The Right Kind of Power: From Sancho II to Alfonso VI in the Chronica naierensis

The Chronica naierensis (c. 1185-1190) is well known for its pro-Castilian tendencies, especially for the treatment of Fernando I and Alfonso VI, both distinguished as royal models. Despite this compositional commitment, Sancho II, Fernando’s eldest son and the first king of Castile, has been mostly analysed through the lens of his bellicosity and has served as an example of a bad ruler. This article sheds light on the chapters dedicated to these two brothers to demonstrate that a pro-Alfonso attitude does not always imply an anti-Sancho narrative. A more nuanced reading provides insight into the chronicle’s careful interweaving of a variety of materials and, therefore, into the particularities, as it was written in the submitted version of the depictions of Sancho and Alfonso. Moreover, by differentiating within a wide scope of narrative devices employed in the Chronica naierensis for storytelling and character outlining, it is possible to reconsider the ways in which the work engaged with the contemporaneous political context.