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{{Short description|King of Castile and León from 1252 to 1284}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Alfonso X
| image        = Alfonso_X_el_Sabio_en_El_libro_de_los_juegos.jpg
| caption      = Portrait of Alfonso X from the ''[[Libro de los juegos]]'' (1283)<ref>''The Book of Chess, Dice and Board Games''.</ref>
| succession   = [[King of Castile]] and [[List of Leonese monarchs|León]]
| reign        = 1 June 1252 – 4 April 1284
| coronation   =
| predecessor  = [[Ferdinand III of Castile|Ferdinand III]]
| successor    = [[Sancho IV of Castile|Sancho IV]]
| birth_date   = 23 November 1221
| birth_place  = [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]], [[Kingdom of Castile]]
| death_date   = {{death date and age|1284|04|04|1221|11|23|df=y}}
| death_place  = [[Seville]], Kingdom of Castile
| burial_date  =
| burial_place = [[Seville Cathedral|Cathedral of Seville]]
| spouse       = {{marriage|[[Violant of Aragon]]|1249}}
| issue        = [[Berengaria of Castile, Lady of Guadalajara|Berengaria, Lady of Guadalajara]]<br />[[Beatrice of Castile, Marchioness of Montferrat|Beatrice, Marchioness of Monferrat]]<br />[[Fernando de la Cerda (1255–1275)|Ferdinand de la Cerda]]<br />[[Sancho IV, King of Castile]]<br />[[Peter of Castile, Lord of Ledesma|Peter, Lord of Ledesma]]<br />[[John of Castile, Lord of Valencia de Campos|John, Lord of Valencia de Campos]]<br />[[Violant of Castile|Violant, Lady of Biscay]]<br />[[James of Castile, Lord of Cameros|James, Lord of Cameros]]<br />[[Beatrice of Castile (1242–1303)|Beatrice, Queen of Portugal]]<br />[[Alfonso Fernández de Castilla|Alfonso Fernández]]
| issue-link   = #Family
| issue-pipe   = among others...
| house        = [[Castilian House of Burgundy|House of Burgundy]]
| father       = [[Ferdinand III of Castile]]
| mother       = [[Elisabeth of Swabia]]
}}

'''Alfonso X''' (also known as '''the Wise''', {{langx|es|el Sabio}}; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was [[King of Castile]], [[Kingdom of León|León]] and [[Kingdom of Galicia|Galicia]] from 1 June 1252 until his death in 1284. During the [[April 1257 Imperial election|election of 1257]], a dissident faction chose him to be [[king of Germany]] on 1 April. He renounced his claim to Germany in 1275, and in creating an alliance with the [[Kingdom of England]] in 1254, his claim on the [[Duchy of Gascony]] as well.

Alfonso's scientific interests—he is sometimes nicknamed '''the Astrologer''' (''el Astrólogo'')—led him to sponsor the creation of the [[Alfonsine tables]], and the [[Alphonsus (crater)|Alphonsus crater]] on the Moon is named after him. He also sponsored the work of historians who, for the first time since [[Isidore of Seville]] in {{circa|600}}, placed Spain in the context of world history. As a lawmaker he introduced the first vernacular law code in Castile, the ''[[Siete Partidas]]''. He created the [[Mesta]], an association of sheep farmers in the central plain, but debased the coinage to finance his claim to the German crown. He fought a successful war with [[Kingdom of Portugal|Portugal]], but a less successful one with [[Kingdom of Granada|Granada]]. The end of his reign was marred by a civil war with his eldest surviving son, the future [[Sancho IV of Castile|Sancho&nbsp;IV]], which continued after his death.

==Life==

===Early life===
Alfonso was born on 23 November 1221{{sfn|Thacker|Escobar|2002|p=20}} in Toledo, Kingdom of Castile.  He was the eldest son of [[Ferdinand III of Castile|Ferdinand&nbsp;III]] and [[Elisabeth of Swabia|Elizabeth (Beatrice) of Swabia]].{{sfn|O'Callaghan|1998|p=46}} His mother was the paternal cousin of [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Holy Roman Emperor Frederick&nbsp;II]], to whom Alfonso is often compared. His maternal grandparents were [[Philip of Swabia]] and [[Irene Angelina]]. Little is known about his upbringing, but he was most likely raised in Toledo. For the first nine years of his life Alfonso was only heir to Castile until his paternal grandfather king [[Alfonso&nbsp;IX of León]] died and his father united the kingdoms of Castile and [[Kingdom of León|León]]. He began his career as a soldier, under the command of his father, when he was sixteen years old.

