lfonso VIII (Alfonso the Noble), 1155-1214, Spanish king of Castile (1158-1214), son and successor of Sancho III. Chaos prevailed during his minority, but he quickly restored order after assuming the government. He married Eleanor, daughter of Henry II of England, and their daughter, Blanche of Castile, married Louis VIII of France. Alfonso took Cuenca (1177) and incorporated the provinces of Álava and Guipúzcoa into Castile (1200). Attacked simultaneously by a coalition of Navarre, Aragon, and Leon and by the Moors, he was defeated (1195) by the Moors. He later made peace with his former Christian enemies and led them to the great victory over the Almohades at Navas de Tolosa (1212). At Palencia he founded the first university in Spain (1212 or 1214). He was succeeded by his son, Henry I (1214-17), who was succeeded by Ferdinand III. [The Illustrated Columbia Encyclopedia, 1969]

Alfonso VIII (1155-1214), king of Castile (1158-1214); he succeeded to the throne on the death of his father, Sancho III. Troubled by interference from Navarre in his youth, he later allied Castile with Aragón, forming a connection that was eventually to become the basis for the unification of Spain. He also established Castilian dominance over León. In 1170 he married Eleanor, daughter of King Henry II of England. From the 1170s, he resisted encroachments by the Almohads, Muslim invaders from northern Africa. Defeated by the Muslim caliph Yakub al-Mansur at Alarcos in 1195, Alfonso and his allies won a major victory over the Muslim commander al-Nasir at Navas de Tolosa in 1212. [Microsoft Encarta 98 Encyclopedia]

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