Editing Alfonso VIII of Castile (section)

==Cultural legacy==
Alfonso was the founder of the first Spanish university, a ''[[studium generale]]'' at [[Palencia]], which, however, did not survive him.<ref name="EB1911"/> His court also served as an important instrument for Spanish cultural achievement. Alfonso and his wife Eleanor of England were the first to make the [[Alcázar of Segovia]] as their residence when this fortress was still at its early stages.

Alfonso died at [[Gutierre-Muñoz]]<ref>[[Ricardo del Arco y Garay]], ''Sepulcros de la Casa Real de Castilla''</ref> and was succeeded by his surviving son, [[Henry I of Castile|Henry I]].

Alfonso was the subject for [[Lion Feuchtwanger]]'s novel ''[[Die Jüdin von Toledo]]'' (''The Jewess of Toledo''), in which is narrated an affair with a Jewish subject in medieval Toledo in a time when Spain was known to be the land of tolerance and learning for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The titular Jewish woman of the novel is based on Alfonso's paramour, [[Rahel la Fermosa]].{{sfn|Marrache|2009}}  Scholars continue to debate the historical truth of this relationship.{{sfn|Shadis|2010|pp=48–50}} The 1919 film ''[[The Jewess of Toledo (film)|The Jewess of Toledo]]'' by [[Franz Höbling]] is also based on this relationship.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0956166/|title = Die Jüdin von Toledo (1919) | website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref>