Ferdinand IV of Castile

Early Life (1285–1295)

Ferdinand was born in the city of Alcazar de San Juan on 6 December 1285 as the second child and eldest son of King Sancho IV of Castile and his wife María de Molina. He was baptized at Seville Cathedral by Archbishop Raimundo de Losana and was immediately proclaimed heir to the Crown and received the homage of the nobles of the kingdom.

King Sancho IV entrusted to Fernán Pérez Ponce de León the raising of his newborn son, since he had been first majordomo of King Alfonso X. The prince and his tutor left for the city of Zamora, where the family of Fernán Pérez resided. Likewise the King appointed Isidro González and Alfonso Godínez as Chancellors of the prince, while appointing Samuel de Belorado almojarife (Treasurer) of the prince. Fernán Pérez Ponce de León and his wife, Urraca Gutiérrez de Meneses, had a significant influence on Ferdinand's character, and as King, he would show them a profound gratitude.

Even during his infancy, the question of his marriage was raised, being the desire of Sancho IV to choose a princess from Kingdoms of France or Portugal. In the agreement signed by Sancho IV and King Denis of Portugal in September 1291, it was established the betrothal between Ferdinand and the Infanta Constance, daughter of the Portuguese sovereign. Nevertheless, in spite of the commitment contracted with the Portuguese monarch, in 1294, Sancho IV thought about the possibility of marrying his son with Margaret or Blanche, daughters of King Philip IV of France, both of whom died young. The death of Sancho IV a year later put an end to the negotiations with the French court.

The Regency of María de Molina (1295–1301)

King Sancho IV of Castile died in the city of Toledo on 25 April 1295, leaving his eldest son Ferdinand as heir of the throne. After the burial of the sovereign at Toledo Cathedral, his widow María de Molina retired to the Alcázar of Toledo for nine days of mourning. The now Dowager Queen was in charge of the regency of her 9-year-old son. Because the marriage between Sancho IV and María de Molina never received papal approval, which was required due to consanguinity rules, all their children (including the now Ferdinand IV) were legally illegitimate, so the Dowager Queen faced numerous problems to keep her son on the throne.

Ferdinand and María's incessant struggles with the Castilian nobility were led by the Infante John of Castile "el de Tarifa", Lord of Valencia de Campos (who claimed the throne of his brother Sancho IV) and the Infante Henry of Castile the Senator, son of Ferdinand III and great-uncle of Ferdinand IV, and were later joined by Alfonso and Ferdinand de la Cerda, who claimed the throne through their father Fernando, eldest son of King Alfonso X, who predeceased the King. the Infantes de la Cerda were supported by the Kings of France and Aragon, and by their grandmother Queen Violante of Aragon, widow of Alfonso X. To this were added the problems with Aragon, Portugal and France, who tried to take advantage of the realm's instability. At the same time, Diego López V de Haro, Lord of Biscay, Nuño González de Lara, and Juan Núñez II de Lara, among many others nobles, worked to weaken and destabilize Ferdinand's rule.

In the Cortes of Valladolid in 1295, Henry of Castile the Senator was appointed guardian of the King, but the Dowager Queen María de Molina was entrusted with his custody (thanks to the support of the cities with votes in the Cortes). During the Cortes, John of Castile, Lord of Valencia de Campos, left Granada to occupy the city of Badajoz, which he could not do, but he did manage to seize Coria and the castle of Alcántara. He later traveled Kingdom of Portugal, where he urged King Denis to support his claim to the throne and declare war on his neighbor.

In the summer of 1295, when the Cortes of Valladolid ended, the Dowager Queen and Henry of Castile met in Ciudad Rodrigo with King Denis of Portugal, to whom they ceded several border castles and localities. At the same meeting, the marriage contract between Ferdinand IV and Denis' daughter Constance was renewed, and it was decided that Ferdinand's younger sister, the Infanta Beatrice of Castile, would marry the Infante Afonso, heir to the Portuguese throne, the future Afonso IV. At the same time, Diego López V de Haro was confirmed the possession of the Lordship of Biscay over the claims of María I Díaz de Haro, and John de Tarifa recognized (albeit privately) Ferdinand IV as his sovereign, was momentarily restored his property. Shortly after, King James II of Aragon returned the Infanta Isabella of Castile to the Castilian court without having married her, and declared the war to the Kingdom of Castile.

