Sancho III (c. 1134 – 31 August 1158), called the Desired (''el Deseado''), was King of Castile and Toledo for one year, from 1157 to 1158. He was the son of Alfonso VII of León and Castile and his wife

Berengaria of Barcelona Berengaria of Barcelona (1116 – January 15, 1149), called in Spanish Berenguela de Barcelona and also known as Berengaria of Provence, was Queen consort of Castile, León and Galicia. She was the daughter of Ramon Berenguer III, Count of B ...

, and was succeeded by his son Alfonso VIII. His nickname was due to his position as the first child of his parents, born after eight years of childless marriage. During his reign, the

Order of Calatrava The Order of Calatrava ( es, Orden de Calatrava, pt, Ordem de Calatrava) was one of the four Spanish military orders and the first military order founded in Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bull confirming the Orde ...

was founded. It was also in his reign that the Treaty of Sahagún in May 1158 was decided.

Life

Sancho was the eldest son of King Alfonso VII of León and Castile and

. He was endowed with the "Kingdom of Nájera" in 1152, and according to Carolina Carl never appears in documents as "king of

Nájera Nájera () is a small town, former bishopric and now Latin Catholic titular see, former capital of the Kingdom of Navarre, located in the "Rioja Alta" region of La Rioja, northern Spain, on the river Najerilla. Nájera is a stopping point on the F ...

". His father's will partitioned the kingdom between his two sons: Sancho inherited the kingdoms of Castile and Toledo, and

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

inherited León. The two brothers had just signed a treaty when Sancho suddenly died in the summer of 1158, being buried at Toledo. During his reign, the castle of Calatrava-la-Vieja was conceded to Abbot Raymond Serrat of

Fitero Fitero is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto ...

, who proposed using the lay brothers of his monastery as knights to defend this castle. These knights would give rise to the

, which was confirmed in 1164 by Pope Alexander III. The Treaty of Sahagún of May 1158, outlined the spheres of conquests between Leonese and Castilian against al-Andalus. A possible division of the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

kingdom among the two sons of Alfonso VII, would come to nothing due to the premature death of Sancho.

Marriage

Sancho married, in 1151, Blanche of Navarre, daughter of García Ramírez of Navarre, and had: * Alfonso VIII of Castile, his successor *

infante ''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to th ...

García, who died at birth in 1156, apparently also resulting in the death of Queen Blanche.

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Life

Marriage

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Further reading