Medieval Academy of America

Medieval Academy of America
The Art of a Reigning Queen as Dynastic Propaganda in Twelfth-Century Spain

Author(s): Therese Martin
Source: Speculum, Vol. 80, No. 4 (Oct., 2005), pp. 1134-1171
Published by: Medieval Academy of America
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20463496
Accessed: 19-12-2015 17:33 UTC
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The Artof a ReigningQueen
asDynasticPropagandain
Twelfth-Century Spain
By Therese Martin
Recent studiesof queenshiphave allowed us to look closelyat variousaspectsof

the lifeof a ruler'sconsort,frompatronage to reputationto commemoration,
with a focuson the queens who were wives or mothers of kings.This study,
however,will focusonUrraca ofLeon-Castile (reigned1109-26) to examinethe
unusual roleof a reigning queen, thatis,theking'sdaughterand heirtohis throne,
whose positioncarrieda greaterdynasticweight thandid a queen consort's.1 The
latter,
althoughfarfrompowerless,wielded authorityonlybecause shewas mar
ried to a king or, in thecase of regentsandwidows, was themother of a king.2
These women married into the royal line,whereas reigningqueenswere of the
royal line. In thecentralMiddle Ages, reigningqueenswere a briefanomalyof
thetwelfth century, a not-altogether-successful
experimentfromthepointof view
of theircourtsand theirheirs.Matilda ofEngland (d. 1167),Melisende of Jeru
salem (d. 1161), and Urraca of Leon-Castile (d. 1126) inheritedtheirkingdoms
fromtheirfathers.3 All had turbulentreigns,broughton byparallel situations:the
kings,lackinglegitimatesons,named daughtersas heirs to thethrone,but pow
I am grateful to James D'Emilio and Judith Golden for their comments on a prior version of this
article, and to the anonymous Speculum readers, whose suggestions were most helpful. Much of this
study was written with the support of a Getty Postdoctoral Fellowship in Spain in 2002-3. All trans
lations are my own.
1
Theresa M. Vann, "The Theory and Practice ofMedieval Castilian Queenship," inQueens, Regents
and Potentates, ed. Theresa M. Vann, Women of Power 1 (Dallas, Tex., 1993), pp. 125-47, esp. p. 146,
points out that according to the law in thirteenth-century Castile-Le?n (both the Esp?culo and the
Siete partidas of Alfonso X), a queen derived honor from her husband the king and exercised power
through him: "Her most important role was the preservation of the king's lineage." This is a key
difference between a queen consort and a queen regnant: the latterworked to preserve her own lineage.
2
Eleanor of Aquitaine (d. 1204), perhaps the best known of all medieval queens, demonstrates that
a queen consort could indeed wield significant power. However, her role differed from that of a queen
regnant, and thus her political strategies and patronage were also different. For Eleanor's role as
patron, see George T. Beech, "The Eleanor of Aquitaine Vase, William IX of Aquitaine, and Muslim
Spain," Gesta 32 (1993), 3-10; Madeline H. Caviness, "Anchoress, Abbess, and Queen: Donors and
Patrons or Intercessors and Matrons?" in The Cultural Patronage ofMedieval Women, ed. June Hall
McCash (Athens, Ga., 1996), pp. 105-54; Nurith Kenaan-Kedar, "Ali?nor d'Aquitaine conduite en
captivit?: Les peintures murales comm?moratives de Sainte-Radegonde de Chinon," Cahiers de civili

sation m?di?vale 41 (1998), 317-30; and the studies in Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady, ed.
Bonnie Wheeler and John Carmi Parsons (New York, 2003). See also the classic study edited byWilliam
W Kibler, Eleanor of Aquitaine: Patron and Politician, Symposia in the Arts and the Humanities 3
(Austin, Tex., 1976).
3
Although brief mention of the similar circumstances surrounding these three reigning queens has
been made by several authors, including Bernard F. Reilly, Richard Fletcher, and Marjorie Chibnall,
no study has yet undertaken a systematic comparison.
1134 Speculum 80 (2005)
The Art of a Reigning Queen 1135
erfulopposition to thenew queens arose aftertheirfathers'deaths.Of thethree,

Urraca is the leastwell known today,but theone who ruledher kingdom the
longest,seventeenyears.Shewas thedaughterof thepowerfulkingAlfonsoVI
(reigned1065-1109), who, despitehis sixwives, leftno son to followhim as
king.Today, ifQueen Urraca is remembered at all, it is forthe"turbulence"of
her reign,theword of choiceamong thosewho have discussedher.BernardReilly
rightly criticized"theprevailingtendency. .. toconsiderUrraca's reignas a kind
of interregnum to be discussed and dismissedas quickly as possible."4Despite
Reilly's effortsto counteractthattendency,it is stillall too evidentin the1998
volume of thegenerallyexcellent Menendez Pidal History of Spain series.The
chapterdealingwithUrraca's fatheris entitled"The Spain ofAlfonsoVI," and
thatcoveringher son's rule is "The EmpireofAlfonsoVII"; Urraca's seventeen
yearreigndisappearsunderthechapterheading"FromAlfonsoVI toAlfonsoVII."5
Her reigndeservesto be reexamined. Urraca carriedout a seriesof strategiesthat
securedher place on the throneand solidifiedherunique position as queen reg
nant, including,as I argue,architectural patronage.Also among thosestrategies
were thepublic acknowledgment of her favoritefromtheuppernobilityand her
commandof themilitary,actionsproper to a monarch, thoughsurprisingin a
medieval queen. In short,Urraca livedas a king ratherthana queen.However,
herpoliticaltriumphs duringher lifetimebroughta backlashafterherdeath.From
thethirteenth centuryon, chroniclersand historiansexcoriated Urraca and blamed
her immorality fordestroying peace inher day.Clearly,Urraca did not conform
to thestandardsof behaviordeveloped forqueen consortsand applied retroac
tivelyto thistwelfth-century reigningqueen.
It isnot mere coincidence thatUrraca, Matilda, andMelisende were near con
temporaries, fortheyreignedjust beforethe ideaofqueenshipthatisstillprevalent
todaysolidifiedin thethirteenth centuryintotheroleofmediatrix,followingthe
celestialexample ofMary.6 The unusual natureof a queen regnanthas caused
Urraca to be forgotten as patron because shedid not play thepart of good wife
and puremother,thetoposof themedieval queen.This studyexaminesthereign
4
The essential starting point for any study of Urraca is Bernard F. Reilly, The Kingdom of Le?n
Castilla under Queen Urraca, 1109-1126 (Princeton, N.J., 1982), also published by the Library of
Iberian Resources Online (LIBRO) at http://libro.uca.edu/urraca/urraca.htm. See p. x for the quotation.
5
Miguel ?ngel Ladero Quesada, La reconquista y el proceso de diferenciaci?n pol?tica (1035-1217),
Historia de Espa?a Men?ndez Pidal 9 (Madrid, 1998).
6 and Dowagers: The King's Wife in the
See the studies in Pauline Stafford, Queens, Concubines,
Early Middle Ages (Athens, Ga., 1983; repr. London, 1998); John Carmi Parsons, ed.,Medieval Queen
and Anne ed., Queens and Queenship inMedieval Europe (Wood
ship (New York, 1993); J.Duggan,
bridge, Eng., 1997). Duggan's excellent introduction points out (pp. xx-xxi) that "while the position
of a queen- or empress-consort was fairlywell defined in custom and in law, that of the queen regnant
presented conceptual and legal difficulties. Queenship had been constructed as a status complementary
to that of the male ruler, not powerless . . . but not in itself the source of power. A queen regnant was
therefore anomalous and in the usual run of events exceptional." See also Mar?a Jes?s Fuente P?rez,
Reinas medievales en los reinos hisp?nicos (Madrid, 2003), the first synthetic attempt to look at Iberian
queens across
theMiddle Ages. Although overly dependent on epics and later chronicles rather than
contemporary documentation, itmakes a significant contribution to the field. The Salic law preventing
female inheritance of the throne in France was not applied before the fourteenth century. For a complete
discussion, see Katherine Fischer Drew, The Laws of the Salian Franks (Philadelphia, 1991).
1136 The Art of a Reigning Queen
ofQueen Urraca and theways she used patronage,especiallyat San Isidoro in
Leon, in her successfulbid to hold the throne.7 Following an in-depthlook at
Urraca, thereignsofMelisende andMatilda and theirpoliticaluses ofpatronage
are also addressed.These rare individualsprovide themost appropriatecompar
ativematerial,given thesimilarity of theircircumstancestoUrraca's.8
It ismy contentionthattheconstructionof theroyalmonastic churchof San
Isidoro inLeon (Figs.1 and 2), builtc. 1095-1124, respondedto thepurposeful,
ideologicalaims ofQueen Urraca. Patronage formedpart of an overallpolitical
agenda tomaintain her unprecedentedplace on the throneas a reigningqueen.
San Isidorowas Urraca's familychurch in her capital city.A small chapel had
been built c. 1055 on the site by her grandparents,and her aunt, the infanta
Urraca, had begun to replaceitwith a Romanesque construction beforeherdeath
in 1101. Structuraland archaeologicalevidenceshows thatitwould have been a
transeptless basilica coveredwith a wooden roof,had the infantalivedto see it
to completion.Instead,Queen Urraca undertooktocontinuebuildingthechurch,
butwith a twistthatemphasizedher dynasticstatusand recalledimportant pil
grimagesites.The new design includeda strongly projectingtranseptand barrel
7 on medieval
The extensive and growing bibliography female patronage includes Constance H.
Berman, "Women as Donors and Patrons to Southern French Monasteries in the Twelfth and Thir
teenth Centuries," in The Worlds of Medieval Women: Creativity, Influence, Imagination, ed. Con
stance H.Berman, Charles W. Connell, and Judith Rice Rothschild, Literary and Historical Perspectives
of theMiddle Ages 2 (Morgantown, W.Va., 1985), pp. 53-68; Renate Bridenthal, Claudia Koonz,
and Susan Stuard, eds., Becoming Visible: Women in European History, 2nd ed. (Boston, 1987); Mary
Erler and Maryanne Kowaleski, eds., Women and Power in the Middle Ages (Athens, Ga., 1988);
Gerald A. Bond,The Loving Subject: Desire, Eloquence, and Power in Romanesque France (Phila
delphia, 1995); Paul Crossley, "The Architecture of Queenship: Royal Saints, Female Dynasties and
the Spread of Gothic Architecture inCentral Europe," inQueens and Queenship, ed. Duggan, pp. 263
300; Georges Duby, Women of the Twelfth Century, trans. Jean Birrell, 3 vols. (Chicago, 1997-98);
Dick Harrison, The Age of Abbesses and Queens: Gender and Political Culture in Early Medieval
Europe (Lund, 1998); Catherine King, Renaissance Women Patrons: Wives and Widows in Italy, c.
1300-c. 1550 (Manchester, Eng., 1998); Jane Tibbetts Schulenburg, Forgetful of Their Sex: Female
Sanctity and Society ca. 500-1100 (Chicago, 1998); Theodore Evergates, ed., Aristocratic Women in
Medieval France (Philadelphia, 1999); Elisabeth van Houts, Memory and Gender inMedieval Europe,
900-1200 (Toronto, 1999); Fredric L. Cheyette, Ermengard of Narbonne and theWorld of the Trou
badours (Ithaca, N.Y., 2001); and Kimberly LoPrete, Adela of Blois, Countess and Lord (forthcoming).
8
Matilda of Tuscany (d. 1115), though a figure of power, was a countess rather than a queen. For
an incisive evaluation ofMatilda and her biographer, Donizo, see Patricia Skinner, "Gender and Mem
ory inMedieval Italy," inMedieval Memories: Men, Women and the Past, 700-1300, ed. Elisabeth
van Houts (Harlow, Eng., 2001), pp. 36-52. See also Aldo Cicinelli, ed., Matilde, Mantova e ipalazzi
del borgo: I ritrovati affreschi del Palazzo della ragione e del Palazzetto dell'abate (Mantua, 1995).
While I recognize that the countess exercised authority over a large territory and took an active role
in political events of her day, her rule was subordinate to that of the German emperor; a reigning
queen, by contrast, could consider herself the emperor's equal. To admit Matilda's patronage here
would mean opening the door to the many women of power in the twelfth century, such as Teresa of
Portugal, Urraca's illegitimate half sister, who, after the death of her husband in 1112 and until her
son managed to defeat her in 1128, effectively ruled what would later become the kingdom of Portugal.
Such women fully merit a study of their own, but they are beyond the scope of this article. While
Petronila of Aragon (1136-73) fits the pattern of inheriting the throne from her father, the fact that
she did so before the age of two, then was brought up in the court of her betrothed, Count Ram?n
Berenguer IV of Barcelona, while he ruled in her place, kept her from exercising the kind of power
held by the three queens in this study.
vaulting,alongwith somepeculiararchitectural details,discussedbelow.At the
same time,thequeen alignedherchurchwithToledo and SantiagodeCompostela,
theecclesiasticalpowers of her day, and connected it to contemporaryartistic
trendsbeyond thebordersof her kingdom. I creditUrraca with themajor pa
tronageof San Isidoroboth because of thecoincidenceof dates-Urraca ruled
from1109 to 1126; thesculpture was completedin thefirstquarterof thetwelfth
century-and because itsconstructionfitsneatlywith herpoliticalstrategies, dis
cussedbelow. In a previousarticleI undertooktoexplainhowUrraca came to be
all butwrittenout of history.9Here I examine therolepatronageof architecture
playedas one of the tacticsthatallowed awoman to rulea kingdominthe Middle
Ages.
RecoveringthehistoryofQueen Urraca's patronageof San Isidoro is important
not only because it has gone unrecognizedbut also because itwas one of the
effectivestrategiesthatcontributedto her successfulrule.The architectural vo
cabulary in theearly-twelfth-century churchservedto emphasizeUrraca's status
as legitimateheir to thethrone,forthebuildingacted as a permanent, public link
between thequeen and her illustriousfather, AlfonsoVI. Evidence thatshewas
recognizedas a patron of San Isidoro in the twelfth centuryisprovidedby the
obituaryof theAugustiniancanons.After thecanons took up residenceat San
Isidoro in1148, theybegan tokeep an obituarythatdemonstrates whom among
theroyaltytheyconsideredas themajor patronsof San Isidoro.10 Only twomem
bersof theroyalfamily were originallyrecordedin thetwelfth-century obituary:
Fernando I (d. 1065) andQueen Urraca (d. 1126), while the infanta
Sancha was
added at her death in 1159.11The names ofmany other members of the royal
family were inserteda centurylater, when long,elaborateobitswere devised. I
interpretthe inclusionin the twelfth-centuryobituaryof just thesethreeroyal
figuresas theway bywhich thecanons honored San Isidoro'smost important
patronsand rememberedthemon theanniversary of theirdeaths.Each had pro
vided somethingessentialto thecontinuedfutureof thecanonryat San Isidoro:
Fernando I had broughtthe relicsof theVisigothicbishop toLeon; Urraca had
built thegrandchurch;and the infantaSancha broughtthecanons themselvesto
thesite.
