, king of Leon and Castile, who has been surnamed The Wise, on account
, king of Leon and Castile, who has
been surnamed The Wise, on account of his attachment
to literature, is now more celebrated for having been an
astronomer than a king. He was born in 1203, succeeded
his father Ferdinand III. in 1252, and died in 1284, consequently at the age of 81. The affairs of the reign of
Alphonsus were very extraordinary and unfortunate, but
we shall here only consider him in that part of his
character, on account of which he has a place in this
work, namely, as an astronomer and a man of letters. He
acquired a profound knowledge of astronomy, philosophy,
and history, and composed books upon the motions of the
heavens, and on the history of Spain, which are highly
commended. “What can be more surprising,
” says Mariana, “than that a prince, educated in a camp, and
handling arms from his childhood, should have such a
knowledge of the stars, of philosophy, and the transactions
of the world, as men of leisure can scarcely acquire in
their retirements? There are extant some books of Alphonsus on the motions of the stars, and the history of Spain,
written with great skill and incredible care.
” In his astronomical pursuits he discovered that the tables of Ptolemy
were full of errors, and was the first to undertake the task
of correcting them. For this purpose, about the year 1240,
and during the life of his father, he assembled at Toledo
the most skilful astronomers of his time, Christians, Moors,
or Jews, when a plan was formed for constructing new
tables. This task was accomplished about 1252, the first
year of his reign; the tables being drawn up chiefly by the
skill and pains of Rabbi Isaac Hazan, a learned Jew, and
the work called the Alphonsine Tables, in honour of the
prince, who was at vast expences concerning them. He
fixed the epoch of the tables to the 30th of May 1252,
being the day of his accession to the throne. They were
printed for the first time in 1483, at Venice, by Radtolt,
who excelled in printing at that time; an edition extremely
rare: there are others of 1492, 1521, 1545, &c.