Alfonso V of León

Alfonso V in the twelfth-century Libro de los Testamentos (fol. 53v).

Alfonso V (994-1028), called the Noble was King of León from 999 to 1028. He was the son of Bermudo II by his second wife Elvira García of Castile. The Abbot Oliva called him "Emperor of all Hispania".

Because of his youth at his father's death, his mother acted as a regent. She retired in 1007 and became a nun. He began the work of reorganizing the Christian kingdom of the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula after a most disastrous period of civil war and Arab inroads. Enough is known of him to justify the belief that he had some of the qualities of a soldier and a statesman.

His name, and that of his wife Elvira Mendes (sometimes Geloria Mendes), are associated with the grant of the first franchises of León (1017). He was killed by an arrow while besieging the town of Viseu in northern Portugal, then held by the Muslims.

Family

His first wife was Elvira Mendes

Alfonso and Elvira had two children:

• Bermudo III (c. 1015–1037)
• Sancha of León (c. 1020–1067), married Ferdinand I of León

His second wife was Urraca of Navarre, daughter of García Sánchez II of Pamplona

Alfonso and Urraca had one daughter:

• Jimena of León, married Fernando Gundemariz

Ancestry

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.