Alfonso VI (before June 1040 – June 29/July 1, 1109), nicknamed the Brave (El Bravo) or the Valiant. King of Leon from 1065, King of Castile and de facto King of Galicia from 1072, self-proclaimed "Emperor of all Spain".
He was the middle of three sons born to King Ferdinand I of Leon and Sancha of Leon.
When his father died in 1065, the kingdom was divided. Alfonso received Leon, his older brother, Sancho had Castile, and his younger brother Garcia received Galicia. His sister Urraca controlled Zamora while Elvira had Toro.
Alfonso attacked Galician in 1068, Sancho retaliated by defeating Alfonso at Llantada, then in 1071 they joined forces against García, Sancho conquered the northern area and Alfonso controlled the south. Garcia fled, leaving Sancho and Alfonso to turn on each other, leading up to the Battle of Golpejera in early January, 1072. Sancho won and Alfonso fled to Toledo, but was assassinated while besieging his sister Urraca at Zamora the next October, which left Alfonso in charge of Sancho's territory. Garcia was eventually imprisoned for life, Alfonso remained the sole controller of his father's original properties, at which time, in 1077, Alfonso declared himself "Emperor of all Spain."
After Alfonso's son and heir, Sancho, was killed at the battle of Ucles in 1108, he names his daughter successor and married her to his rival, King Alfonso of Aragon, hoping for a period of peace that was not to be, instead, there was an eight year war.
Meanwhile, Alfonso died in Toledo in 1109, trying to avoid an imminent attack from the Almoravids. His body was buried in the Monastery of San Benito, his remains were deposited in a stone sepulcher placed at the feet of the church until the reign of Sancho IV who oved the remains to the church's transept. The sepulcher has long been missing, his remains are now in the Monastery of the Benedictine nuns of Sahagun, "at the foot of the temple, in a smooth stone ark and with a cover of modern marble, and in a nearby sepulcher, equally smooth, lies the remains of several of the king's wives."
Records show Alfonso had five wives, two concubines and a variety of children:
-Alfonso is betrothed to Agnes in 1069, daughter of William VIII, Duke of Aquitane, she was 10, the wedding took place once she was 14. 1073 or 1074, she died 06 June 1078 with no issue.
- Alfonso then had a concubine, Jimena Munoz, and two daughters born between 1078 and 1080:
* Elivira Alfonsez, married Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, then Count Fernando de carrion
* Teresa Alfonsez, married Henry Count of Portugal, her son Alfonso became the first King of Portugal.
– Alfonso married Constance of Burgundy in 1079, the daughter of Robert the Old, great granddaughter of Hugh Capet, king of France. Constance died in 1093, and bore six children, only one survived to adult hood:
* Urraca, born abt 1080, married Raymond of Burgundy and Alfonso I of Aragon. She was the successor of her father's thrones of Leon and Castile.
- Zaida was a second concubine, the daughter-in-law of the ruler of Taifa of Seville, who gave Alfonso a son, Sancho Alfonsez who died in the Battle of Ucles 29 May 1108.
- A debatable third marriage was to Berta contracted on 25 Nov 1093, no issue was produced before she died sometime between 1099 and 1100.
- Another wife, Isabel, sometimes thought to be the same person as Zaida and of unknown origin, bore him two daughters before she died about 1107:
* Sancha, wife of Rodrigo de Lara, Count of Liebana
* Elvira, wife of King Roger of Sicily.
- Beatrice, who would become Alfonso' last and fifth wife, is thought to be the daughter of William VIII, Duke of Aquitaine and his third wife, Hildegarde of Burgundy. After Alfonso died she married Elias I, Count of Maine.
Bio by Anne Stevens
He was the middle of three sons born to King Ferdinand I of Leon and Sancha of Leon.
When his father died in 1065, the kingdom was divided. Alfonso received Leon, his older brother, Sancho had Castile, and his younger brother Garcia received Galicia. His sister Urraca controlled Zamora while Elvira had Toro.
Alfonso attacked Galician in 1068, Sancho retaliated by defeating Alfonso at Llantada, then in 1071 they joined forces against García, Sancho conquered the northern area and Alfonso controlled the south. Garcia fled, leaving Sancho and Alfonso to turn on each other, leading up to the Battle of Golpejera in early January, 1072. Sancho won and Alfonso fled to Toledo, but was assassinated while besieging his sister Urraca at Zamora the next October, which left Alfonso in charge of Sancho's territory. Garcia was eventually imprisoned for life, Alfonso remained the sole controller of his father's original properties, at which time, in 1077, Alfonso declared himself "Emperor of all Spain."
After Alfonso's son and heir, Sancho, was killed at the battle of Ucles in 1108, he names his daughter successor and married her to his rival, King Alfonso of Aragon, hoping for a period of peace that was not to be, instead, there was an eight year war.
