His reign was fleeting, troubled and controversial, but Sancho I of León It well deserves to go down in the books of national history. And it deserves it for two compelling reasons, never better said. The first is that if he was removed from the throne in 958, it was not because of a game of palace conspiracies and disputes between nobles. Or those weren’t the only reasons, at least. The trigger was his exorbitant bellya belly so prominent that it earned him the nickname ‘El Gordo’ and made his subjects doubt whether he was the most suitable person for the throne. The second is that he can boast of having completed perhaps the most successful (and earliest) “miracle diet” in Spain.
We explain ourselves.
When I was a child, in the 940s, there was little reason to think that Sancho could one day become a relevant character in the kingdom of León. His status as the third male child of Ramiro II relegated him to a secondary position, behind his Vermudo brothers (died 944) and Ordoño. And if the crib had not favored him, his health was not buoyant either: he was not a young man given to long rides or exercising. Theirs were rather the comforts of the palace, especially those that were served in fountains, well watered with oil.
From Ramiro ‘the Great’ to Sancho ‘the Fat’
Miniature representing King Sancho I of León.
At the table, Infante Sancho did not hold back. They say that it was given to anthological feastswith seven meals a day, sometimes consisting of 17 dishes, among which there was no shortage of stews with game meat. Perhaps history exaggerates and has deformed his figure, but it has left us at least one piece of information to give us an idea of how plump Sancho was and to what extent he developed morbid obesity: it is said that, already in his adult stage, he came to weigh 240 kilos.
If his father had been nicknamed Ramiro ‘the Great’ —or ‘the Devil’, as his enemies referred to him—and his predecessor Alfonso “the Monk”Sancho was given a much less epic and much more descriptive nickname: ‘el Crassus’.
Or directly ‘El Gordo’.
However, it was one thing to be fond of lavish banquets and quite another to renounce the throne and settle for the delegated government of the county of Castile, a responsibility that had been assigned to him in 944. Once his father died and his older brother became Ordoño IIISancho organized a rebellion between 954 and 955 to expel him from power. The trick came to fruition.
His attempt to overthrow him by force was a resounding failure, but in a surprising turn opportune for Sancho’s interests, Ordoño III died not long after, thus granting him the accession in 956 to the crown of a kingdom that was facing delicate moments due to internal tensions and Muslim incursions.
His belly didn’t help either. It was bad to weigh 240 kilos, but worse to combine such weight with that of a crown that required being willing to be embedded in armor. As Professor Margarita Torres recalls in an article of the Royal Academy of History (RAH), in the 10th century a king was expected to will combine certain qualities: good judgment, balance, firmness… and the skills of a war leader. It would have been very difficult for Sancho I to appear on a horse on the battlefield, as well as fighting while brandishing a sword or even something as crucial for the crown as providing offspring.
Such a condition undermined his image among the kingdom’s aristocracy, who ended up losing respect for him. Add to that the memory of Sancho’s failed coup against his brother Ordoño III and the decisions he made once seated on the throne, which led him, for example, to distance himself from his uncle, the influential Count Fernán Gonzálezand a perfect cocktail will emerge for the fall from grace of a novice monarch.
Helping the king lose weight
Just two years after being crowned in Compostela, ‘el Crassus’ lost his precious scepter, which passed in 958—by siege—to the infante Ordoño Alfonso. Sancho managed to save his skin and took refuge where he knew he would be safe: in Navarra, with his grandmother, Queen Todoan old woman more than 70 years.
The story of Sancho I could have ended then. Fortunately, her maternal grandmother was a woman of means and decided to ask for help from the person who would have the least qualms about plotting against a Christian monarch: Abd al-Rahman IIIthe caliph of Córdoba, an interesting ally both for his position and his resources. At his service he had a renowned doctor, the Jewish scholar Hasday ibn Shapruta skilled, polyglot, cultured man who could help the king overcome his overweight.
In exchange for the alliance with Abd al-Rahmanto which the Navarrese joined, the supporters of Sancho I agreed to hand over fortresses on the border. It was not a bad payment for a move that not long later, in April 959, would allow him to return triumphant to the capital of his kingdom while Ordoño IValias ‘el Malo’, was forced to flee and end up in Córdoba. The second and definitive stage of the reign of Sancho I began, which would last until his death in 966.
The surprising thing is that—if we believe tradition—the Sancho who returned exultantly to León had little to do with the one who had fled some time ago to take refuge in his maternal grandmother’s castle. In fact, the nickname ‘Crassus’ had become too much for him. The reason? The strict “bikini operation” to which Shaprut had subjected him before his return to the throne, in Córdoba.
The remedy was so effective that it is said that Sancho lost more than 100kg in a matter of a few weeks. Before embarking on following the diet of the wise Jew, it is better that you take note, however, of what you will need, according to historical popularizers. interviewed by ABC: infusions, exercise, ropes… and needle and thread.
It is difficult to know how much is real and how much is exaggeration in that chapter of the history of Sancho I, but according to what they say, Shaprut ordered that they sewed his mouthleaving just an opening so that he could use a straw. There are those who say that during a good part of that ordeal the king remained tied hand and foot to prevent him from getting food. To complete it, he underwent steam baths and exercise sessions. All in order to stop gobbling and burning fat.
It probably wasn’t the kind of weight loss therapy Sancho was thinking of, but at least it produced results. According to the chronicles, he lost 120 kilos in a matter of 40 days. The situation in León did not allow him to undergo long treatments for overweight. Even so, the balance is more than striking: three kilos per day. Today There are experts who question that the king could lose such a burden in a month, no matter how strict the prohibition on eating and the intense sweating to which his doctor subjected him.
However, its history remains. And the chronicle of a king who saw how his throne is staggered because of his overweight.
Image | Wikipedia
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*An earlier version of this article was published in May 2023
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