The significanceof theAugustinianobituaryforthehistoryof San Isidorohas
been disregardedsincescholarsexpectedto be able to associate theconstruction
9 a 'mujer de poco juicio y ruin

Th?r?se Martin, "De 'gran prudencia, graciosa habla y elocuencia'
opinion': Recuperando la historia perdida de la reina Urraca (1109-1126)," forthcoming inCompos

tellanum (2005).
10
The obituary and other early manuscripts of San Isidoro have been studied by Ana I. Su?rez
Gonz?lez in Los c?dices ULI, HI.2, III.3, IVy V (Biblia, Liber capituli, Misal), Patrimonio Cultural
de San Isidoro de Le?n B/2 (Le?n, 1997). (I am grateful to the author for the assistance she has offered
me on questions of paleography at San Isidoro.)
11
Few scholars have noted the inclusion of Fernando I, Queen Urraca, and the infanta Sancha in
the twelfth-century obituary, and those who have, failed to recognize the importance of the obituary
for the history of the site. See Julio P?rez Llamazares, "La Catedral de Le?n, III: Adiciones al Marti
rologio de los reglares," Anales del Instituto de Le?n 12 (1919), 368; his Vida ymilagros del glorioso
San Isidoro, arzobispo de Sevilla y patrono del reino de Le?n (Le?n, 1924), p. 203; and Luisa Garc?a
Calles, Do?a Sancha, hermana del emperador (Le?n, 1972), p. 55.
I. ..........
b~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
i ! I . ... . .. Ms~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
?8t esO
giilS_E.*>N4*?[en8Rkssls;
t -fh... ... g.f^*.<e.Q:..::
-s-
~~~~~~~~~~~~~...
N
Fig. 1. San Isidoro de Leon, south facade c 1095-1124.

(Photograph: author.)
of the royal basilica with one king or another, but Alfonso VI (d. 1109) seemed
too early and Alfonso VII (d. 1157) too late. They have also considered Urraca's
aunt, the infantaUrraca (d. 1101), and her daughter, the infanta Sancha (d. 115
1 9),
as appropriate patrons for San Isidoro. Both royal princesses were renowned in
their own days for their piety, virginity, and generosity to San Isidoro. To whom
better, then, to attribute the role of patron of the grand new church than these
holy women? However, a dispassionate review of the stylistic, iconographic, ar
chaeological, and written evidence points to Queen Urraca as patron.1I2What is
more, the queen was the only member of the royal familywho had an urgent need
to produce such a major public work. Urraca all but forgotten today, was a
powerful monarch whose successful reignwas cut short by her death in childbirth
at age forty-five. She was a ruler but not a king, nor did she fit the image of the
proper medieval queen, who acted as a go-between for her lord and his people.
In a family famous for pious virgins, Urraca came to be known forwarring with
her second husband and taking a lover,with whom she had two children. In the
eyes of later scholars, this evidently disqualified her from consideration as a pos
sible patron of San Isidoro.
The traditional studies identifying virgin princesses as patrons began with Ma
nuel G'mez-Moreno's magisterial works of 1925-26 and 1934, researched in
121discuss the evidence at length inmy forthcoming book, Queen as King: Politics and Architectural
Propaganda in Twelfth-Century Spain (Leiden, 2006).
z+
0~
ONO
0~~~~~~
RMNIWALL 'lEO
B - HORSESHOE-SHAPED 1)00A
C -POIA LOBED ARCHES OVER CROSSING;
Fig. 2. Ground plan, San Isidoro de Le'n.

Shaded area c. 1055.
(Drawing by Pedro Neira Olmedo; ?D Therese Martin.)
1906-8 and stillamong thebest and most influential.13 Combining a physical
examinationof thebuildingwith a thoroughknowledgeof themedievalwritten
sources,thescopeofGomez-Moreno'swork remainsimpressive. He held thatthe
constructionof San Isidorohad been initiatedby the infanta Urraca beforeher
death in1101, a conclusionthatI share,andwas completedby theinfantaSancha
(d. 1159) some timebefore the reconsecrationof thechurch in 1149. I do not
agreewith his date of completion,which has generallybeen acceptedbecause of
thepresenceof an inscription, discussedbelow.Gomez-Moreno's only reference
toQueen Urraca is thefollowing:"Turbulenceand scandalsfollowedunderQueen
Urraca; but incompensationcameherdaughter,theinfanta Sancha,who emulated
her aunt inbeingharboredby San Isidoro,consecratinghervirginitytohim as a
It isno surprisethatmodern scholars,fol
wife and livingnext to his church."'14
lowingthegenerallyhighlyreliableGomez-Moreno,have not lookedbeyond the
infamousreputationthatdeveloped around the figureofUrraca to see how pa
tronageof San Isidoro servedherpoliticalaims.15
AT SANISIDORO,LEON
URRACA'SPATRONAGE
Directwrittenevidencefordatingtheconstruction
of theChurchofSan Isidoro
comes fromone documentand a simple inscription.16
First,we know thatcon
13
Manuel G?mez-Moreno, Cat?logo monumental de Espa?a: Provincia de Le?n, 2 vols. (Madrid,
1925-26), pp. 179-215; and El arte rom?nico espa?ol, esquema de un libro (Madrid, 1934), pp. 58
65 and 102-11.
14
G?mez-Moreno, Provincia de Le?n, pp. 179-80.
15
While G?mez-Moreno mentioned the "turbulence and scandals" of Urraca's reign, Georges Gail
lard's study of San Isidoro's capitals?Les d?buts de la sculpture romane espagnole: Le?n, Jaca, Com
postelle (Paris, 1938), p. 13?contrasted her "continual troubles" with the infanta Sancha, "fille de
cette reine, grande bienfaitrice du monast?re de Saint-Isidore, o? elle se retira tr?s t?t et dans la paix
duquel elle v?cut consacr?e ? Dieu." Gaillard followed G?mez-Moreno in naming as patrons the
infantas Urraca and Sancha. From these scholars in the 1920s and 1930s to JohnWilliams and Susan
Havens Caldwell in the 1970s and 1980s, scholars have noted the presence of female patronage in
"
Le?n without recognizing the contributions made by Queen Urraca. John Williams, Generationes
Abrahae: Reconquest Iconography in Le?n," Gesta 16/2 (1977), 3-14, assigned the patronage of San
Isidoro to the time of Alfonso
VI because of the church's Reconquest iconography, and he credited the
infanta Urraca beginning the construction of the church without, however, addressing
with the issue
of its completion. Susan Havens Caldwell, "Urraca of Zamora and San Isidoro in Le?n: Fulfillment
of a Legacy," Woman's Art Journal 7/1 (1986), 19-25, noted that Queen Urraca was "maligned,"
and she rightly stated that this was "evidence of a woman's power and the price she had to pay for
it," but she attributed patronage exclusively to the infanta Urraca, assuming the church's completion
before the infanta's death in 1101, a date now generally considered too early.
16
Other documents survive for the later phases of construction of themonastic complex. An unfin
ished draft of the infanta Sancha's will c. 1140-44
and a donation by Fernando II in 1171 specified
funds for construction. Sancha's left incomplete, but we can see from her donations of 1148
will was
58 that she later carried out her intention of funding San Isidoro, where construction of the late
Romanesque cloister and the completion of the bell tower took place c. 1150. See Mar?a Encarnaci?n
Mart?n L?pez, "Colecci?n documental de la infanta do?a Sancha (1118-1159): Estudio cr?tico," in
Le?n y su historia: Miscel?nea hist?rica, 8, Colecci?n Fuentes y Estudios de Historia Leonesa 99 (Le?n,
2003), pp. 290-91. For Fernando IPs donation, see Mar?a Encarnaci?n Mart?n L?pez, Documentos
de los siglos X-XIII: Colecci?n diplom?tica, Patrimonio Cultural de San Isidoro de Le?n A/1/1 (Le?n,
1995), pp. 126-27.
struction was underway in1110 becauseof a donationgiven"fortheconstruction
of San Isidoro" by a member ofUrraca's court.17 Second, an inscription
of the
year1124 inconjunction with amason's mark isnow on theexteriorof thenorth
apse (Fig. 3).18Although thebrevityof theinscriptionleaves itsmeaning open to
interpretation, thecarvingof a date on a buildingtocommemoratethecompletion
of construction was a commonphenomenonin thecentral Middle Ages.19The
donationof 1110 and theinscription of 1124 have longbeenknown to scholars,
but littleimportance has beenaccorded thembecauseUrraca's reign was presumed
to have been too tumultuousto supporttheconstructionof such an important
building.In fact,theyprovidea starting point forestablishing
Urraca's patronage
of theredesignand completionof thegrandRomanesque church.
I use theterm"Romanesque" to definethestyleof architecture thatarrivedin
Leon-Castile towardtheend of theeleventhcentury with precedentsinregionsof
theland todayknown as France.Churchesbuilt in thisnew designwere a radical
departurefromtheautochthonousIberianstyles, whetherthecramped,compart
mentalized spaces of ninth-century Asturian churchesor the fragilearcades and
stylizedvegetalcapitalsof Islamic-inspired Mozarabic churchesof thetenthcen
tury.20Romanesque architecture was a physicalmanifestationof thecalls forre
formemanatingfromRome in the late eleventhcentury,especiallyunderPope
GregoryVII (1073-85), a responseto theneed fora new setting withinwhich
to performtheRoman rite.21In the IberianPeninsula,thechange inchurchde
signresultedinpart fromthereplacement of thetraditionalVisigothic-Mozarabic
liturgy with theRoman rite,bringing what was at timesa marginal territory in
linewith westernChristendom.Although theolder liturgydid not disappear
17
Luciano Serrano, Cartulario del monasterio de Vega (Madrid, 1927), p. 37; Mart?n L?pez, Do
cumentos, p. 39: "in illo labore Sancti Isidori."
18
Literally, "E(ra) MCLXII." The year 1162 in the Spanish era is the equivalent of A.D. 1124. In
the twelfth century, Spain continued to use a Roman system of dating that began in 38 b.c., the year
Augustus conquered Hispania. The combination of volute-shaped mark and date provides suggestive
evidence for the construction history of the church. This mark is found mainly at the west end of the
church and in the second story of the palace to the southwest, thus in the final stages of construction.
The mason's mark clarifies the meaning of the date as a commemoration of the completion of San
Isidoro, as did the original location of this stone on the west end of the church. See my "Reading the
Walls: Masons' Marks and the Archaeology of Architecture at San Isidoro, Le?n," in Church, State,
Vellum, and Stone: Essays on Medieval Spain inHonor of John Williams, ed. Th?r?se Martin and Julie
A. Harris (Leiden, 2005), pp. 383-422.
19
Two inscriptions as brief as San Isidoro's that have been interpreted as dates of completion can
be found in northern Spain at Celada de Roblecedo ("ERA MCCXII" [a.d. 1174]) and Aguilar de
Campoo ("ERA MCCLVII" [a.d. 1219]). Many exterior inscriptions were more explicit, such as the
one at San Pedro de Durat?n located at the base of a buttress near the south portal. It names the
patron, consecrating bishop, master builder, and the year inwhich itwas dedicated (a.d. 1100). For
the full inscription of Durat?n, among others, see Pedro Luis Huerta Huerta, "Hablan las fuentes:
Aproximaci?n documental al edificio rom?nico," in Perfiles del arte rom?nico (Aguilar de Campoo,
2002), pp. 27-51.
20
For pre-Romanesque architecture in Spain, see Achim Arbeiter and Sabine Noack-Haley, Christ
liche Denkm?ler des fr?hen Mittelalters vom 8. bis ins 11. Jahrhundert (Mainz am Rhein, 1999).
21
For an overview of the period, see Giles Constable, The Reformation of the Twelfth Century
(Cambridge, Eng., 1996); and H. E. J. Cowdrey, Pope Gregory VII, 1073-1085 (Oxford, 1998).
Fig. 3. 1124 inscription,exterior of north apse, San Isidoro de Leon.

(Photograph: author.)
immediately, thisstandardizedritecame to replace it,beginninginLeon under

AlfonsoVI.22
The radicalchange inecclesiasticalarchitecturetowhat isnow calledRoman
esque can be seenclearlyina comparisonof thegroundplans (seeFig. 2) of the
churchcompletedin1124 under thepatronageofUrracawith thatbuiltc. 1055
by hergrandparents, Sancha (d. 1067) and Fernando I (d. 1065).23The squared
apse and compresseddimensionsof theearlierchurchbespeaka buildingdesigned
foruse by religiousand forattendanceby theroyalfamilyalone.Urraca's church,
nearlyfivetimesas large,with a prominently projectingtranseptand two setsof
doors open to thepublic,respondedto theincreasing demand forinvolvement of
the laity.Besides thephysicalspace of vaulted nave and side aisles divided by
compound piers supportingan arcade, thenew churchof San Isidorodeclares
itself Romanesque styleby itsproliferation
partof theinternational ofhistoriated
capitalsand elaborateportal sculpture.Specialistsare generallyinaccord regard
22
See R. Gonz?lvez, "The Persistence of the Mozarabic Liturgy in Toledo after A.D. 1080," in
Santiago, Saint-Denis, and Saint Peter: The Reception of the Roman Liturgy in Le?n-Castile in 1080,
ed. Bernard F. Reilly (New York, 1985), pp. 167-85.
23
Most of the north wall and part of the west wall of the c. 1055 church survive. The ground plan
was revealed by excavations. See Juan Eloy D?az-Jim?nez, "San Isidoro de Le?n," Bolet?n de la Socie
dad espa?ola de excursiones 25 (1917), 81-98; and John Williams, "San Isidoro in Le?n: Evidence
for a New History," Art Bulletin 55 (1973), 171-84.
Queen
TheArtof a Reigning 1143
ingthedatingof thenearlytwohundredcarvedcapitalsat San Isidoro,situating
thecompletionof thesculpturein thefirst quarterof the twelfth solidly
century,
within Urraca's reign.24 analysis
Stylistic connectsLeon tomajor constructionsat
Toulouse, Jaca, Fromista, Carrion de losCondes, and Santiago de Compostela,
locatingSan Isidorowithin a specifichistoricaland artisticcontextat theturnof
thetwelfth Further,
century.25 briefarchaeologicalexcavationsin1908 and 1970,
when theflooring was replaced,allow us to seehow thechurchwould have been
built iftheinfanta While much largerthanherparents'
had seen ittocompletion.26
chapel, theinfanta'snew buildingwas to be a simplechurchwithout transepts or
vaulting.The various sculptural workshops, alongwith foundationsrevealedin
theexcavations,allow us to recognizetwodistinctphases of construction within
thechurch,which I identify with thepatronage firstof the infanta Urraca and
thenof herniece,Queen Urraca.
In addition to her turbulentpersonal and politicalhistory,thequeen has not
been recognizedas patronbecause of inscriptions fromthemid-twelfth and early
thirteenth centuries.27San Isidorowas reconsecratedin 1149 by her children,
AlfonsoVII and the infantaSancha, and thishas been accepted as themoment
when construction was completed,even thoughthefabricof thebuildingargues
againstsuch a latedate. Justaftertheroyalsiblingsinstalled Augustiniancanons
at San Isidoro in1148, thededicationcame duringa periodof renewedconstruc
tionon themonastic complexat San Isidorobut longafterthecompletionof the
churchitself. The consecration,held in thepresenceofmany importantlayand
religiousfigures,was probablydue to a combinationof factors-AlfonsoVII's
successat thebattleof Baeza in 1147, the installationofAugustiniansin 1148,
and perhapsa council inLeon in1149-none ofwhich involvedtheconstruction
of thechurch.