The Treaty of Alcañices (1297)

In 1296 the Dowager Queen María de Molina had threatened to break her agreement with the King of Portugal made the previous year if his attacks the Castilian borderlands persisted. King Denis capitulated and agreed to cease the attacks and returned home with is troops.

Through the Treaty of Alcañices, the borders between Castile and Portugal were solidified, and King Denis received a series of fortresses and towns in compensation for breaking his alliances with James II of Aragon, Alfonso de la Cerda, John of Castile and Juan Núñez II de Lara.

The Treaty of Alcañices once again confirmed the marriages between Ferdinand IV and the Infanta Constance (Constança) of Portugal and of Afonso of Portugal, Infanta Beatrice (Beatriz), sister of Ferdinand IV. On the other hand, the Portuguese monarch brought an army of 300 knights, placed under the orders of João Afonso, 1st Count of Barcelos (who would later marry Ferdinand IV's illegitimate half-sister Teresa Sánchez), to aid María de Molina in her fight against John of Castile, who until that moment, had received the support of the King Denis of Portugal.

In addition, it was stipulated in the treaty that the towns and localities of Campo Maior, Olivenza, Ouguela and San Felices de los Gallegos would be surrendered to Denis de Portugal as compensation for a series of towns that were taken from his father King Afonso III by Alfonso X of Castile. The Portuguese king also received the towns of Almeida, Castelo Bom, Castelo Melhor, Castelo Rodrigo, Monforte, Sabugal, Sastres and Vilar Maior. Castile received in exchange the towns of Ayamonte, Santiago de Alcántara, Herrera de Alcántara, Valencia de Alcántara, Aroche, and Aracena. The Castilian and Portuguese monarchs renounced their future mutual territorial claims and the prelates of the two kingdoms agreed on 13 September 1297 to support and defend each other against both foreign and domestic enemies. The treaty was ratified not only by the two monarchs of both kingdoms, but also by several representatives of the nobiliary and ecclesiastical arms of both kingdoms, as well as by the Brotherhood of the councils of Castile and by its equivalent of the Kingdom of León. The effects of this treaty were long-lasting, because the border between the two kingdoms has hardly been modified in the more than 700 years since its ratification, thus becoming one of the longest frontiers of the European continent.

Last Stages of Minority (1297–1301)

At the end of 1297, the Dowager Queen sent Alonso Pérez de Guzmán to the Kingdom of León to fight John of Castile, who still held the region. At the beginning of 1298, Alfonso de la Cerda and John of Castile, supported by Juan Núñez II de Lara, began to mint fake coin containing less metal than the real currency with the purpose of destabilizing the economy of the Kingdoms of Castile and León. In 1298, the city of Sigüenza fell to Juan Núñez II de Lara, but it had to be evacuated shortly afterwards by the resistance of the defenders. But soon after, he conquered Almazán (which became the stronghold of Alfonso de la Cerda) and Deza, and the city of Albarracín was returned to Juan Núñez II de Lara by King James II of Aragon. In the Cortes de Valladolid in 1298, Henry of Castile again urged the sale of the city of Tarifa to the Muslims, but was once again opposed by the Dowager Queen.

The Dowager Queen met in 1298 with the King of Portugal in Toro, and requested that he help her in the fight against John of Castile. However, the Portuguese sovereign refused to attack him and insisted that Ferdinand IV reach a peace agreement with John of Castile, under which the latter kept the Kingdom of Galicia, the city of León, and all the towns that he had taken, but upon his death, those territories would pass to Ferdinand IV. Queen María, who opposed the cession of these territories to John of Castile, bribed Henry of Castile by giving him the cities of Écija, Roa and Medellin in an attempt win his support; she also secured the opposition of the representatives of the councils to the agreement Portuguese sovereign.

