Ferdinand II of León

     Ferdinand II of León was born circa 1137 at Toledo, Castile, Spain.¹ He was the son of Alfonso VII of León and Castile and Berengaria of Barcelona.^2,3 Ferdinand II of León married Urraca circa 1165; This marriage failed to prevent her father Afonso I from declaring war on Ferdinand after he became his son-in-law. This short war culminated in disaster when Afonso was captured in Badajoz. Perhaps due to his marriage to Urraca, Ferdinand was generous to Afonso, and let him leave. However, the marriage of Ferdinand II and Urraca was annulled in 1175 by the Pope, the two being second cousins, great-grandchildren of Alfonso VI of León and Castile. That this was political in nature is shown by Ferdinand's remarriage to Teresa Fernández de Traba, the half-aunt of Urraca and thus a generation closer to Alfonso VI.

After the dissolution of her marriage, Urraca returned to the court of her father at Valladolid.⁴ Ferdinand II of León died on 22 January 1188 at Benavente.¹ He was buried at Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, Spain.¹