Alfonso IV of Aragon

Alfonso IV
Artistic presentation of Alfonso IV, painted by Manuel Aguirre y Monsalbe (1822-1856)
King of Aragon, Valencia, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, Count of Barcelona
Reign	1327–1336
Predecessor	James II
Successor	Peter IV
Born	2 November 1299 Naples
Died	24 January 1336 Barcelona
Spouse	Teresa d'Entença Eleanor of Castile
Issue	Alfonso Constance, Queen of Majorca Peter IV, King of Aragon James I, Count of Urgell
House	House of Barcelona
Father	James II of Aragon
Mother	Blanche of Anjou

Alfonso IV, called the Kind (also the Gentle or the Nice, Catalan: Alfons el Benigne) (2 November 1299 – 24 January 1336) was the King of Aragon^[1] and Count of Barcelona^[2] (as Alfonso III) from 1327 to his death. He was born in Naples, the second son of James II and Blanche of Anjou. His reign saw the incorporation of the County of Urgell, Duchy of Athens, and Duchy of Neopatria into the Crown of Aragon.

During the reign of his father, he was the procurator general of the Crown. He married Teresa d'Entença y Cabrera, heiress of Urgell, in 1314 in the Cathedral of Lerida. He is reputed to have been so liberal in the expenses during the wedding, that the local counsels imposed restrictions on how much he could spend. In 1323–1324, he undertook the conquest of Sardinia. He became heir after his older brother James renounced his rights to become a monk. In 1329, he began a long war with the Republic of Genoa. The city of Sassari surrendered in 1323, but rebelled three more times and was contested by Genoa.

After being widowed in 1327, Alfonso married in February 1329 Eleanor of Castile (1308–1359), who was betrothed to his brother James, who had refused to consummate the marriage. She was the sister of Alfonso XI of Castile. Because of some favoritism he showed towards his second wife, the last years of his life, he had to contend with the son of his first marriage, the future Peter IV.

Children

By Teresa d'Entença:

• Alfonso (1315–1317)
• Constance (1318–1346), married in 1336 to James III of Majorca.
• Peter IV (1319–1387), successor.
• James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347), also inherited Entença and Antillon.
• Elizabeth (1323–1327).
• Frederick (1325-died young).
• Sancho (1327), lived only a few days.

By Eleanor of Castile:

• Ferdinand (1329–1363), Marquis of Tortosa and Lord of Albarracín and Fraga; married Maria, Marchioness of Tortosa.
• John (1331–1358), Lord of Elche, Biel and Bolsa, married in 1355 to Isabel Núñez de Lara (daughter of Juan Núñez III de Lara) and was killed by order of his cousin Pedro of Castile.

Ancestors

16. Peter II of Aragon

8. James I of Aragon

17. Maria of Montpellier

4. Peter III of Aragon

18. Andrew II of Hungary

9. Violant of Hungary

19. Yolanda de Courtenay

2. James II of Aragon

20. Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor

10. Manfred of Sicily

21. Bianca Lancia

5. Constance of Sicily

22. Amadeus IV, Count of Savoy

11. Beatrice of Savoy

23. Marguerite of Burgundy

1. Alfonso IV of Aragon

24. Louis VIII of France

12. Charles I of Naples

25. Blanche of Castile

6. Charles II of Naples

26. Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence

13. Beatrice of Provence

27. Beatrice of Savoy

3. Blanche of Anjou

28. Béla IV of Hungary

14. Stephen V of Hungary

29. Maria Laskarina

7. Maria of Hungary

30. Kuthen the Cuman

15. Elizabeth the Cuman

31. Galicie of Halicz

Notes

1. O'Callaghan, Joseph F.,A History of Medieval Spain, (Cornell University Press, 1975), 408.
2. Medieval Iberia: an encyclopedia, Ed. E. Michael Gerli, Samuel G. Armistead, (Routledge, 2003), 95.

Sources

• Diccionario universal de historia y de geografía, p. 152. By Lucas Alamán, Manuel Orozco y Berra
• Medieval Iberia: an encyclopedia, Ed. E. Michael Gerli, Samuel G. Armistead, Routledge, 2003.
• O'Callaghan, Joseph F., A History of Medieval Spain, Cornell University Press, 1975.