Ferdinand II of León

1137 - 1188  (~ 51 years)

• Name	Ferdinand II of León
  Born	ca 1137	Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
  Gender	Male
  Died	22 Jan 1188	Benavente, Zamora, Spain
  Buried	Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela Provincia da La Coruña Galicia, Spain
  	Grave location, historical portrait, biography, and photo of cathedral: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=57133062
  Notes	Wikipeida https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_II_of_Le%C3%B3n He was was King of León and Galicia from 1157 to his death. Born in Toledo, Castile, he was the son of King Alfonso VII of León and Castile and of Berenguela, of the House of Barcelona. At his father's death, he received León and Galicia, while his brother Sancho received Castile and Toledo. Ferdinand earned the reputation of a good knight and hard fighter, but did not display political or organising faculty. He spent most of his first year as king in a dispute with his powerful nobles and an invasion by his brother Sancho III. In 1158 the two brothers met at Sahagun, and peacefully solved the heritage matters. However, Sancho died in the same year, being succeeded by his child son Alfonso VIII, while Ferdinand occupied parts of Castile.The boundary troubles with Castile restarted in 1164: he then met at Soria with the Lara family, who represented Alfonso VIII, and a truce was established, allowing him to move against the Muslims who still held much of southern Spain, and to capture the cities of Alcántara and Alburquerque. In the same year, Ferdinand defeated King Afonso I of Portugal, who, in 1163, had occupied Salamanca in retaliation for the repopulation of the area ordered by the King of León. In 1165 he married Urraca, daughter of Afonso of Portugal. However, strife with Portugal was not put to an end by this move. In 1168 Afonso of Portugal again felt menaced by Ferdinand II's repopulation of the area of Ciudad Rodrigo: he then attacked Galicia. As his troops were also besieging the Muslim citadel of Badajoz, Ferdinand II was able to push the Portuguese out of Galicia and rush to Badajoz. When Afonso saw the Leonese arrive he tried to flee, but he was disabled by a broken leg caused by a fall from his horse, and made prisoner at one the city's gates. Afonso was obliged to surrender as his ransom almost all the conquests he had made in Galicia in the previous year. When in the same years the Almoravids laid siege to the Portuguese city of Santarém, Ferdinand II came to help his father-in-law, and helped to free the city from the menace. In 1175 Pope Alexander III annulled Ferdinand II and Urraca of Portugal's marriage due to consanguinuity. The King remarried to Teresa Fernández de Traba, daughter of count Fernando Pérez de Traba, and widow of count Nuño Pérez de Lara. In 1185 Ferdinand married for the third time to Urraca López de Haro (daughter of Lope Díaz, lord of Biscay, Nájera and Haro), who was his mistress since 1180. The second Urraca tried in vain to have Alfonso IX, first son of Ferdinand II, declared illegitimate, to favor her son Sancho. Ferdinand II died in 1188 at Benavente, while returning from a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. He was buried in the cathedral of Compostela. In 1230 Forty two years after Ferdinand II's death his namesake grandson Ferdinand III of Castile united Castile with Leon permanently. Ferdinand married Urraca of Portugal around 1165, they had one son, King Alfonso IX. Following her repudiation, he formed a relationship with Teresa Fernández de Traba, daughter of count Fernando Pérez de Traba, and in August 1179 he married her, having Ferdinand (1178-1187), legitimized through his parents' subsequent marriage, and a child whose birth led to the death of its mother. He then formed a liaison with Urraca López de Haro, daughter of Lope Díaz I de Haro, whom he married in May 1187, having García (1182-1184), Alfonso, b.1184, legitimized through the subsequent marriage of his parents, died before his father, and Sancho (1186-1220), Lord of Fines.
  Person ID	I36100	Master File
  Last Modified	16 Sep 2016

  
  

  Father	Alfonso VII Raimúndez of León, King of Galicia, King of León and Castille,   b. 01 Mar 1105, Caldas de Reis, Galicia, Spain ,   d. 21 Aug 1157, Muradel Pass, Sierra Morena mountains, Spain  (Age 52 years)
  Mother	Berenguela (Berengaria) of Barcelona, Queen of Castille, León and Galicia,   b. ca 1116, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain ,   d. 15 Jan 1149, Palencia, Castile and León, Spain  (Age ~ 33 years)
  Family ID	F14889	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Urraca of Portugal, Queen of León,   b. ca 1151, Coimbra, Portugal ,   d. 16 Oct 1188, Valladolid, Provincia de Valladolid, Castilla y León, Spain  (Age ~ 37 years)
  Children	1. Alfonso IX of León,   b. 15 Aug 1171, Zamora, Castilla y León, Spain ,   d. 23/24 September 1230, Villanueva de Sarria, Spain  (Age 59 years)
  Last Modified	15 Sep 2016
  Family ID	F14885	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart