Alfonso VIII Sanchez "The Good" King of Castile 
Alfonso VIII Sanchez "The Good" King of was born on November 11th, 1155 in Coimbra, Portugal. Alfonso VIII Sanchez "The Good" King of's father was Sancho III "The Desired" King of Castile and his mother was Blanche Princess of Navarre. His paternal grandparents were Alfonso VII "The Emperor" King of Leon & Castile and Berenguela of Barcelona; his maternal grandparents were Garcia IV "The Restorer" King of Navarre and Margaret de l' Aigle. He was an only child. He died at the age of 58 on October 6th, 1214 in Burgos, Castile, Spain. He was buried on October 16th, 1214 in Gutierre Munoz, Avilia, Castile, Spain.General Notes
Alfonso VIII, byname EL DE LAS NAVAS (Spanish: He of Las Navas) (b. 1155--d. Oct. 6, 1214, Burgos, Castile), king of Castile from 1158, son of Sancho III, whom he succeeded when three years old, and grandson of Alphonso VII, is a great name in Spanish history, for he led the coalition of Christian princes and foreign crusaders which broke the power of the Almohades at the battle of the Navas de Tolosa in 1212. His personal history is that of many mediaeval kings. He succeeded to the throne on the death of his father, Sancho, at the age of a year and a half. Before Alfonso came of age his reign was troubled by internal strife and the intervention of the kingdom of Navarre in Castilian affairs. Though proclaimed king, he was regarded as a mere name by the unruly nobles to whom a minority was convenient. The devotion of a squire of his household, who carried him on the pommel of his saddle to the stronghold of San Esteban de Gormaz, saved him from falling into the hands of the contending factions of Castro and Lara, or of his uncle, Ferdinand of Leon, who claimed the regency. The loyalty of the town of Avila protected his youth. He was barely 15 when he came forth to do a man's work by restoring his kingdom to order. Throughout his reign he maintained a close alliance with the kingdom of Aragon, and in 1179 he concluded the Pact of Cazorla, which settled the future line of demarcation between Castile and Aragon when the reconquest of Moorish Spain was completed. From 1172 to 1212 he was engaged in resistance to the Moorish Almohad invaders, who defeated him in 1195. In the same year the kings of Leon and Navarre invaded Castile, but Alfonso defeated them with the aid of King Peter II of Aragon. It was only by a surprise that he recovered the capital, Toledo, from the hands of the Laras. In 1212 Alfonso secured a great victory at Las Navas de Tolosa over the Almohad sultan and thereby broke Almohad power in Spain. His marriage with Leonora of Aquitaine, daughter of Henry II of England, brought him under the influence of the greatest governing intellect of his time. Alphonso VIII was the founder of the first Spanish university, the 'studium generale' of Palencia, which, however, did not survive him. [Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1961 ed., Vol. 1, p. 687-8, ALPHONSO VIII; Encyclopaedia Britannica CD '97]
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Ancestor Pedigree Chart
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*There are earlier generations for the ancestor(s) indicated. See their page(s) for details (click name)
- b.~ 0990 in Bourgogne, France d.04 Sep 1057 in France
- b.1024 in Macon, Saone-et-Loire, Bourgogne, France d.11 Nov 1087
- b.1003 in Normandy, France d.27 Jul 1037 in France
- b.~ 1060 in Dijon, Cote d'Or, Bourgogne, France d.26 Mar 1107 in Grajal Do Campos, Leon, Spain
- b.~ 1012 in Longwy, Lorraine, France d.1048
- b.~ 1035 in Longwy, Duchy of Bar, Lorraine, France d.> 1088
- b.~ 1015 in Carcassonne, Aude, Languedoc, France
- b.1 MAR 1104/05 in Toledo, Castile, Spain d.21 Aug 1157 in La Fresneda, Teruel, Castile, Spain
- b.1016 in Burgos, Spain d.27 Dec 1065 in Leon, Spain
