Anglo-Iberian relations 1150-1280 : a diplomatic history

• Main Author: Mendez Gonzalez, Olga
• Published: University of East Anglia 2013
• Subjects: 900
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.614485

This thesis examines the political relations between England and the Iberian Peninsula, from the accession of Henry II of England to the death of Alfonso X of León-Castile, an episode in diplomatic history that remains largely unexplored. This period, spanning over a century and a half, was punctuated by a series of key political events. The study of these sheds light upon the diplomatic complexities of the period. Chapter One explores the historiography and the particularities of Spanish documentary sources. Chapter Two analyses the use of the word Hispania in thirteenth-century chronicles and charters, in an attempt to discover how the term was used and to whom it referred. Chapters Three examines the close relations between the crown of Aragón and the vicomté of Béarn in the twelfth century, while the following chapter looks at the unification of Catalonia and Aragón and the implications of the marriage between Eleanor of England and Alfonso VIII of Castile. Chapter Five explores the impact of Richard I and John’s alliances with Navarre. As León-Castile consolidated is power in the Peninsula, there was a shift of alliances, reflected on Anglo-Iberian relations. Chapter Six explores the particular circumstances that brought about the treaty of 1254 between Henry III of England and Alfonso X of Castile. No study of the political relations of the period would be complete without examination of the impact of the imperial controversy and interregnum upon relations between Henry III of England (the brother of a claimant) and Alfonso X of Castile (a claimant in his own right). Finally, Chapter Eight studies the failed marriage of the infante Sancho of Castile and Gilhelme (Willemina), the younger daughter of the vicomte of Béarn, Gaston VII. This involved negotiations between Edward I of England, Philip III of France and Alfonso X of Castile.