Literature of Alfonso X

Literature Of Alfonso X

Alfonso X of Castile, also known as Alfonso the Learned, ruled from 1252 until 1284. One of Alfonso’s goals for his kingdom was to lift Spain out of the Dark Ages by producing a united, educated, artistic, and religious population. His desire to bring Spain into the mainstream of high civilization led to a boom of cultural activity, including the production and translation of a great deal of literature. The literature produced during his reign was intended to aid him in achieving his goal by giving the common people of Spain access to great intellectual works. Therefore, all of the prose attributed to Alfonso X’s efforts was written in the language of the common people, Castilian (today known as Spanish), rather than Latin, which was the language of prestige at that time. Although the works are generally attributed to Alfonso X, being a king with other business to deal with he did not himself write most of them. Instead, Alfonso’s role was that of choosing works to be produced and translated, funding the projects, selecting the true authors of the work, overseeing the production, and occasionally contributing personally.