Tomb inscriptions have also been used to assign thepatronageof San Isidoro
tomembersof the royal familyother thanQueen Urraca. According to theno
24
Marcel Durliat, in La sculpture romane de la route de Saint-Jacques: De Conques ? Compostelle
(Mont-de-Marsan, 1990), p. 389, correctly stated that "stylistiquement, aucune des sculptures de Saint
Isidore ne para?t post?rieure ? 1125," yet he did not attribute any of the patronage of San Isidoro to
Queen Urraca.
25For a more detailed
analysis of the various sculptural styles at San Isidoro and their connections
to other sites, as well as further bibliography on the topic, see my "Un nuevo contexto para el t?mpano
de la Portada del Cordero en San Isidoro de Le?n," in El t?mpano rom?nico: Im?genes, estructura y
audiencias, ed. Roc?o S?nchez Ameijeiras and Jos? Luis Senra Gabriel y Gal?n (Santiago de Compos
tela, 2003), pp. 181-205.
26 See n.
23, above.
27 a la piedra?
See the recent studies by Ana Su?rez Gonz?lez, "?Del pergamino ?De la piedra al
pergamino? (entre diplomas, obituarios y epitafios medievales de San Isidoro de Le?n)," Anuario de
estudios medievales 33 (2003), 365-415; and Roc?o S?nchez Ameijeiras, "The Eventful Life of the
Royal Tombs of San Isidoro in Le?n," in Church, State, Vellum, and Stone, ed. Martin and Harris,
pp. 489-530. The inscriptions are published byWalter Muir Whitehill, Spanish Romanesque Archi
tecture of the Eleventh (Oxford, 1941), pp. 151-53.
Century They were first recorded in 1572 by
Ambrosio de Morales, por orden del Rey D. Phelipe II. ? los Reynos de Leon y Galicia
Viage y
Principado de Asturias,para reconocer las reliquias de santos, sepulcros reales, y libros manuscritos
de los cath?drales y monasterios, ed. Enrique Fl?rez (Madrid, 1765; repr. 1791). I have consulted the
Oviedo, 1977 facsimile of the 1791 edition.
longer-extant tombof the infantaUrraca, she "enlarged" thechurchbuiltbyher
parents.28 How to interpret sucha statementis lessthanobvious, first because the
tombwas made during a general renovationof royal burials that took place
around theturnof thethirteenth century,thuswell afterthechurchwas builtand
a centuryafterthe infanta'sdeath in 1101.29The inscription refersto theinfanta
as queen of Zamora, a titleretroactively accorded her in the thirteenthcentury
but never inuse duringher lifetime. Second, theexactmeaning of theterm"am
pliavit" and, thus,the fullextentof theenlargementare unclear fromthisbrief
My researchindicatesthattheenlargementrefersto theconstruction
text. c. 1080
of the two-storyroyalapartmentsto thewest of thechurch,the lower levelof
which is now known as thePantheon.However, the infantacannot have been
responsiblefor the reconceptionof thechurchas a transepted, pilgrimage-type
basilica, givenher death in 1101 and thesubsequentchanges inplan and sculp
turalstyles.
Another tomb,thatof a certainPetrus,calledDeustamben,has contributedto
theconfuseddatingand undefinedpatronageof San Isidoro.The inscription on
Petrus's tombcreditshimwith "overbuilding"or "buildingup" thechurch,but
again theterm"superedificavit" to translateintomodern architectural
isdifficult
terms.30 It has been taken tomean thatPetruswas responsibleforvaultingthe
Church of San Isidoro,a reasonable interpretation. The inscription makes him a
bridgebuilder,and thetechniquesforvaultinga buildingand constructing a bridge
were not farremoved. No dates are includedin theinscription,butwe know from
thePilgrim'sGuide to Santiago de Compostela thathe had died before itwas
writtenc. 1135.31Because he was givenburial byAlfonso VII and the infanta
Sancha, scholarshave assumed thatPetrusworked forthekingas "architect"of
San Isidoro.We know,however,thatUrraca had been Petrus'spatron fromthe
wording inan 1126 charterinwhichAlfonsoVII confirmed a donationhis recently
28
Whitehill, Spanish Romanesque Architecture, p. 151. The tomb was destroyed in 1810, when
Napoleon's troops sacked the Pantheon (the palace area to the west of the church; see Fig. 2), but the
text had been copied byMorales. See Su?rez Gonz?lez, "?Del pergamino a la piedra?" See also Santo
Martino de Le?n: Ponencias del I Congreso internacional sobre Santo Martino en el VIH centenario
de su obra literaria, 1185-1985, Isidoriana 1 (Le?n, 1987), esp. Vicente Garc?a Lobo, "Las inscrip
ciones medievales de San Isidorode Le?n," pp. 371-98, and Jos? Ignacio Gil Pulido, "Los epitafios
del Pante?n de los reyes de San Isidoro de Le?n (999-1159): Problemas hist?ricos," pp. 401-11.
29 a
See Su?rez Gonz?lez, "?Del pergamino la piedra?" esp. pp. 401-2; and S?nchez Ameijeiras,
"The Eventful Life of the Royal Tombs."
30
Whitehill, Spanish Romanesque Architecture, p. 153. Vicente Garc?a Lobo and Encarnaci?n Mar
tin L?pez, De epigraf?a medieval: Introducci?n y ?lbum (Le?n, 1995), pp. 55 and 125, have dated the
tomb inscription to the "renovatio" of the early thirteenth century at San Isidoro.
31
Because of the reference to a bridge on Petrus's tomb, G?mez-Moreno, El arte rom?nico espa?ol,
p. 106, identified him as Petrus the bridge builder in the Pilgrim's Guide: "Petrus, qui Pontem Minee
? regina Hurraca confractum refecit." See Paula Gerson, Annie Shaver-Crandell, Alison Stones, and
Jeanne Krochalis, The Pilgrim's Guide to Santiago de Compostela: A Critical Edition, 2 (London,
1998), pp. 16 and 155-56. For a discussion of itinerant artists, including Petrus, see Seraf?n Moralejo,
"Artistas,patronos y p?blico en el arte del Camino de Santiago," Compostellanum 30 (1985), 399

430, esp. pp. 398-99. Moralejo's complete works have recently been reedited in Patrimonio art?stico
de Galicia y otros estudios: Homenaje al Prof. Dr. Seraf?n Moralejo Alvarez, ed. Angela Franco Mata,
3 vols. (Santiago de Compostela, 2004).
deceasedmothermade toPetrusPeregrinus,thebridgebuilder.32 Iwould suggest
thatPetruswas themaster ofworks called inbyQueen Urracawhen shedecided
to change thedesignof thechurchbegun by her aunt fromwooden-roofed to
barrel-vaulted.
Without an unambiguousdocumentinwhich a patron laysclaim toSan Isidoro,
we must dependon visual evidenceprovidedby thebuildingand itssculptureand
on thehistoricalcontextto understandwhy thechurchwas built.San Isidoro's
sculptureclearlypoints to a constructiondate in the firstquarterof the twelfth
century;andwhen we examineQueen Urraca's politicalcircumstances,therea
sons fortheconstructionof San Isidoro become clear.Architecturalfeaturesvi
suallyconnectedUrraca toher fatheras his declaredheirand toToledo and San
tiago, themost powerfulreligiouscentersinmedieval Spain. San Isidoro served
as a visible locus of thequeen's power inher capital cityand an affirmationof
her legitimacy as ruler;itwas builtbyUrraca preciselybecauseher turbulent
times
requiredits impressive urbanpresence.
THE QUEEN AS LEGITIMATE HEIR
Despite thedifficultiesinherentinher unprecedentedrole as femalemonarch,

Queen Urraca used a combinationof patronage,politicalmaneuvering,and es
pecially theevocationof her father's memory to retainher place on the throne
untilher earlydeath in1126. Urraca's effortsto associateherself
with her father
aremanifestedmost clearlyin thetitlessheused inhercharters. Although itwas
commonpractice fora new rulerto emphasizehis lineageupon ascendingthe
throne,most references to a king'sparentagedisappearedwithina fewyears,once
theyoungkinghad establishedhimselfas monarch.During theseventeenyears
Urraca as daughter(ratherthanson) of thekingneverseemstohave
of her reign,
been secureenough to giveup invokingher father'sname. In theearlyyearsof
her reign,Urraca oftenemphasizedher legitimacy bynamingbothparents,signing
herselfin 1112, "Urraca,queen of all Spain, daughterof the lordkingAlfonso
and queen Constanza."33More commonwere explicitreferencesto her famous
father, such as in 1110, "Urraca, by the grace of God queen and empress of Spain,
daughterof thekingand emperorAlfonso of blessedmemory."34 Even to theend
Urraca's chancerycontinuedto styleher "Queen Urraca, daughter
of her reign,
of themost piousAlfonso,emperorof all Spain."35Her positionas reigning
queen
32
For the full text of the 1126 charter, see Luis V?zquez de Parga, Jos? Mar?a Lacarra, and Jos?
Ur?a R?u, Las peregrinaciones a Santiago de Compostela, 3 (Madrid, 1948-49; repr. in facsimile,
Asturias, 1981), pp. 15-16.
33
Irene Ruiz Albi, La reina do?a Urraca (1109-1126), canciller?a y colecci?n diplom?tica (Le?n,
2003), pp. 418-20: "Urraca totius Yspanie regina, filia regis domni Adefonsi et Constantie regine."
See also Cristina Monterde Albiac, ed., Diplomatario de la reina Urraca de Castilla y Le?n (1109
1126) (Zaragoza, 1996), pp. 91-92.
34Ruiz
Albi, La reina do?a Urraca, pp. 371-73: "Vrracha, Dei gratia regina et imperatrix Yspanie,
filia regis Ildefonsi beate memorie imperatoris." See also Monterde Albiac, Diplomatario de la reina
Urraca, p. 37.
35 1125:
Monterde Albiac, Diplomatario de la reina Urraca, p. 303, charter of September "Urracha
regina, piissimi Aldefonsi tocius Yspanie imperatoris filia."
was directlydue toAlfonsoVI's havingdeclared inToledo beforecourtand fol
lowers thatshewas to ruleafterhis death.Throughouther life,Queen Urraca
ensuredthatthisessentialfactwas not forgotten.
Visual evidenceofUrraca's successfuleffortstoassociateherselfwith her father
isprovidedby thecartularyknown as theTumboA of theCathedral ofSantiago
de Compostela.36This collectionof chartersdocumentingroyalgiftsto thecathe
dralwas put togetherin1129-34, shortlyafter Urraca's death in1126. The char
tersof theTumboA arepunctuatedby twenty-four imagesof thecathedral'sroyal
patrons,fifteenofwhom arecrownedand enthroned monarchsholdingscepters.37
These attributesof crownand scepterindicatethestatusas rulerof fourteen kings
andQueen Urraca.38In theotherportraitsofqueen consorts,counts,and infantas,
none of theroyalfigures bears theattributes of rulingpower (Figs.4 and 5). Some
of theroyaltyare identifiedby tituliin thebackgroundor on thescrollstheyhold,
othersmerelyby associationwith thedonation on thesame folio.39 AlfonsoVI,
however,is identified by a titulusthatunderlineshis importance,laudinghim
above all othersas "ADEFONS REX PATER PATRIE" (Fig. 6). Of thesixteen
figures holdingscrollsrepresenting thecharterstheyhave bestowedupon theca
thedral,onlyUrraca's scrollexplicitlyassociatesherwith her father(Fig.7).40It
reads, "URAKA REGINA ADEFONSI FILIA CONFIRMAT." InAlfonso's and
Urraca's portraits,themanuscriptpainterused the titulito emphasizethepower
of thekingand thestatusUrraca attainedthroughhim.Alfonso's name onUrra
ca's imageservedto reinforce her legitimacy and thatof herdonation.
As scholarshave noted to theexclusionof almost everything elsewhen men
tioningUrraca's reign,the firstquarterof the twelfthcenturywas a turbulent
period innorthernIberia.The queen's accession to thethrone was as unexpected
inherday as itremainssurprisinginours. Shewas theeldestchildofAlfonsoVI
(d. 1109) and his secondwife Constanza of Burgundy (d. 1093), but given the
36
The portraits and charters of the Tumbo A are reproduced inManuel Lucas Alvarez, Tumbo A
de la Catedral de Santiago: Estudio y edici?n, Colecci?n Hist?rico-Documental de la Iglesia Compos
telana 1 (Santiago de Compostela, 1998). For studies of the Tumbo A, see Manuel Rub?n Garc?a
Alvarez, "La primera parte del 'Tumbo A' de Santiago," Compostellanum 7 (1962), 531-67; and
M. C. D?az y D?az, F. L?pez Alsina, and S.Moralejo, eds., Los tumbos de Compostela (Madrid, 1985).
37
For a recent study of the royal portraits, although not of Urraca's, seeManuel Antonio Casti?eiras
Gonz?lez, "Poder, memoria y olvido: La galer?a de retratos regios en el Tumbo A de la Catedral de
Santiago (1129-1134)," Quintana 1 (2002), 187-96.
38
of power, see C. Delgado
For the attributes Valero, "La corona como insignia de poder durante
la edad media," Anales de historia del arte 4 (1993-94), 747-63; and "El cetro como insignia del
poder durante la edad media," inLos clasicismos en el arte espa?ol: Actas del X congreso del C.E.H.A.,
[1] (Madrid, 1994), pp. 45-52.
39
For the use of a scroll to identify the donor, see Michael Camille, "Seeing and Reading: Some
Visual Implications ofMedieval Literacy and Illiteracy," Art History 8 (1985), 26-49.
40
Only four other scrolls identify the ruler, each less explicitly than Urraca's. They read as follows:
"RANEMIRus REX CF"; "FREDENANDus REX CF"; "PETRus REX"; and "ENRICus COMES
CF." Of the twelve portraits with a titulus in the background, just two connect the king to his father
("ORDONIus REX FILIus SECVNDus ADEFONSI" and "VEREMVDus REX ADEFONSIFILIVS").
Ordo?o II (d. 924) and Vermudo III (d. 1037) were probably given patronymics because each was one
of several kings by the same name. These two were less important historically than their eponymous
relatives. Urraca, however, was the only queen to rule; there would have been no a priori need tomake
explicit her relationship to Alfonso VI.
and
aunt
of
Queen
Urraca,
Tumbo
A.
husband
first
of
Queen
Urraca,
Tumbo
A.
(Photograph:
Archivo
de
la
Catedral
de
Santiago.
(Photograph:
Archivo
de
la
Catedral
de
Santiago.)
Fig.
4.
Infanta
Urraca
(d.
1101),
sister
of
VI
Alfonso
Fig.
5.
Raimundo
of
Burgundy
(d.
1107),
Figs.
4-7
permission.)
by
reproduced
Fig.
6.
Alfonso
VI
(d.
1109),
Tumbo
A.
Queen
7.
Fig.
