General Notes

"It is important to realize that much of what we now think of as Spain and Portugal had been under the rule of Arabs for centuries. They ruled over all but the northernmost quarter of the Iberian peninsula in the eleventh century. By the time of Alfonso, central power had been broken, and there were a number of petty Arab kingdoms that had been set up. The Abbadids of Seville became the most successful of these kingdoms, absorbing much of the others. But they summoned the Almoravids (Berbers) from Africa to help in the struggle with Alfonso VI, defeating him at Zallaka/Zalaca in 1086. These Berber mercenaries soon became a threat to the rulers of Seville.
. Also remember that Alfonso VI was a king without a male heir. Even though he had the mistress Ximena/Jimena Munoz, she had only born him only daughters, Elvirs and Teresa. He also had a legitimate daughter, Urraca. So it was partly because of the very real threat of invasion by Arab Spain that Alfonso accepted Zaida as a mistress in 1092. She was the widow of Fath al-Mamun of Cordoba (who died in March of the previous year), daughter-in-law of al-Mutamid of Sevilla. . Importantly, Zaida became the mother of Alfonso's only son, Sancho,
who would eventually be named his heir, in spite of his being illegitimate. Bishop Pelayo's chronicle (already quoted in the last post),
states that she was baptized and given the Christian name Elizabeth (which was then equivalent to Isabel).
. Zaida's monumental inscription states that she died on 13 [or 12, depending on the source] September in childbirth, but the year of her
death does not survive. Thus the controversy. Levi-Provencal had concluded that she died during the birth of her son Sancho, on 12
September 1093. . But if you equate Zaida with Queen Elizabeth, who did not die until 1107, you arrive at a death date of 12/13 September 1107 (hence the varying dating given by different authorities). It is known that Queen Elizabeth was the mother of two daughters, and that Zaida was mother of Alfonso's only son. So if you equate the two women, it means she was mother of three children. But as she may not have died in 1093, the birth date of Zaida's son Sancho is problematic too. . There isn't enough surviving evidence to resolve these disputes.
Different scholars interpret the evidence in different ways. BUT there is NO dispute that Teresa was Ximena's daughter, not a daughter of Zaida or Elizabeth. . By taking Zaida into his court, Alfonso VI could claim to be a protector of Spanish Islam against the incursions of the African Murabits/ Almoravids, giving him an excuse for further conquest of Arab lands in Spain. . .
. Also, as the kingdom of al-Mutamid fell with his capital in September 1091, it would place the political act of sending Zaida to Alfonso's court between the death of her husband 26 March 1091 and September of the same year. It would seem almost unthinkable that the emir would give his own daughter to a Christian king, but a daughter-in-law, ..., hmmmm, she might be expendable, yet still important enough to be a valid symbol. And if Zaida then bore the king a male heir in 1092 or 1093....
. Alfonso VI did not have a legitimate grandson until the birth of Alfonso Raimundez, son of the Infanta Urraca and Count Raymond. This
would mean legitimate contention for the succession to his throne. Alfonso was then a fairly old man (for those times) of about sixty-eight.
He therefore (within a year of his grandson's birth) took action to proclaim his illegitimate son Sancho his heir.  . A document dated 27 March 1106 reads in part "regnante rege illdefonso in legione eiusdem helisabet regina sub maritali copula legaliter aderente" [Reilly, pp. 338-9]. This is evidence that Alfonso married Sancho's mother. Reilly interprets this to explain a proper marriage for a formal mistress, and we know from Bishop Pelayo that Zaida had been baptized with the name Elizabeth. Alfonso's queen in named as Elizabeth in at least seventeen documents between 1102 and 1106. . .
