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Astro*Dictionary by Michael Erlewine

 

 

 

 

1 article for "Alfonso X"

Alfonso X of Castile [Astro*Index]

(1221-1284) Spanish monarch. Born at Burgos, died at Seville.

Made a futile attempt to become Holy Roman Emperor. Was forced from his throne in 1282. Noted for his scholarship and founding of schools, he was called Alfonso el Sabio (Alfonso the Wise). He sponsored the writing of the first history of Spain and the translation of the Old Testament by the Jews of Toledo. His revised planetary tables (the Alfonsine Tables), published in 1252, were superior to others during the Middle Ages, and were not supplanted for some 300 years. In 1957, a crater on the Moon was named Alphonsus in his honor.

 

Astro*Index Copyright © 1997 Michael Erlewine