Urraca
(d.
1126),
Tumbo
A.
(Photograph:
Archivo
de
la
Catedral
de
(Photograph:
Santiago.)
Archivo
de
la
Catedral
de
Santiago.)
factthatAlfonsowould marry six timesand take a formalconcubine,hemust
have expected to be succeededby a son.Yet he had only six childrento survive
infancy, justone of thema boy,who died inbattleat age fifteen.41
Seeinghisdeath
approachwithout a son to succeedhim,AlfonsoVI designatedhis eldestdaughter
as heir.Eight troubledyears followedUrraca's accession,as thequeen foughtto
maintainher rightto ruleagainstherestrangedsecondhusbandon one frontand
against the supportersof her young son by her firsthusband on another.The
complicatedearlyyearsofher rulemake itunsurprising thatscholarshave avoided
designating Urraca as patronof San Isidoro,yet theevidencepoints to just this
unrestas thecatalystforthechurch'sconstruction. The new basilica servedas
homage toUrraca's father, of herpositionas legitimate
a visiblereminder succes
sor to the throneof Leon.42Urraca's patronageof San Isidorowas a public and
enduring manifestationto her subjectsthatshewas her father'sheir.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF TOLEDO AND

ITS EVOCATIONS IN SAN ISIDORO
Two unusual architecturalelementsadded to San IsidorounderUrraca's pa

tronage,polylobedarchesand a horseshoe-shapeddoor,were intendedto signal
her dynasticauthoritythroughher fatherby calling tomind Toledo. Although
must remainspeculative,it is clear thatsome extraordinary
this interpretation
justification requiredto explain theexceptionalpresenceof thesearchitectural
is
details inLe6n. One of themost significant acts ofAlfonsoVI had been there
conquest in1085 ofToledo, a cityimportantstrategically and symbolically
as the
ancientVisigothiccapital of Spain.43After theconquest,AlfonsoVI used such
titlesas "emperorestablishedbyGod over all thenationsof Spain"44and "the
lordkingAlfonso reigninginToledo and rulingoverChristiansand pagans of all
thekingdomsof Spain. 45Evenmore suggestiveis thetitlehe is said tohave used
with al-Mutamid ibnAbbad of Seville in1085 andwith
inan exchangeof letters
theAlmoravidgeneralYusuf ibnTashufinin1086: "emperorof thetworeligions."
While theauthenticity of theseletters
has beendebated,AngusMacKay andMu
41 consorts and their children were Constanza,

His mother of Urraca (heir); Jimena Mu?oz (con
cubine), mother of Elvira (wife of Count Raymond IV of Toulouse, then of Count Fernando Fern?ndez)
and Teresa (wife of Henry of Burgundy and mother of Afonso Enriques, first king of Portugal); Zaida
(concubine then wife, baptized Isabel), mother of Sancho; Isabel, mother of Sancha (wife of Count
Rodrigo) and Elvira (wife of Duke Roger II of Sicily). His wives In?s, Berta, and Beatriz were childless.
42
For issues of legitimacy and the portal sculpture at San Isidoro, see my "Un nuevo contexto."
43 see the Estudios
For studies of this event examining the importance of Toledo, sobre Alfonso VI
y la reconquista de Toledo, 2 vols. (Toledo, 1987-88). Bernard F. Reilly, The Kingdom of Le?n-Castilla
under King Alfonso VI, 1065-1109 (Princeton, N.J., 1988), pp. 135 and 173-74, following Josiah
Cox Russell, Medieval Regions and Their Cities (Bloomington, Ind., 1972), p. 178, put Toledo's popu
lation at twenty-eight thousand, "greater than the combined populations of every major town in the
kingdom of Le?n-Castilla."
44
Published in Andr?s Gambra, Alfonso VI: Canciller?a, curia e imperio, Fuentes y Estudios de
Historia Leonesa 62-63 (Le?n, 1997-98), pp. 236-37: "Deo constitutus imperator super omnes
Spanie nationes."
45
Ram?n Men?ndez Pidal, La Espa?a del Cid, 2 (Buenos Aires, 1939), pp. 730-31: "r?gnante rex
domno Adefonso in Toleto et imperante christianorum quam et paganorum omnia Hispanie regna."
hammadBenaboud give strongargumentsthattheyshouldbe acceptedas genu
ine.46
Even ifone attributesthesegrandiloquenttitlestopropaganda ratherthan
fact,theystillindicatehowAlfonso's actionswere intendedto be read.
In the summerof 1109 thedyingkingwent back to the sceneof his greatest
triumphtoproclaimUrraca his successorinToledo. She is seendrawingattention
to thesignificanceofToledo as thesourceof her authorityin theHistoria Com
postellana, theearly-twelfth-century
chronicleofBishopGelmirezof Santiago de
Compostela: "For itiswell knownbyyou and byall thosewho liveinthekingdom
of Spain thatmy father, EmperorAlfonso,when thehour of his death drewnear,
turnedover tome all of his kingdom inToledo."47An anonymousmonk at the
Leonese royalmonasteryof Sahaguin,writingaround 1117, recognizedthetrue
weight of thatmomentwhen he toldofAlfonso's death in "the verynoble city
thathe hadwon fromthepowerof Ishmaelitesand infidels, thatisto say,Toledo,"
continuingthat,therein thepresenceof bishops and "almost all thenobles and
countsof Spain, all of themhearing it,he leftthelordshipof his kingdomto the
said dofiaUrraca, his daughter,
which I happened to hear,because Iwas present
there."48By declaringUrraca his heir inToledo, AlfonsoVI used the symbolic
power of thatancientroyalcityto granther legitimacy as rulerofLeon-Castile.
The significanceofToledo forUrracawas recognizedinthemid-thirteenth century
by IbnKhallikan, a judgeinDamascus, inhis biographicaldictionaryTheDeaths
of FamousMen.49 IbnKhallikan drew on twelfth-century sourcesforhis biogra
46
Angus MacKay and Muhammad Benaboud, "The Authenticity of Alfonso VI's Letter to Yusuf
ibn Tashufin," Al-Andalus 43 (1978), 233-37; "Alfonso VI of Le?n and Castile, 'al-Imbratur-dhu-1
Millatayn,'" Bulletin of Hispanic Studies 56 (1979), 95-102; and "Yet Again Alfonso VI, 'The Em
peror, Lord of (the Adherents of) the Two Faiths, theMost Excellent Ruler': A Rejoinder toNorman
Roth," Bulletin of Hispanic Studies 61 (1984), 165-81. Reilly, Alfonso VI, p. 181, n. 74, considers
the letters to be "fabrications ofMuslim propaganda." Ibn al-Kardabus, writing c. 1190, commented
on the dramatic improvement in Alfonso's fortunes after the conquest of Toledo: "When the tyrant
Alfonso [VI], may God damn him, took Toledo, he was filled with pride [literally, 'he raised his nose'],
for he thought that the reins of al-Andalus were now in his hands. He then launched the cavalry against
all the districts until he managed to conquer all the dependencies of Ibn Di-1-Nun and take possession
of them. . . .Alfonso followed the trajectory of the powerful, and he procured for himself the position
of the Caesars. He became so familiar with pride that he considered all who walked on the earth as
despicable. He took the title of emperor, which in their language isAmir al-Mu'minin [Prince of the
Believers], and he began to title himself Emperor of the Two Religions in the documents he issued"
(Felipe Ma?llo Salgado, ed., Ibn al-Kardab?s, Historia de al-Andalus, Akal Bolsillo 169 [Madrid,
1986], pp. 108-10).
47
Emma Falque Rey, ed., Historia Compostellana, CCCM 70 (Turnhout, 1988), 1.64.1, p. 102:
"Tibi etenim notum est et omnibus Hispanie regnum incolentibus quoniam pater meus imperator
Adefonsus, appropinquante sui transitus hora, mihi apud Toletum regnum totum tradidit. ..." For a
translation into Spanish, see Emma Falque, Historia Compostelana: Introducci?n, traducci?n, notas
e ?ndices (Madrid, 1994).
48
Antonio Ubieto Arteta, ed., Cr?nicas an?nimas de Sahag?n, Textos Medievales 75 (Zaragoza,
1987), p. 25: "... la muy noble ?ibdad que ?l av?a ganado del poder?o de los ismahelitas e ynfieles,
conbiene a saver, de Toledo . . .
quasi todos los nobles e condes de Espanna, los quales todos oy?ndolo,
dex? el se?or?o de su reino a la dicha donna Hurraca su fixa, la qual cosa me acontesci? oir, porque
yo all? era presente." This chronicle, completed c. 1117, survives only in a Romance copy.
49
Abu Abbas Shams al-Din Ahmad ibnMuhammad ibn Abi Bakr ibn Khallikan, Wafayat al-a y an
'
fi anba abna al-zaman, excerpted in Tom Drury, "The Image of Alfonso VI and His Spain inArabic
Historians" (Ph.D. diss., Princeton University, 1974), pp. 85-88 and 315-26.
phies of theMuslim rulersal-Mutamidand Yusuf ibnTashufin in theirbattles
withAlfonsoVI. RecountingtheChristianking'sdeath fromgriefafterthebattle
ofUcles (1108) atwhichmany important membersof his courtand his only son
Sanchowere killed,IbnKhallikan says thatAlfonsoVI "leftno successor,except
one daughter,upon whom thesovereignty devolved;and she fortified
herselfin
Urraca spentverylittletimeduringher reigninToledo, but the
Toledo."50 In fact,
symbolismof having been named successor in thatcitycarriedweight even a
centurylater.
In herpatronageUrraca underlinedherpositionas heir throughher fatherto
theVisigothsby evokingthefabledcityofToledo with theunprecedented use of
polylobedarchesand a horseshoe-shaped portal inSan Isidoro.Horseshoe-shaped
doors, althoughcommon inSpain fromthesevenththroughthe tenthcenturies
inVisigothic,Islamic,andMozarabic architecture, had disappearedby theelev
enthcentury, only tomake a briefreappearanceat San Isidoroand at themon
asteryof Silos in theearly twelfthcentury.51
Of the sevendoors at San Isidoro,
only one ishorseshoeshaped and elaboratedwith polylobes (Fig. 8), suggesting
that thisformcarriedmeaning beyond thepurelydecorative.This portalwas
theentranceto thepalace area duringUrraca's time;only privilegedmembers
of societywould have been able to pass through.The room beyond thehorse
shoe door, called thePantheon since the seventeenthcentury,52 was a liminal
space between church and palace, probably themore public area intowhich
courtierswere allowed, ratherthan theprivatepalace roomsenteredthrougha
nearbydoor toppedby a chrismontympanum(see Fig. 2, doorsmarkedA and
50
Drury, "The Image of Alfonso VI," p. 326.
51
At San Juan de la Pe?a in Aragon, a tenth-century horseshoe doorway was reused in the twelfth
century. Recently, Milagros Guardia Pons, "Relire les espaces liturgiques ? travers la peinture murale:
Le programme iconographique de San Baudelio de Berlanga (Soria)," Les cahiers de Saint Michel de
Cuxa 36 (2003), 79-97, redated the horseshoe-shaped door at the monastery of San Baudelio de
Berlanga to c. 1100, which would raise the number of horseshoe-shaped doors from all of twelfth
century Spain to three. Meyer Schapiro, in his discussion of Silos's Puerta de las V?rgenes in "From
Mozarabic to Romanesque at Silos," Art Bulletin 21 (1939), 312-74 (reprinted in Romanesque Art
[New York, 1977], pp. 28-101, esp. p. 66, n. 3), did not realize how unusual the horseshoe-shaped
doorway was: "That the horseshoe arch was used in Spanish Romanesque churches in the twelfth
century is evident from the example of Porqueras, dated in 1182." In fact, Porqueras is an isolated
rural site, where the triumphal arch bears only the slightest suggestion of a horseshoe shape. For a
recent reassessment of Schapiro's Silos article, see JohnW Williams, "Meyer Schapiro in Silos: Pur
suing an Iconography of Style," Art Bulletin 85 (2003), 442-68.
52
The so-called Pantheon has been the most studied aspect of San Isidoro. For a summary of his
lifetime of studies, see Antonio Vi?ayo Gonz?lez, San Isidoro de Le?n, pante?n de reyes. Albores
rom?nicos: Arquitectura, escultura, pintura (Le?n, 1995). Williams, "Evidence" (above, n. 23),
pp. 171-84, redated the Pantheon from 1063 to the 1080s, a date now generally accepted. For the
historiography of the Pantheon, see my "Queen as King: Patronage at the Romanesque Church of San
Isidoro de Le?n" (Ph.D. diss., University of Pittsburgh, 2000), chap. 3. See also Jos? Luis Senra,
"Aproximaci?n a los espacios liturgico-funerarios en Castilla y Le?n: P?rticos y galileas," Gesta 36
(1997), 122-44. For a dissenting view, see Isidro Bango Torviso, "El espacio para enterramientos
privilegiados en la arquitectura medieval espa?ola," Anuario del Departamento de Historia y Teor?a

del Arte, Universidad Aut?noma de Madrid 4 (1992), 93-132; and Elizabeth Valdez del ?lamo, "Or
todoxia y heterodoxia en el estudio de la escultura rom?nica espa?ola: Estado de la cuesti?n," Anuario
del Departamento de Historia y Teor?a del Arte, Universidad Aut?noma de Madrid 9-10 (1997-98),
9-33.
h4.
Fig. 8. San Isidoro de L.on,

horseshoe-shaped door at
west end of church.
(Photograph: JohnWilliams.
Reproduced by permission.)
B).5 The deliberately anachronistic shape of the horseshoe portal linked the present
to the past, Urraca to her Visigothic ancestors and their capital in Toledo.5
Throughout theMiddle Ages, Toledo carried almost mythical meaning as the par
adigmatic Visigothic city, and the rulers of Leo6n-Castile were considered the direct
heirs of the pre-Islamic rulers of the peninsula. It was this tradition that gave
Leonese monarchs, alone of theChristian rulers of Iberia, the right to imperial titles.
Even more extraordinary than the horseshoe door are the polylobes that flank
the crossing over the altar, the holiest and most conspicuous sitewithin the church
(Fig. 9). The arches at San Isidoro have been taken for granted because polylobes
53
John Williams has been the only scholar to recognize the palatine nature of this area; see his
"Le?n: The Iconography of a Capital," inCultures of Power: Lordship, Status, and Process inTwelfth
Century Europe, ed. Thomas N. Bisson (Philadelphia, 1995), pp. 231-58. The Leonese palace forms
part of my current research on twelfth-century palaces in Spain.

54
For issues of appropriation and the use of the horseshoe arch in earlier Iberian architecture, see
Jerrilynn D. Dodds, Architecture and Ideology in Early Medieval Spain (University Park, Pa., 1990),
and "Islam, Christianity, and the Problem of Religious Art," inThe Art ofMedieval Spain, A.D. 500
1200 (New York, 1993), pp. 27-37.
55See a recent inMedieval
summary of this idea in Joseph F. O'Callaghan, Reconquest and Crusade
Spain (Philadelphia, 2003), pp. 4-10. For evocations of Toledo, seeWilliams, "Le?n: The Iconography
of a Capital."
Reproduced
permission.)
by
Fig.