After the accession of King [[Theobald I of Navarre]], Ferdinand tried to arrange a marriage for Alfonso with Theobald's daughter, [[Blanche of Navarre, Duchess of Brittany|Blanche]], but the move was unsuccessful. At the same time, he had a romantic relationship with [[Mayor Guillén de Guzmán]], who bore him a daughter, [[Beatrice of Castile (1242–1303)|Beatrice]].  In 1240, he married Mayor Guillén de Guzmán, but the marriage was later annulled and their issue declared illegitimate. During the 1240s, alongside his father, he conquered several Muslim strongholds in [[Al-Andalus]], including [[Conquest of Murcia in 1243|Murcia]], [[Alicante]] and [[Cádiz]].

In 1249, Alfonso married [[Violant of Aragon|Violant]], the daughter of King [[James I of Aragon]] and [[Violant of Hungary]],{{sfn|Previté-Orton|1952|p=902}} although betrothed already in 1246.

===Reign===

Alfonso succeeded his father as King of Castile and León in 1252. The following year he invaded Portugal, capturing the region of the [[Algarve]]. King [[Afonso III of Portugal]] had to surrender.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}} Despite this Afonso III reached an agreement with Alfonso X that in consenting to marry Alfonso X's daughter, [[Beatrice of Castile (1242–1303)|Beatrice of Castile]], the captured land would be returned to their heirs. In 1261 Alfonso X [[Siege of Jerez (1261)|captured Jerez]]. In 1263 he returned Algarve to the King of Portugal and signed the [[Treaty of Badajoz (1267)]].

In 1254 Alfonso X signed a treaty of alliance with King [[Henry III of England]], supporting him in the war against King [[Louis IX of France]]. In the same year Alfonso's half-sister, [[Eleanor of Castile|Eleanor]], married Henry's son [[Edward I of England|Edward]]: with this act Alfonso renounced forever all claim to the [[Duchy of Gascony]], to which Castile had been a pretender since the marriage of [[Alfonso VIII of Castile]] to [[Eleanor of England]].

====Imperial election====
In 1256, on the death of [[William II of Holland]], Alfonso's descent from the Hohenstaufen through his mother, a daughter of Philip of Swabia, gave him a claim to the German crown through the [[House of Hohenstaufen|Hohenstaufen]] line. Alfonso's election as [[German king]] by the [[prince-elector]]s encouraged him to enter into complicated schemes that involved excessive expenses but never to success.  Alfonso never travelled to Germany, and his alliance with the Italian [[Ghibelline]] Lord [[Ezzelino IV da Romano]] deprived him of the support of [[Pope Alexander IV]]. His rival, [[Richard of Cornwall]], went to Germany and was crowned in 1257 at [[Aachen]].

To obtain money, Alfonso debased the coinage and then endeavoured to prevent a rise in prices by an arbitrary [[tariff]]. The little trade that took place in his dominions was ruined, and the burghers and peasants were deeply offended. His nobles, whom he tried to cow by sporadic acts of violence, rebelled against him in 1272. Reconciliation with the nobles was brought about by Alfonso's son Ferdinand in 1273.

After Richard of Cornwell's death, the German princes elected [[Rudolf I of Germany|Rudolph of Habsburg]] (1273), Alfonso being declared deposed by [[Pope Gregory X]]. In 1275 Alfonso tried to meet with his imperial vicar in Italy, [[William VII of Montferrat]] (who had succeeded Ezzelino), and his Ghibelline allies in [[Piedmont]] and [[Lombardy]] to celebrate the victory against the Guelph [[Charles I of Anjou]] and be crowned in Lombardy.  However, he was halted in his imperial ambitions in Provence by the Pope who, after a long negotiation, obtained Alfonso's oral renunciation of any claims to the Holy Roman Empire.

====Civil war====
[[File:TumboAKing.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Alfonso X from the codex Tumbo 'A' de Santiago (Dated between 1229 and 1255)]]
Throughout his reign, Alfonso contended with his nobles, particularly the families of [[Nuño González de Lara (died 1275)|Nuño González de Lara]], [[Diego López V de Haro|Diego López de Haro]] and [[Esteban Fernández de Castro]], all of whom were formidable soldiers and instrumental in maintaining Castile's military strength in its frontier territories. According to some scholars Alfonso lacked the singleness of purpose required by a ruler who would devote himself to organization and also the combination of firmness with temper needed for dealing with his nobles although this is not a view taken by all.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Márquez|1995}} says "Some historians have been only too quick to label him, most unfairly, as a brilliant intellectual who was bungling and inefficient in practical affairs."</ref>{{Additional citation needed|date=February 2021}} Others have argued that his efforts were too singularly focused on the diplomatic and financial arrangements surrounding his bid to become Holy Roman Emperor.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}