After the meeting with the Portuguese monarch in 1298, the Dowager Queen sent to her son, the 7 year-old Infante Philip of Castile to the Kingdom of Galicia, with the purpose to reinforce the royal authority in that zone, where João Afonso de Albuquerque and Fernando Rodríguez de Castro, Lord of Lemos and Sarria, planted the disorder. In April 1299, after the Cortes de Valladolid of that year, the Dowager Queen recovered the castles of Monzón and Becerril de Campos, which were in the possession of the supporters of Alfonso de la Cerda. In 1299 Juan Alfonso de Haro, Lord of Cameros, captured Juan Núñez II de Lara, partisan of Alfonso de la Cerda. Meanwhile, the Dowager Queen send troops to rescue Lorca, besieged by the King of Aragon, while in August of the same year, the troops of the Castilian king surrounded Palenzuela. Juan Núñez II de Lara was released in 1299 on condition that his sister Juana Núñez de Lara married Henry of Castile, to pay tribute to Ferdinand IV and swear not to revolt against him, and return to the Crown the cities of Osma, Palenzuela, Amaya, Dueñas (which was granted to Henry of Castile), Ampudia, Tordehumos (which was given to Diego López V de Haro), La Mota, and Lerma.

Personal Rule (1301–1312)

In November 1301, when the court was in the city of Burgos, was made public the bull by which Pope Boniface VIII legitimized the marriage of María de Molina with the late King Sancho IV, and therefore her children were legitimate from that moment. At the same time, Ferdinand IV attained his legal majority, who was officially declared on 6 December 1301. With this, John of Castile and the Infantes de la Cerda lost one of their main arguments when reclaiming the throne, not being able to use the illegitimacy of the Castilian monarch. In addition was also received the papal dispensation for the marriage of Fernando IV with Constance of Portugal.

Henry of Castile, annoyed by the legitimation of Ferdinand IV by Pope Boniface VIII, allied himself with Juan Núñez II de Lara, in order to indispose and antagonize Ferdinand IV with his mother the Dowager Queen. Both were joined by John of Castile, who continued to claim the Lordship of Biscay on behalf of his wife, María I Díaz de Haro.

In 1301, while the Dowager Queen was in Vitoria with Henry of Castile answering the complaints presented by the Kingdom of Navarre in relation to the Castilian attacks to their lands, John of Castile and Juan Núñez II de Lara indisposed the King with his mother and sought his amusement in the lands of León by means of hunting, to which Ferdinand IV showed his predilection since childhood. With the Dowager Queen in Vitoria, the Aragonese nobles revolted against their monarch offered their support to obtain from James II the return to Castile of the towns from which he had taken over in the Kingdom of Murcia. That same year Henry of Castile, allied with Diego López V de Haro, demanded to Ferdinand IV, in compensation to leave his position of royal guardian (and after having previously blackmailed the Dowager Queen with declaring the war to his son if they didn't accede to his request), the possession of the towns of Atienza and San Esteban de Gormaz, which were granted by the King.

On 23 January 1302 Ferdinand IV married in Valladolid with Constance, daughter of King Denis of Portugal. In the Cortes de Medina del Campo of May 1302, Henry and John of Castile and Juan Núñez II de Lara tried to indispose the King with his mother, accusing her of having given away the jewels given to her by Sancho IV, and later, when the accusation was proved to be false, they accused her of having appropriated the subsidies granted to the Crown in the Cortes of previous years, an accusation that was also proved false when Nuño, Abbot of Santander and Chancellor of the Dowager Queen, reviewed and made public the accounts of María de Molina, who not only had not appropriated the Crown's funds but contributed with her own income to the support of the monarchy. While celebrating the Cortes of Medina del Campo in 1302, which was attended by a representation of the King of Castile, Sultan Muhammed II al-Faqih of Granada died and was succeeded by his son, Muhammad III, who attacked the Kingdoms of Castilla y León and conquered the municipality of Bedmar.

