Alfonso II (1–25 March 1157Benito Vicente de Cuéllar (1995)
«Los "condes-reyes" de Barcelona y la "adquisición" del reino de Aragón por la dinastía bellónida»
p. 630-631; in ''Hidalguía''. XLIII (252) pp. 619–632."Alfonso II el Casto, hijo de Petronila y Ramón Berenguer IV, nació en Huesca en 1157;". ''Cfr''. Josefina Mateu Ibars, María Dolores Mateu Ibars (1980)
''Colectánea paleográfica de la Corona de Aragon: Siglo IX-XVIII''
Universitat Barcelona, p. 546. , .Antonio Ubieto Arteta (1987)
''Historia de Aragón. Creación y desarrollo de la Corona de Aragón''
Zaragoza: Anúbar
pp. 177–184
§ "El nacimiento y nombre de Alfonso II de Aragón". . – 25 April 1196), called the Chaste or the Troubadour, was the King of Aragon and, as Alfons I, the

Count of Barcelona The Count of Barcelona ( ca, Comte de Barcelona, es, Conde de Barcelona, french: Comte de Barcelone, ) was the ruler of the County of Barcelona and also, by extension and according with the Usages of Barcelona, usages and Catalan constitutions, of ...

from 1164 until his death. The eldest son of Count Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona and Queen Petronilla of Aragon, he was the first King of Aragon who was also Count of Barcelona. He was also Count of Provence, which he conquered from

Douce II Douce II ( es, Dulcia, ca, Dolça; 1162–1172) was Countess of Provence and Viscountess of Gévaudan and Carlat for a few months in 1166, as well as Countess of Melgueil for some time in 1172. She was a member of the House of Barcelona, a dy ...

, from 1166 until 1173, when he ceded it to his brother,

Ramon Berenguer III Ramon Berenguer III ''the Great'' was the count of Barcelona, Girona, and Ausona from 1086 (jointly with Berenguer Ramon II and solely from 1097), Besalú from 1111, Cerdanya from 1117, and count of Provence in the Holy Roman Empire, from 1112, ...

. His reign has been characterised by nationalistic and nostalgic Catalan historians as ''l'engrandiment occitànic'' or "the Pyrenean unity": a great scheme to unite various lands on both sides of the Pyrenees under the rule of the House of Barcelona.

Reign

Born at Huesca, Alfonso, called indistinctly from birth Alfonso and Ramon,Ubieto (1987:184–186)
/ref> ascended the united throne of Aragon and Barcelona as Alfonso, in deference to the Aragonese, to honour

Alfonso the Battler Alfonso I (''c''. 1073/10747 September 1134), called the Battler or the Warrior ( es, el Batallador), was King of Aragon and Navarre from 1104 until his death in 1134. He was the second son of King Sancho Ramírez and successor of his brother Pet ...

. For most of his reign he was allied with

Alfonso VIII of Castile Alfonso VIII (11 November 11555 October 1214), called the Noble (''El Noble'') or the one of Las Navas (''el de las Navas''), was King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. After having suffered a great defeat with his own army at ...

, both against

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

and against the

Moorish The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or se ...

taifas of the south. In his Reconquista effort Alfonso pushed as far as

Teruel Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 35,675 in 2014 making it the least populated provincial capital in the country. It is noted for its harsh climate, with a ...

, conquering this important stronghold on the road to Valencia in 1171. The same year saw him capturing

Caspe Caspe is a municipality in the province of Zaragoza, part of the autonomous community of Aragon (Spain), seat of the comarca Bajo Aragón-Caspe. As of 2018 it had a population of 9,525 inhabitants (INE 2018) and its municipality, of 503.33&n ...

. Apart from common interests, kings of Aragon and Castile were united by a formal bond of vassalage the former owed to the latter. Besides, on January 18, 1174, in Zaragoza Alfonso married

Sancha is a district of Setagaya, Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area ...

