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Rotrou of Perche and the Aragonese Reconquest∗

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 July 2016

Lynn H. Nelson
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Extract

Early in the twelfth century Alfonso I ascended the throne of the young Aragonese kingdom. His brother, Pedro (1096–1104), had already established the momentum of the Aragonese reconquest by overpowering the Moorish kingdom of Huesca. With the accession of Alfonso, however, the movement of expansion was greatly accelerated. Although the early years of his reign were marked by a paralyzing conflict with Castile-León, by 1118 his career of conquest was fairly launched. The Moorish kingdom of Zaragoza fell near the end of that year, and its neighbor, Tudela, followed two months later. Calatayud and Daroca were conquered in 1120. During the winter of 1125–1126 Alfonso's troops ranged freely through the Moslem lands of Valencia, Córdoba, and Granada. Near the end of Alfonso's reign, the kingdoms of Lérida and Valencia were menaced by Aragonese arms, and their end appeared imminent. The king's sudden death in 1134 inaugurated a period of confusion in which many of his advances were wiped out, but his activities had already made him a legend and had made Aragón a major power in the Peninsula.

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Articles
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Traditio , Volume 26 , 1970 , pp. 113 - 133
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Copyright © Fordham University Press 

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References

1 For the reign of Pedro I, see Ubieto Arteta, A., Colección diplomática de Pedro I de Aragón y de Navarra (Zaragoza 1951).Google Scholar

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