Alfonso X of Castile, also known as Alfonso the Wise, ruled from 1252 until 1284. One of Alfonso’s goals for his kingdom was to lift Castile out of the Dark Ages by producing a united, educated, artistic, and religious population. His desire to bring Castile into the mainstream of high civilization led to a boom of cultural activity, including the production and translation of a great deal of literature. The literature produced during his reign was intended to aid him in achieving his goal by giving the common people of Spain access to great intellectual works. Therefore, all of the prose attributed to Alfonso X’s efforts was written in the language of the common people, Castilian (later evolved to Spanish), rather than Latin, which was the language of prestige at that time. Although the works are generally attributed to Alfonso X, being a king with other business to deal with he did not himself write most of them. Instead, Alfonso’s role was that of choosing works to be produced and translated, funding the projects, selecting the true authors of the work, overseeing the production, and occasionally contributing personally.
Political works
Arguably the most important work produced in Alfonso X’s time was a political work: his advanced legal code known as the “Siete Partidas”. Although completed in 1265, Alfonso felt the code was too advanced to immediately be put into effect. The legal code actually used during his reign is known as the “Fuero Real” and was created by a team of Alfonso’s legal experts. Another political work ordered by Alfonso X was the “Setenario” which exclusively deals with religious matters.
Siete Partidas
The “Siete Partidas” was a legal code founded on Roman law and constructed by a group of legal experts chosen by Alfonso X. Although the work was probably completed by 1265, it did not go into effect until 1348 under the rule of Alfonso XI. Alfonso X felt that the code was too sophisticated for 13th-century Spain.
According to author Robert Burns, Alfonso attached a special symbolic meaning to the number seven, which is why he chose to construct his legal code in seven distinct divisions. Each division was furthered segmented by headings and subheadings. The first division of the code alone contains 24 headings and approximately 500 subheadings.
The divisions treat the following subjects:
Division 1: The church and religious life
Division 2: Public law and government
Division 3: The administration of justice
Division 4: Marriage
Division 5: Commerce
Division 6: Wills and inheritance
Division 7: Crimes and punishments
The “Siete Partidas” was so advanced that it still functions in modern society. It was used as a basis for creating the United States laws used today, for which reason the image of Alfonso X appears in the US House of Representatives.
Historical works
Alfonso X did not write the great historical works that were published in his time, but he did personally supervise their production. The Estoria de España is a history of the country of Spain. It begins in prehistoric times and follows the progression of events nearly to the time of Alfonso X himself. It probably would have reached that time period if work on that history had not been interrupted by Alfonso’s enthusiasm for the other historical work he produced: the General Estoria.
Estoria de España
The work narrates the history of the Spanish territory since Antiquity (from which they take even the most hazy details found in the Bible or in other sources) until the reign of Fernando III of Castile, father of Alfonso X. The work is divided into four large parts. The first includes a history of Ancient Rome; the second tells the history of the barbarian and Gothic kings; The third is a history of the Kingdom of Asturias from which the Reconquista (the Christian conquest of the Iberian Peninsule from Muslim rule) began. The fourth is a history of the Kingdoms of León and Castile. The principal sources were two Latin chronicles: Lucas de Tuy's Chronicon mundi (1236) Rodrigo Ximénez de Rada's De rebus Hispaniae (1243). Besides, other sources were also used, such as the Bible, classical Latin historiography, ecclesiastical legends, chansons de geste, and Arab historians.