The Kings of Castile and Leon: Alfonso XI, Pedro I, the Cruel and Enrique II of Castile. The Political and Civil Environment of the Work of Santob

Abstract

The book most frequently ascribed to Santob of Carrion was Proverbs, and this was dedicated to King Pedro I. It seemed to have first been dedicated to Alfonso XI, but he died. When Santob was young, he saw the knights coming home victorious from the wars against the Saracens, many of them rich, and the powerful Knights Templar were dissolved. When Fernando IV died, Alfonso XI was 1 year old and the civil wars started trying to control the preceptor. The Queen Mother lived in Carrion; thus, the city acquired many privileges, although security was a very unstable concept. Pedro I, nicknamed The Cruel or The Lawful, depending on which side of the war one was on, was very unstable and irascible. His government, which was despotic, tortured and killed some of his closest friends, such as the finances minister, the Jew, Samuel Ha Levi of Toledo. When he became very ill, his brothers started to fight for power. Although he was not very moral, he punished clergymen and knights equally by his customs. He made many useful laws for the workers and peasants, and helped the Jewish communities. He did not like to be with his wife and this caused many political problems and rebellions, with the large families of his wives (he married another woman) and lovers. In his fights against his brothers, his mother, his grandfather, using Jewish troops and taking taxes from them, he didn’t get with his immoral life, crimes and robberies, and also against the bishops and the pope. In addition, he killed some of his brothers by treachery, such as the king of Granada, his wife, and many others. Finally, his brother, the bastard, Enrique II, defeated him and killed him with his own hands. At the start, common people and the low nobility were on the side of Pedro I, and high nobility were not. In literature, a myth was created about his life, but it caused political, social, and economic chaos.