erdinand III, Saint Ferdinand of Castile
and Léon (1200-52), son of Alfonso IX of Léon, by Berenguela (Berengaria),
afterward proclaimed queen of Castile (1217). He became king of
Castile and Léon, and these crowns were never afterward
seperated (1230). One of the greatest of Spanish kings, he
initiated the famous codification of the Latin and Gothic laws
known as the Fuero Juzgo, completed by his son, Alfonso
X, the Learned. [World Wide Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1935]
Ferdinand III (of Castile and León), called The Saint (1199-1252), king of Castile (1217-52) and of León (1230-52); he was the son of King Alfonso IX of León and Castile. In 1217 Ferdinand's mother, Berengaria, renounced her title to the Castilian throne in favor of her son. Alfonso, who had himself expected to acquire Castile, was angered at his wife's action, and, aided by a group of Castilian nobles favorable to his claim, made war upon his newly crowned son. Ferdinand, however, with the wise counsel of his mother, proved more than a military match for Alfonso, who at length was forced to abandon his plan of conquering Castile. Through the good offices of Berengaria, Ferdinand was able to effect the peaceful union of León and Castile upon the death of his father in 1230. Ferdinand devoted his energies to prosecuting the war against the Moors, conquering Córdoba in 1236 and Seville in 1248. He was rigorous in his suppression of the heretical Albigenses, a fact largely responsible for his canonization more than two centuries later. In 1242 Ferdinand reestablished at Salamanca the university originally founded by his grandfather. [Microsoft Encarta 98 Encyclopedia]
