ABSTRACT
In the summer of 1332, Alfonso XI staged in two phases one of the most complex and fascinating ceremonies of the Middle Ages. According to the royal chronicle, the monarch first made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, where he was knighted by the Apostle St James. Alfonso XI’s knighthood and coronation provide a perfect example to examine the range of ideas deployed by the Castilian kings to exalt their royal status. The court of Alfonso X was defined by an impressive range of literary creation, scientific enquiry, and legal codification. Gabrielle Spiegel’s seminal studies have demonstrated how the writing of chronicles in the vernacular made a major contribution to the consolidation of royal power, which became founded on the testimonies of the past by claiming a monopoly on truth.