[[File:Castillia.jpg|thumb|right|Castillian ambassadors meeting Almohad caliph [[Abu Hafs Umar al-Murtada]], from the [[Cantigas de Santa Maria|''Cantigas de Santa María'']]]]
Alfonso's eldest son, [[Ferdinand de la Cerda, Infante of Castile|Ferdinand]], died in 1275 at the [[Battle of Écija (1275)|Battle of Écija]] against the Moroccan and [[Kingdom of Granada|Granadan]] invasion armies, leaving two infant sons. Alfonso's second son, [[Sancho IV of Castile|Sancho]], claimed to be the new heir, in preference to the children of Ferdinand de la Cerda, basing his claim on an old Castilian custom, that of [[proximity of blood]] and [[agnatic seniority]]. Alfonso preferred to leave the throne to his grandsons, but Sancho had the support of the nobility. A bitter civil war broke out resulting in Alfonso's being forced in 1282 to accept Sancho as his heir instead of his young grandsons; only the cities of [[Seville]], [[Murcia]] and [[Badajoz]] remained faithful to him. Son and nobles alike supported the [[Moors]] when he tried to unite the nation in a crusade; and when he allied himself with [[Abu Yusuf Yakub]], the ruling [[Marinid]] [[sultan of Morocco]], they denounced him as an enemy of the faith.  A reaction in his favour was beginning in his latter days, but he died defeated and deserted at Seville in 1284, leaving a will, by which he endeavoured to exclude Sancho, and a heritage of civil war.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}

====Economic policy====
In 1273, he created the [[mesta Castillana|Mesta]], an association of some 3,000 petty and great sheep holders in Castile, in reaction to less wool being exported from the traditional sites in England.<ref name="Nicholas 1999">{{Harvcoltxt|Nicholas|1999}}</ref> This organization later became exceedingly powerful in the country (as wool became Castile's first major exportable commodity<ref name="Nicholas 1999"/> and reported a trade surplus, called "white gold", as the wool amount was critical to the health of the population during the winter), and eventually its privileges were to prove a deadly wound in the Castilian economy. One side effect of the quickly expanding sheep herds was the decimation to the Castilian farmland through which the sheep grazed.<ref name="Nicholas 1999"/>

The original function of the Mesta was to separate the fields from the sheep-ways linking grazing areas.

====Legislative activity====
As a ruler, Alfonso showed legislative capacity, and a wish to provide the kingdoms expanded under his father with a [[code of laws]] and a consistent judicial system.  The ''Fuero Real''{{Explain|date=August 2019}} was undoubtedly his work. He began medieval Europe's most comprehensive code of law, the ''[[Siete Partidas]]'', which, however, thwarted by the nobility of Castile, was only promulgated by his great-grandson. Because of this, and because the ''Partidas'' remain fundamental law in the American Southwest,<ref>{{Cite book|title=The medieval church : the world of clerics and laymen|date=2001|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|others=Burns, Robert I., Alfonso X, King of Castile and Leon, 1221–1284., Scott, Samuel Parsons.|isbn=9780812217384|location=Philadelphia|pages=xix|oclc=847550277}}</ref> he is one of the 23 lawmakers depicted in the House of Representatives chamber of the [[United States Capitol]].

====Military training====
[[File:Alfonso X of Castile.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Equestrian seal]] of Alfonso X of Castile]]From a young age Alfonso X showed an interest in military life and chivalry. In 1231 Alfonso traveled with Pérez de Castron on a military campaign in lower Andalusia. Writing in ''[[Estoria de España]]'', Alfonso describes having seen [[Saint James the Greater|St. James on a white horse]] with a white banner and a legion of knights fighting a war above the soldiers of Spain.<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Martinez|2010|pp=82–83}}</ref> This vision of a heavenly army fighting in Jerez and participation in military campaigns likely left Alfonso X with a high degree of knowledge and respect for military operations and chivalric knights. Alfonso's respect for chivalry can also be seen in his writing of Spanish law. Spanish Chivalric conduct was codified in the {{lang|es|Siete Partidas}} (2,21) where he wrote that knights should be, "of good linage and distinguished by gentility, wisdom, understanding, loyalty, courage, moderation, justice, prowess, and the practical knowledge necessary to assess the quality of horse and arms ({{lang|es|Siete Partidas}}, 21,1–10)."<ref>{{harvcoltxt|O'Callaghan|1993|pp=65–66}}</ref> These efforts to make a codified standard of chivalric conduct were likely meant to both encourage strength of arms (prowess) and to restrain the use of violence for only [[just war|just (state-sponsored) usage]].

