Castile (Span. Castilla), the central district of the Spanish peninsula, divided by the Castilian Sierras (8730 feet) into Old and New Castile—Castilla la Vieja and Castilla la Nueva. The former district—so called because it was first recovered from the Arabs—extends north to the Bay of Biscay, is walled in on all other sides by mountain-ranges, and rises to the height of 2500 to 3000 feet in the form of an elevated plateau, mostly trackless, treeless, exposed to frequent droughts, and generally dreary, parched, and barren, in spite of a few rich tracts. Old Castile is now divided into the eight provinces of Palencia, Valladolid, Avila, Segovia, Soria, Burgos, Logroño, and Santander. The plateau of New Castile, to the south, is also inclosed by mountains, and though lying 1800 feet lower than Old Castile, presents many similar characteristics of soil and scenery, and everywhere the same dreary aspect. It embraces the provinces of Madrid, Toledo, Guadalajara, Ciudad Real, and Cuenca. Old Castile has an area of 25,280 sq. m., and a pop. of 1,800,000; New Castile, 53,035 sq. m., with a pop. of 3,500,000. See the figures for the provinces at SPAIN.
The Castilians are a grave, silent, somewhat stern people, preserving with the haughtiness and pure Spanish of their forefathers also their ignorance and bigotry, but are nevertheless a loyal and manly race. In New Castile a mixture of Mozarabic and Spanish blood has produced a race of men, lean but muscular, and women, slender, graceful, and vivacious; they are the most intelligent people of Central Spain, possess a shrewd mother-wit, and have even more than the general haughtiness of the Spanish character. The language of Castile prevails throughout the educated classes, as in the literature of Spain, and its rulers have extended their sway over the whole nation.
Castile, so named from the great number of its frontier castles, was from the 8th century under the suzerainty of the kings of Asturias and Leon, but was governed by its own counts, who in the 10th century became practically independent. In 1026 Sancho the Great of Navarre annexed the greater part of Castile, which he left to his second son, Ferdinand I. (1035-67), who annexed Leon, Asturias, Galicia, and the district on the right of the Ebro. This union was not permanent, his territories being divided at his death among his three sons; but in 1072 the kingdom was reunited under Alfonso VI. The two kingdoms, however, were finally reunited in the person of
Ferdinand III. (1230-52), who captured Cordova and Seville, and extended the frontier of Castile to the southern coast. Among the successors of Ferdinand III., the most distinguished were Alfonso X. and Pedro the Cruel (q.v.). For two centuries the history of Castile is largely a record of minorities and civil wars, until, by the marriage of Isabella, sister and successor of Henry IV., with Ferdinand, king of Aragon (1469), the two crowns of Castile and Aragon became united (1479), and the kingdom of Spain was founded.