9.
San polylobed
arches
of
crossing.
late-tenth-century
polylobed
Isidoro
de
Leon,
Great
10.
Fig.
Mosque
of arch.
C6rdoba,
(Photograph:
author.)
(Photograph:
Archivo
Mas.
Fig.
11A.
Mosque
of
Bab
al-Mardum
(Church
of
Fig.
1
1B.
Detail
of
polylobed
door
at
left.
Cristo
de
la
Luz),
Toledo,
999-1000.
(Photographs:
author.)
TheArtofa Reigning
Queen 1155
came to be a commondecorativefeaturein latertwelfth-century architectureof
northernSpain and southernFrance.However, a thoroughstudyof theirhistory
points to San Isidoro as the siteof the firstmajor monumentalappearance of
polylobes in a Christian setting.56
This extraordinary occurrencemust have re
sponded to an equally remarkableset of circumstances, which Iwould suggest
arose during the reignofQueen Urraca. Polylobed arches,standard in Islamic
buildingsof the IberianPeninsula,are likelyto have been recognizablein the
Middle Ages as Islamicarchitectural vocabulary.The tenth-centuryGreatMosque
ofCordoba (Fig. 10) isoftenused as thequintessentialexampleof Islamicarchi
tecture,but itsprivilegedposition today is due tomere survival:all othermajor
medievalmosques of importantIslamiccitiesof Iberiahave been destroyed.For
comparative material,we must turnto suchbuildingsas thelate-eleventh-century
Muslim palace of theAljaferia in Zaragoza57 or the tinymosque of Bab al
Mardum inToledo58(Figs. 11A and B). Polylobedarchessuch as theseare likely
tohave been used in theGreatMosque ofToledo and copied in theearly-twelfth
centurychurch in Le6n.59The constructionof San Isidoro took place only one
56
from the earlier part of the twentieth century attempted to trace the polylobed arch to a
Scholars
source. See, for example, Emile M?le, "Les influences arabes dans l'art roman," Revue des
specific
deux mondes 7/18 (1923), 311-43 (reprinted in Art et artistes du moyen ?ge [Paris, 1927]); and
Ahmad Fikry, L'art roman du Puy et les influences islamiques (Paris, 1934). However, by 1975 Marcel
Durliat, "L'art dans Le Velay," Congr?s arch?ologique de France, Velay 133 (1975), 9-54, had con
cluded that the Islamic influence could not be traced to one direct source but was simply a part of the
contemporary Romanesque vocabulary of the twelfth century. See also Eliane Vergnolle, "La chapelle
Saint-Clair au Puy," Congr?s de France, Velay 133 (1975), 314-29, esp. p. 324; and
arch?ologique
Etelvina Fern?ndez Gonzalez, "El arco: Tradici?n e influencias isl?micas y orientales en el rom?nico
del reino de Le?n," Awraq 5-6 (1982-83), 221-42. Linda Seidel, Songs of Glory: The Romanesque
Fa?ades of Aquitaine (Chicago, 1981 ), p. 75, connected the themes of conquest and triumph over Islam
to polylobed arches inAquitaine: "Multilobed arches, like those visible inMozarabic Spain, form the
primary adornment of church entries at Ch?tres, Aubeterre, and Chal?is, among others, inAquitaine;
the cusped archivolts are integrated emblematically into the characteristic triple-arched portal scheme
like elegant souvenirs of conquest: the tangible fruits of victory framed by the borrowed symbol of
triumph." Although this is an interesting idea, polylobed arches were not used inMozarabic architec
ture. Katherine Watson, French Romanesque and Islam: Andalusian Elements in French Architectural
Decoration c. 1030-1180, 2 vols., BAR International Series 488 (Oxford, 1989), credits San Isidoro
or Santiago de Compostela with the first use of polylobes in a church. The polylobes on the upper
Plater?as facade, however, do not appear to be part of the first phase of construction.
level of Santiago's
Other early polylobed arches on the exterior of the ambulatory at Santiago are all but invisible unless
one happens to be standing on the roof. San Isidoro's polylobes, on the other hand, decorate the
crossing, the most visible part of the church.

57For
the Aljaferia, see Christian Ewert, "Tradiciones omeyas en la arquitectura palatina de la ?poca
de los Taifas: La Aljaferia de Zaragoza," in Espa?a entre el Mediterr?neo y el Atl?ntico: Actas del
XXIII congreso internacional de historia del arte, 2 (Granada, 1977), pp. 62-75; his Spanisch
islamische Systeme sich kreuzender B?gen, 3: Die Aljaferia in Zaragoza, pts. 1-2 (Berlin, 1978-80);
and Cynthia Robinson, In Praise of Song: The Making of Courtly Culture in al-Andalus and Provence,
1005-1134 A.D., The Medieval and Early Modern Iberian World 15 (Leiden, 2002).
58
For the use of the polylobed arch in Toledo as part of a "local living tradition of urban archi
tecture" during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, see David Raizman, "The Church of Santa Cruz
and the Beginnings ofMudejar Architecture in Toledo," Gesta 38 (1999), 128-41.
59
Roc?o S?nchez Ameijeiras, "El 'cementerio real' de Alfonso VIII en Las Huelgas de Burgos,"
Semata 10 (1998), 77-109, esp. p. 109, draws a similar conclusion regarding the evocation of the
mosque/cathedral of Toledo by the deliberate use of "vocabulario decorativo almohade" at the royal
monastery of Las Huelgas. (I am grateful to James D'Emilio for drawing my attention to this study.)
generationafterToledo was reconqueredand itsGreatMosque convertedto a
cathedral.But conversiondid not necessarilymean destruction.60 Much of the
mosque remainedstandinguntiltheGothic cathedralwas begun in1226, possibly
servingas a model for thepolylobes at San Isidoro. Still,more importantthan
identifyingthedirectprecedentof theLeonese polylobedarch is recognizingthat,
at thetimethisdecorativemotifwas used at San Isidoro,ithad neverbeforegraced
a Christiansettingin such an extraordinarilyprominent way. At San Isidoro this
architecturalvocabulary seems intendedto claimVisigothicand IslamicToledo
forUrraca throughher father, not simplyas a conquest but as a reclaimingof
what was believed to have belongedby rightto her familyline.Urraca thusused
thepublic space of her family'schurch to pay homage to her father while re
minding theviewersof her placewithin that illustriousdynasty. The allusion to
Islam isnot a straightforward referenceto conquestbut to theMuslims as one of
thepeoples of Spain claimed to be under theruleof theemperor,himselfheir to
theVisigoths,who were rememberedas rulingover thewhole peninsula. In
AlfonsoVI's titles,such as "emperorof the two religions,"he showed a degree
of acceptanceofMuslims as his subjects,which, despite theexaggerationof the
assertion,gave thema visibilitytheywould not have had ifhis aim had beenonly
conquestand conversion.Urracamay have used thepolylobedarchesand horse
shoeportal to recallher father'sretakingofToledo and to assumeher roleas heir
to theVisigothsand empressof all Spain.61To add a further layerofmeaning, the
referencetoToledo may also have respondedto thepoliticalsituationof theday.
ArchbishopBernardofToledo, primateof Iberia,was one ofUrraca'smost pow
erfulallies.Polylobed arches linkedher new churchwith his, as herpolitics,dis
cussed below, linkedLeon with Toledo.
THE EVOCATION OF SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA
The polylobedarchesof San Isidoroare locatedwithin thetransept,

whichwas
added byQueen Urraca to thesimpleconstruction begunbyheraunt inthe1090s.
The transeptassociated her churchwith theothermost importantecclesiastical
centerof her day,Santiago de Compostela.Urraca's enlargementof San Isidoro
60
Thethirteenth-century chronicler and archbishop of Toledo Rodrigo Jim?nez de Rada did not
speak of tearing down the mosque. Rather, he stated that an altar was set up so that the building could
be purified, and bells were hung in the minaret as a visible and audible sign that the existing building
was now Christian (Juan Fern?ndez Valverde, ed., Roderici Ximenii de Rada Historia de rebus His
panie sive Historia Gothica, CCCM 72 [Turnhout, 1987], pp. 137-38). See Julie A. Harris, "Mosque
to Church Conversions in the Spanish Reconquest," Medieval Encounters: Jewish, Christian and Mus
lim Culture in Confluence and Dialogue 3 (1997), 158-72, esp. p. 159.
61 In a
charter of 1110, Urraca ceded a large stretch of borderlands to her half sister, Teresa, ruler
of the region of Portugal, who was then obliged to see itpopulated. Urraca's obligation was "to provide
help and to defend [the land] against Moors and Christians" (Ruiz Albi, La reina do?a Urraca,
pp. 374-76: "Et que sic ista honor que la regina da ad germana quomodo et altera que illa tenet qulia
adiuuet ad anparar et defender contra mauros et christianos per fe sine malo enga?o et herma et
populata, quomodo bona germana ad bona germana, et que non eolia suo uassallo cum sua honore
aut aleiuoso qui noluerit exconduzer cum iuditio directo"). See also Monterde Albiac, Diplomatario
de la reina Urraca, pp. 42-43.
TheArtof a Reigning
Queen 1157
involveda radical reconceptionof its functionfromthepalatine chapel of her
grandparentsand aunt to a pilgrimagesitemarked by a projectingtransept. The
queen took advantageof the fact thatLeon happened to be on thepilgrimage
routetoSantiago inorderto tieherchurchto thatcelebratedsite.Insteadof simply
completingthechurchfollowingheraunt's design,archaeologicalevidencedem
onstratesthatthenewlybuilteast endwas dismantledinorder tomake way for
a transept.This gave theChurchofSan Isidoroamore dominatingurbanpresence,
and itprovideda second setof doors on theside of thechurchthatopened out
toward thecity,making Isidore's relicsmore accessible to pilgrims.In Spanish
Romanesque architecture, onlySantiagohad a projectingtranseptearlierthanSan
Isidoro,62and it appears thatUrraca intendedher church tomake referenceto
thatmost famousofpilgrimagechurches.She did thisbybringingtoLe6nmasons
and sculptorswho had built theeast end of Santiago and settingthemtowork
on thenew transeptof San Isidoro.The hand of a Compostelanmaster trained
in theToulousan styleof sculpturehas longbeen recognizedon thesouthtransept
portal of San Isidoro,and we can also identify work by othermembersof the
Compostelan teamincertaincapitals,metopes,and thecrossbow-shaped mason's
mark.63
Urraca's close associationwith Santiagode Compostela duringitsinitialperiod
of constructionhelps to explain her decision to alter thedesignof San Isidoro.
Her reigninGalicia (1089-1109) overlappedwith theearlyphase ofconstruction
(c.1075-1110) of themagnificent cathedralatCompostela,builttoaccommodate
and encouragetheever-increasing surgeof pilgrims.64
By thetimeUrracawas nine
yearsold, shewas alreadybetrothedormarried to hermother's cousin,Count
Raimundo ofBurgundy.65 Togethertheyruledover therealmofGalicia innorth
62 a source of scholarly
The date of the transepted church of Santo Domingo de Silos has been
contention, but the problem has been convincingly resolved by Jos? Luis Senra, "Arquitectura y es
cultura en los grandes monasterios benedictinos de Castilla y Le?n (Ph.D. diss., Uni
(1073-1157)"
versidad Aut?noma de Madrid, 1997), p. 956, who dates the upper transept of Silos to
church and
the 1130s. See also his "Santo Domingo de Silos: New Interpretive Suggestions for the Medieval
Church," in Church, State, Vellum, and Stone, ed. Martin and Harris (above, n. 18), pp. 335-81.
63On in Le?n see my "Reading
the Compostelan workshop theWalls" (above, n. 18).
64
For the construction of the pilgrimage church at Compostela, see especially Seraf?n Morale jo
Alvarez, "Notas para una revisi?n de la obra de K. J. Conant," inKenneth John Conant, Arquitectura
rom?nica da catedral de Santiago de Compostela, trans. Justo G. Beramendi (Santiago de Compostela,
1983), pp. 221-36, and his "Patronazgo art?stico del arzobispo Gelm?rez (1100-1140): Su reflejo en
la obra e imagen de Santiago," in Pistoia e il Cammino di Santiago: Una dimensione europea nella
Toscana medioevale, ed. Lucia Gai (Naples, 1987), pp. 245-72 (both reprinted in Patrimonio art?s
tico); John Williams, "La arquitectura del Camino de Santiago," Compostellanum 29 (1984), 239
65; Isidro Bango Torviso, "Las llamadas 'Iglesias de peregrinaci?n' o el arquetipo de un estilo," in
Arte y ciudad: ?mbitos medieval, moderno y contempor?neo, ed. Mar?a Victoria Carballo-Calero
"
(Santiago de Compostela, 2000), pp. 233-65; Karen Rose Mathews, 'They Wished to Destroy the
Temple of God': Responses to Diego Gelmirez's Cathedral Construction in Santiago de Compostela,

1100-1140" (Ph.D. diss., University of Chicago, 1995); and Barbara Abou-el-Haj, "Santiago de Com
postela in the Time of Diego Gelm?rez," Gesta 36 (1997), 165-79.
65
Reilly, Alfonso VI (above, n. 43), p. 217. If itwere indeed a marriage, itwould have been in name
only until Urraca reached majority at the age of twelve. For Urraca's first husband, see Bernard F.
Reilly, "Assessing the French Influence inMedieval Le?n-Castilla: The Case of Count Raimundo of
Burgundy, 1087-1107," in Church, State, Vellum, and Stone, ed. Martin and Harris, pp. 85-109.
westernSpain untilRaimundo's death in 1107, when Urraca became sole ruler.
That year,she signeda donation to theCathedral of Santiago as "the princess
domnaUrraca, daughterof theemperorAlfonso, and ruler(domina)of allGali
cia."66At her father'sdeath,Urraca inheritedtherestofLeon-Castileand became
therulerof thelargest Christiankingdomin Iberia.67 San Isidoro'snewprojecting
transeptchanged its identityfroma privatepalace chapel to a public pilgrimage
site,visuallyconnectingitnot only to Santiago but also to importantpilgrimage
churchesofFrance,among themSaint-SernininToulouse, Saint-MartininTours,
and Saint-MartialinLimoges.
THE DECISIVE MOMENT: 1117
A confluenceof eventsin 1117 suggeststhatthismay have been thedefinitive

point fortheconstruction of a transept
with polylobedarchesat San Isidoro.At
theend of 1116 thequeen had grantedcontroloverToledo tohereleven-year-old
son, thefuture AlfonsoVII. She removedhim fromthehands ofBishopGelmirez
of Santiago,underwhose chargehe had been to thispoint,and gave him intothe
care of her longtimeally,ArchbishopBernardofToledo.With thisactionUrraca
achieved thedual goal of neutralizingher son as a threatto her thronewhile
claimingToledo forher line.68In 1117 Urraca made a generousdonation to San
Isidoro thatincludedthemonasteryof San Salvador de Leon, with all itsdepen
dentvillages,churches,monasteries,inheritances,and possessions.69
Althoughnot
specifiedas such, thisrichsource of incomecould have been used to subsidize
construction. Urraca stated thatshewas providingforthefutureof thechurch,
reiteratingan unusual threetimesthather donationwas fortheclericsboth of
thepresentand of thefutureSan Isidoro: "I give thistoyou fortheremissionof
my sinsand thoseofmy relativesand so thatyouwill always remember me and
them,both you presenttodayand thosewho will takechargeof theChurch of
San Isidoroafteryou. In prayerand charity,yourmemoryof uswill always live,
once theburdenofmy fleshhas passed."70Here thequeen laidout two important
66
Lucas Alvarez, Tumbo A, pp. 176-77: "infanta domna Urraca, Adefonsi imperatoris filia et totius
Gallecie domina." See also Manuel Recuero Astray, Mar?a Angeles Rodr?guez Prieto, and Paz Romero
Portilla, Documentos medievales delreino de Galicia: Do?a Urraca (1095-1126) (Santa Comba,
2002), p. 18: "infanta domna Urraka, totius Galletie domna et imperatoris domni Adefonsi filia et
Constantiae reginae nata."
