Saint Ferdinand III of Castile
Posted in Historical articles, History, Religion, Saints on Thursday, 24 March 2011
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Ferdinand III (1199 – 1252) was an enormously important monarch in the reconquest of Spain, and spent much of his reign fighting the Moors, whose internal disputes he found expedient to encourage through diplomacy and easy to exploit through war.
He was continuing his maternal grandfather’s work, for Alfonso VIII had begun the policy of Reconquista which was soundly consolidated by the grandson. A major aim finally bore fruit in Ferdinand’s reign with the permanent union of Castile and Leon in 1231. Castilian expansionism continued. He conquered Seville, Cordoba and eventually brought the whole of the southern Iberian province under his sway. He retook all of Andalusia save for Granada, which nevertheless paid him homage and which thereafter was regarded as a tributary state. When not waging war Ferdinand founded the Cathedral at Burgos and the University of Salamanca. Thus did King Ferdinand III reconquer and reunite much of Moorish and Catholic Spain with the Castilian sword, and this Lobera became his symbol. He was canonised in 1671.
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