The Papacy, the Spanish Kingdoms and Las Navas de Tolosa

Abstract

The victory of Las Navas de Tolosa was of profound significance to Pope Innocent III. It came after a long period of intensive papal activity in Spain. We can only understand Innocent III’s actions during the campaign by looking first of all at the actions of his predecessors over a long period of time. Innocent built on a long tradition of aiming to secure peace between the Christian kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula, combined with the reform of the Church and the promotion of the military and religious orders. But Christian divisions and a lack of military success, either in Spain or the Holy Land, meant that the papacy was sometimes hesitant to commit itself to campaigns against the Almohads.