67
Reilly, Queen Urraca (above, n. 4), p. 280, put the total population ruled by Urraca at roughly
one million.
68
By making her son and his men responsible for Toledo, Urraca effectively took the city back from
her estranged second husband, Alfonso el Batallador, who had wrested Toledo from her control in
1111. Although el Batallador continued to sign his documents claiming the rule of Toledo intermittently
for some years, Reilly (Queen Urraca, p. 126) points out "there is no trustworthy evidence that he
ever exercised authority in the city" after 1117.
69
Mart?n L?pez, Documentos (above, n. 16), pp. 40-42; Monterde Albiac, Diplomatario de la reina
Urraca, pp. 175-78; Ruiz Albi, La reina do?a Urraca, pp. 492-94.
70As in n. 69. "Concedo illud uobis ob remisionem pecatorum meorum etmeorum parentorum ut
etme et eos semper inmemoriam habeatis tarn uos presentes quam etiam illi qui eidem ecclesiae Sancti
Isidori post uos ministraverint et in oratione et elemosina uestra memoria nostri iam exacto onere
meae carnis semper uiuat."
TheArtofa Reigning
Queen 1159
reasons forher patronageof San Isidoro: remissionof sinsand permanenceof
memory, made concreteina sitedesignedto lastforever. The incomefromall the
propertyin thisdonationcould haveguaranteedpaymentto thestonemasonsthen
workingon thechurchformany years to come.Urraca's nearlycontinuouspres
ence inLeon in 1117 together with her lavishdonation suggeststhatthiswas a
keymoment in theconstruction of San Isidoro.71
During thisperiod,construction
of thechurchmust have progressedrapidly,given theevidenceprovidedby the
multiplicityofmason's marks.72In political termstheChurch of San Isidorodid
not have theimportance of othersitestowhichUrracamade multipledonations,
such as thecathedralsofToledo, Santiago,and Leon and theBurgundianmon
asteryofCluny.With thosegiftsthequeen forgedallianceswith powerfulbishops
and abbots, themajor political-religious figures
of herday.But thepatternof her
otherdonationsmakes Urraca's 1117 giftto San Isidoro evenmore significant,
forno alliance needed to be establishedthere.Rather, thiswas a physicalmani
festationof her dynastyat theheartof her kingdom.Funding forconstruction
was necessary, butnot therepeatedgiftstomaintain theloyaltyofwaveringallies
thatwe see at othersites.
The year1117 was also a turning point inUrraca's reign,
which had beengreatly
troubleduntil then. When Urraca came to the thronein 1109, she allied herself
with thewarlike kingof neighboring Aragon. BymarryingAlfonso I (knownas
elBatallador, "theBattler,"forhis prowess atwar), Urraca was able to contain
him until shehad builtup themilitarystrengthto fighthim.73 The marriagehad
beenarrangedbyUrraca's father, butwe can safelyconjecturethatsheparticipated
in thedecision.74A widow of twenty-nine and themotherof twochildren, Urraca
had alreadyprovenherselfas domina ofGalicia. Shewas thesole rulerinSpain
who couldmake a claim to imperialheritagethroughtheVisigoths;andwhile el
Batalladorwas a strongking inhis own right,he could call himselfemperoronly
whilemarried toUrraca.75As a strategyforstayingon thethrone,themarriage
was successfulforUrraca,who continuedto ruleuntilher death seventeenyears
later.But as a marriageper se, theunionwas a disaster;peace betweenthetwo
71
Like any medieval monarch, Urraca spent much of the year traveling throughout her kingdom.
She normally wintered in Le?n, but 1117 found her there fromMarch through May and again from
July through September (Reilly, Queen Urraca, p. 123). Although there are no notices after September,
logic dictates that she was again in Le?n for her annual Christmas court.
72
There are more than forty different mason's marks and many hundreds of examples throughout
the limestone masonry that help to clarify the phases of construction. They also provide a glimpse of
medieval workshop practices. For example, eight different marks appear exclusively on piers, while
six different marks were assigned exclusively to walls. This division of labor indicates a large number
of masons working simultaneously in order for construction to proceed as quickly as possible. For an
analysis of San Isidoro's marks, see my "Reading theWalls."

73
The most thorough study of Alfonso el Batallador's reign is Jos? ?ngel Lema Pueyo, Instituciones
pol?ticas del reinado de Alfonso I el Batallador, rey de Arag?n y Pamplona (1104-1134) (Bilbao,
1997). For the marriage agreement, see pp. 47-48; also Reilly, Queen Urraca, p. 59.
74
Jos? Mar?a Ramos y Loscertales, "La sucesi?n del reyAlfonso VI," Anuario de historia del derecho
espa?ol 13 (1936-41), 36-99.
75
Lema Pueyo, Instituciones pol?ticas, pp. 48-52.
surfacedonly intermittentlyduringyearsofhostilities.76Four yearsofacrimonious
separations,pitchedbattles,and short-lived reconciliationsledat lastto a decisive
break in 1113 and all-outwar, inwhich each soughttogain sovereignty over the
lands of theother.The Historia Compostellana provides a vivid descriptionof
Urraca fighting her estrangedhusband: ".. . and she did not stay in castles or
citiesbut livedincampaigntents.Shegathereda largeand valiantarmyand chased
afterthecruelAragonese kinglet.She setup camp,with tentsand armyaround,
and besiegedhim inCarrion, and she kept him under siege fora long time."77
However, neitherrulerwas strongenough to defeat theother,and so, in 1117,
Urraca negotiateda three-year trucethat,renewedin 1120 and again in 1123,
would lastuntiltheend of her reign.78This standoffwould be represented by later
chroniclers as continuous civilwar, though in factthe lastnine years ofUrraca's
reignwere as peacefulas any decade in thehistoryofLeon-Castile.
Monarchy in theMiddle Ages was an institutionthat took forgranted the
abilitytomarshal an army,and Iwould suggestthatQueen Urraca could nothave
ruledherkingdomsuccessfully ifshehad not been acceptedas bothqueen regnant
andmilitaryleader.Evidenceof themilitarycharacterof thequeen can be found
overand overagain inhercharters.In a donationof 111 6, a noblewomandeclared
thather sonhad beenkilled inbattleagainstthequeen: "filius meusDidacus Petriz
inguerrametcontrarietatem reginemortuus fuit.... 79 Shouldwe read thisstate
ment literally,or shouldwe take it as an example of synecdoche,inwhich the
figureof thequeen stands forher armies?The brevityof thedeclarationmeans
thatwe cannot know.But Iwould contend thatthequestion arisesonlybecause
theruleris a woman. If thecharterdeclared thattheson had been killed fighting
theking,we would be unlikelyeven to question thestatement.
From her separationfrom Alfonso elBatallador untilherdeath in1126,Urraca
was thesole ruler80 of themost powerfulChristiankingdominHispania, acting
more as a king thana queen.No queen inSpain had evercoinedmoney inher
own name beforeUrraca, and nonewould do so again formore than150 years.81
76
Had children been born to Urraca and Alfonso, they might have been forced to reach some sort
of accord. Reilly, Queen Urraca, p. 61, states, "For the queen, then, the failure of the marriage's chief
purpose [i.e., an heir to the combined thrones of Le?n-Castile and Aragon] must inevitably have led
to a search for other avenues to restore her authority." My contention is that the construction of San
Isidoro was just such an avenue.
77 et iam non in castellis seu ciuitatibus
Falque Rey, Historia Compostellana 1.73.4, p. 114: "...
morabatur sed in tabernaculis habitabat, et congregauit exercitum magnum ualde et fortem et pers?
cuta est crudelem regulum Aragonensem; castra sua et tentoria suumque exercitum circumponens eum
Carrione obsedit obsessumque diuturno tempore tenuit."
78
According to Reilly, Queen Urraca, p. 122, the truce was made at the Council of Burgos in
February 1117. See Fidel Fita, "Concilio nacional de Burgos (18 febrero 1117): Texto in?dito," Bolet?n
de la Real Academia de la Historia 48 (1906), 387-407, esp. pp. 394-99.
79
Monterde Albiac, Diplomatario de la reina Urraca, pp. 153-54.
80
Although Urraca did, on certain occasions, sign charters in conjunction with her son, the future
Alfonso VII did not become king of Le?n-Castile until her death.
81
Mercedes Rueda, Primeras acu?aciones de Castilla y Le?n, Monograf?as de Arqueolog?a Medieval
1 (Salamanca, 1991), p. 52. See also Alan M. Stahl, "Coinage in the Name ofMedieval Women," in
Medieval Women and the Sources of Medieval History, ed. Joel T. Rosenthal (Athens, Ga., 1990),
pp. 321-41.
TheArtofa Reigning
Queen 1161
In fact,Urraca was thefirst monarch of eithersex inLeon-Castilewhose coins
presenttheruler'sportrait.82 One of her coinsminted inToledo (the inscription
on thereversereads "TOLETUO") shows a bustof thequeenwearing a diadem
(Fig.12). The inscription reads "URACA RE." It shouldbe noted thatthe(delib
erately?)ambiguousabbreviation"RE" leavesopen thecompletionof theword
as eitherreginaor rex.We know fromchartersthatUrraca traveledwith her
troops. In a donation of 1110 Urraca's notary statedexplicitlythatwhen the
charterwas written,"thequeen left Najera with herarmyheadingforZaragoza,"
where there was to be a greatbattle.83She evenwent so faras to referto herself
as king in a documentof 1121, promising ArchbishopGelmirezof Santiago that
shewould be tohim "a faithfulladyand friend,as a good king (bonus rex) tohis
good archbishop,formywhole life."84
Queen Urraca consistently went afterfundingforher troops,guaranteeingtheir
loyaltyand support.85 Pressedforpaymentforher soldiers, Urraca availedherself
of land she inheritedthroughthe infantazgoas a royalprincessand of land that
was herpatrimonyas ruling monarch. In 1112, forexample,Urraca gaveproperty
fromtheroyaldemesneto theCathedralofLugo from which shereceivedinreturn
"one hundredsilver marks insacredaltarornaments... inordertogivepayment
tomy soldiers."86Clearly sheknew thevalue ofmaintainingan army'sloyaltyby
providinga regularsalary.In thesamedonationUrraca asked theVirginMary to
helpherhold onto and pacifythekingdomthatshehad inherited fromherfather.87
Also in 1112 Urraca receivedgold and silverfromtheCathedral ofOviedo in
exchangeforlandsand property, specifyingthat"we do thisfortheprotectionof
82 use of Urraca's
The portrait may have been inspired by her husband's coinage, as Aragonese
examples had begun to display the ruler's image slightly earlier. However, Aragonese coins showed
the king exclusively in profile, whereas Urraca's coinage includes both bust and profile images of the
queen. See F. Alvarez Burgos, Cat?logo de la moneda medieval castellano-leonesa: Siglos XI al XV,
Cat?logo General de lasMonedas Espa?oles 3 (Madrid, 1998), pp. 16-21.
83
"Regina exiuit cum suo exercitu per a Cesaraugustam medio augusto" as transcribed by both
Monterde Albiac, Diplomatario de la reina Urraca, pp. 35-36, and Ruiz Albi, La reina do?a Urraca,
pp. 370-71 (my emphasis). Reilly, Alfonso VI, p. 73, points out that her father,Alfonso VI, "sometimes
led his own armies into battle," indicating that not even a ruler with great fame as a warrior was
always at the head of his troops.
84
Ruiz Albi, La reina do?a Urraca, pp. 552-53: "... sim vobis fidelis domina et arnica, sicut bonus
rex suo bono archiepiscopo in tota vita mea." See also Monterde Albiac, Diplomatario de la reina
Urraca, pp. 247-48.
85
As any successful king would have done, as well. However, this would, in fact, become the seed
that grew into Urraca's mala fama in the early modern period, inwhich she was said to have been
struck dead while robbing San Isidoro of its treasures. I have traced the origins of this legend in "De
gran prudencia" (above, n. 9).
86
Ruiz Albi, La reina do?a Urraca, pp. 412-14: "Et accipio de gazofilatio beate Marie marcas
argenti Cm. de sacratis ornamentis altaris eiusdem Uirginis ut reddam donatiua militibus meis pro
... concedo."
quibus omnibus et uillam de Gonterici See also Monterde Albiac, Diplomatario de la
reina Urraca, pp. 81-82.
87
As in n. 86: "Nunc autem domina et regina Ihesu Christi mater Maria rogo ut acceptabilem abeas
hanc licet paruam oblationem ac d?feras mea suspiria et lacrimas et gemitus ante conspectum diuine
maiestatis quatinus pia tua intercessio auxilietur mihi ad inquirendum regnum et pacifice possidendum
patris mei et sis mihi clipeus et protectio in hoc seculo et in die tremendi iudicii."
Fig. 12. Coin of Queen Urraca minted inToledo, 1109-26.

(Photograph:Museo Arqueologico deMadrid.
bypermission.)
Reproduced
our kingdomagainst thegreat infestation of foreignpeoples in timesofwar."88

Given thedate, thisreference to theenemycould as easilyreferto theAragonese
subjectsof her estrangedhusband as to theMuslims in thesouthof theIberian
Peninsula.
Urraca's activeroleas amilitaryleaderisneatlysummedup by Ibnal-Kardabus
(theCordobese), aMuslim historianwritingtoward theend of the twelfth cen
tury:89
Alfonso [VI] leftno son but a daughter who succeeded him in power for some time,
consolidating itsolidly and strongly.Later she feared thatone of theChristian orMuslim
kings might try tomarry her, but her lovewon out, and thus she secretly sent to Ibn
Ramiro [Alfonso el Batallador, literally "the son of Ramiro"], saying that he should
marry her. So themarriage was carried out, but without happiness or success, as they
had spent but a short time togetherwhen a great enmity arose between the two. They
then separated in theworst of conditions.
Ibn Ramiro leftand gathered the people of his nation; shemeanwhile gathered hers
as well. [IbnRamiro] headed forher,and she started against him and did not turnback.
