Battle of Candespina
1110 CE.
Shown on the map at 41.367°, -3.500°.
The Battle of Candespina was fought on 26 October 1110 or 1111 between the forces of Alfonso I of Aragon and those of his estranged wife, Urraca of León and Castile, in the Campo de la Espina near Sepúlveda. Alfonso was victorious, as he would be again in a few weeks at the Battle of Viadangos. The battle was the result of a power struggle between Alfonso and Urraca. Perhaps the latter had become too powerful, for one of her strongest vassals, her brother-in-law Henry of Portugal, who had been recruiting soldiers in France (probably his native Burgundy), returned to ally with Alfonso after being promised a partition of the united realm that would leave him in control of the west (Galicia and Portugal). Battle was joined while Urraca was staying in Burgos, the capital of Castile. On the field Urraca's suitor, Gómez González, Count of Castile, was killed by Henry. After the battle Urraca was joined in Burgos by the Castilian count Pedro González de Lara. Meanwhile, Henry of Portugal may have had second thoughts about his alliance with Alfonso. After the battle he was approached by some men of Urraca at Sepúlveda, where they offered him a better partition if he joined the queen.
Text from the Wikipedia article Battle of Candespina, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.