==Court culture==
{{main|Literature of Alfonso X}}
King Alfonso X developed a court culture that encouraged cosmopolitan learning. Alfonso had many works previously written in [[Arabic language|Arabic]] and Latin translated into vernacular Castilian in his court.  Alfonso "turned to the vernacular for the kind of intellectual commitments that formerly were inconceivable outside [[Latin language|Latin]]."<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Márquez|1995|p=54}}</ref> He is credited with encouraging the extensive written use of the [[Old Spanish language|Castilian language]] instead of Latin as the language used in courts, churches, and in books and official documents (although his father, [[Ferdinand III of Castile|Ferdinand III]], had begun to use it for some documents). This translation of Arabic and Classic documents into vernacular encouraged the development of Spanish sciences, literature, and philosophy.

===Translations===
From the beginning of his reign, Alfonso employed Jewish, Christian and Muslim scholars at his court, primarily for the purpose of translating books from [[Arabic language|Arabic]] and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] into Latin and Castilian, although he always insisted on personally supervising the translations. This group of scholars formed his royal [[scriptorium]], continuing the tradition of the twelfth-century Escuela de Traductores de Toledo ([[Toledo School of Translators]]). Their final output promoted Castilian as a learning language both in science and literature, and established the foundations of the new [[Spanish language]]. This evolved version of the Castilian language also acquired significant relevance in the royal chancery, where it came to replace Latin, which until then had been the language commonly used for royal diplomacy in Castile and León.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Valdeón Baruque|2003}}</ref>

The very first translation, commissioned by his brother, Fernando de la Cerda—who had extensive experience, both diplomatic and military, among the Muslims of southern Iberia and north Africa—was a Castilian version of the [[animal fable]] ''[[Kalila wa-Dimna]]'',<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Wacks|2007|pp=86–128}}</ref> a book that belongs to the genre of [[wisdom literature]] labeled [[Mirrors for Princes]]: stories and sayings meant to instruct the monarch in proper and effective governance.

The primary intellectual work of these scholars centered on astronomy and astrology. The early period of Alfonso's reign saw the translation of selected works of magic (''Lapidario'', ''[[Picatrix]]'', ''Libro de las formas et las ymagenes'') all translated by a Jewish scholar named [[Yehuda ben Moshe]] (Yhuda Mosca, in the Old Spanish source texts). These were all highly ornate manuscripts (only the ''Lapidario'' survives in its entirety) containing what was believed to be secret knowledge on the magical properties of stones and [[amulet|talisman]]s. In addition to these books of astral magic, Alfonso ordered the translation of well-known Arabic astrological compendia, including the ''Libro de las cruzes'' and ''Libro conplido en los iudizios de las estrellas''. The first of these was, ironically, translated from Latin (it was used among the [[Visigoths]]), into Arabic, and then back into Castilian and Latin.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Carroll|2002|pp=327–328}}</ref> Most of the texts first translated at this time survive in only one manuscript each.

===Astronomy===

As an intellectual he gained considerable scientific fame based on his encouragement of [[astronomy]], which included [[astrology]] at the time and the [[Ptolemaic system|Ptolemaic]] [[cosmology]] as known to him through the [[Arab]]s. He surrounded himself with mostly Jewish translators who rendered Arabic scientific texts into Castilian at Toledo. His fame extends to the preparation of the [[Alfonsine tables]], based on calculations of [[Abū Ishāq Ibrāhīm al-Zarqālī|al-Zarqali, "Arzachel"]]. [[Alexander Bogdanov]] maintained that these tables formed the basis for [[Copernicus]]'s development of a [[Heliocentrism|heliocentric]] understanding in astronomy.<ref name=Tektology>{{cite book|last1=Bogdanov|first1=Alexander|title=Bogdanov's Tektology: Book !|date=1996|publisher=Centre for Systems Studies|location=Hull|page= 27}}</ref>
Because of this work, the lunar crater [[Alphonsus (crater)|Alphonsus]] is named after him. One famous, but apocryphal, quote attributed to him upon his hearing an explanation of the extremely complicated mathematics required to demonstrate [[Ptolemy]]'s theory of astronomy was "If the Lord Almighty had consulted me before embarking on creation thus, I should have recommended something simpler."<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Gingerich|1990|p=40 and 44n36}}</ref> Gingerich (1990) says that a form of this alleged quotation was mentioned (but rejected) as early as the 16th century by the historian [[Jerónimo Zurita y Castro|Jerónimo de Zurita]], and that Soriano Viguera (1926) states that "nothing of the sort can be found in Alfonso's writings."<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Soriano Viguera|1926}}</ref> Nevertheless, [[Dean Acheson]] (U.S. Secretary of State, 1949–1953) used it as the basis for the title and epigraph of his memoir ''Present at the Creation.''<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Acheson|1969}}</ref>