Then they fought for some time,and thewar between themwas intense,untilGod gave
her power over him; thus she inflictedon him a great defeat fromwhich he could not
recover.He lost in itmore than three thousand of his valiant men.90
Ibn al-Kardabus gives us some clues not found in theChristian sources for
understanding Accordingto thischronicler,
Urraca's reign. she tookan activerole
in thechoiceof her secondhusband.None of theChristianchroniclesindicatethat
88Ruiz "Et hoc fecimus pre nimia infestatione gentis

Albi, La reina do?a Urraca, pp. 398-405:
extranee in tempore belli ad tuicionem regni nostri." See also Monterde Albiac, Diplomatario de la
reina Urraca, pp. 64-71. This charter forms part of Bishop Pelayo of Oviedo's Liber testamentorum
and, as such, may not be completely reliable. Whether or not the specifics of this donation can be
verified, this charter speaks to the common occurrence of a ruler's exchanging property for gold with
which to support the army.
89
Ahmad Muter al-'Abbad, ed., Historia de al-Andalus por Ibn al-Kardabus y su description por
Ibn al-Sabbath (Madrid, 1971). For a Spanish translation, see Ma?llo Salgado, Historia de al-Andalus
(above, n. 46).
90
Ma?llo Salgado, Historia de al-Andalus, pp. 140-41.
herhandmighthave been soughtby aMuslim ruler,but itseemsplausible.Urra
ca's fatherhad takenaMuslim concubine,Zaida, laterbaptized Isabel,whom he
married inorder togive legitimacy tohis onlyson,Sancho.9' Ibnal-Kardabusalso
underscored Urraca's valor inheadingout tomeet herestrangedhusband'sarmies
by statingthat "she did not turnback," despite the forcesarrayedagainsther.
However, thechroniclercan also be seenmaking use of thisstoryin order to
denigrateAlfonso el Batallador,who was, in fact,a mightywarrior,highlysuc
cessfulinhismany battlesagainstMuslim kingdoms.El Batallador's defeatat the
handsof awomanmust have been a talegleefully repeatedbyhis enemies, whether
trueor not. Despite thepolemical natureof thechronicle,itprovidesanother
perspectivefromwhich we can see thatUrraca's militarycharacterwas an ac
ceptedpart of her role as queen regnantand one of her successfulstrategiesfor
rulership,inaddition topatronageand evokingthememoryof her father.
The most detailed, ifnot necessarilythemost accurate,descriptionsofQueen
Urraca actingas a militaryleaderare providedby theHistoria Compostellana.
BishopGelmirez'schronicleincludesa tellinganecdoteof a rebellionagainstqueen
and bishop duringUrraca's visit to Santiago in 111 7.92Aftera vividdescription
of thetownspeopleattackingand insulting Urraca, thestoryendswith therebels
thinkingthebetterof theiractions and seekingtomake peace with thequeen.
Urraca feignedto accept thesuitforpeace inorderto leave thecitysafely, where
upon sheordereda declarationofwar. She commandedthebishop and his army
tobesiegethecity.Further,"thequeen also senther legatestoall partsand ordered
everyone,bothconsulsand princes,knightsand footsoldiers,tocome to thesiege
and destructionof Compostela."93 The chroniclergoes on to detail the specific
locationsat which she set her eldest son and each of her vassals as theycom
manded segmentsof her siege.The citycould notwithstandsuch a tremendous
force,and itsurrendered to thequeen.Urraca's actionswere thoseof a successful,
monarch and military leaderwho organizedher troops in battle in
ifruthless,
order to dominateher rebellioussubjects.The year 1117 was indeeda pivotal
moment inUrraca's reign,themoment atwhich her fortunesshiftedfromstrug
gling rulerto dominantmonarch. The queen's triumphover theCompostelan
rebellionin thesummerset thestage forhermunificentdonation to San Isidoro
inSeptember1117.
REIGNING QUEENS OF THE TWELFTH CENTURY
The significance
ofUrraca's politicsand patronagebecomes clearerwhen she
ismeasured againstotherreigningqueens.Patternsof rulership
and patronageare
sharedbyUrraca,Melisende, andMatilda, althoughindividualhistoricalcircum
stancesdeterminedthediffering outcomesof the three.Baldwin II (d. 1131) of
91
See the study by Julio P?rez Llamazares, "Zaida," Hidalgo 9 (March-April 1955), 273-80.
92
On the revolt of 1117, see Luis V?zquez de Parga, "La revoluci?n comunal de Compostela en los
a?os 1116 y 1117," Anuario de historia del derecho espa?ol 16 (1945), 685-703.
93
Falque Rey, Historia Compostellana 1.116.3, p. 214: "Regina quoque mittit legatos suos cir
cumquaque et omnes tam c?nsules et principes quam milites et pedites precepit uenire ad obsidionem
et ad destructionem Compostelle."
theLatinKingdom of Jerusalemhad no sons, so he chose tomake his daughter
Melisende his successorand his son-in-lawFulk ofAnjou theking,a decision for
which he soughtand obtained theagreementof themagnates of his court.94In
1129Melisende signedherself"Melisende,daughterof theking and heir to the
kingdomofJerusalem. "95Then, justbeforehisdeath,Baldwin IInamedas corulers
Melisende, Fulk, and theirtwo-year-oldson inan attempttoguaranteehereditary
ruleby his own line.96In effect,bothMelisende and Fulkwere to be regentsfor
theirson,much toFulk's displeasure.He attemptedtowrest controlof thethrone
from Melisende inorder to rulealone, but themagnates loyal to thequeen sup
portedher in thiscrucialmoment, and theroyalcouple acted as corulersthere
after.97Melisende came intofullpower at Fulk's death in 1143. She and her son
Baldwin III, thenthirteen,were crowned at theChurch of theHoly Sepulchre.
Presumably,shewas tohave servedas regentuntilBaldwin came of age twoyears
later.Instead,she refusedto giveup the throne,rulingfornineyears,which led
finallyto armed conflictwith her son.He forcedher frompower in 1152 and
preventedher fromplayingan activepolitical role throughtheend of her lifein
1161.98Baldwin III outlivedhismother by justtwoyears.
Melisende's namemay be familiaras theowner of a sumptuousilluminated
Psalterwith bejeweled ivorycovers (Fig.13), butotherexamplesof herpatronage
94 in the Crusader
See Bernard Hamilton, "Women States: The Queens of Jerusalem," inMedieval
Women, ed. Derek Baker, Studies in Church History, Subsidia 1 (Oxford, 1978), pp. 143-74; Hans
Eberhard Mayer, "Studies in the History of Queen Melisende," Dumbarton Oaks Papers 26 (1972),
95-182 (reprinted in his Probleme des lateinischen K?nigreichs Jerusalem, Collected Studies Series
178 [London, 1983]); and his "The Succession to Baldwin II of Jerusalem: English Impact on the East,"
Dumbarton Oaks Papers 39 (1985), 139-47 (reprinted in his Kings and Lords in the Latin Kingdom
of Jerusalem, Collected Studies Series 437 [Aldershot, Eng., 1994]); Sarah Lambert, "Queen or Con
sort: Rulership and Politics in the Latin East, 1118-1228," in Queens and Queenship, ed. Duggan
(above, n. 6), pp. 153-69; and Deborah Gerish, "Shaping the Crown of Gold: Constructions of Royal
Identity in the First Kingdom of Jerusalem" (Ph.D. diss., University of California, Santa Barbara, 1999).
For representations of Melisende a century after her death, see Jaroslav Folda, "Images of Queen
Melisende inManuscripts ofWilliam of Tyre's History of Outremer: 1250-1300," Gesta 32 (1993),
97-112.
95 to Baldwin
Mayer, "The Succession II," p. 144: "Milissenda filia r?gis et regni Ierosolimitani
heres."
96
Fulk of Anjou was the father of Geoffrey Plantagenet, second husband of Matilda of England,
making Melisende the stepmother-in-law ofMatilda. Fulk's daughter by his firstmarriage was married
to Matilda's brother William, whose death cleared the way for Matilda to inherit the kingdom.
Baldwin II sought to prevent his son-in-law's children from a prior marriage from acceding to the
should anything befall his young grandson.
throne of Jerusalem,
97
of the political reasons behind the revolt of Count Hugh
For a discussion II of Jaffa, which had
been blamed on an illicit relationship with Melisende, see Hans Eberhard Mayer, "Angevins versus
Normans: The New Men of King Fulk of Jerusalem," Proceedings of the American Philosophical
Society 133 (1989), 1-25 (reprinted inMayer, Kings and Lords).
98
However, Lambert, "Queen or Consort," pp. 153-69, quotes the reflections byWilliam of Tyre
on Melisende at her death, underlining that her husband was not described as reigning and that
Melisende continued ruling during the reign of her son: "Transcending the strength of women, the
lady queen, Melisende, a prudent woman, discreet above the female sex, had ruled the kingdom with
fitting moderation for more than 30 years, during the lifetime of her husband and the reign of her
son."
Fig. 13. Melisende Psalter, c. 1135.
London, British Library,MS Egerton 1139.
(Reproduced by permission.)
are lesswell known.99The artand architecture shesponsored,thoughdocumented
especiallyby JaroslavFolda, have not been subjectedto a thoroughexamination
as part of heroverallpoliticalstrategy,
as I attemptto do herewithUrraca.Meli
sendeand herhusbandFulkwere thefirst Latinmonarchs to be crowned in the
Churchof theHoly Sepulchre.Folda arguesthatshewas themajor patronbehind
its renewedconstructionin the 1140s inpreparationfor the reconsecration on
15 July1149, thefiftieth anniversary of thecaptureof Jerusalem.100
Melisende's
patronage in thecityof Jerusalemincludedin 1152 a centrallylocatedcovered
market streetknown asMalquissinat, "The Streetof Evil Cooking," which sold
foodtopilgrimsand travelers.101AccordingtoFolda,Melisendemay havedonated
an irongrillearound 1140 as one aspect of her support for theTemplumDo
mini.102 This was theIslamicshrineof theDome of theRock, consideredby the
crusadersto be part of Solomon's Temple and consecratedby themas a church.
Its imageappeared on theLatin rulers'seal, alongwith theChurch of theHoly
Sepulchreand theTower of David, used as the royalpalace fromthe timeof
Melisende's father.103
The grillewas designedtosurroundtherockat thebuilding's
center,providingaccess forpilgrimsto theholy sitewhile preventingthemfrom
chippingaway pieces as souvenirs.In her own day, thequeenwas laudedby the
chroniclerWilliam ofTyre forher foundationof thewomen'smonasteryatBeth
any,where her sisterYvettawas tobe abbess.104 Her donation toBethanyincluded
99
Jaroslav Folda, The Art of the Crusaders in theHoly Land, 1098-1187 (Cambridge, Eng., 1995),
pp. 137-59 and 523-27, dates the Psalter and its covers to c. 1135. See also Bianca K?hnel, "The
Kingly Statement of the Bookcovers of Queen Melisende's Psalter," in Tesserae: Festschrift f?r Josef
Engemann, Jahrbuch f?r Antike und Christentum, Erg?nzungsband 18 (M?nster, 1991), pp. 340-57;
and her Crusader Art of the Twelfth Century: A Geographical, an Historical, or an Art Historical
Notion? (Berlin, 1994), pp. 67-125. Jean Brodahl, "The Melisende Psalter and Ivories (BL Egerton
1139): An Inquiry into the Status and Collecting ofMedieval Art in Early Nineteenth-Century France"
(Ph.D. diss., Brown University, 1999), posits the addition of the ivories to the Psalter in the late
eighteenth or early nineteenth century. She dates the front ivory to c. 1160 Regensburg or England
and considers the back cover a modern copy of the front.
100
Folda, The Art of the Crusaders, p. 328, calls Melisende "a major political force, ecclesiastical
supporter, and artistic patron"; see pp. 130-59, 166-69, 175-253, and 324-28 for her patronage.
However, as Robert Ousterhout recently underlined in "Architecture as Relic and the Construction of
Sanctity: The Stones of the Holy Sepulchre," Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 62
(2003), 4-23, frustratingly little can be documented about the building's construction during the
crusader period.
101
Adrian J. Boas, Crusader Archaeology: The Material Culture of the Latin East (London, 1999),
p. 52. This study, although useful, demonstrates from the outset the prevailing tendency to ignore
reigning queens. In the chronology at the beginning of the book, the reigns of Melisende's father,
husband, and son are listed, but she herself does not appear.
102
Folda, The Art of the Crusaders, pp. 136-37 and 249-53. Segments of the grille, in place until
the 1960s, are now in the Islamic Museum in Jerusalem.
103
Hans Eberhard Mayer, "Das Siegelwesen in den Kreuzfahrerstaaten," Abhandlungen der Bay
erischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-Historische Klasse, n.s., 83 (Munich, 1978),
plate 1, nos. 15 and 16.
104
Willelmi Tyrensis Archiepiscopi Chronicon, ed. R. B. C. Huygens, CCCM 63-63A (Turnhout,
1986), 15.26. See Hans Eberhard Mayer, Bist?mer, Kl?ster und Stifte imK?nigreich Jerusalem, Schrif
ten der Monumenta Germaniae Hist?rica 26 (Stuttgart, 1977), pp. 254-57 and 372-402; his "Fon
tevrault und Bethanien: Kirchliches Leben in Anjou und Jerusalem im 12. Jahrhundert," Zeitschrift
f?r Kirchengeschichte 102 (1991), 14-44 (reprinted inMayer, Kings and Lords); and Folda, The Art
of the Crusaders, pp. 131-33.
extensivegiftsof lands,a fortified
building,books, lavishchurchgoods, and vest
ments.Other recipients ofMelisende's generosityinJerusalem were thechurches
of St.Anne (whereher sisterhad been a nun beforegoing toBethany),St. James,
and St. Samuel.105At Gethsemane, Melisende commissioneda tombforherselfin
theChurch of theTomb of theVirgin inJehosaphat, where hermother already
layat restandwhere shewould be buried in 1161.106One can recognizein this
briefaccount ofMelisende's patronageher interestin siteswith connectionsto
her familyand thoseof importance within her capital city,characteristics
also
noted inUrraca's patronage.
JustasUrraca andMelisende were named theirfathers'heirsduringthekings'
lifetime,so was Matilda of England.Matilda (orMaud) never fullyruled the
England of her father, Henry I, althoughcertain regionswere loyal to her.107
Known as EmpressMatilda due to her first marriage (1114-25) to Emperor
HenryV ofGermany, which endedwith hisdeathandwithout issue,shecontinued
to styleherself"imperatrix"alongwith other titlesafterher returntoEngland.
Her father's baronshad swornto supportheras reigning queen in1127, following
thedeath ofHenry's legitimateson and duringhis childlesssecondmarriage.108
Gervase ofCanterburyrecordedthatHenry I "made theEnglishprincesandmag
nates take an oath to his daughter,legitimateheir to theEnglishkingdom."'109
When Henry died in 1135,Matilda's cousinStephenofBlois,who had swornto
supporther,seized the throne.1"0Stephen'scoronationat thehands of thearch
bishop of Canterburywas hismost politicallyastutemove, ultimatelyone that
Matilda neverwas able toovercome.Her attempttowin thethronebegan in1139
when, aftera period inwhichMatilda builtup strength and supporters,fullcivil
war erupted.She capturedStephenin1141 andwas crowned"Lady/Rulerof the
English" (domina anglorum)atWinchesterCathedral. For almost a year,this
seemed to be the turningpoint,but theculminating moment remainedelusive.
