ALFONSO IX, RE DI LEÓN

ALFONSO IX, king of León. — Son of Ferdinand II, born in 1171, died in 1230. He sought, through marriages, the union with other kingdoms of the peninsula. He first married the holy princess Teresa of Portugal, but since Pope Celestine III refused to grant a dispensation for consanguinity, he was compelled to separate from her under pain of excommunication and interdict, despite the children born of the union, among whom was the Venerable Sancha Alfonsa. He then sought union with another cousin, Berenguela of Castile, by whom he had several children, including St. Ferdinand; but Pope Innocent III remained unyielding and imposed ecclesiastical censures for the separation of the spouses. Nevertheless, the legitimation of St. Ferdinand brought about the perpetual union of León and Castile.