King Alphonso (The Noble) of Castile VIII (Alfonso) 
Alphonso, known as The Noble, was born on November 11th, 1155 in Castile, Spain.1 The Noble's father was King of Castile and Leon Sancho (The Desired) of Castile III and his mother was Blanche of Narvarre Jiminez. His paternal grandparents were Alfonso (The Emperor) of Castile VII and Berenguela of Barcelona; his maternal grandparents were King of Narvarre Garcia (The Restorer) Jiminez IV and Marguerite de l'Aigle. He was an only child. He died at the age of 58 on October 6th, 1214 in Gutierre Munoz, Avila, Castile.1 General Notes
Alfonso VIII (November 11, 1155 - October 5, 1214), king of Castile only, and grandson of Alfonso VII, is a great name in Spanish history, for he led the coalition of Christian princes and foreign crusaders who broke the power of the Almohades at the battle of the Navas de Tolosa in 1212.
His personal history is that of many medieval kings. He succeeded to the throne, in infancy, on the death of his father, Sancho. 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 León, who claimed the regency.
The loyalty of the town of Ávila protected his youth. He was barely fifteen when he came forth to do a man's work by restoring his kingdom to order. It was only by a surprise that he recovered his capital Toledo from the hands of the Laras. 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. Alfonso VIII was the founder of the first Spanish university, the studium generale of Palencia, which, however, did not survive him.
During his reign, Castile annexed the province of Logroño.
The July 16 1212 battle of Las Navas de Tolosa is considered a major turning point in the history of Medieval Iberia. The forces of King Alfonso VIII of Castile were joined by the armies of his Christian rivals, Sancho VII of Navarre, Peter II of Aragon and Alfonso II of Portugal in battle against the Muslim Almohad rulers of the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula. Caliph al-Nasir led the Almohad army.
The Pope called European knights to a crusade.
The defeat of the Almohads signaled the beginning of a long decline in the power of the Moors in the Iberian Peninsula, and gave further momentum to the Christian Reconquest begun by the kingdoms of northern Iberia centuries before.
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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.0986 d.03 Sep 1057
- b.1020 in Bourgogne, France d.11 Nov 1087 in Besancon, Doubs, Franche-Comte, France
- b.0990 in Rouen, Seine-Inferieure, Normandy, France d.16 Oct 1017 in Normandy, France
- b.1067 in Bourgogne, France d.24 May 1107 in Grajal
- b.1000 d.1048
- b.1031 in Longwy, Meuthe-et-Mosel, France d.30 Jun 1109
- b.1002
- b.01 Mar 1105 d.21 Aug 1157 in Fresneda
- b.1017 d.27 Dec 1065
- b.1040 d.30 Jun 1109
- b.1013 d.1067
- b.1082 d.1126
- b.1011 d.21 Mar 1076
- d.1092
- b.1016
- b.1134 d.31 Aug 1158 in Toledo, Spain
- b.1005 d.1035
- b.1022 d.26 May 1076
- b.1006 d.26 Jun 1026
- b.1055 d.1098 in Jerusalem
- b.0986 in Lamarche, France d.1047
- b.1000 in Toulouse, France d.16 Nov 1071
- b.0990 in France
- b.1107 d.03 Feb 1148 in Palencia, Spain
- d.1080
- b.1071 d.1112
- b.1031
- b.1095 d.1129
- b.~ 1017 in Arles, Bouches-du-Rhone, Provence, France d.1063 in France
- b.1057 d.1113
- b.11 Nov 1155 in Castile, Spain d.06 Oct 1214 in Gutierre Munoz, Avila, Castile
- b.1020 d.01 Sep 1054 in Atapuerca
- d.Dec 1073
- b.1022 d.1066
- b.1070 d.1115
<Unknown>
- b.1110 d.21 Nov 1150 in Lorca de Navarra
- b.1018 d.1058
- b.1043 in Bivar, Castile d.10 Jul 1099 in Valencia, Spain
- b.1010
- b.1077
- b.1010
- b.1060 d.1103
- b.1022
- b.1133 d.31 Aug 1158 in Toledo, Spain
- b.1010 in Aigle, Orne, Normandy, France d.1066
- b.1042 in Aigle, Orne, Normandy, France d.1085 in L'Aigle, Orne, Normandy, France
- b.1010
- b.1061 in Aigle, Orne, Normandy, France d.1118
- b.1025 in Avranches, Normandy, France d.1066 in Orcop, Erging, Hertford, England
- b.1048 in Avranches, Manche, Normandy, France
- b.1029 in Conteville, Eure, Normandy, France
- b.1104 d.25 May 1141
- b.1026 in Chateaudun, Normandy, France d.1079 in Perche, Normandy, France
- b.1047 in Normandy, France d.Oct 1100 in Perche, Normandy, France
- b.1026 in Domfront, Normandy, France
- b.1080 in Perche, Orne, Normandy, France d.1109
- b.1010 in Montdidier, Somme, Picardy, France d.1063 in Ramerupt, Aube, champagne, France
- b.1050 in Montdidier, Somme, Picardy, France
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Details of The Noble's family with Eleanor Plantagenet
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