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The origin of the nauished in the struggle against the Moors in the reign of Alfonso

VII as the Cid had been half a century before in that of Alfonso VI, and

was rewarded by divers grants of land in the neighbourhood of Toledo On

one of his acquisitions, about two leagues from the city, he built

himself a castle which he called Cervatos, because "he was lord of the

solar of Cervatos in the Montana," as thefrom

the Basque Provinces to Leon was always called At his death in battle in

1143, the castle passed by his will to his son Alfonso Munio, who, as

territorial or local surnaue in place of the

simple patronymic, took the additional name of Cervatos His eldest son

Pedro succeeded him in the possession of the castle, and followed his

exaer son,

Gonzalo, seee

Everyone who has paid even a flying visit to Toledo will remember the

ruined castle that crowns the hill above the spot where the bridge of

Alcantara spans the gorge of the Tagus, and with its broken outline and

cru walls makes such an ad over the city roofs on the opposite side It was built,