Greetings {{first name | Producer}},
Welcome to the Weekly Herald for the week of 08 March 2026.
Each week, we return to the chronicles of the Middle Ages, marking anniversaries, revisiting battles, and tracing the enduring consequences of medieval history.
13th-century miniature of Alfonso VII (Public Domain)
900 years ago this week, the course of Iberian history changed forever.
On 08 March 1126, Queen Urraca of León, one of the few reigning queens of the medieval era, Her death left a power vacuum that threatened to plunge the Christian kingdoms of Iberia back into civil war.
Enter her son: Alfonso VII.
Instead of waiting for permission or risking a protracted war of succession against his ambitious stepfather (Alfonso the Battler of Aragon), young Alfonso immediately proclaimed himself King of León and Castile. It was a bold, decisive move that launched a reign of imperial ambition.
The "Emperor of All Spain"
Alfonso wasn't content with just being a king. He wanted to revive the old Visigothic ideal of a unified peninsula.
In 1135, in a grand ceremony at León Cathedral, he was crowned Imperator totius Hispaniae ("Emperor of All Spain"). He asserted authority over his own lands and the other Christian kings of Navarre and Aragon, and even Muslim emirs who sought his protection. For a brief moment, the "Empire of Spain" was a political reality.
The Birth of Portugal
However, one of Alfonso VII’s most lasting legacies wasn't unification, but division.
His cousin, Afonso Henriques, controlled the southern county of Portugal and rebelled against imperial rule. After years of skirmishes, the two met at the Treaty of Zamora in 1143. In a twist of historical irony, the "Emperor" granted his cousin the title of King, effectively recognizing the independence of the Kingdom of Portugal.
Without Alfonso VII’s decision at Zamora, the map of western Europe might look very different today.
THIS WEEK IN THE MIDDLE AGES
1387 – Hawkwood’s Finest Hour at Castagnaro
On 11 March 1387, English mercenary Sir John Hawkwood led Padua to victory over Verona at the Battle of Castagnaro. Through careful use of terrain and disciplined troops, Hawkwood defeated a larger force and secured his reputation as one of the greatest captains of war in late medieval Europe.
1230 – Bulgaria Ascendant at Klokotnitsa
On 09 March 1230, Bulgarian tsar Ivan Asen II crushed the forces of Theodore of Epirus at the Battle of Klokotnitsa. The victory transformed Bulgaria into the dominant power in the Balkans and marked the high point of its medieval empire.
1489 – Venice Buys a Kingdom
On 14 March 1489, Catherine Cornaro, queen of Cyprus, formally transferred her kingdom to the Republic of Venice. The peaceful acquisition gave Venice a crucial eastern Mediterranean stronghold and marked the end of Cyprus as an independent Crusader kingdom.
THE ILLUMINATION
Bayeux Tapestry, Scene 23 (Public Domain)
"UBI HAROLD SACRAMENTUM FECIT WILLELMO DUCI" ("Where Harold made an oath to Duke William")
THE HERALD'S LEXICON
Word of the Week: AMERCEMENT
A monetary penalty imposed by a lord or court; essentially a fine.
Amercements were commonly used as a punishment for minor offenses, such as trespassing in the king's forest.
FROM THE FORGE
This week on the site, our Medieval Papacy series looks at The Avignon Papacy, a 70-year period when the pope ruled not from Rome, but from Avignon France.
The Medieval Battles heads to Flanders. Witness the defeat of the elite French knights at the hands of the Flemish infantry at The Battle of the Golden Spurs.
We also covered the discovery of the ‘Dollar of the Middle Ages.”
Settle the Record
Would you rather:
be a monk copying manuscripts or a merchant traveling fairs?
Reply: MONK / MERCHANT
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