Meeting of Ariza and Death of Henry of Castile (1303)

In 1303, while the King was in Badajoz, Henry of Castile, Diego López V de Haro and Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena had a meeting in Roa, and they agreed that Juan Manuel would have a meeting with the King of Aragon, who agreed that the three magnates and himself should meet the Day of John the Baptist in the municipality of Ariza. Later, Henry of Castile communicated his plans to María de Molina, who was in Valladolid, with the purpose of that she was united to them. The plan of Henry of Castile consisted in that Alfonso de la Cerda became King of León and married with the Infanta Isabel (sister of Ferdinand IV and repudiated child-bride of the Aragonese monarch), while the Infante Peter of Castile (brother of Fernando IV) would be proclaimed King of Castile and would marry with a daughter of James II of Aragon. Henry of Castile stated that his intention was to achieve peace in the Kingdom and to eliminate the influence of the John of Castile and Juan Núñez II de Lara.

This plan, which would have meant the disintegration of the Kingdom of Castile and León, as well as the forced resignation of Ferdinand IV to the throne, was rejected by the Dowager Queen, who refused to support the project and to participate in the Meeting of Ariza. In the meanwhile, Ferdinand IV begged his mother to put peace between him and the magnates who supported Henry of Castile, who again begged the Dowager Queen to support the Henry's plan, to which she refused. While still celebrating the Meeting of Ariza, the Dowager Queen reminded Henry of Castile and his companions of the loyalty they owed to her son, as well as the properties with which she had endowed them, thereby enabling some knights to leave Ariza without seconding Henry's plan. However, Henry of Castile, Juan Manuel of Villena and other knights were committed to make the war to Ferdinand IV, as well as to that the Kingdom of Murcia should be returned to Aragon and the Kingdom of Jaén given to Alfonso de la Cerda. However, while the Dowager Queen met the Councils and obstructed the intentions of Henry of Castile, he became seriously ill and had to be transferred to his village of Roa. Faced with Henry's illness, the Dowager Queen, fearing that his lordships and castles would be inherited by Juan Manuel of Villena and Lope Díaz de Haro (to those he planned to bequeath his possessions to his death), she persuaded Henry's confessor, as well as his companions, to convince him to return his properties to the Crown, to which Henry refused, since he didn't wish that his inheritance could be taken by Ferdinand IV.

Treaty of Torrellas (1304)

One of the most important events of the reign of Ferdinand IV once reached his majority, was the agreement of borders established with James II of Aragon in 1304, and known in history as the Treaty of Torrellas —called a sentencia arbitral, "sentence by arbitration," in Castilian—. With the agreement also tried to put an end to the claims of Alfonso de la Cerda, pretender to the Castilian-Leonese throne.

On 8 August 1304, in the town of Torrellas, King Denis of Portugal, the Archbishop of Zaragoza, Jimeno de Luna (who represented the Kingdom of Aragon) and John of Castile (who represented the Kingdom of Castile), made public the clauses of the Treaty of Torrellas. The purpose of the negotiation was to put an end to the existing disputes between the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon with respect to the possession of the Kingdom of Murcia. Sultan Muhammed III of Granada participated in the conversations at the request of Ferdinand IV, who ordered that the Granadian ruler intervene in the Treaty and alliance between the Christian Kingdoms of the peninsula, since he had an interest in preserving the friendship, submission and parias which every year Granada was obliged to pay to the King of Castile, and which constituted a precious resource. Therefore, James II of Aragon and the Denis of Portugal both agreed to maintain good relations with the Sultan of Granada.

According to the terms of the Treaty, the Kingdom of Murcia, then in the hands of James II of Aragon, would be divided between the Kingdoms of Aragon and Castile, and along the Segura river would be established the southern border of Aragon. The cities of Alicante, Elche, Orihuela, Novelda, Elda, Abanilla, Petrel, Crevillente and Sax, would continue in the hands of the Aragonese monarch. In the Treaty was also recognized the possession by the Kingdom of Castile of the cities of Murcia, Monteagudo, Alhama, Lorca and Molina de Segura. Citizens affected by the change of sovereignty would be free to stay in their cities and towns if they wished, or they could freely leave the territory. At the same time, both Kingdoms agreed to grant freedom to prisoners of war, as well as to be enemies of their common rivals, excepting the Holy See and the Kingdom of France. The Seigneury of Villena continued in the hands of Prince Juan Manuel, but the lands in which it was settled would remain under Aragonese sovereignty.

