The Skaggs-Files

Zaida became a widow when her first husband, Fath al-Ma'mum
, son of theEmir of Seville, died in 1091, trying to leav
e his Córdoba which wasbeing beseiged by a group of radica
l islamists led by Yusuf ibn Tasufin.Zaida had been sent o
n before to the castle at Almodóvar del Río forsafety, an
d thus escaped. It's not clear why she went to the court of
King Alfonso VI in Toledo, but KingAlfonso had veen was a
n ally of herhusband's father and family, and she was accep
ted into his court. WhenZaida arrived at the court, King Al
fonso VI was already "mature" (age51), married to a queen w
ho was ill, and still lackinga male heir. Giventhe custom
s of the times, an affair with Zaida or with anyother woma
nwould not have been of enough historical interest to meri
t attentionexcept for the fact that Zaida bore him his onl
y son, Sancho Alfónsez.Note: Saiz Ordoño speculates that th
e fact that King Alfonso VIrecognized his illegitimate so
n Sancho as his direct descendant withrights to govern Cast
ille, León, Galicia/Portugal, etc. made thechroniclers hast
en to include Zaida among his legitimate married wives.Howe
ver, he concludes there is no proof that they were ever mar
ried. Thearab historian González Palencia (born in Cuenca
, Spain) has described(in his Historia de la España Musulma
na) the court of Alfonso VI inToledo as a muslim court, i
n terms of dress and customs. Regarding thereported Catholi
c baptism of Zaida and her baptismal name of Isabel, SaizOr
doño cautions: "not to be confused with the French Elizabet
h", butdoesn't discuss the matter further. Note: Zaida's da
te of death is notknown exactly, but Saiz Ordono says it wa
s well before the 1106 date whenAlfonso VI formally repudia
ted his fourth wife, as well as before the1108 date when Al
fonso VI married his 5th wife. Zaida died in childbirth.Sai
z Ordoño believes it was at the birth of Sancho (although o
thers sayit may have been a later child). The inscription o
n her tombstone(erected several hundred years later) is
inexact as to the year of death, as well as inaccurate as t
o herparentage. Alternate dates of death proposed by othe
r historians:Lévi-Provencal: 1093; Menéndez Pidal 1099; Fit
a 1101.

CHAN7 Oct 2004

CHAN7 Oct 2004