Alfonso was the subject for Lion Feuchtwanger's novel "Die Jüdin von Toledo" ("The Jewess of Toledo"), in which is narrated an affair with a Jewish subject in medieval Toledo in a time when Spain was known to be the land of tolerance and learning for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The titular Jewish woman of the novel is based on Alfonso's paramour, Rahel la Fermosa. Scholars continue to debate the historical truth of this relationship. The 1919 film "The Jewess of Toledo" by Franz Höbling is also based on this relationship.