On 8 August 1304, the Kings of Portugal and Aragon pronounced, in the presence of John of Castile, about the claims of the Infantes de la Cerda. Alfonso de la Cerda, supported by James II of Aragon, was granted as compensation for his resignation to the throne of Castile several lordships and possessions (although dispersed throughout the Castilian-Leonese territory in order to avoid the formation of a microstate), who included Alba de Tormes, Valdecorneja, Gibraleón, Béjar and Real de Manzanares, in addition to the castle of Monzón de Campos, Gatón de Campos, La Algaba, and Lemos. In addition, Alfonso de la Cerda received numerous rents and possessions in Medina del Campo, Córdoba, Toledo, Bonilla and Madrid. Ferdinand IV, who wished that his cousin Alfonso de la Cerda enjoyed an annual income of 400,000 maravedíes, ordered that if the income of the possessions that had been granted to him didn't reach that amount he would give him other territories until the incomes reached the expected amount. At the same time it was arranged that, as a proof that the Castilian monarch would gave these lands to Alfonso de la Cerda, the castles of Alfaro, Cervera, Curiel de los Ajos and Gumiel would be granted to four ricoshombres for thirty years.

Treaty of Elche (1305)

In order to solve the inconveniences derived from the distribution of the Murcia territory, and to other minor questions, was agreed a meeting between Ferdinand IV and James II of Aragon in the Monastery of Santa María de Huerta, located in the Province of Soria.

This meeting took place on 26 February 1305, and was attended by the Kings of Castile and Aragon, John of Castile, Juan Núñez II de Lara, Juan Manuel of Villena, Violante Manuel and her husband the Infante Afonso of Portugal, the Archbishop of Toledo and the Bishops of Sigüenza and Oporto, among others. In exchange for her renunciation of the Lordships of Elda and Novelda, which would become part of the Kingdom of Aragon, Violante Manuel (sister of Juan Manuel), received the Lordships of Arroyo del Puerco and Medellín from Ferdinand IV, who at the same time gave to Juan Manuel the Lordship and Castle of Alarcón as compensation for his resignation to the possession of Elche. Juan Manuel took possession of the town of Alarcón on 25 March 1305.

On the other hand, James II of Aragon, in spite of the insistence of Ferdinand IV, refused to hand over the Lordship of Albarracín to Juan Núñez II de Lara, who blamed his hitherto ally John of Castile for the low influence exerted on his behalf, and in consequence began to distance from him. On the other hand, Fernando IV and James II granted powers to Diego García de Toledo, Chancellor of the seal of the Puridad, and to Gonzalo García, advisor of the Aragonese monarch, respectively, so that both personages concluded the distribution of Kingdom of Murcia between both Kingdoms, following the terms of the Treaty of Torrellas.

Finally, the delegates of both monarchs reached an agreement that was expressed in the Treaty of Elche, signed on 19 May 1305, and which definitively established the border of the Kingdom of Murcia, which had been divided between Castile and Aragon. The dividing line between the two Kingdoms was established between Pechín and Almansa (who belonged to Ferdinand IV) and Caudete (who passed to James II). The dividing line established between the two kingdoms in the territory of Murcia would follow the course of the Segura river from Cieza, corresponding to Castile the possession of Murcia, Molina de Segura and Blanca, as well as the city of Cartagena, which James II resigned because was located in the inner south of the Segura river, and that belong definitively to the Kingdom of Castile and León. Nevertheless, the transfer of the city of Cartagena to Castile was made on condition that Ferdinand IV respected the property of Juan Manuel of Villena on the Lordship de Alarcón, to which the Castilian monarch didn't oppose. At the same time, in the Treaty of Elche was arranged that the municipality of Yecla would continue in the possession of Juan Manuel, and his jurisdiction would correspond to Castile.

Conflicts Over the Lordship of Biscay (1305–1307)

In 1305 Diego López V de Haro was called to appear in the Cortes of Medina del Campo, although he didn't come but after being summoned several times, to respond to the demands of his niece María I Díaz de Haro, who claimed, using the influence of her husband John of Castile, the possession of the Lordship of Biscay.

