Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada

Rodrigo Jiménez (or Ximénez) de Rada (c. 1170 in Puente la Reina, Navarre, Spain – 10 June 1247 on the Rhone, near Lyons, France), also known as Archbishop Don Roderic of Toledo, was a Navarrese-born Castilian Roman Catholic bishop and historian.

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. When he returned to Navarre he mediated between that kingdom and Castile and he became friend of King Alfonso VIII of Castile, who nominated him as bishop of Osma and later put pressure on the chapter of Toledo to elect him as archbishop of Toledo. 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.

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