Ferdinand II of León

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Ferdinand II (b. 1137 in Toledo, Castile, d. January 22, 1188) was King of León from 1157 to his death. He was the son of King Alfonso VII of Castile and León and of Berenguela, of the House of Barcelona. His father divided his kingdoms upon his death, with Ferdinand receiving León and Galicia, and another son, Sancho, receiving Castile and Toledo.

His reign of thirty years was one of strife marked by no signal success or reverse. He had to contend with his unruly nobles, several of whom he put to death. During the minority of his nephew, Alfonso VIII of Castile, he endeavoured to impose himself on the kingdom as regent. On the west he was in more or less constant strife with the Kingdom of Portugal, which had separated from León in 1139. His relations with the Portuguese House of Burgundy must have suffered by his repudiation of his wife Urraca, daughter of King Afonso I of Portugal. Though he took the King of Portugal prisoner in 1169, he made no political use of his success. He extended his dominions southward in Extremadura at the expense of the Moors.

Ferdinand earned the reputation of a good knight and hard fighter, but did not display political or organising faculty.

By Urraca, married, around 1165, Ferdinand had his son and successor:

Alfonso IX.

Following her repudiation, he formed a relationship with Theresa Fernández de Traba, daughter of count Fernando Pérez de Traba, and in August 1179 he married her, having:

Ferdinand (1178-1187), legitimized through his parents' subsequent marriage
child, b. and d. 6 February 1180, whose birth led to the death of its mother

He then formed a liaison with Urraca López de Haro, daughter of Lópe Díaz de Haro, who he married in May 1187, having:

García (1182-1184)
Alfonso, b.1184, legitimized through the subsequent marriage of his parents, died before his father.
Sancho (1186-1220), lord of Fines

[edit] References

Szabolcs de Vajay, "From Alfonso VIII to Alfonso X" in Studies in Genealogy and Family History in Tribute to Charles Evans on the Occasion of his Eightieth Birthday, 1989, pp. 366-417.