The Wise King: A Christian Prince, Muslim Spain, and the Birth of the Renaissance

by Simon R. Doubleday

An illuminating biography of Alfonso X, the 13th-century philosopher-king whose affinity for Islamic culture left an indelible mark on Western civilization

"If I had been present at the Creation," the thirteenth-century Spanish philosopher-king Alfonso X is said to have stated, "Many faults in the universe would have been avoided." Known as El Sabio , "the Wise," Alfonso was renowned by friends and enemies alike for his sparkling intellect and extraordinary cultural achievements. In The Wise King , celebrated historian Simon R. Doubleday traces the story of the king's life and times, leading us deep into his emotional world and showing how his intense admiration for Spain's rich Islamic culture paved the way for the European Renaissance.

In 1252, when Alfonso replaced his more militaristic father on the throne of Castile and Leóthe battle to reconquer Muslim territory on the Iberian Peninsula was raging fiercely. But even as he led his Christian soldiers onto the battlefield, Alfonso was seduced by the glories of Muslim Spain. His engagement with the Arabic-speaking culture of the South shaped his pursuit of astronomy, for which he was famed for centuries, and his profoundly humane vision of the world, which Dante, Petrarch, and later Italian humanists would inherit. A composer of lyric verses, and patron of works on board games, hunting, and the properties of stones, Alfonso is best known today for his Cantigas de Santa Marí/i> (Songs of Holy Mary), which offer a remarkable window onto his world. His ongoing struggles as a king and as a man were distilled-in art, music, literature, and architecture-into something sublime that speaks to us powerfully across the centuries.

An intimate biography of the Spanish ruler in whom two cultures converged, The Wise King introduces readers to a Renaissance man before his time, whose creative energy in the face of personal turmoil and existential threats to his kingdom would transform the course of Western history.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Medieval, Spain, Ebooks, European History

304 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2015

Reviews

[Melindam]

I give up. DNF at 25%.

I have been struggling with this book for a month now or even longer. Considering that I'm a fast reader and feel truly interested in this particular time period and history of Spain, it's a great pity, but there it is.

And it's not even that the writing is too academic: it isn't. It's completely readable and it is very well-researched without a doubt. But I found it was like a dog running round in circles to get at its own tail and not really succeeding. Maybe having read the excellently written & structured books of Dan Jones just before starting on this one just spoiled this for me.

Maybe I'll return to it later or I'll try to find another, better told & structured book on this topic. Recommendations are welcome, GR Friends!!

[Joe Cummings · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Wise King: A Christian Prince, Muslim Spain, and the Birthplace of the Birth of Renaissance is Hofstra University History professor and department chair Simon R. Doubleday's 2015 book on Alphonso X of Castile and Leon who reigned in in the late 13th century. Known as El Sabio [i.e., the Wise or the Learned], this king lived during a time of coexistence between the Christian, Muslim, and Jewish populations that dwelt in the Iberian peninsula. Even though he was a part of a generational process that eventually drove out the Moors and Jews out of Spain in 1492, he himself recognized the importance of Arabic knowledge, and commissioned the translations of important works that helped spark a renaissance in Spain and elsewhere several centuries before the Italian Renaissance. According to Doubleday, "Alfonso . . . advanced the pursuit of beauty, knowledge, science, and human happiness" through the books he wrote or commissioned translated into Castilian. His book on the Law still influences the Louisiana legal code. He also commissioned construction of the breath-takingly beautiful cathedrals at Burgos and Leon. I saw them during my first peregrination to Santiago de Compostela in the summer of 2000, and they helped ignite/inspire my interest in the man. Doubleday uses the books that Alphonso read, wrote or translated to guide the readers through various aspects of life in 13th Century Spain as well as the public and private life of the subject. The author convincing shatters modern misconceptions and stereotypes of medieval life in Europe and Spain while tenderly presenting what it was to be a friend, a king, a father . . . to be a man in the so-called Dark Ages. I thoroughly enjoyed this well-written biography and history of Iberia.

