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What would happen in 12th century Europe that in the most isolated mountainous area of the Spanish plateau, where the most absolute sobriety reigned, an Anglo-Norman Gothic cathedral would be erected almost overnight (that is, the coolest thing of the moment!)? Well, the person in charge was an incredible woman, whose legacy reaches to... our current Princess of Asturias! A Spanish queen born in France, who is also an English princess, who married at the age of 10 the King of Castile, the most fashionable place in medieval Europe, and who became by her own merits the most important influence of the time!
Cuenca is located in the centre of the province. The capital of the region is a city of a thousand colours, the result of a unique blend of spectacular scenery, unrepeatable architecture and dozens of surprising parishes that have shaped a very special city around one of the most amazing cathedrals in Spain, which, on its own, already justifies a visit to the city.
The way to achieve power in the European Middle Ages was either by force or through marriage alliances.
This is what the parents of Leonor de Plantagenet and Alfonso VIII must have thought when they were married at the age of 10 and 15 respectively. Without doubt, it was a very convenient marriage for both of them: her parents were none other than the kings of England and Aquitaine, and he was not left behind: he was a descendant, on his father's side, of the kings of the House of Burgundy and the County of Barcelona, and on his mother's side, of the kings of Pamplona and Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar himself -the Cid Campeador-. Come on, they were both what you would call a good match!
Not only that: in the Europe of the time, Castile - a place of passage to the tomb of the apostle Santiago and of transmission of the best of al-Andalus to the rest of the continent - was in fashion, and its king Alfonso VIII, too; so Leonor, who met the requirements of beauty, lineage, education and wealth, became what we could call the European it girl of the moment! Alfonso did not spare his new wife and granted her a very generous marriage agreement, which included the rights and revenues of thirty cities, fortresses and villas and half of the territories she would conquer from the Muslims after her marriage. And Eleanor did not waste it! With such patrimonial support, she equipped herself with an influential group of advisors and courtiers and a large group of men and women from all the guilds at her service, and began an immense political, social and cultural task, as well as an incredible activity as a patron.
The vast majority of properties belonging to the kings of Castile, Alfonso and Leonor, were located in the centre of Castile, between the Ebro and the Duero rivers, but they wanted to expand southwards, practically reaching the border with the Almohads along the Tagus. Cuenca was a strategic place in their claims, as it was the point of union of the northern and southern plateaus. After several attempts, the city was definitively conquered in 1177 by Alfonso VIII, who involved his political family, with the help of the Knights of Gascony (France), to support him in the common cause against the Saracens.
In order to consolidate the conquest and repopulate these territories so that they would not be lost again, people were brought from Northern Europe. This implied an endless number of novelties: on the one hand, the social dynamism that it meant, as these new inhabitants who came from all over the continent brought with them other cultures, knowledge of different artistic and material techniques, other fashions, other music, other gastronomy, etc., which would be a real boost for the sobriety of the Castile of that time.
On the other hand, it was necessary to adapt the city and create new infrastructures to serve thousands of people! Several churches were built, and around them the different neighbourhoods in which the daily life of the citizens would be developed were defined.
This growth of the city at a dizzying rate, together with the openness to new ideas, techniques and styles coming from the outside, was the breeding ground that gave rise to the birth of a totally new concept of cathedral, which gave prominence to beauty, light and large dimensions, in a land where until then a rural and rough Romanesque reigned, typical of the warlike world to which it belonged.
Imagine the shock it must have been for the local population to see the impact of the cathedral on the city! This construction would be the best symbol of the political strategy of King Alfonso and Queen Leonor.