===Chronicles===
Alfonso also commissioned a compilation of [[chronicle]]s, the ''[[Crónica general]]'', completed in 1264. This chronicle sought to establish a general history and drew from older chronicles, folklore and Arabic sources.<ref name="britannica">{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alfonso-X|title=Alfonso X – king of Castile and Leon|website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref> This work enjoyed renewed popularity starting in the sixteenth century, when there was a revival of interest in history; [[Florián de Ocampo]] published a new edition and [[Lorenzo de Sepúlveda]] used it as the chief source of his popular [[Romance (heroic literature)|romances]]. Sepúlveda wrote a number of romances having Alfonso X as their hero.

===Historical works===
Alfonso's court compiled in Castilian a work titled ''[[General Estoria]]''. This work was an attempt at a world history that drew from many sources and included translations from the [[Vulgate]] Old Testament mixed with myths and histories from the classical world, mostly Egypt, Greece, and Rome.<ref name="britannica"/> This world history was left incomplete, however, and so it stops at the birth of Christ.<ref name="Procter">{{harvcoltxt|Procter|1951}}</ref> The main significance of this work lies in the translations from Latin into Castilian.<ref name="Procter"/> Much like his chronicles, the ability of Alfonso's court to compile writings from a variety of cultures and translate them into Castilian left a historic impact on Spain.

Alfonso X is credited with the first depiction of an ''[[hórreo]]'', a typical granary from the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. The oldest document containing an image of an ''hórreo'' is Alfonso's ''[[Cantigas de Santa Maria]]'' (song CLXXXVII) from XII A.C. In this depiction, three rectangular ''hórreos'' of Gothic style are illustrated.

===Games===
[[File:Alfonso-LJ-27V.jpg|thumb|right|Chess problem#35]]
Alfonso also had the ''Libro de ajedrez, dados, y tablas'' (''[[Libro de los juegos|"Libro de los Juegos" (The Book of Games)]]'') translated into Castilian from Arabic and added illustrations with the goal of perfecting the work.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Burns|1990}}</ref> It was completed in 1283.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Musser Golladay|2007|p=31}}. Although Musser Golladay is not the first to assert that 1283 is the finish date of the ''Libro de Juegos'', the ''a quo'' information compiled in her dissertation consolidates the range of research concerning the initiation and completion dates of the ''Libro de Juegos''.</ref> The Libro de juegos contains an extensive collection of writings on [[chess]], with over 100 [[chess problem]]s and [[chess variant]]s.<ref>Wollesen, Jens T. "Sub specie ludi...: Text and Images in Alfonso El Sabio's Libro de Acedrex, Dados e Tablas", Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 53:3, 1990. pp. 277–308.</ref>

===Music===
Alfonso X commissioned or co-authored numerous works of music during his reign. These works included ''Cantigas d'escarnio e maldicer'' and the vast compilation ''[[Cantigas de Santa Maria]]'' ("Songs to the Virgin Mary"), which was written in [[Galician{{endash}}Portuguese]] and figures among the most important of his works. The ''Cantigas de Santa Maria'' form one of the largest collections of vernacular [[monophony|monophonic]] songs to survive from the [[Middle Ages]]. They consist of 420 poems with musical notation. The poems are for the most part on [[miracle]]s attributed to the [[Blessed Virgin Mary|Virgin Mary]]. One of the miracles Alfonso relates is his own healing in [[Puerto de Santa María]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Daily life depicted in the Cantigas de Santa Maria|last=Keller|first=John E.|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|others=Cash, Annette Grant, 1943–|year=2015|isbn=9780813159096|location=Lexington|pages=31|oclc=900344519}}</ref>