[Ro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been valuable in explaining a dynamic period of Spanish history (13th century). The book is filled with good references and approaches this era and the Wise King Alfonso X thematically rather than chronologically. The choice to examine the era thematically was interesting but caused a fair amount of repetition and a sense of skipping around that could have been avoided in a more chronological treatment. Still, the book was enlightening and enjoyable and poses a good argument for the Iberian Peninsula as the birthplace of the Renaissance.

[Chris Jaffe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just couldn't get into this one. This book is doing two things at once. On the face of it, the book describes the life and times of King Alfonso X of Castile and Leon. Beyond that, it uses his life to examine some deeper cultural/social ways of the era. There is a section on falconry, a section on how kings used the image of laughter to help out, a section on how people viewed friendship in courtly circles, and so on. Typically, each chapter uses a phase of Alfonso's life to describe one of these facets of late Medieval society. Sometimes, it's interesting - but it just never seemed to mesh. Also, the stuff on Alfonso X just seemed to get in the way. I liked the stuff on the era, but never much cared for the guy whose life is supposedly anchoring it.

Also: I didn't really see this as the birth of the Renaissance. Doubleday notes how the time/place helped lead to the early Renaissance, but that seemed a bit forced. All throughout, I felt it was more High Middle Ages. So that was also a little annoying - the material didn't match the (supposed) topic.

[Julie Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relatively unknown in the English-speaking world, but widely admired in Europe and the Hispanic Americas, King Alfonso X is remarkable subject and, in Professor Simon Doubleday, has found an erudite and learned biographer. This is an excellent history of Alfonso the man, illuminated by the writer's comprehensive understanding of medieval Spain and its place in Europe. We meet the young Alfonso, precocious kinglet; the martial Alfonso, some of a warrior King, learning warfare, mounted, by his father's side, besieging the beautiful city of Ishbila (Seville); and the 'philosopher king' Alfonso, astronomer and ever curious intellectual, admirer of Islamic and European culture, ancient and modern. A practising poet, musician and writer, Alfonso has a claim to be history's first 'renaissance man' his story, from early years to a sad demise, resonates across the centuries.

[Sallan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've long been interested in medieval history, and I have a family link to Spain, so I was very excited when I encountered this book. I did learn things I hadn't known before--mainly about the content of medieval manuscripts such as The Book of Stones. But I found the tone of the book odd--neither scholarly nor popular. I was hoping for a bit more information about Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, a collection of songs that are a hallmark of Alfonso's cultured reign--and they are mentioned frequently, but I think you almost have to already know what they are to recognize their important to Alfonso's story. It's probably impossible to do justice to Alfonso or any important person from the 13th century in such a relatively short book (338 pages, with illustrations). For me the book isn't always successful, but the author should be commended for trying to reach a lay audience with a book about such a remote historical period.

[Luke Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was a great read - poetic writing, an easy to follow narrative (for medieval history) and a moving and sympathetic biography that gave you an impression of a king trying his best.

I liked the heavy use of primary sources, the themes (maybe a touch stretched here and there but still very coherent), and I felt it contextualized Alfonso X nicely.

[Walt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Doubleday is an eminent historian with a solid knowledge base of the material. Having drudged my way through the book I have no hesitation that he is an expert. Other reviewers have also pointed out his credentials. However, being knowledgeable and recognized as an expert does not make one a good writer. This book has some major problems that are probably due to an effort by the author and the publisher to make the topic of Medieval Spain more inviting to lay audiences.

The most obvious problem is the organization. The book loosely follows the chronological life of Alfonso X with each chapter named for a defining characteristic of the period covered. While this is a clever approach, this book botched it. The chronology is tossed around as different revolts against Alfonso blur together. This can cause some confusion (but Alfonso was usually facing revolts, so that alone can be confusing). However, the real problem is that by focusing on emotions or social norms, Doubleday strays far away from Alfonso. The chapter on hunting is the most obvious example, as Doubleday writes as much about Frederick II as he does about Alfonso. I am reading a book on Alfonso and Spain, not falconry in Sicily.

