Isabel (or, it has been suggested, two successive Isabels). His final wife was Beatrice, of unknown origin. By mistress Jimena Muñoz, speculated to have been daughter of Munio Gonzalez, Count of Asturias or of an otherwise obscure Munio Muñoz, he had two illegitimate daughters, Elvira of Castile and Teresa of Leon. William VIII of Aquitaine, (Guillaume VIII in French) (1025 – September 25, 1086), whose name was Guy-Geoffroy before becoming Duke of Aquitaine, was Duke of Gascony (1052-1086), and then Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitiers (as William VI of Poitiers) between 1058 and 1086, succceeding his brother William... Consanguinity, literally meaning common blood, describes how close a person is related to another in the sense of a family. ... Constance of Burgundy (1046 - 1093), was the daughter of Duke Robert I of Burgundy and Helie de Semur-en-Brionnais. ... Urraca of Castile (1082 – March 8, 1126) was Queen of Castile and León from 1109 to her death. ... William of Normandy (French: Guillaume de Normandie; c. ... William I, was Count of Burgundy from 1057 to 1087 William married Etienette de Longwy and had several children, among them: Renaud II, Count of Burgundy (born 1061, died 1105) Stephen I, Count of Macon (born 1065, died 1102) William of Vienne, Pope Callixtus II (died 1124) Gisele, (born 1075... Elvira of Castile (before 1082? - 1151) was the illegitimate daughter of the great Alfonso VI of Castile, by his mistress Jimena Muñoz. ... Countess Teresa of Portugal, aka Princess Teresa of León (1080 – November 11, 1130) was an illegitimate daughter of king Alfonso VI of Castile and Leon. ...

At the instigation, it is said, of his wife Constance, he brought the Cistercian Order into Spain, established them in Sahagun, chose a French Cistercian, Bernard, as the first Archbishop of Toledo after the reconquest on May 25, 1085. He married his illegitimate daughters, Urraca of Castile and Teresa of Leon, to French princes, and in every way forwarded the spread of French influence — then the greatest civilizing force in Europe. He also drew Spain nearer to the Papacy. It was Alfonso's decision which established the Roman ritual in place of the old missal of Saint Isidore — the Mozarabic rite. The Order of Cistercians (OCist) (Latin Cistercenses), otherwise Gimey or White Monks (from the colour of the habit, over which is worn a black scapular or apron) are a Catholic order of monks. ... Location of Toledo in Spain Toledo is a city and municipality located in central Spain, about 70 kilometers south of Madrid. ... May 25 is the 145th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (146th in leap years). ... Events May 25 - Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo, Spain back from the Moors. ... Urraca of Castile (1082 – March 8, 1126) was Queen of Castile and León from 1109 to her death. ... Countess Teresa of Portugal, aka Princess Teresa of León (1080 – November 11, 1130) was an illegitimate daughter of king Alfonso VI of Castile and Leon. ... The Pope is the Catholic Bishop and patriarch of Rome, and head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. ... Saint Isidore of Seville (560 - April 4, 636) was Archbishop of Seville for more than three decades and has the reputation of being one of the great scholars of the early middle ages. ... The Mozarabic rite is a form of Catholic worship within the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. ...

On the other hand he was very open to Arabic influence. He protected the Muslims among his subjects and struck coins with inscriptions in Arabic letters. After the death of Constance, he perhaps married, and certainly lived with, Zaida, said to have been a daughter-in-law of Al Mutamid, the Muslim King of Seville. She was mother of his illegitimate son, Sancho, who would be named his father's heir. It is unclear if Zaida, baptised under the name of Isabel, is identical with Alfonso's later wife, Queen Isabel, the mother by Alfonso of two daughters, Elvira Alfonso, (who married Roger II of Sicily) and, Sancha, (wife of Rodrigo Gonzalez de Lara). For other uses, see Arab (disambiguation). ... Elvira of Castile was the daughter of Alfonso VI of Castile by his fourth queen, Isabel (perhaps identical to the Moslem convert Zaida, baptized as Isabel, who had been Alfonsos mistress). ... Roger II, from Liber ad honorem Augusti of Petrus de Ebulo, 1196. ...

Sancho, Alfonso's designated successor, was slain in the Battle of Ucles in 1108. Combatants Almoravids Castile Commanders Yusuf ibn Tashfin Sancho, son of Alfonso VI Casualties Sancho The Battle of Ucles was fought on 29 May 1108 between the Kingdom of Castile and the Almoravids. ... Events May - Battle of Ucles Consecration of Chichester cathedral Saint Magnus becomes the first earl of Orkney In Pistoia, Italy, Cathedral of San Zeno burned to the ground. ...

[Alfonso VI on a Manuscript:[1]

References

• This entry incorporates public domain text originally from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
• The Kingdom of León-Castilla under King Alfonso VI, 1065-1109, by Bernard F. Reilly (Princeton University Press, 1988), a comprehensively documented work. Full text is online at LIBRO.
• Portugal, A Country Study, by Louis R. Mortimer, ed. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1993.