==Family==
Violante was twelve or thirteen years old at the time of her marriage to Alfonso; she produced no children for several years and it was feared that she was barren. Alfonso almost had their marriage annulled, but they went on to have eleven children:
# [[Berengaria of Castile, Lady of Guadalajara|Berengaria]] (1253 – after 1284). She was betrothed to Louis, the son and heir of King [[Louis IX of France]], but her fiancé died prematurely in 1260. She entered the convent in Las Huelgas, where she was living in 1284.
# [[Beatrice of Castile, Marchioness of Montferrat|Beatrice]] (1254–1280). She married [[William VII, Marquess of Montferrat]].
# [[Fernando de la Cerda (1255–1275)|Ferdinand de la Cerda]], Infante of Castile (23 October 1255 – 25 July 1275). He married Blanche, the daughter of King Louis IX of France, by whom he had two children. Because he predeceased his father, his younger brother Sancho succeeded to the throne.
# [[Eleanor of Castile (1257–1275)|Eleanor]] (1257–1275)
# [[Sancho IV of Castile]] (13 May 1258 – 1295)
# [[Constance of Castile (1258–1280)|Constance]] (1258 – 22 August 1280), a nun at Las Huelgas.
# [[Peter of Castile, Lord of Ledesma|Peter, Lord of Ledesma]] (June 1260 – 10 October 1283)
# [[John of Castile, Lord of Valencia de Campos|John, Lord of Valencia de Campos]] (March or April 1262 – 25 June 1319).
# Isabella, died young.
# [[Violant of Castile|Violant]] (1265–1296). She married Diego López V de Haro, Lord of Biscay
# [[James of Castile, Lord of Cameros|James, Lord of Cameros]] (August 1266 – 9 August 1284)

Alfonso X also had several illegitimate children. With [[Mayor Guillén de Guzmán]], daughter of [[Guillén Pérez de Guzmán]] and of María González Girón, he fathered:
* [[Beatrice of Castile (1242–1303)|Beatrice]], married King [[Afonso III of Portugal]].

With Elvira Rodríguez de Villada, daughter of [[Rodrigo Fernández de Villada]], he fathered:
* [[Alfonso Fernández de Castilla]] (1242–1281), also known as ''el Niño'', he held the title of "Señor de Molina y Mesa" through his marriage with [[Blanca Alfonso de Molina]].

