John II of Castile

John II
Tomb of John II in the Miraflores Charterhouse
King of Castile and León
Reign	25 December 1406 – 20 July 1454
Predecessor	Henry III
Successor	Henry IV
Born	6 March 1405 Toro, Zamora
Died	20 July 1454 (aged 49) Valladolid
Burial	Miraflores Charterhouse
Consort	Maria of Aragon Isabella of Portugal
Issue among others...	Catherine, Princess of Asturias Eleanor, Princess of Asturias Henry IV of Castile Isabella I of Castile Alfonso, Prince of Asturias
House	Trastámara
Father	Henry III of Castile
Mother	Catherine of Lancaster
Religion	Roman Catholic

John II (Spanish: Juan; 6 March 1405 – 20 July 1454) was King of Castile and León from 1406 to 1454.

Regency

John was the son of King Henry III and his wife, Catherine of Lancaster. His mother was the granddaughter of King Peter, who was ousted by Henry III's grandfather, King Henry II. John succeeded his father on 25 December 1406, and united in his person the claims of both Peter and Henry II. His mother and his uncle, King Ferdinand I of Aragon, were co-regents during his minority. When Ferdinand died in 1416, his mother governed alone until her death in 1418.

Personal rule

John II's reign, lasting 49 years, was one of the longest in Castilian history, but John himself was not a particularly capable monarch. He spent his time verse-making, hunting, and holding tournaments. His favourite, Álvaro de Luna, heavily influenced him until his second wife, Isabella of Portugal, obtained control of his feeble will. At her instigation, he dismissed his faithful and able servant, an act which is said to have caused him much remorse.

John II's Regents declared the Valladolid laws in 1411, which restricted the social activity of Jews. Among the most notable of the provisions were outlining that Jews must wear distinctive clothes and banned them from holding administrative positions. However, once John took control of the throne for himself in 1418, he (though likely influenced politically by de Luna) reversed such ordinances, favoring instead a more tolerant attitude toward the already battered Jewish population of Castile following the mass wave of conversions between 1391-1415.

In 1431 John placed Yusuf IV on the throne as the Sultan of Granada in the Moorish Emirate of Granada, in exchange for tribute and vassal status to Castile. This exchange is depicted in the short ballad the Romance of Abenamar.

He was "[T]all and handsome, fair-skinned and slightly ruddy... his hair was the color of a very mature hazelnut, the nose a little snub, the eyes between green and blue... he had very graceful legs and feet and hands."^[1]

John II died on 20 July 1454, at Valladolid.

Family and children

In 1418, John married Maria of Aragon, the oldest daughter of his paternal uncle, Ferdinand I of Aragon. The marriage produced four children:

• Catherine, Princess of Asturias (1422–1424), his heiress presumptive from her birth until her death
• Eleanor, Princess of Asturias (1423–1425), his heiress presumptive from the death of Catherine until the birth of Henry
• King Henry IV of Castile (1425–1474)
• Infanta Maria (1428–1429)

Of all their children, only the future Henry IV of Castile survived infancy. John was widowed in 1445 and remarried to Isabella of Portugal, daughter of Infante John of Portugal, with whom he had two children:

• Queen Isabella I of Castile (1451–1504)
• Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (1453–1468)

Ancestry

Ancestors of John II of Castile

16. Alfonso XI, King of Castile               8. Henry II, King of Castile                       17. Eleanor of Guzmán               4. John I, King of Castile                             18. John, Prince of Villena               9. Joan of Castile                       19. Blanca de La Cerda y Lara               2. Henry III, King of Castile                                   20. Alfonso IV, King of Aragon               10. Peter IV, King of Aragon                       21. Teresa d'Entença               5. Eleanor of Aragon                             22. Peter II of Sicily               11. Eleanor of Sicily                       23. Elisabeth of Carinthia               1. John II of Castile                                         24. Edward II, King of England               12. Edward III, King of England                       25. Isabella of France               6. John, 1st Duke of Lancaster                             26. William I, Count of Hainault               13. Philippa of Hainault                       27. Joan of Valois               3. Catherine of Lancaster                                   28. Alfonso XI, King of Castile (=16)               14. Peter, King of Castile                       29. Maria of Portugal               7. Constance of Castile                             30. Juan García de Padilla               15. María de Padilla                       31. María González de Hinestrosa

Notes

1. From 'Crónica de Juan II' by Lorenza Galindez de Carvajal (1517)

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "II, John". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.