The Skaggs-Files

Ferdinand III, the Saint, (1198 - May 30, 1252), king of Castile (1217) and Leon (1230), was son of Alphonso IX and of Berenguela of Castile, daughter of Alfonso VIII.

In 1231 he united Castile and Leon permanently.

Ferdinand spent much of his reign fighting the Moors. He captured the towns of Cordoba in 1236, Jaen in 1246, and Seville in 1248, and occupied Murcia in 1243, thereby completing the reconquest of Spain excepting Granada, whose king nevertheless did homage to Ferdinand.

In 1219, Ferdinand married the daughter of the emperor Philip of Swabia, Beatrice, by whom he had six sons and one daughter. After Beatrice died in 1236, he married Joan of Dammartin (or Ponthieu). His daughter by Joan was Eleanor of Castile, wife of King Edward I of England.

He founded the University of Salamanca and the Cathedral of Burgos.

Ferdinand was canonized by Pope Clement X in 1671.

Ferdinand III (of Castile and León), called The Saint (1199-1252), king of Castile (1217-52) and of León (1230-52); he was the son of King Alfonso IX of León and Castile. In 1217 Ferdinand's mother, Berengaria, renounced her title to the Castilian throne in favor of her son. Alfonso, who had himself expected to acquire Castile, was angered at his wife's action, and, aided by a group of Castilian nobles favorable to his claim, made war upon his newly crowned son. Ferdinand, however, with the wise counsel of his mother, proved more than a military match for Alfonso, who at length was forced to abandon his plan of conquering Castile. Through the good offices of Berengaria, Ferdinand was able to effect the peaceful union of León and Castile upon the death of his father in 1230. Ferdinand devoted his energies to prosecuting the war against the Moors, conquering Córdoba in 1236 and Seville in 1248. He was rigorous in his suppression of the heretical Albigenses, a fact largely responsible for his canonization more than two centuries later. In 1242 Ferdinand reestablished at Salamanca the university originally founded by his grandfather.

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