Matilda was never formallycalled queen, but she did issuecoinage inher own
105
Folda, The Art of the Crusaders, pp. 133-37 and 246-51.
106
Folda, The Art of the Crusaders, pp. 324-28.
107
The most thorough study ofMatilda's reign isMarjorie Chibnall, The Empress Matilda: Queen
Consort, Queen Mother and Lady of the English (Oxford, 1992). See also C. W Hollister, "The Anglo
Norman Succession Debate of 1126: Prelude to Stephen's Anarchy," Journal of Medieval History 1
(1975), 19-39; Karl Leyser, "The Anglo-Norman Succession 1120-1125," Anglo-Norman Studies 13
(1991), 225-41; Carolyn Anderson, "Narrating Matilda, 'Lady of the English,' in theHistoria novella,
the Gesta Stephani, and Wace's Roman de Row. The Desire for Land and Order," Clio 29 (1999), 47
67; Jean A. Truax, "Winning over the Londoners: King Stephen, the Empress Matilda, and the Politics
of Personality," Haskins Society Journal 8 (1999), 43-61; and B. Weiler, "Kingship, Usurpation and
Propaganda in Twelfth-Century Europe," Anglo-Norman Studies 23 (2001), 299-326.

108
This despite the fact that Henry I is said to have had some twenty illegitimate children. Clearly
he considered a legitimate daughter more apt to rule than any number of illegitimate sons.
109
Gervase of Canterbury, Opera hist?rica, ed. William Stubbs, Rolls Series 73/1 (London, 1879),
p. 93: "fecit principes et potentes Angliae adiurare eidem filiae suae et heredibus suis legitimis regnum
Angliae." For the different ways chroniclers recorded this moment, see Mayer, "The Succession to
Baldwin II," p. 145, n. 37.
110
Some of Henry's barons objected toMatilda's second marriage in 1128 to the count of Anjou,
Geoffrey V Plantagenet, using it as an excuse to break their oath.
name, theact of a rulingmonarch.1"'Matilda's advantagewas lostwhen her
strongestsupporterand halfbrother, Robert, earl ofGloucester,was takenpris
oner,and she was compelled tomake a hostageexchangeof StephenforRobert.
For thenext six yearsMatilda and Stephenheld theotheroffas theyruled in the
regionsloyal to each, but theconflictcame to a headwhen Robert ofGloucester
died in late1147. The followingyearMatilda was forcedto concede the throne
to Stephen.She leftEngland, never to return,but she continuedto fightforthe
rightof her line to rule.When King Stephen'selder son died in 1153, Stephen
recognizedMatilda's sonHenry as his heir insteadofhis own youngerson, finally
endingthetwodecades known as theAnarchy. Matilda lost thebattle to be sole
rulerof England, triumphing only in the sense thather sonwas crownedKing
Henry II at Stephen'sdeath in1154. Thus,Matilda was able tomaintain her line
on thethroneeven ifsheherselfcould not occupy it.
The patternofMatilda's patronagehas been studiedbyMarjorie Chibnall,who
showed thatitformedpartofMatilda's intenttodemonstrate her righttocontrol
theroyaldemesne.112 Giftsmade by Stephenwere neutralizedin regions Matilda
controlled,such as BordesleyAbbey (Fig.14). Ithad been newlyfoundedby one
of Stephen's supporters with land grantedby theking.When Matilda gained
controlof the region,she granted the land to one of her supportersand "re
founded"theabbey,conferring on ithigherstatusas a royalfoundation.She also
used the foundationof newmonasteries,especiallyCistercian and often in the
name of loyalvassals, to consolidateher powerwithin her sphereof influence.
LikeUrraca,Matilda demonstrated herplacewithinherdynastybyprovidingfor
familyfoundations, both inEnglandand inNormandy,where she livedafter1148.
She oftenmade giftsof jewelsor used herresourcestopurchaselandfordonations,
particularlytoherpreferred monasteryatBec-HellouinnearRouen.113She seems
to have chosenBec as thefuturesiteof her burial because themonks had cared
forher duringa near-fatalillnessafterthebirthof her second son in 1134 and
because her father'sentrailswere buriedat Bec's priorychurchofNotre-Dame
111
For Matilda's image on a coin, see George C. Boon, Coins of the Anarchy, 1135-54 (Cardiff,
1988), pp. 10-12, no. 9, and pp. 24-25, plate 6a. Urraca also minted coins with her name and image
(see nn. 81 and 82, above). IfMelisende issued coinage, none has survived, but neither can any coin
be firmly identified with her husband during his reign in Jerusalem (see Folda, The Art of the Crusaders,
p. 170). However, two coins tentatively associated with Fulk may just as well have pertained toMeli
sende. Neither has a monarch's name or image; rather, one shows the aedicule of the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre, while the other shows a double-armed cross reminiscent of reliquaries of the true
cross. Both have a Greek cross on the reverse. In n. 174, p. 530, Folda asks whether the cross coin
could have been "issued in honor of the coronation on September
of King Fulk and Queen Melisende
14, 1131, the festival of the exaltation of the Holy Cross." Following that, I would ask whether the
aedicule coin could have been issued in honor of Melisende's second coronation with her son
Baldwin III in 1143. Both took place at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which Folda argues Meli
sende was instrumental in restoring.
112
For a historical analysis ofMatilda's patronage of the church, see Marjorie Chibnall, "The Em
press Matilda and Church Reform," Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 5th ser., 38 (1988),
107-33. See also Chibnall, The Empress Matilda, pp. 127-37 and 177-94.
113
Marjorie Chibnall focused on the queen's patronage of this abbey in "The Empress Matilda and
Bec-Hellouin," Anglo-Norman Studies 10 (1988), 3/5-48, esp. p. 48 forMatilda's will. (I am grateful
to Jean Truax for directing my attention to studies ofMatilda's patronage.)
The Art of a ReigningQueen 1169
Fig. 14.Matilda's seal on a charter to Bordesley Abbey:

"Matildis Dei Gratia Romanorum Regina."
London, British Library,Add. Ch. 75724.
(Reproduced by permission.)
du-Pr',e his body later being laid to rest at Reading Abbey in England.' 14Matilda
made substantial donations to the monks of Bec during her lifetime and willed
themmost of her wealth, including the richest jewels from among her regalia and
relics brought from Germany. The list of her donations to Bec, including crowns,
crosses, manuscripts, altars and altar goods, relics, and vestments, is truly im
pressive. 115Of themany treasures and vestments Matilda is recorded as having
donated to various monasteries, just two are known to survive: a reddish gold silk
dalmatic given to the abbey of Grandmont and preserved in the parish church of
Ambazac, and a bejeweled golden reliquary cross associated with themonastery
of Le Valasse, now in theMusee departementale at Rouen."16 Besides her gener
osity to churches, Matilda can also be seen to have taken an interest in improving
the urban area surrounding Bec through her gift of money for the completion of
a bridge across the Seine. The pattern of Matilda's patronage demonstrates a
114
In 1141 Matilda granted five charters to Reading Abbey, where her father was interred. As
Chibnall, The Empress Matilda, p. 130, points out, three of these donations superseded grants made
by Stephen. Matilda had previously given her father the precious relic of the hand of St. James, which
he gave to Reading. See Karl Ley ser, "Frederick Barbarossa, Henry II and the Hand of St. James,"
English Historical Review 90 (1975), 481-506 (reprinted in his Medieval Germany and Its Neighbors,
900-1250, History Series 12 [London, 1982], pp. 215-40]).
115
Unfortunately, the pieces that survived earlier dispersals were finally lostwhen Bee was destroyed
by Napoleon.
116 see Judy Martin
For the dalmatic, and L. E. M. Walker, "At the Feet of St. Stephen Muret:
Henry II and the Order of Grandmont Redivivus," Journal ofMedieval History 16 (1990), 1-12, esp.
p. 6 for an illustration. For the cross, see Elizabeth Hallam, ed., The Plantagenet Chronicles (London,
1986), p. 47 for an illustration.
conscious use of donations similartoUrraca's, inorder to solidifyher political
position,rewardher supporters, and emphasizeherpositionwithin therulingline.
By comparingtheactions of these threereigningqueens,we can draw some
preliminary conclusionsabout therolesof politicsand patronage in thecompli
catedmaneuveringsinvolvedin a woman's achievingand attemptingtohold the
thronein thetwelfth century.First,each of theirfatherssoughttheagreementof
hismagnates for theunusual circumstanceof a daughter inheriting. The kings
chose sons-in-law who broughttheirdaughtersstrongalliances in termsof lands,
in thecase ofMatilda; a provenwarrior,in thecase ofMelisende; or both, in the
case ofUrraca. These formidable womenwere preparedto fightfortheirrightto
reign,both literallyinbattleand figuratively by usingpatronageas one of their
weapons. Through donations, theyrewardedfaithfulretainers, boundwavering
followers,and provided forreligioussites. In keepingwith royaltradition,these
rulersmade substantialdonations to the churches theychose for theirburial:
Urraca to San Isidoro,Melisende to theChurch of theTomb of theVirgin in
Jehosaphat,andMatilda toBec-Hellouin inNormandy.Each site resonatedas
one alreadyestablishedforroyalburial ratherthana new foundation, underlining
the need thesequeens had todemonstrate theirplacewithin a Matilda
dynasty.'17
spentnineyears inEngland, actively, ifin theend unsuccessfully,
fightingforher
place on the throne. Melisende held the thronealone fornine years, following
twelveyearsof corulewith herhusband,beforeher sonwas able to oust her.Of
the threereigningqueens, onlyUrracamanaged to retainthethronethroughout
her lifetime, but she died inher forties, whileMatilda andMelisende lived into
theirsixties.One wonders ifUrraca would have been able to continueinpower
as she aged and her son became increasingly impatientforhis turnon thethrone.
Her earlydeath inchildbirthleavesthatquestionopen.
Urraca came froma lineofmilitaryrulers,and Iwould suggestthather legiti
macy as a leaderwas due only inpart to thefactthatAlfonsoVI named her his
heir.A greatdeal dependedon herown sagacityduringthefollowingtwodecades.
Urraca's ultimatesuccessasmonarch isobviouswhen one examinesthepolitical
situationof herday."8The powerfulkingof neighboring Aragon thoughtto take
over all of Leon-Castile, firstbymarryingthe crown princessand,when that
proved ineffectual, by defeatingher at war. That tacticalso failed.That Urraca
was able tomaintain her hold on the throneagainst such an opponent speaks
highlyof her capacityasmilitaryleaderand thesuccessof hermultiple strategies
of rulership. As a commander,she clearlyknew how to controlher troopsand
maintain theirloyalty. As a political strategist,
she used patronage to formalli
117
Although Urraca's father had chosen to be buried at the royal monastery of Sahag?n outside
Le?n, many other members of her dynasty were buried at San Isidoro. See S?nchez Ameijeiras, "Royal
Tombs" (above, n. 29).
118
When this article was in press, I came upon the following brief but incisive critique of the portrayal
of Urraca in the Historia Compostellana, which should be added to the bibliography cited above on
the queen: Maria Carmen Pallares and Ermelindo P?rtela, "La reina Urraca y el obispo Gelm?rez:
Nabot contra Jezabel," inOs reinos ib?ricos na idade m?dia: Livro de homenagem ao Professor Doutor
Humberto Carlos Baquero Moreno, ed. Lu?s Ad?o da Fonseca, Lu?s Carlos Amaral, and Maria Fer
nanda Ferreira Santos, 2 (Porto, 2003), pp. 957-62.
anceswith both secularand religiouslords,while she successfully held offother
pretendersto thethronesupportedbymightybishops.Recognizingthepower of
a visual symbol,sheenlargedher family'spalace chapelat San Isidoroand opened
itto thepublic,creatinga permanentreminderthatshewas her father'sdaughter,
while claimingher legitimateplace as descendantof the rulersof Toledo. The
sophisticationof such strategies,together
with thefortuitousmoment in thefirst
halfof the twelfthcentury when theroleof queen had not yetcalcified,allowed
ambitiouswomen likeQueen Urraca to reign. AfterUrraca,more thanthreehun
dredyearswould pass beforeanotherIberianqueen, IsabelofCastile,would rule
with suchpower and independence.
ThereseMartin isAssistant Professor ofArt History at theUniversity ofArizona, Tucson,

AZ 85721-0002 (e-mail: therese@email.arizona.edu).

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The Art of a Reigning Queen as Dynastic Propaganda in Twelfth-Century Spain

You may need to log in to JSTOR to access the linked references.

Recent studiesof queenshiphave allowed us to look closelyat variousaspectsof

captivit?: Les peintures murales comm?moratives de Sainte-Radegonde de Chinon," Cahiers de civili

1134 Speculum 80 (2005)

erfulopposition to thenew queens arose aftertheirfathers'deaths.Of thethree,

9 a 'mujer de poco juicio y ruin

opinion': Recuperando la historia perdida de la reina Urraca (1109-1126)," forthcoming inCompos

Fig. 1. San Isidoro de Leon, south facade c 1095-1124.

Propaganda in Twelfth-Century Spain (Leiden, 2006).

C -POIA LOBED ARCHES OVER CROSSING;

Fig. 2. Ground plan, San Isidoro de Le'n.

Fig. 3. 1124 inscription,exterior of north apse, San Isidoro de Leon.

immediately, thisstandardizedritecame to replace it,beginninginLeon under

Oviedo, 1977 facsimile of the 1791 edition.

"Artistas,patronos y p?blico en el arte del Camino de Santiago," Compostellanum 30 (1985), 399

THE QUEEN AS LEGITIMATE HEIR

Despite thedifficultiesinherentinher unprecedentedrole as femalemonarch,

regina, piissimi Aldefonsi tocius Yspanie imperatoris filia."

explicit her relationship to Alfonso VI.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF TOLEDO AND

Two unusual architecturalelementsadded to San IsidorounderUrraca's pa

41 consorts and their children were Constanza,

privilegiados en la arquitectura medieval espa?ola," Anuario del Departamento de Historia y Teor?a

Fig. 8. San Isidoro de L.on,

part of my current research on twelfth-century palaces in Spain.

crossing, the most visible part of the church.

THE EVOCATION OF SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

The polylobedarchesof San Isidoroare locatedwithin thetransept,

Temple of God': Responses to Diego Gelmirez's Cathedral Construction in Santiago de Compostela,

THE DECISIVE MOMENT: 1117

A confluenceof eventsin 1117 suggeststhatthismay have been thedefinitive

analysis of San Isidoro's marks, see my "Reading theWalls."

Fig. 12. Coin of Queen Urraca minted inToledo, 1109-26.

our kingdomagainst thegreat infestation of foreignpeoples in timesofwar."88

88Ruiz "Et hoc fecimus pre nimia infestatione gentis

REIGNING QUEENS OF THE TWELFTH CENTURY

Propaganda in Twelfth-Century Europe," Anglo-Norman Studies 23 (2001), 299-326.

Geoffrey V Plantagenet, using it as an excuse to break their oath.

Fig. 14.Matilda's seal on a charter to Bordesley Abbey:

ThereseMartin isAssistant Professor ofArt History at theUniversity ofArizona, Tucson,

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