, sister of the Castilian king. Another milestone in this alliance was the

Treaty of Cazorla The Treaty of Cazola (or Cazorla) was signed in 1179 in Soria between Alfonso II of Aragon and Alfonso VIII of Castile. The pact divided Andalusia into separate zones of conquest for the two kingdoms, so that the work of the ''Reconquista'' would ...

between the two kings in 1179, delineating zones of conquest in the south along the watershed of the rivers

Júcar left The Júcar () or Xúquer () is a river on the Iberian Peninsula of Spain. The river runs for approximately 509 km from its source at Ojuelos de Valdeminguete, on the eastern flank of the Montes Universales, Sistema Ibérico. Its most i ...

and Segura. Southern areas of Valencia including Denia were thus secured to Aragon. Alfonso also reached an agreement, the Treaty of Sangüesa (1168), with Sancho VI of Navarre dividing the territory of the Taifa of Murcia between them. During his reign Aragonese influence north of the Pyrenees reached its zenith, a natural tendency given the affinity between the Occitan, Catalan and Aragonese dominions of the Crown of Aragon. His realms incorporated not only Provence (from 1166 or just before),Víctor Balaguer
§ "Muerte del Conde de Provenza. Guerras entre el Rey de Aragón y el Conde de Tolosa. Don Alfonso se apodera de la Provenza. (De 1166 a 1168)"
in ''Historia de Cataluña y de la Corona de Aragon''. Barcelona: Salvador Manero, 1861, vol. II, book V chap. 2, pp. 11–18. but also the counties of

Cerdanya Cerdanya () or often La Cerdanya ( la, Ceretani or ''Ceritania''; french: Cerdagne; es, Cerdaña), is a natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it was one of the counties ...

(1168) and

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; ca, Rosselló ; oc, Rosselhon ) is a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the reg ...

(inherited in 1172).

Béarn The Béarn (; ; oc, Bearn or ''Biarn''; eu, Bearno or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Bas ...

and

Bigorre Bigorre ({{IPA-fr, biɡɔʁ; Gascon: ''Bigòrra'') is a region in southwest France, historically an independent county and later a French province, located in the upper watershed of the Adour, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, part of t ...

paid homage to him in 1187. Alfonso's involvement in the affairs of Languedoc, which would cost the life of his successor,

Peter II of Aragon Peter II the Catholic (; ) (July 1178 – 12 September 1213) was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1196 to 1213. Background Peter was born in Huesca, the son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile. In 1205 he acknowled ...

, for the moment proved highly beneficial, strengthening Aragonese trade and stimulating emigration from the north to colonise the newly reconquered lands in Aragon. In 1186, he helped establish Aragonese influence in Sardinia when he supported his cousin Agalbursa, the widow of the deceased

Judge of Arborea The Kings or ''Judges'' (from the Latin language, Latin ''iudices'' and the Sardinian language, Sardinian ', "judges," the title of the Byzantine officials left behind when Imperial power receded in the West) of the Kingdom of Arborea, Arborea ...

, Barison II, in placing her grandson, the child of her eldest daughter Ispella,

Hugh Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

, on the throne of

Arborea Arborea is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Oristano, Sardinia, Italy, whose economy is largely based on agriculture and cattle breeding with production of vegetables, rice, fruit and milk (notably the local milk product Arborea). Histo ...

in opposition to Peter of Serra. Alfonso II provided the first land grant to the

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

monks on the banks of the Ebro River in the Aragon region, which would become the site of the first Cistercian monastery in this region. The

Monasterio de Piedra Monasterio de Piedra (Stone Monastery) is a monastery, hotel and park complex in the Iberian System mountain ranges, near Nuévalos, province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. The monastery was founded in 1194 by Alfonso II of Aragon, with thirt ...

was founded in 1194 with thirteen monks from

Poblet Monastery Poblet Abbey, otherwise the Royal Abbey of Santa Maria de Poblet ( ca, Reial Monestir de Santa Maria de Poblet), is a Cistercian monastery, founded in 1151, located at the foot of the Prades Mountains, in the comarca of Conca de Barberà, in Ca ...

, in an old castle next to the Piedra river, the

Real Monasterio de Nuestra Senora de Rueda Rueda Abbey or Rueda de Ebro Abbey ( es, Real Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de Rueda, or the "Royal Monastery of Our Lady of the Wheel") is a former Cistercian monastery in Sástago in the Ribera Baja del Ebro comarca, province of Zaragoza, Arag ...

was founded in 1202 and utilized some of the first hydrological technology in the region for harnessing water power and river diversion for the purpose of building central heating. He died at

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

in 1196.