Meanwhile, Alfonso died in Toledo in 1109, trying to avoid an imminent attack from the Almoravids. His body was buried in the Monastery of San Benito, his remains were deposited in a stone sepulcher placed at the feet of the church until the reign of Sancho IV who oved the remains to the church's transept. The sepulcher has long been missing, his remains are now in the Monastery of the Benedictine nuns of Sahagun, "at the foot of the temple, in a smooth stone ark and with a cover of modern marble, and in a nearby sepulcher, equally smooth, lies the remains of several of the king's wives."
Records show Alfonso had five wives, two concubines and a variety of children:
-Alfonso is betrothed to Agnes in 1069, daughter of William VIII, Duke of Aquitane, she was 10, the wedding took place once she was 14. 1073 or 1074, she died 06 June 1078 with no issue.
- Alfonso then had a concubine, Jimena Munoz, and two daughters born between 1078 and 1080:
* Elivira Alfonsez, married Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, then Count Fernando de carrion
* Teresa Alfonsez, married Henry Count of Portugal, her son Alfonso became the first King of Portugal.
– Alfonso married Constance of Burgundy in 1079, the daughter of Robert the Old, great granddaughter of Hugh Capet, king of France. Constance died in 1093, and bore six children, only one survived to adult hood:
* Urraca, born abt 1080, married Raymond of Burgundy and Alfonso I of Aragon. She was the successor of her father's thrones of Leon and Castile.
- Zaida was a second concubine, the daughter-in-law of the ruler of Taifa of Seville, who gave Alfonso a son, Sancho Alfonsez who died in the Battle of Ucles 29 May 1108.
- A debatable third marriage was to Berta contracted on 25 Nov 1093, no issue was produced before she died sometime between 1099 and 1100.
- Another wife, Isabel, sometimes thought to be the same person as Zaida and of unknown origin, bore him two daughters before she died about 1107:
* Sancha, wife of Rodrigo de Lara, Count of Liebana
* Elvira, wife of King Roger of Sicily.
- Beatrice, who would become Alfonso' last and fifth wife, is thought to be the daughter of William VIII, Duke of Aquitaine and his third wife, Hildegarde of Burgundy. After Alfonso died she married Elias I, Count of Maine.
Bio by Anne Stevens
Alfonso VI (before June 1040 – June 29/July 1, 1109), nicknamed the Brave (El Bravo) or the Valiant. King of Leon from 1065, King of Castile and de facto King of Galicia from 1072, self-proclaimed "Emperor of all Spain".
He was the middle of three sons born to King Ferdinand I of Leon and Sancha of Leon.
When his father died in 1065, the kingdom was divided. Alfonso received Leon, his older brother, Sancho had Castile, and his younger brother Garcia received Galicia. His sister Urraca controlled Zamora while Elvira had Toro.
Alfonso attacked Galician in 1068, Sancho retaliated by defeating Alfonso at Llantada, then in 1071 they joined forces against García, Sancho conquered the northern area and Alfonso controlled the south. Garcia fled, leaving Sancho and Alfonso to turn on each other, leading up to the Battle of Golpejera in early January, 1072. Sancho won and Alfonso fled to Toledo, but was assassinated while besieging his sister Urraca at Zamora the next October, which left Alfonso in charge of Sancho's territory. Garcia was eventually imprisoned for life, Alfonso remained the sole controller of his father's original properties, at which time, in 1077, Alfonso declared himself "Emperor of all Spain."
After Alfonso's son and heir, Sancho, was killed at the battle of Ucles in 1108, he names his daughter successor and married her to his rival, King Alfonso of Aragon, hoping for a period of peace that was not to be, instead, there was an eight year war.
Meanwhile, Alfonso died in Toledo in 1109, trying to avoid an imminent attack from the Almoravids. His body was buried in the Monastery of San Benito, his remains were deposited in a stone sepulcher placed at the feet of the church until the reign of Sancho IV who oved the remains to the church's transept. The sepulcher has long been missing, his remains are now in the Monastery of the Benedictine nuns of Sahagun, "at the foot of the temple, in a smooth stone ark and with a cover of modern marble, and in a nearby sepulcher, equally smooth, lies the remains of several of the king's wives."
Records show Alfonso had five wives, two concubines and a variety of children:
-Alfonso is betrothed to Agnes in 1069, daughter of William VIII, Duke of Aquitane, she was 10, the wedding took place once she was 14. 1073 or 1074, she died 06 June 1078 with no issue.
- Alfonso then had a concubine, Jimena Munoz, and two daughters born between 1078 and 1080:
* Elivira Alfonsez, married Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, then Count Fernando de carrion
* Teresa Alfonsez, married Henry Count of Portugal, her son Alfonso became the first King of Portugal.
