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Castile. Don Ordono, the pretender to his throne, son of Alonzo surnamed
the Monk, with the aid of Gonzalez, whose daughter Urraca, the
repudiated widow of the former sovereign, he married, took easy
possession of the kingdom, driving Don Sancho for shelter to the court
of his uncle the then King of Navarre. It is worth mentioning, that King
Sancho took the opportunity of his temporary expulsion from his states,
to visit the court of Abderahman at Cordova, and consult the Arab
physicians, whose reputation for skill in the removal of obesity had
extended over all Spain. History relates that the treatment they
employed was successful, and that Don Sancho, on reascending his throne,
had undergone so complete a reduction as to be destitute of all claims
to his previously acquired _sobriquet_.

All these events, and the intervals which separated them, fill a
considerable space of time; and the establishment of the exact dates
would be a very difficult, if not an impossible, undertaking. Various
wars were carried on during this time by Gonzalez, and alliances formed
and dissolved. Several more or less successful campaigns are recorded
against the Moors of Saragoza, and of other neighbouring states. The
alliance with Navarre had not been durable. In 959 Don Garcia, King of
that country, fought a battle with Fernan Gonzalez, by whom he was taken
prisoner, and detained in Burgos thirteen months. The conquest of the
independence of Castile is related in the following manner.

In the year 958, the Cortes of the kingdom were assembled at Leon,
whence the King forwarded a special invitation to the Count of Castile,
requiring his attendance, and that of the Grandees of the province, for
"deliberation on affairs of high importance to the state." Gonzalez,
although suspicious of the intentions of the sovereign, unable to devise
a suitable pretext for absenting himself, repaired to Leon, attended by
a considerable _cortege_ of nobles. The King went forth to receive him;
and it is related, that refusing to accept a present, offered by
Gonzalez, of a horse and a falcon, both of great value, a price was
agreed on; with the condition that, in case the King should not pay the
money on the day named in the agreement, for each successive day that
should intervene until the payment, the sum should be doubled. Nothing
extraordinary took place during the remainder of the visit; and the
Count, on his return to Burgos, married Dona Sancha, siste