17 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Ferdinand died in 1065. His son, Alfonso VI., was a great warrior 

 and called 'the Valiant.' Alfonso VI. allied himself to an outside 

 stock. He married a daughter of Kobert, Duke of Burgundy. It 

 does not appear that her ancestors were especially distinguished, ex- 

 cept that her great-grandfather was Hugh Capet. This can not be 

 classed among the brilliant marriages from the present point of view, 

 as the great qualities are so remote. 



Their daughter, Urraca, became queen. She was overbearing and 

 tyrannical in her conduct, with morals of very questionable repute. 

 Her mind was of a light and trivial order, though her ambition was 

 as great as it was unprincipled. 'She left to posterity a character 

 darkened by many crimes and scarcely redeemed by a single virtue.' 

 Her reign, 1109-1126, was fortunately for her people a short one, but 

 she succeeded in keeping the country embroiled in family feuds. 

 (Dunham, 'Spain,' II., 162.) Urraca is the first one in the group 

 who had any such traits. On searching for character of her mother's 

 people, who must have introduced these qualities if they came by 

 heredity, I found them amply accounted for in her grandfather and 

 his mother. Eobert, Duke of Burgundy, her grandfather, is described 

 in a short column in the 'Biog. Univer.,' most of which tells of his 

 violent temper. His mother, Constance, was a 'wicked intriguer,' 

 and instigated his revolting from his weak and peace-loving father, 

 King Eobert of France. 'Eobert (the Duke) had a most violent 

 temper and was capable in the excesses of his anger of the most atrocious 

 extremes. ' He showed no application to affairs of state and abandoned 

 the government to cruel and incompetent ministers. Queen Urraca 

 married Eaymond, Count of Burgundy. He was not at all distin- 

 guished, nor were his family. 



The successor of the notorious Queen Urraca was Alfonso VII., 

 who luckily did not repeat his mother's character. Unfortunately 

 for our purpose we cannot be sure of his father, owing to the licentious- 

 ness of the Queen. The characteristics of this son and his effect on 

 the country may be well shown by quoting Dunham, 'History of Spain 

 and Portugal,' II., 165: 



Alfonso was no common monarch. Though he lost Portugal and was unable 

 to withstand the genius of his namesake of Aragon, whom he imitated in assum- 

 ing the imperial title, yet with fewer pretensions, though he is undeserving the 

 exaggerated praises of the national historians, it cannot be denied that he ex- 

 hibited great firmness in circumstances often very difficult, that he caused his 

 territory to be respected by his Christian neighbors and greatly aggrandized 

 it at the expense of the Mohammedans. His talents, however, were inferior to 

 his ambition, and his moderation to both. 



If this Alfonso VII. had wedded only average qualities it is prob- 

 able that the ancient greatness of the race would have run out, but 