Doubleday was also trying to make his subject more important than a general overview of the High Middle Ages in Spain. Alfonso published and re-published scholarly works, something that might be a rarity in the age. History was kind to reward him with the title of The Wise King. His reign otherwise appears to be near-catastrophic in terms of revolt and political instability. Doubleday, or the publisher appear to be trying to both argue for and against that Alfonso's scholarship had an impact on the Renaissance. At one point Doubleday directly states that is not his intention; but then goes on talking about Alfonso's contribution to Italy as part of his strange quest to become Holy Roman Emperor. Alfonso apparently sought to strengthen his claim by publishing Islamic traditions in the same manner as Frederick II. Maybe Doubleday should have written a book on Frederick.

There appear to be conflicts between Doubleday and the publisher. The Introduction clearly states that Muslim Spain is a misnomer for various reasons. Readers should call it al-Anadalus. But the title of the book is Muslim Spain. This one obvious descrepency is played out elsewhere especially in the confusing notes section of the book which seems to needlessly take up paper and confuse the few readers curious enough to pursue these leads.

Overall, I think Doubleday wrote a smaller book and was told to enlarge it. The result was a strange organization that goes off on various tangents while leaving Alfonso awkwardly waiting on the bench for Doubleday to put him back in the game. These distractions slowed my reading and comprehension to the point that I have only a passing knowledge of Alfonso. I know more than I did before I started the book; but I cannot recommend it.

[Doc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alfonso X, a medieval Spanish king, was more than the medieval stereotype. He was a composer, astronomer, poet, athlete, and shrewd politician. A Renaissance man before there was a Renaissance. He is far more interesting than this book! This is a very dry and academic read. Doubleday is exact and direct and evan impassioned in a scholarly way but this is not a page turner, beach read. Tread carefully.

[Raymonds009 · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first glance rather obscure. By the end, however, you begin to see a ruler, Alfonso X of Spain, who was ahead of his time in thinking about European politics and the furthering of learning in an enlightened society. Unfortunately he was bogged own in the war-like atmosphere of the years of the crusades and the "problem" of what to do with the Islamic rivalry for supremacy in the Iberian peninsula. Mr. Doubleday does a yeoman's job of making his case.

[Sean Hinnenkamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall - an easy going autobiography of King Alfonso X. The expanse of topics covered is admirable, but given the equal expanse of time covered, it leaves the reader wanting more on some of this topics covered. However, as addressed in the book, the history of this time period in Al-Andalus is only supported by fragments of historical records. Nevertheless, he utilizes what he has in a masterful way, and has produced a readable and engaging tome of a medieval King and his Kingdom.

[Rosalind · Rating 4 out of 5]

A chance find in the public library but right up my street! The 'life and times' is well organised by theme as well as chronologically, and the daunting pages of genealogies at the start were pretty useful. I was excited by King Alfonso's Book of Chess and finding out the different varieties in the 13th century!

[Boris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Balanced. Partly entertaining and largely educational. The king in question is probably not on the Top 100 Historic People list, but he must be somewhere in the Top 1000. Best part is the excerpts from the king's his own writings, as well as the chapter on falconry. Seriously.

[Gabriel Stein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating

A fascinating biography of a very interesting and multi-faceted person, whose rule saw the beginning of the “Castilian Renaissance”. Worth reading.

[Janta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it, but I thought the organization of the book sometimes made it hard to follow the historical thread -- the chapters are based not on chronological order but on aspects of King Alfonso's life.

[Daniel Farabaugh · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was much better when it was simply chronicling the life of Alfonso X. The attempts to show his relationship to the Renaissance were a but of a stretch and distracting.

[Sabrina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The timeline was not straightforward....

[Dan Vine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very scholarly, very readable account of a fascinating figure and his times.

[Jody]

Just read Chapter 3, "Stargazers."
Started from beginning, 6/6/23.

[Peter Banks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting subject.