Literary patronage and poetry

He was a noted poet of his time and a close friend of King Richard the Lionheart. One

tensó A ''tenso'' (; french: tençon) is a style of troubadour song. It takes the form of a debate in which each voice defends a position; common topics relate to love or ethics. Usually, the tenso is written by two different poets, but several examples ...

, "Be·m plairia, Seingner En Reis", apparently composed by him and Giraut de Bornelh, forms part of the poetical debate as to whether a lady is dishonoured by taking a lover who is richer than herself. The debate had been begun by

Guilhem de Saint-Leidier Guilhem de Saint-Leidier, also spelled Guilhem de Saint Deslier, Guillem de Saint Deidier and Guilhèm de Sant Leidier was a troubadour of the 12th century, composing in Occitan. He was lord of Saint Didier-en-Velay, was born at some date before 1 ...

and was taken up by

Azalais de Porcairagues Azalais de Porcairagues (also ''Azalaïs'') or Alasais de Porcaragues was a trobairitz (woman troubadour), composing in Occitan in the late 12th century. The sole source for her life is her ''vida'', which tells us that she came from the country ...

and Raimbaut of Orange; there was also a '' partimen'' on the topic between Dalfi d'Alvernha and

Perdigon Perdigon or Perdigo ( fl. 1190–1220Aubrey, p. 18.) was a troubadour from Lespéron in the Gévaudan.Egan, p. 83. Fourteen of his works survive, including three ''cansos'' with melodies.Aubrey, p. 19. He was respected and admired by contempo ...

. Alfonso and his love affairs are mentioned in poems by many troubadours, including

Guillem de Berguedà Guillem de Berguedà (''c''.1130–1195/6; ''fl''.1138–1192), or Guilhem de Berguedan in Occitan, was a Catalan troubadour and viscount of Berguedà. He was the most prolific Catalan poet of the twelfth century, though he composed in Occ ...

(who criticized his dealings with Azalais of Toulouse) and Peire Vidal, who commended Alfonso's decision to marry Sancha rather than Eudokia Komnene that he had preferred a poor Castilian maid to the emperor

Manuel Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manu ...

's golden camel. Alfons2Aragona-Sancha Liber

Marriage and descendants

Wife, Sancha of Castile, daughter of king Alfonso VII of Castile, b. 1155 or 1157, d. 1208 * Peter II (1174/76 – 14 September 1213), King of Aragon and Lord of Montpellier. *

Constance Constance may refer to: Places *Konstanz, Germany, sometimes written as Constance in English *Constance Bay, Ottawa, Canada * Constance, Kentucky * Constance, Minnesota * Constance (Portugal) * Mount Constance, Washington State People * Consta ...

(1179 – 23 June 1222), married firstly King Emeric of Hungary and secondly

Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (German language, German: ''Friedrich''; Italian language, Italian: ''Federico''; Latin: ''Federicus''; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Em ...

. * Alfonso II (1180 – February 1209), Count of Provence, Millau and Razès.Thomas N. Bisson, ''The Medieval Crown of Aragon: A Short History'', (Oxford University Press, 1991), 199. * Eleanor (1182 – February 1226), married

Raymond VI of Toulouse Raymond VI ( oc, Ramon; October 27, 1156 – August 2, 1222) was Count of Toulouse and Marquis of Provence from 1194 to 1222. He was also Count of Melgueil (as Raymond IV) from 1173 to 1190. Early life Raymond was born at Saint-Gilles, Gard, ...

. * Ramon Berenguer (ca. 1183/85 – died young). *

(1186 – aft. 1241), married Raymond VII of Toulouse, in March 1211. * Ferdinand (1190 – 1249), cistercian monk, Abbot of Montearagón. * Dulcia (1192 – ?), a nun at Sijena.

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Alfonso 02 Of Aragon 1157 births 1196 deaths 12th-century Aragonese monarchs House of Aragon Counts of Barcelona Counts of Provence Catalan-language poets 12th-century Spanish troubadours Medieval child rulers Burials at the Poblet Monastery Aragonese infantes House of Barcelona Spanish male composers