The Fecho del Imperio, Alfonso X the Wise and the Empire

Abstract

As part of the preparation for the French competitive exam “Agregation” for the 2022 and 2023 sessions, this article proposes to analyze the Fecho del Imperio and the connection that Alfonso X the Wize maintains with the notion of Empire in the broad sense. Indeed, Alfonso's imperial ambition is not limited to the Fecho del Imperio, that is, his attempt to become emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. On the contrary, it is a broader approach, which draws its – real and historiographical – roots in the Roman and Leonese past of the Peninsula. In short, this imperial enterprise is much more in line with the Spanish ambitions of the Wise King than the expression “Fecho del Imperio” suggests. My objective is therefore to provide conceptual, historical, historiographical, and legal keys that allow candidates to approach this theme and, if necessary, to develop it on the day of the competition.