{"product_id":"the-life-and-times-of-alfonso-xi-of-castile-1311-1350-9798232934897","title":"The Life and Times of Alfonso XI of Castile (1311-1350)","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhen thirteen-year-old Alfonso XI seized power from his corrupt regents in 1325, few believed the boy-king would survive a year against Castile's ruthless nobility. Instead, he would rule for twenty-five remarkable years, transforming a fractured kingdom into the dominant power of the Iberian Peninsula.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis compelling biography reveals the extraordinary story of medieval Spain's most effective and enigmatic monarch. A brilliant military strategist who defeated a massive Muslim invasion at the Battle of Río Salado, Alfonso expanded Christian territory and secured control of the strategic Strait of Gibraltar. A visionary administrator, he created sophisticated legal codes and governance systems that laid foundations for the future Spanish state. Yet this same calculating ruler conducted a scandalous decades-long affair with his mistress Leonor de Guzmán, fathering ten children while largely ignoring his Portuguese queen and legitimate heir.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrawing on rich primary sources, this meticulously researched narrative brings to vivid life the political intrigue, religious fervor, and cultural dynamics of fourteenth-century Iberia. It reconstructs a pivotal moment when the medieval world was giving way to early modern institutions and identities-changes that Alfonso himself did much to advance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDiscover how this remarkable ruler-ruthless yet innovative, traditional yet forward-thinking-permanently altered the course of Spanish history while embodying the complex reality of power in the late Middle Ages. This book offers both a gripping royal biography and a fresh understanding of how modern Europe began to emerge from its medieval foundations.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Colloquium Verlag","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52158629478674,"sku":"9798232934897","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_c64cf452-2942-4e1f-bbdf-34056b7f4f41.jpg?v=1774970871","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-life-and-times-of-alfonso-xi-of-castile-1311-1350-9798232934897","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}