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The Wise King: A Christian Prince, Muslim Spain, and the Birth of the Renaissance. By Simon R. Doubleday. (New York: Basic Books. 2016. Pp. xxix, 304. $29.99. ISBN 978-0-46-506699-5.)
In this highly readable new biography of Alfonso X el Sabio of León-Castile, Simon Doubleday takes a fresh look at a ruler who styled himself "king of the three religions"-that is, of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Alfonso X (r. 1252-1284) came to power in a kingdom that was struggling to absorb a vast amount of territory and people recently conquered from Muslim Iberia, and devoted himself to expanding his borders still farther. But he was also keenly aware of, and eager to participate in, the rich intellectual heritage created by...