Ferdinand I (1017 – 24 June 1065), called the Great (El Magno), was the son of Sancho III of Navarre and Mayor of Castile, and became Count of Castile from his uncle's death in 1029. Having acquired the Kingdom of León after defeating his brother-in-law in 1037, he became King of León and Castile. He had himself crowned Emperor of Spain in 1056.
Ferdinand was barely in his teens when García Sánchez, Count of Castile, was assassinated by a party of exiled Castilian noblemen as he was entering the church of John the Baptist in León, where he had gone to marry Sancha, sister of Bermudo III King of Leon. In his role as feudal overlord, Sancho III of Navarre nominated his younger son Ferdinand, born to the deceased count's sister Mayor, as successor, and further arranged for Ferdinand to marry García's intended bride, Sancha of León.
On his father's death, Ferdinand continued as count of Castile, now recognizing the suzerainty of his brother-in-law Bermudo III, but they fell out and on 4 September 1037 Bermudo was killed in battle with Fernando at Tamarón. Ferdinand took possession of León by right of his wife, who was the heiress presumptive, and the next year had himself formally crowned king of León and Castile. He overran the Moorish section of Galicia, and set up his vassal as count in what is now northern Portugal. With northern Iberia consolidated, Ferdinand, in 1039, proclaimed himself emperor of Hispania. The use of the title was resented by the Emperor Henry III and Pope Victor II in 1055 as implying a claim to the headship of Christendom and as a usurpation of the Roman Empire. It did not, however, mean more than that the sovereign of León was the chief of the princes of the Iberian peninsula. Ferdinand's brothers García Sánchez III of Navarre and Ramiro I of Aragón opposed his power, but were both killed in ensuing battles, leaving Ferdinand preeminent.
Ferdinand died on the feast of Saint John the Baptist, 24 June 1065, in León, with many manifestations of ardent piety, having laid aside his crown and royal mantle, dressed in the robe of a monk and lying on a bier covered with ashes, which was placed before the altar of the Basilica of San Isidoro. At his death, Ferdinand divided up his kingdom between his three sons, the eldest, Sancho, receiving Castile and Alfonso being given León, while from the latter the region of Galicia was carved off to create a separate state for Garcia. Ferdinand's two daughters each received cities: Elvira, Toro and Urraca, Zamora. In giving them these territories, he expressed his desire that they respect his wishes and abide by the split. However, soon after Fernando's death, Sancho and Alfonso turned on García, and defeating him they then fought each other, the victorious Sancho reuniting their father's possessions under his control in 1072.
| Preceded by García Sánchez |
Count of
Castile 1029-1037 |
Succeeded by Title Extinct |
| Preceded by Bermudo III (in León) |
King of León and Castile 1037-1065 |
Succeeded by Alfonso VI (in León) Sancho II (in Castile) Garcia (in Galicia) |
| Vacant
Title last held by
Bermudo III |
Emperor of Spain 1056 – 1065 |
Vacant
Title next held by
Alfonso VI of
León |
FERDINAND I., El Magno or "the Great," king of Castile (d. 1065), son of Sancho of Navarre, was put in possession of Castile in 1028, on the murder of the last count, as the heir of his mother Elvira, daughter of a previous count of Castile. He reigned with the title of king. He married Sancha, sister and heiress of Bermudo, king of Leon. In 1038 Bermudo was killed in battle with Ferdinand at Tamaron, and Ferdinand then took possession of Leon by right of his wife, and was recognized in Spain as emperor. The use of the title was resented by the emperor Henry IV. and by Pope Victor II. in 1055, as implying a claim to the headship of Christendom, and as a usurpation on the Holy Roman Empire. It did not, however, mean more than that Spain was independent of the Empire, and that the sovereign of Leon was the chief of the princes of the peninsula. Although Ferdinand had grown in power by a fratricidal strife with Bermudo of Leon, and though at a later date he defeated and killed his brother Garcia of Navarre, he ranks high among the kings of Spain who have been counted religious. To a large extent he may have owed his reputation to the victories over the Mahommedans, with which he began the period of the great reconquest. But there can be no doubt that Ferdinand was profoundly pious. Towards the close of his reign he sent a special embassy to Seville to bring back the body of Santa Justa. The then king of Seville, Motadhid, one of the small princes who had divided the caliphate of Cordova, was himself a sceptic and poisoner, but he stood in wholesome awe of the power of the x. 9 Christian king. He favoured the embassy in every way, and when the body of Santa Justa could not be found, helped the envoys who were also aided by a vision seen by one of them in a dream, to discover the body of Saint Isidore, which was reverently carried away to Leon. Ferdinand died on the feast of Saint John the Evangelist, the 24th of June 1065, in Leon, with many manifestations of ardent piety - having laid aside his crown and royal mantle, dressed in the frock of a monk and lying on a bier, covered with ashes, which was placed before the altar of the church of Saint Isidore.
Categories: FAS-FER | History of Spain and Portugal
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