The years 1157 to 1312 constitute one of the most significant periods of Spain's own development as well as of its relationship with the wider world. While the Christian reconquest of most of the part of the peninsula occupied by Spanish Islam proceeded further and faster than ever before, the cultural and intellectual consequences of its contact with 'the other' resonated throughout the schools and universities of Northern Europe. Yet despite this, the underlying weaknesses of a society disorganized by war and overstretched by its endeavours could neither be disguised nor remedied.Spain 1157-1312 examines this fascinating period of medieval history, focussing on the reign of Alfonso the Learned - the ruler of Castile who ultimately failed in his attempt to bring Spain into Europe - and his Aragonese contemporaries in the Mediterranean. While questioning the assumption that the history of this period foreshadowed the unified Spain of the still far-distant Golden Age, Spain 1157-1312 draws on a vast body of primary and secondary source material to provide a balanced overview of a crucial period of Spanish as well as of European history.