Ferdinand IV of Castile

Ferdinand IV

Statue of Fernando IV in Madrid's Parque del Buen Retiro.
King of Castile and León
Reign 25 April 1295 7 September 1312
Predecessor Sancho IV
Successor Alfonso XI
Born (1285-12-06)6 December 1285
Seville
Died 7 September 1312(1312-09-07) (aged 26)
Jaén
Burial Real Colegiata de San Hipólito
Consort Constance of Portugal
Issue Eleanor, Queen of Aragon
Alfonso XI, King of Castile
House House of Ivrea Burgundy
Father Sancho IV, King of Castile
Mother María de Molina
Religion Roman Catholicism

Ferdinand IV, El Emplazado or "the Summoned" (6 December 1285 – 7 September 1312), was a king of Castile (1295–1312) and León and Galicia (1301–1312). He was a son of Sancho El Bravo and his wife Maria de Molina.

Life

His strange title is given to him in the chronicles because of a story in which he tyrannically puts to death two brothers named Carvajal, and was given a time (plazo) by them in which to answer for his crime in the next world. But the tale is not contemporary, and is an obvious copy of the story told of Jacques de Molay, grand-master of the Temple, and Philip IV of France.

His reign came at a time of anarchy.[1] From 1296 to 1301 the Kingdom of León was independent under Juan I of León, being crowned as King of León, Galicia and Seville. He owed his escape from the violence of competitors and nobles, partly to the tact and undaunted bravery of his mother Maria de Molina, and partly to the loyalty of the citizens of Ávila, who gave him refuge within their walls. As a king he proved ungrateful to his mother, and weak as a ruler.

On January 23, 1302 he married Constance, daughter of King Denis of Portugal, in Valladolid. Their children were:

  1. Eleanor (1307–1359), married King Alfonso IV of Aragon
  2. Constance (1308–1310)
  3. Alfonso XI of Castile (1311–1350)

In 1309 he captured Gibraltar from the Moors[1] (who had held it since 711) with the help of Alonso Pérez de Guzmán of Aragón. He died suddenly in his tent at Jaén when preparing for a raid into the Emirate of Granada on 7 September 1312.

Ancestry

References

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Ferdinand IV of Castile
Born: 6 December 1285 Died: 7 September 1312
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Sancho IV
King of Castile and León
12951312
Succeeded by
Alfonso XI
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