Alhambra 31to gain the Crown of the HOLYROMANEMPIRE, claimed
through his German mother. Three successive popes
opposed this. In the end he was obliged to back down
under the threat of excommunication. His frequent
absences from CASTILEproved an encouragement to rebel-
lion. His Muslim subjects in AL-ANDALUS and Murcia
revolted in 1262 with the assistance of Alfonso’s tributary,
the king of GRANADA, and the MERINIDruler of MOROCCO.
A series of fresh disturbances followed, during which
Alfonso’s eldest son, Ferdinand de la Cerda, exercised mili-
tary leadership. Ferdinand’s death in 1275 precipitated a
lengthy struggle over the succession to the throne. The
king’s last years were clouded by the contest between
the backers of his second son, Sancho IV the Fierce
(r. 1284–95), and those of his grandson, Alfonso. In 1282
Sancho declared his father deposed. Alfonso, deserted even
by the queen, fled to Seville, disinherited Sancho, and
called on the emir of Morocco for help. Sancho, however,
was able to meet this threat and confined the old king in
Seville. There Alfonso X died, a tragic figure, with curses
on his son from his deathbed on April 14, 1284.
INTELLECTUAL CONTRIBUTIONSAlfonso’s greatest legacy was the Seven Divisions of the Law
(Siete Partidas). This work is more than a legal codex,
rather, a learned essay on various kinds of law addressing
all aspects of social life. It is a careful repository of
medieval Spanish custom that had enormous influence on
the future course of Spanish law and on the law of Spain’s
overseas possessions. The scientific treatises compiled
under Alfonso’s patronage were the work of the “School of
Translators” of Toledo, an informal grouping of Christian,
Muslim, and Jewish scholars who made available the find-
ings of Arab science to the rest of Europe in Latin and
Spanish translations. The king’s own scientific interests
were in astronomy and ASTROLOGY. Of Alfonso’s poems,
the most significant are the Canticles of Holy Mary,written
in Galician Portuguese between 1257 and 1279.
Further reading: Robert I. Burns, The Worlds of
Alfonso the Learned and James the Conqueror: Intellect and
Force in the Middle Ages(Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Uni-
versity Press, 1985); Robert I. Burns, Emperor of Culture:
Alfonso the Learned and His Thirteenth-Century Renais-
sance (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press,
1990); Joseph F. O’Callaghan, The Learned King: The
Reign of Alfonso X of Castile(Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press, 1993).
Alfred the Great (849–899)king of Wessex and England,
one of the greatest Anglo-Saxon kings
Alfred was born in 849. Despite continual assault from
VIKINGarmies and several defeats, his military strategy
and resourcefulness eventually defeated the Vikings and
led to a treaty at Wedmore in 878. This led to peace from
Viking attack for nearly a century. Alfred then set about
establishing an educational system by drawing several
foreign scholars such as Asser (d. 808/809), John the Old
Saxon (fl.890), and Grimbald of Saint-Bertin (d. 901) to
his court. Alfred himself translated with the help of oth-
ers into English prose and poetry a number of Latin
works that he deemed essential to human knowledge and
a proper education. These included Pope GREGORYI the
Great’s Pastoral Case,BOETHIUS’SConsolation of Philosophy,
AUGUSTINE’SSoliloquies,OROSIUS’s Seven Books of History
against the Pagans,and the first 50 psalms. He is consid-
ered among the first writers of Anglo-Saxon prose. He
also patronized monasteries such as those at Athelney
and Shaftesbury and reformed the clergy. He died on
October 26, 899, and is buried at Winchester.
Further reading: Simon Keynes and Michael
Lapidge, eds., Alfred the Great: Asser’s Life of Alfred and
Other Contemporary Sources(New York: Penguin Books,
1983); Richard Abels, Alfred the Great: War, Kingship and
Culture in Anglo-Saxon England(New York: Longman,
1998); Eleanor Shipley Duckett, Alfred the Great and His
England(London: Collins, 1957); H. R. Loyn, Alfred the
Great (London: Oxford University Press, 1967); A. P.
Smyth, King Alfred the Great(London: Dent, 1995).Algazel SeeAL-GHAZALI.Alhambra The Alhambra is a palace complex in
GRANADA, the last Muslim enclave of AL-ANDALUS in
southern Spain, which was built by the NASRIDdynasty
over several centuries. It sits on a large rocky outcrop-
ping, or mountain spur, within the present-day city. The
oldest part, the Alcazaba, is a fortress overlooking the
city, built by the Almohads in the 12th century. Several
impressive gates and a wall remain from this period, but
the living quarters for the administrative workers and
barracks for soldiers are not visible. Most of the rest of
the Muslim parts were built in the 14th and 15th cen-
turies, during the era when the Nasrids held out against
the rest of Christian Spain and were able to hire the best
remaining artisans from Islamic Spain. The whole com-
plex consists of several palaces, reception (throne) halls,
a 14th-century tower, mosques, and courts that were
linked as they were added. They are connected by a series
of patios and arcaded courtyards usually graced with
fountains and running water. The rooms are usually
richly decorated with inscriptions, colorful tiles, wooden
ceilings, and heavenly vaults formed of stucco supported
by beautiful niches and bearing hanging stalactite ceil-
ings. The most impressive and famous courtyards are
those called the Court of the Myrtles because of the myr-
tle bushes or shrubbery decorating them, and the Court
of the Lions, which encloses a fountain spouting from the
backs of carved lions. The divisions between internal and
external space are not clearly defined, and light is dra-
matically employed nearly everywhere.