With [[María Alfonso de León]], his aunt, the illegitimate daughter of the King [[Alfonso IX of León]] and [[Teresa Gil de Soverosa]] he had:
* Berenguela Alfonso of Castile, who married [[Pedro Núñez de Guzmán]] in 1264, but died young leaving behind no descendants.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin|32em}}
* {{citation |last=Acheson |first=Dean |date=1969 |title=Present at the Creation: My Years in the State Department |place=New York |publisher=W. W. Norton}}
* {{Citation |last=Ballesteros-Beretta |first=Antonio |date=1963 |title=Alfonso X el Sabio |place=Barcelona |publisher=Salvat}}
* {{citation |last=Burns |first=Robert I.  |chapter=Stupor Mundi: Alfonso X of Castile, the Learned |date=1990 |title=Emperor of Culture: Alfonso X the Learned of Castile and His Thirteenth-Century Renaissance  |editor-last=Burns |editor-first=Robert I. |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |place=Philadelphia |pages=1–13}}
* {{citation |last=Carroll |first=James  |date=2002 |title=Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews |place=Boston |publisher=Houghton-Mifflin}}
* {{citation |last=Demontis |first=Luca |date=2012 |title=Alfonso X e l'Italia: rapporti politici e linguaggi del potere |place=Alessandria |publisher=Edizioni dell'Orso}}
* {{citation |last=Gingerich |first=Owen   |date=1990 |chapter=Alfonso the Tenth as a Patron of Astronomy |title=Alfonso X of Castile: The Learned King (1221–1284): An International Symposium, Harvard University, 17 November 1984 |editor-last=Márquez-Villanueva |editor-first=Francisco |editor2-last=Vega |editor2-first=Carlos Alberto |publisher=Department of Romance Languages and Literatures of Harvard University |place=Cambridge, Mass. |pages=30–45; reprint in Owen Gingerich, ''The Eye of Heaven: Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler'' (New York: American Institute of Physics, 1993)}}
* {{citation |last=Hamilton |first=Thomas Wm. |date=1975 |title=A King for the Stars (planetarium show)}}
* {{citation |last=Márquez |first=Francisco  |date=1995 |title=Vita: Alfonso X |journal=Harvard Magazine |volume=Jan.-Feb. |pages=54}}
* {{citation |last=Martinez |first=H. Salvador |date=2010 |title=Alfonso X, The Learned: a Biography |others=Translated by Odille Cisneros |location=Leiden |publisher=Brill}}
* {{citation |last=Musser Golladay |first=Sonja |date=2007 |title=Los Libros de Acedrex Dados E Tablas: Historical, Artistic and Metaphysical Dimensions of Alfonso X's Book of Games |url=http://etd.library.arizona.edu/etd/GetFileServlet?file=file:///data1/pdf/etd/azu_etd_2444_1_m.pdf&type=application/pdf |place=Tucson |publisher=PhD diss., University of Arizona |access-date=10 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717133812/http://etd.library.arizona.edu/etd/GetFileServlet?file=file%3A%2F%2F%2Fdata1%2Fpdf%2Fetd%2Fazu_etd_2444_1_m.pdf&type=application%2Fpdf |archive-date=17 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}
* {{citation |last=Nicholas |first=David |date=1999 |title=The Transformation of Europe 1300–1600 |place=London |publisher=Arnold}}
* {{citation |last=O'Callaghan |first=F. |date=1993 |title=The Learned King: The Reign of Alfonso X of Castile |location=Philadelphia, PA |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press }}
* {{cite book |title=Alfonso X and the Cantigas De Santa Maria: A Poetic Biography |first=Joseph F. |last=O'Callaghan |publisher=Brill |year=1998 }}
* {{cite book |title=The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History |volume=II The Twelfth Century to the Renaissance |first=Charles William |last=Previté-Orton |publisher=Cambridge at the University Press |year=1952 }}
* {{citation |last=Procter |first=Evelyn S. |date=1951 |title=Alfonso X of Castile: Patron of Literature and Learning |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press}}
* {{citation |last=Soriano Viguera |first=José |date=1926 |title=Contribución al conocimiento de los trabajos astronómicos desarrollados en la Escuela de Alfonso X el Sabio |place=Madrid |publisher=Alberto Fontana}}
* {{citation |editor-last1=Thacker |editor-first1=Shelby |editor-last2=Escobar |editor-first2=Jose |title=Chronicle of Alfonso X |publisher=The University Press of Kentucky |year=2002 |isbn=0-8131-2218-X }}
* {{citation |last=Valdeón Baruque |first=Julio |date=2003 |title=Alfonso X: La forja de la España moderna |place=Madrid |publisher=Ediciones Temas de Hoy |isbn=978-84-8460-277-4}}
* {{citation |last=Wacks |first=David A. |date=2007 |title=Framing Iberia: Maqamat and Frametales in Medieval Spain |place=Leiden |publisher=Brill}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{Citation
|author = Alfonso X
|date= 1836
|title= Opúsculos Legales del rey Don Alfonso el Sabio: Tomo I
|place= Madrid
|publisher= Real Academia de la Historia
|trans-title=Legal Booklets of King Don Alfonso the Wise: Volume I
|language=es
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=lKROIu4lCKUC
}}
* {{Citation
|author = Alfonso X
|date= 1836
|title= Opúsculos Legales del rey Don Alfonso el Sabio: Tomo II
|place= Madrid
|publisher= Real Academia de la Historia
|trans-title=Legal Booklets of King Don Alfonso the Wise: Volume II
|language=es
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=CD2-LDBanf0C&q=https://books.google.com/books
}}
* {{Citation
|last = Doubleday
|first= Simon R.
|date= 2015
|title= The Wise King: A Christian Prince, Muslim Spain, and the Birth of the Renaissance
|place= New York
|publisher= Basic Books
}}
* {{cite journal
 |last      = Gordon
 |first     = Stewart
 |title     = The Game of Kings
 |journal   = [[Saudi Aramco World]]
 |volume    = 60
 |issue     = 4
 |pages     = 18–23
 |date      = July–August 2009
