Castile in the north of Spain began as a county with the
appointment of the first Count of Castile, (Count Rodrigo)
in 850. Castile was at that time a vassalage depending from
the kingdom of Leon, one of the early kingdoms prior to the
formation of the kingdom of Spain.
This is the area credited with the first development of the
Spanish Language.
From the time of the earliest recorded form of the Castilian
Language up to the 15th century it was generally known as
Old Spanish, while from the 16th century onwards it is
referred to as Modern Spanish.
After the decline of the Roman Empire in the 8th and 9th
centuries the Castilian Language developed from Vulgar Latin
(the Romance Language), which was spoken with dialectic
differences throughout the Roman Empire. The development of
the Castilian language, destined to become the Official
Spanish language, followed along a distinctly different path
from the language of eastern Iberia. The language was
influenced by Basque in the north and Mozarabic in the
south. The various dialects of Romance languages spoken in
the Iberian lands under Moorish influence were collectively
known as Mozarabic.
In 1035 the Castilian county became a kingdom, under the
reign of Fernando I. Shortly after, Fernando led a
coalition of Castile and Navarre in a war against Leon in
which the king of Leon was killed. As the slain king had no
offspring, Fernando, brother-in-law to the dead king,
claimed the crown of Leon. This brought about the first
union of the two kingdoms, Leon and Castile. They were
partitioned again in 1195 and finally re-united in 1230.
The name Castile simply means "land of castles". Early
castles dated from the 12th century, though there were some
Moorish castles earlier than that. The Moorish castles have
in the main been either lost to the ravages of time or used
as the foundation for building a more recent castle. As the
Castilian-Leon kingdom expanded, they continued building
castles to consolidate their hold on the newly acquired
land.
The kingdom of Leon-Castile continued to increase its power
and the fall of Toledo in 1085 marked the start of a decline
in the Moorish hold on the rest of the Iberian peninsular.
During the 16th century Spain became the unified Kingdom of
Spain with the Castilian version of the language confirmed
as the official Spanish language.
The Spanish language, (Espanola as it is officially known),
has increased in stature and popularity. Today Spanish is
spoken by in excess of 400 million people, including those
who speak it as a second language. The Spanish language is
recognized as an official language in such organizations as
the United Nations and the European Union among others.
Increasingly, when people wish to study a second language,
Spanish is the language they choose.
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