Reino de Castilla Kingdom of Castile ←   ← 850 – 1479   → Coat of arms Location of Kingdom of Castile Kingdom of Castile in the 15th century. Capital Burgos, Toledo Language(s) Castilian, Basque, Galician, Asturian Religion Roman Catholicism (Islam, Judaism) Government Monarchy Kingdom of Castile, 850]]|Not specified }} Historical era Middle Ages  - Rodrigo becomes the first Count of Castile 850  - The County of Castile is unified by count Fernán González 931  - Castile becomes a kingdom 1035  - Castile and Aragon form Spain 1479

The Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a politically autonomous entity in the 9th century: it was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name is supposed to be related to the host of castles constructed in the region. It was one of the ancestor kingdoms of the Kingdom of Spain.

History

9th to 11th centuries: The beginnings

The first reference to the name "Castilla" can be found in a document of the year 800: We have erected a church to the honour of Saint Martin, in Area Patriniano, in the territory of Castile. In the chronicle of Alfonso III (King of Asturias, 9th century) it is written: The Vardulias are now called Castilla.

The county of Castile was re-populated by inhabitants of Cantabri, Astur, Vascon and Visigothic origins. It had its own romance dialect and laws. The first Count of Castile was Rodrigo in 850, under Ordoño I of Asturias and Alfonso III of Asturias. In 931 the county was unified by count Fernán González, who made his lands subject to a hereditary succession, independent of the kings of León.

11th and 12th centuries: Expansion and union to the Kingdom of León

In 1028 Sancho III the Great, of Navarre, married the sister of count García Sánchez and inherited title to the County of Castile after his brother-in-law's death. In 1035 he left the county to his son Fernando and at which time Castile acquired the status of a kingdom. Fernando I was married to Sancha, sister of Bermudo III of León. Fernando I began a war with León and in the battle of Tamarón against a coalition of Castile and Navarre the king of León was killed, leaving no offspring. His brother-in-law Fernando assumed the crown of León for himself using his wife's rights, resulting in the first union of the kingdoms of León and Castile.

When Fernando I died in 1065, his last will followed the Navarre tradition of dividing the kingdoms between the heirs: For the first-born, Sancho II, the kingdom of Castile. For Alfonso VI the territory brought by the mother, the kingdom of León. For the third, García, the kingdom of Galicia. For his daughter Urraca the town of Zamora. Sancho II of Castile allied himself with Alfonso VI of León and conquered Galicia. Not being satisfied enough with Castile and half of Galicia, Sancho attacked his brother and invaded León with the help of El Cid. Urraca permitted the greater part of the Leonese army to take refuge in the town of Zamora. Sancho laid siege to the town, but the Castilian king was assassinated in 1072 by Bellido Dolfos, a Galician nobleman. The Castilian troops then withdrew.

As a result Alfonso VI recovered all his original territory of León, and now became the king of both Castile and Galicia. This was the second union of León and Castile, although the two kingdoms remained distinct. The sworn oath taken by El Cid to Alfonso VI in Santa Gadea de Burgos regarding the innocence of the Leonese king in the matter of the murder of his brother is well known.

With Alfonso VI, there is an approach to the rest of Europeans kingdoms, especially France. He marries his daughters Urraca and Teresa with Raymond of Bourgogne and Henri of Lorraine. In the Council of Burgos in 1080 the traditional Mozarabe rite is replaced by the Roman one. Upon his death, Alfonso VI was succeeded by his daughter Urraca. Urraca married Alfonso I of Aragón (her second marriage), but when he was unable to unify both kingdoms, he repudiated Urraca in 1114, which increased tensions between the two kingdoms. Urraca also had to contend with her son (offspring of her first marriage), the king of Galicia, to assert her rights. When Urraca died, he became the king of Castile as Alfonso VII. During his reign Alfonso VII managed to annex parts of the weaker kingdoms of Navarre and Aragón which fought to secede after the death of Alfonso I of Aragón. Alfonso VII refused his right to conquer the Mediterranean coast for the new union of Aragón with the County of Barcelona (Petronila and Ramón Berenguer IV).

Twelfth century: a link between Christendom and Islam

During the twelfth century, Europe enjoyed a great advance in intellectual achievements thanks to Castile. Via the Islamic Empire, long forgotten classic works in Europe were recovered, and contacts established with the knowledge and works of Muslim scientists.

In the first half of the century a program of translations, traditionally called the "School of Toledo", was undertaken which rendered many philosophical and scientific works from classical Greece and the Islamic world into Latin. Many European thinkers, such as Daniel de Morley, disappointed by the universities of Paris, travelled to Spain to gain further education.

The Way of St. James further enhanced the cultural exchange between the kingdoms of Castile and León and the rest of Europe.

The twelfth century saw the establishment of many new religious orders, after the European fashion, such as Calatrava, Alcantara and Santiago; and the foundation of many Cistercian abbeys.

13th century: Definitive union with the Kingdom of León

Alfonso VII restored the royal tradition of dividing his kingdom among his children. Sancho III became King of Castile and Fernando II, King of León.

The rivalry between both kingdoms started again until 1230 when Fernando III el Santo received the Kingdom of Castile from his mother (in 1217) and the Kingdom of León from his father Alfonso IX. In addition, he took advantage of the decline of the Almohad empire to conquer the Guadalquivir Valley whilst his son Alfonso took the . The Courts from León and Castile merged, an event considered as the starting point of the Crown of Castile, consisting of two kingdoms: Castile and León, and taifas and feudal domains conquered from the Arabs (, , , ). The kingdoms retained their laws (e.g. when subjects of Kingdom of Castile were tried in the Kingdom of León, the laws of the latter applied)

14th and 15th centuries: The House of Trastámara

The House of Trastámara was a lineage that ruled Castile from 1369 to 1504, Aragón from 1412 to 1516, Navarre from 1425 to 1479, and Naples from 1442 to 1501.

Its name was taken from the Count (or Duke) of Trastámara, the title used by Enrique II of Castile, of the Mercedes, before coming to the throne in 1369, during the civil war with his legitimate brother Pedro I. Enrique was raised and educated by Count Rodrigo Álvarez.

16th Century: Union of the Crowns of Castile and Aragón

On the death of Juan II, his daughter Leonor inherited Navarre, and her stepbrother, Fernando the Catholic, the Crown of Aragón. The marriage of Fernando and Isabel I of Castile, celebrated October 19, 1469, in the Palacio de los Vivero, in Valladolid, established the union of the two crowns.

Government: Councils and courts

As in every other medieval kingdom, the supreme power, granted by God, fell upon the king. But soon rural and urban communities established assemblies to make decisions on everyday life matters.

These assemblies evolved to Councils where part of the neighbours represented the others. They achieved more powers and rights such as being able to elect magistrates and officers, mayors, speakers, clerks...

Due to the increasing power of the Councils the need for communication between these and the King arose and from that, the Courts were established in the Kingdom of León in 1188. A corresponding version was created in the Kingdom of Castile in 1250. In the medieval Courts, the inhabitants of the cities were a small group (known as laboratores) and had no legislative powers, but they were the nexus between the king and the kingdom, something that was pioneered by the kingdoms of Castile and León.

Arms of the Kingdom of Castile

During the reign of Gules charged with tower triple-turreted Or, started to be used as canting arms of the Kingdom of Castile both in blazons and flags.

See also

• List of Castilian monarchs
• Crown of Castile
• Comunidad Autónoma de León