Fernando I el Grande of Castilla-Leon ^{1 2 3}

   Another name for Fernando was Ferdinand I the Great of Castile Sanchez.

  General Notes:

Fernando "the Great" was king of Castilla 1035 - 1065 and king of Leon 1037 - 1065.

He inherited Castile from his father, Sancho III of Navarre, conquered León, and took parts of Navarre from his brother García. Ferdinand fought successfully against the Moors and reduced to vassalage the Moorish kings of Zaragoza, Badajoz, Seville, and Toledo. At the Council of Coyanza (1050) he confirmed the laws of Alfonso V and introduced church reforms. He divided his kingdom among his sons: Castile went to Sancho II, León to Alfonso VI, and Galicia to García.

Han var en dyktig hersker som forbedret de gamle vestgotiske lovene, reformerte klostertukten og utvidet Castillas makt betydelig. Han utbredte sin makt også over deler av Portugal og det nåværende Ny-Castilla. Med sin hustru, Sancha, fikk han landene mellom Pisuerga og Cea.

I 1056 antok han keisertitel for å betegne sin overhøyhet over de andre spanske fyrster og kom derved i strid med keiser Henrik III av Tyskland. Han ødela imidlertid selv Castillas førerstilling ved å dele sitt rike mellom sine tre sønner Sancho, Alfons og Garcia, slik hans far også hadde gjort.

  Noted events in his life were:

• He was a King of León.

Fernando married Sancha of León, daughter of Alfonso V el Noble of León and Elvira of León, in 1032. (Sancha of León was born in 1016 and died on 13 Dec 1071.)