– Alfonso married Constance of Burgundy in 1079, the daughter of Robert the Old, great granddaughter of Hugh Capet, king of France. Constance died in 1093, and bore six children, only one survived to adult hood:
* Urraca, born abt 1080, married Raymond of Burgundy and Alfonso I of Aragon. She was the successor of her father's thrones of Leon and Castile.
- Zaida was a second concubine, the daughter-in-law of the ruler of Taifa of Seville, who gave Alfonso a son, Sancho Alfonsez who died in the Battle of Ucles 29 May 1108.
- A debatable third marriage was to Berta contracted on 25 Nov 1093, no issue was produced before she died sometime between 1099 and 1100.
- Another wife, Isabel, sometimes thought to be the same person as Zaida and of unknown origin, bore him two daughters before she died about 1107:
* Sancha, wife of Rodrigo de Lara, Count of Liebana
* Elvira, wife of King Roger of Sicily.
- Beatrice, who would become Alfonso' last and fifth wife, is thought to be the daughter of William VIII, Duke of Aquitaine and his third wife, Hildegarde of Burgundy. After Alfonso died she married Elias I, Count of Maine.
Bio by Anne Stevens
He was the middle of three sons born to King Ferdinand I of Leon and Sancha of Leon.
When his father died in 1065, the kingdom was divided. Alfonso received Leon, his older brother, Sancho had Castile, and his younger brother Garcia received Galicia. His sister Urraca controlled Zamora while Elvira had Toro.
Alfonso attacked Galician in 1068, Sancho retaliated by defeating Alfonso at Llantada, then in 1071 they joined forces against García, Sancho conquered the northern area and Alfonso controlled the south. Garcia fled, leaving Sancho and Alfonso to turn on each other, leading up to the Battle of Golpejera in early January, 1072. Sancho won and Alfonso fled to Toledo, but was assassinated while besieging his sister Urraca at Zamora the next October, which left Alfonso in charge of Sancho's territory. Garcia was eventually imprisoned for life, Alfonso remained the sole controller of his father's original properties, at which time, in 1077, Alfonso declared himself "Emperor of all Spain."
After Alfonso's son and heir, Sancho, was killed at the battle of Ucles in 1108, he names his daughter successor and married her to his rival, King Alfonso of Aragon, hoping for a period of peace that was not to be, instead, there was an eight year war.
Meanwhile, Alfonso died in Toledo in 1109, trying to avoid an imminent attack from the Almoravids. His body was buried in the Monastery of San Benito, his remains were deposited in a stone sepulcher placed at the feet of the church until the reign of Sancho IV who oved the remains to the church's transept. The sepulcher has long been missing, his remains are now in the Monastery of the Benedictine nuns of Sahagun, "at the foot of the temple, in a smooth stone ark and with a cover of modern marble, and in a nearby sepulcher, equally smooth, lies the remains of several of the king's wives."
Records show Alfonso had five wives, two concubines and a variety of children:
-Alfonso is betrothed to Agnes in 1069, daughter of William VIII, Duke of Aquitane, she was 10, the wedding took place once she was 14. 1073 or 1074, she died 06 June 1078 with no issue.
- Alfonso then had a concubine, Jimena Munoz, and two daughters born between 1078 and 1080:
* Elivira Alfonsez, married Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, then Count Fernando de carrion
* Teresa Alfonsez, married Henry Count of Portugal, her son Alfonso became the first King of Portugal.
– Alfonso married Constance of Burgundy in 1079, the daughter of Robert the Old, great granddaughter of Hugh Capet, king of France. Constance died in 1093, and bore six children, only one survived to adult hood:
* Urraca, born abt 1080, married Raymond of Burgundy and Alfonso I of Aragon. She was the successor of her father's thrones of Leon and Castile.
- Zaida was a second concubine, the daughter-in-law of the ruler of Taifa of Seville, who gave Alfonso a son, Sancho Alfonsez who died in the Battle of Ucles 29 May 1108.
- A debatable third marriage was to Berta contracted on 25 Nov 1093, no issue was produced before she died sometime between 1099 and 1100.
- Another wife, Isabel, sometimes thought to be the same person as Zaida and of unknown origin, bore him two daughters before she died about 1107:
* Sancha, wife of Rodrigo de Lara, Count of Liebana
* Elvira, wife of King Roger of Sicily.
- Beatrice, who would become Alfonso' last and fifth wife, is thought to be the daughter of William VIII, Duke of Aquitaine and his third wife, Hildegarde of Burgundy. After Alfonso died she married Elias I, Count of Maine.
Bio by Anne Stevens
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