. There is a funerary inscription to Queen Elizabeth in the royal pantheon of San Isidoro of Leon which states that she was daughter of
Louis VI of France [Hic requiescit Helisabeth Regina filia Lodovici Regis Franciae] and that she died in 1107, but this alleged French origin is not mentioned by the chroniclers Bishop Pelayo and the anonymous author of Sahagun, both fairly contemporary. And there is no evidence that Louis the Fat had a daughter named Elizabeth [Louis was born in 1081]. As Elizabeth is known to have born Alfonso two daughters before her death, this seems to preclude this allegation.
. Alfonso had definitely married Elizabeth by 14 May 1100, when a charter stated, in part, "una cum voluntate et assensu conjugis meae
Elisabeth iperatricis..." [Reilly, p. 298]. Queen Elizabeth, Count Raymond and the Infanta Urraca, and County Henry and the Infanta Teresa were present at a charter dated 25 January 1103 [Reilly, pp. 313-14]. Sancho Alfonsez also confirmed the document as "Sanctius infans quod pater fecit confirmo."
. The first documentary evidence of Queen Elizabeth's two daughters, the infantas Sancha and Elvira, was a royal charter granted to the Bishop of Oviedo on 16 March 1104. Alfonso's son Sancho, Counts Raymond [of Burgundy (RIN 2391)] and Henry [of Portugal (RIN 2400)], and the infantas Urraca and Teresa also confirmed the document [Reilly, p. 318]. Elizabeth confirmed a charter dated 19 March 1106, with Sancho and all of Alfonso's other children and sons-in-law (Count Raymond and Count Henry spent a great deal of time at the Spanish court) [Reilly, p. 339]. Queen Elizabeth and Sancho confirmed another charter dated 8 May 1107, and in a charter dated eight days later, Sancho was called "regnum electus patri factum" [Reilly, p. 340]. Elizabeth [Zaida] died 12/13 September 1107. It was on that same date that we know Count Raymond was sick with what would prove a mortal illness (he died on 20 September 1107) [Reilly, p. 341]. . .
. Levi-Provencal assumed Zaida died in childbirth on 1093, but there is no true factual basis for this conclusion. We know that Zaida was named Elizabeth when she was baptized as a Christian. Alfonso's third wife, Bertha, did not die until 19 May 1097/8. So Alfonso would not have been free to marry Zaida/Elizabeth until after that date. We know a woman named Elizabeth was his consort and Queen by 14 May 1100. And we know that this Queen Elizabeth was mother of two daughters, Sancha and Elvira. Combined evidence suggests that Queen Elizabeth died 12 or 13 September 1107. The very old Alfonso VI married his last wife, Beatrice, by 28 May 1108.
. It is logical to conclude that Alfonso, after having decided that he wanted his ONLY son Sancho to succeed him--instead of the legitimate
son of his legitimate daughter the Infanta Urraca--would do everything to try and legitimize him. Marrying his mother, Zaida/Elizabeth, would be a logical step.
. So it seems logical to me to conclude that Zaida was Queen Elizabeth, but this is still in dispute, and barring the discovery of some ancient document, it is likely to remain in dispute for the reasons spelled out in the above discussion. David Kelley stated that Szabolcs de Vajay assured him that "the concubine Zaida followed a not uncommon pattern in moving from a secondary status to a primary status, i. e., she became the queen" [TAG 69:113]."
reedpcgen@@aol.com (Reedpcgen) posted to
GEN-MEDIEVAL-L@@rootsweb.com on 15 Dec 1998
Subject: Re: Descent of Spanish Kings from Zaida:
. "Christian Settipani was kind enough to bring to my attention a recent article by Jaime de Salazar y Acha, "Contribucion al estudio del reinado de Alfonso VI de Castilla: algunas aclaraciones sobre su politica matrimonal," Anales de la Real Academia Matritense de Heraldica y Genealogia, 2 (1992/3), pp. 299-343, sp. p. 323-8.
. Though I have not seen this article, it is a long one, and if I understand correctly, he carefully examined all arguments for the different
positions, both pro and con, and concludes without any hesitation that Zaida is Queen Isabel."