- b.<Jun 1040 in Burgos, Castile, Spain d.29 Jun 1109 in Toledo, Castile, Spain
- b.1013 in Leon, Spain d.07 Nov 1067
- b.BET 1077 AND 1081 in Burgos, Castile, Spain d.8 MAR 1125/26 in Saldana, Palencia, Spain
- b.~ 1011 in Bourgogne, France d.21 MAR 1075/76 in Fleury-Sur-Ouche, France
- b.~ 1046 in Dijon, Cote d'Or, Bourgogne, France d.ABT JAN 1092/93
- b.1028 in Semur-en-Auxois, France d.22 Apr 1109
- b.1135 in Toledo, Castile, Spain d.31 Aug 1158 in Toledo, Castile, Spain
- b.BET 1023 AND 1024 in Barcelona, Spain d.26 May 1076 in Barcelona, Spain
- b.~ 1053 in Barcelona, Spain d.05 Dec 1082 in Killed on way to Gerona, probably by twin brother and co-ruler
- b.~ 1015 in Marche, Creuse, Limousin, France d.16 Nov 1071 in (Murdered)
- b.11 Nov 1082 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain d.19 Jun 1131 in Barcelona, Spain
- b.~ 1015 in Normandy, France d.17 Jul 1085 in at seige of Cephalonia, Greece
- b.~ 1059 in Apulia, Cala, Italy d.1083
- b.1031 in Salerno, Italy d.27 Jul 1090
- b.1110 in Barcelona, Aragon, Spain d.2 FEB 1148/49 in Palencia, Leon, Spain
- b.1029 in Rodes, Pyrenees-Orientales, Languedoc-Roussillon, France d.1073
- b.1055 in Milhaud, Gard, France d.1110 in Gevaudan, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Provence, France
- b.1031 in Carlat, Cantal, France
- b.1095 in Gevaudan, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Provence, France d.1128
- b.~ 1017 in Arles, Bouches-du-Rhone, Provence, France d.1063
- b.1057 in Arles, Bouches-du-Rhone, Provence, France
- b.1033 in Marseilles, Provence, France d.>Sep 1095
- b.11 Nov 1155 in Coimbra, Portugal d.06 Oct 1214 in Burgos, Castile, Spain
- b.~ 1013 in Pamplona, Navarre, Spain d.01 Sep 1054 in Battle of Atapuerca, Spain
- b.~ 1038 in of Pamplona, Navarre, Spain d.1076 in Penalen, Navarre, Spain
- b.~ 1017 in Carcassonne, Aude, Languedoc, France
- b.1073 in Moncon, Spain d.~ 1116
- b.~ 1099 in of Pamplona, Navarre, Spain d.21 Nov 1150 in of Pamplona, Navarre, Spain
- b.~ 1043 in Moncon, Spain d.10 Jul 1099 in Valencia, Spain
- b.1079 in Semer-en-Auxois, France
- b.~ 1035 in Oviedo, Spain
- b.~ 1060 in Spain d.~ 1115
- b.1043 in Leon, Spain
- b.1133 in Pampina, Navarre, Spain d.24 Jun 1158
- b.~ 1010 in Aigle, Orne, Normandy, France d.1066
- b.~ 1045 in Aigle, Orne, Normandy, France d.1085
- b.~ 1010 in Aigle, Orne, Normandy, France
- b.1061 in Aigle, Orne, Normandy, France d.1118
- b.~ 1008 in Avranches, Normandy, France d.> 1084
- b.~ 1048 in Avranches, Normandy, France
- b.~ 1029 in Conteville, France d. in France
- b.~ 1115 in Aigle, Orne, Normandy, France d.25 May 1141 in Pamplona, Navarre, Spain
- b.~ 1006 in Chateaudun, Eure-et-Loir, Beauce/Centre, France d.~ 1049
- b.~ 1045 in Perche, Normandy, France d.Oct 1100
- b.~ 1025 in Domfront, Orne, Normandy, France
- b.~ 1080 in of Normandy, France
- b.~ 1010 in Montdidier, Picardy, France d.~ 1063
- b.~ 1051 in Montdidier, Picardy, France
- b.~ 1014 in Roucy, Aisne, France d.1062
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Alfonso VIII Sanchez "The Good" King of and Eleanor Princess of were married in a religious ceremony on September 22nd, 1169 in Burgos, Spain. They had three daughters named Berengaria of, Urraca Princess of and Blanche Princess of.
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Children
Berengaria of Castile
Berengaria of was born about June 1180 in Burgos, Castile, Spaine. She died on November 8th, 1244 in Burgos, Castile, Spaine.
Urraca Princess of Castile
Urraca Princess of was born about 1185 in Toledo, Castile, Spain. She died on November 3rd, 1220 in Coimbra, Portugal.
Blanche Princess of Castile
Blanche Princess of was born in Castile, Spain. She died on November 27th, 1253 in Palais de Louvre, Paris, Seine, France.
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