Background
He was born from a Navarrese noble family and was educated by his uncle, Martín de la Finojosa, abbot of Saint Mary of Huerta and bishop of Sigüenza.
He was born from a Navarrese noble family and was educated by his uncle, Martín de la Finojosa, abbot of Saint Mary of Huerta and bishop of Sigüenza.
He studied Law and Theology in the Universities of Bologna and Paris.
His election as archbishop of Toledo was confirmed by Pope Innocent III on 12 February 1209. In addition, Alfonso VIII appointed him as major chancellor of Castile. He played a key role in the war against the Almohads and at the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212).
He was the moral leader of that war, which was considered in Europe as a crusade in which many European knights took part.
He sent afterwards missionaries to Morocco. His archbishopric gained a lot of possessions throughout the Guadalquivir valley, especially around Quesada and received further generous donations from kings and lords.
He ordered the translation of the Koran to Latin and composed a wide historiographic work. His, a general history of Spain, was very soon translated into Spanish and was very influential on the General History of Alfonso X. He died near Lyons while returning from a visit to the pope, and is interred in the monastery of Saint Mary of Huerta.
As archbishop of Toledo, he promoted the building of the cathedral and placed the first stone in 1226 (it was not completed until 1493), restored the dioceses of Baeza and Córdoba after the Christian conquest of those cities and defended the primacy of his see in Spain against the pretensions of Braga and Santiago.