 |url       = http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200904/the.game.of.kings.htm
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090720035407/http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200904/the.game.of.kings.htm
 |url-status  = dead
 |archive-date = 20 July 2009
 |location  = Houston
}} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20121003051322/http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/pdf/2000/200904.pdf PDF version]) Cf. especially section on "The Alfonso X 'Book of Games'".
* {{citation
|last= Liuzzo Scorpo
|first= Antonella
|date= 2011
|title= Religious Frontiers and Overlapping Cultural Borders: The Power of Personal and Political Exchanges in the Works of Alfonso X of Castile (1252–1284)
|journal= Al-Masaq
|volume= 23
|issue= 3
|pages=217–236
|doi=10.1080/09503110.2011.623910
|s2cid= 145264164
}}
* {{Citation
|last = Márquez
|first= Francisco
|date= 1994
|title= El concepto cultural alfonsí
|place= Madrid
|publisher= MAPFRE
|trans-title=Alphonso cultural concept
|language=es
}}
* {{Citation
|last = Martínez
|first= H. Salvador
|date= 2010
|title= Alfonso X, the Learned: A Biography
|place= Leiden
|publisher= Brill
}}
* {{citation
|last= Remensnyder
|first= Amy G.
|chapter= The Virgin and the King: Alfonso X's Cantigas de Santa Maria
|date= 2011
|title= The Middle Ages in Texts and Texture: Reflections on Medieval Sources
|editor= Jason Glenn
|publisher= University of Toronto Press
|place= Toronto
|pages= 285–298
}}
* {{cite encyclopedia
  | last = Thomas
  | first = Phillip Drennon
  | title = Alfonso el Sabio
  | encyclopedia = [[Dictionary of Scientific Biography]]
  | volume = 1
  | pages = 122
  | publisher = Charles Scribner's Sons
  | location = New York
  | date = 1970
  | isbn = 978-0-684-10114-9
  | url = http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2830900086.html
 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia
| editor = Thomas Hockey
| last = Samsó
| first = Julio
| title=Alfonso X
| encyclopedia = The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers
| publisher = Springer
| date = 2007
| location = New York
| pages = 29–31
| url=http://islamsci.mcgill.ca/RASI/BEA/Alfonso_X_BEA.htm | isbn=978-0-387-31022-0|display-editors=etal}} ([http://islamsci.mcgill.ca/RASI/BEA/Alfonso_X_BEA.pdf PDF version])
* {{citation
|last= Weiler
|first= Björn
|date= 2007
|title= Kings and Sons: Princely Rebellions and the Structures of Revolt in Western Europe, c.1170–c.1280
|journal= Historical Research
|volume= 82
|issue= 215
|pages= 17–40
|doi=10.1111/j.1468-2281.2007.00450.x
}}
* {{cite book |last1=Kennedy |first1=Kirstin |title=Alfonso X of Castile-León : royal patronage, self -promotion and manuscripts in thirteenth-century Spain |date=2019 |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |location=Amsterdam |isbn=978-946-2988-972}}
* {{cite book |last1=Velasco |first1=Jesús R. |title=Dead Voice : Law, Philosophy, and Fiction in the Iberian Middle Ages |date=2020 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |location=Philadelphia |isbn=978-0812251869}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{wikiquote}}
* [http://openn.library.upenn.edu/Data/0023/html/lewis_e_245.html Lewis E 245 Fuero real (Royal municipal code) at OPenn]
* [http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cantigas/ Cantigas de Santa Maria]
* [http://games.rengeekcentral.com/ Alphonso X – Book of Games]
* ''Cantigas de Santa María'', Códice rico, Real Biblioteca del Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial, MS T-I-1, [https://rbdigital.realbiblioteca.es/s/rbme/item/11337#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-3673%2C-313%2C11089%2C6240/ link to manuscript]
* ''[http://alfama.sim.ucm.es/dioscorides/consulta_libro.asp?ref=B18550071&idioma=1 Libros del Saber de Astronomía] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114195648/http://alfama.sim.ucm.es/dioscorides/consulta_libro.asp?ref=B18550071&idioma=1 |date=14 January 2009 }}'' – Images of manuscript from 1276.
* {{IMSLP|Alfonso X of Castile|Alfonso X of Castile}}
* {{ChoralWiki|Alfonso el Sabio}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150227185029/http://www.cancioneros.si/mediawiki/index.php?title=Alfonso_X_de_Castilla_y_Le%C3%B3n Alfonso X de Castilla y León], at [http://www.cancioneros.si/mediawiki Cancioneros Musicales Españoles]{{Dead link|date=June 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}.
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Alfonso X |sopt=t}}
* {{Librivox author |id=1126}}

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{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Castilian monarchs|King of Castile]] and [[List of Leonese monarchs|León]]|years=1252–1284}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[List of German monarchs|King of Germany]]|years=1 April 1257–1275|with=[[Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall|Richard]] and [[Rudolph I of Germany|Rudolph]]<br />as contenders}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Alfonso 10 of Castile}}
[[Category:1221 births]]
[[Category:1284 deaths]]
[[Category:13th-century Kings of the Romans]]
[[Category:Castilian infantes]]
[[Category:People associated with astronomy]]
[[Category:Burials at Seville Cathedral]]
[[Category:13th-century Castilian writers]]
[[Category:Anti-kings]]
[[Category:13th-century people from the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:13th-century writers in Latin]]
[[Category:13th century in chess]]
[[Category:Medieval male composers]]
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[[Category:Alfonso X of Castile| ]]
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