The General Estoria is a universal history written on the initiative of Alfonso X of Castile (1252–1284), known as el Sabio (the Wise). The work was written in Old Spanish, a novelty in this historiographical genre, up until then regularly written in Latin. The work intended to narrate the world’s history from the beginnings (Creation, as narrated in the Bible) until the time of Alfonso, but it was never completed. The extant work covers from the creation until the birth of the virgin Mary, in the biblical section, and until year zero, in the history of the non-Jewish peoples.For the writing of this huge work, many older books were used as sources. Most of them were written in Latin, but there were French and Arabic sources, as well.