Composed of almost 200 pieces, the exhibition reveals a king who was ahead of his time for his environmental and cultural ideas
“Alfonso X el Sabio: the legacy of a precursor king” is the title of the exhibition that opens this Monday in Toledo within the acts of the eighth centenary of this king. Another king, Felipe VI, will be in charge of inaugurating it at the Santa Cruz Museum, a Renaissance building that occupies the grounds of the old palaces of Muslim origin in which Alfonso X came into the world.
The exhibition traces the life and legacy of this monarch who, in some respects, was ahead of his time. Hence the title “precursor king.” “He was a king with innovative ideas for his time,” explains the exhibition’s curator, Ricardo Izquierdo, professor of Medieval History at the University of Castilla-La Mancha. “He was ahead of his time because he tried to put into practice what later, in modern times, other kings like Felipe II achieved: concentrating all power in the figure of the sovereign,” says Professor Izquierdo, who stands out from his work as king “the organization that made the administration and how it was ahead of its time as a defender of nature in different regulations that harshly sanctioned the felling of trees or causing fires”.
Alfonso X also distinguished himself for his promotion of culture, the Castilian language and science. “He ordered the composition of some astronomical tables that remained in force until the 16th century and even on the Moon there is a crater dedicated to him,” emphasizes Professor Izquierdo, who has dedicated two years to organizing this exhibition.
The “Crown of Cameos”
“Alfonso X el Sabio: the legacy of a precursor king” is made up of nearly 180 pieces from 50 lenders such as the National Library, the Cathedral of Toledo, the Prado Museum, the Alhambra in Granada, the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela or the National Archives of Torre do Tombo in Lisbon. Among these pieces stand out privileges granted by the king -one of them is the granting of the Charter of Seville to Murcia-, one of the four original volumes of the Cantigas de Santa María -written in Galician-Portuguese-, the Libro del Saber de Astrology, the bull of Pope Alexander IV of 1255 confirming the General Study of Salamanca and the “Crown of cameos”. This crown, which belonged to his son, Sancho IV, has great historical value as it is the only one preserved from a medieval Hispanic king. It is believed that it also belonged to Alfonso X since in his will he bequeathed to his heir “the crowns with the stones and with the cameos”.
wanted to be emperor
In the exhibition you can also see the book “Calf of the Repartimiento de Tierras”, a medieval codex of enormous importance for Murcia since it contains the names of the first settlers who settled in this kingdom after its incorporation into Castile. An exhibition that also brings the visitor closer to the life of this monarch who was an infant for most of his life -he came to the throne at the age of 31 and died at the age of 63- and who aspired to become emperor of Germany due to the ascending line of his mother.
He died in 1284, probably from maxillofacial cancer, and in his will he established that his heart should be buried in the Holy Land, his entrails in the Cathedral of Murcia and the rest of his body in Seville. His wish was fulfilled in part because his heart ended up in the Murcian seo. His life and his legacy are summarized in an exhibition in his native Toledo until June 19. It can be seen from Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free.
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