In the absence of the Lord of Biscay, John of Castile filed a lawsuit against him before Ferdinand IV, and alleged that he can prove that the Lordship of Biscay was illegally occupied by Sancho IV of Castile, which is why it was now in the hands of Diego López V de Haro, uncle of his wife. However, while John of Castile presented the evidence to the King's representatives, Diego López V de Haro arrived, accompanied by 300 knights. The Lord of Biscay refused to renounce to his domains, arguing that John of Castile and his wife had renounced to their rights in a solemn oath in 1300.

Failing to reach an agreement, due to the arguments presented by both parties, Diego López V de Haro returned to Biscay, although the Cortes de Medina del Campo had not yet finished until mid-June 1305. In mid-1305, the court was in the city of Burgos, and while Diego López V de Haro proposed to appeal to the Pope, due to the solemn oath of resignation to the Lordship of Biscay made John of Castile and his wife in 1300, Ferdinand IV offered to María I Díaz de Haro the possession of several cities of the Lordship of Biscay, among them San Sebastián, Salvatierra, Fuenterrabia and Guipúzcoa, but she refused, advised by Juan Núñez II de Lara (who was distanced from with her husband) and despite the pressures of John of Castile. Shortly thereafter, John of Castile and Diego López V de Haro signed a truce, valid for two years, during which the King was confident that the Lord of Biscay would break his alliance with Juan Núñez II de Lara. Later, during Christmas of 1305, Ferdinand IV met with Diego López V de Haro in Valladolid, but the Lord of Biscay was accompanied by Juan Núñez II de Lara, who was forced by the King (because he was estranged from him) to leave the city, because he wished to break the alliance between him and Diego López V de Haro, although the monarch did not succeed, since the Lord of Biscay was convinced that John of Castile would not cease in his claims.

At the beginning of 1306, Lope Díaz de Haro, son and heir of Diego López V de Haro, was also estranged from Juan Núñez II de Lara and tried to persuade his father to accept the solution proposed by Ferdinand IV. That same year, the King gave the position of Mayordomo mayor to Lope Díaz de Haro. Shortly after, the Lord of Biscay had a meeting with the King, but once again angered Ferdinand by bringing Juan Núñez II de Lara with him. During the meeting, Diego López V de Haro tried to reconcile Juan Núñez II de Lara with the King, who hoped to convince the Lord of Biscay to break off relations with his ally. Persuaded by Juan Núñez II de Lara, Diego López V de Haro left without the King's consent, while ambassadors arrived from the Kingdom of France, requesting an alliance between both countries, and also asking the hand of Infanta Isabella of Castile, the eldest sister of Fernando IV.

Internal Conflicts in Castile and Meeting of Grijota (1307–1308)

In 1307, on the advice of the now reconciled John of Castile and Diego López V de Haro, the King ordered Juan Núñez II de Lara to leave the Kingdom of Castile and to return the castles of Moya and Cañete, located in the Province of Cuenca, and that Ferdinand IV had granted him previously. The King went to Palencia, where his mother was, who advised him that, since he had expelled Juan Núñez II de Lara from the Kingdom, if he wished to preserve the respect of the ricoshombres and the nobility, he should be inflexible. Ferdinand IV then went to Tordehumos, where the rebellious magnate was, and surrounded the town at the end of October 1307, being accompanied by numerous ricoshombres and the Master of the Order of Santiago with their troops. Shortly after they were joined by the John of Castile (recently recovered from an illness) and his son, Alfonso de Valencia, with their troops.

During the siege of Tordehumos, Ferdinand IV received the order of Pope Clement V to seize the castles and possessions of the Knights Templar, and to keep them in his possession until the pontiff arranged what was to be done with them. At the same time, John of Castile presented to the King a proposal of peace, coming from the besieged ones in Tordehumos, that Ferdinand IV didn't accept. During the siege, the King, having difficulty in paying his troops, sent his wife Queen Constance and their newborn daughter, Infanta Eleanor of Castile to request a loan in his name to King Denis of Portugal, his father-in-law. At the same time, John of Castile, resentful, advised the monarch to abandon the siege and that he would either finish it or take Íscar, or else he would attend the meeting that Ferdinand IV was to keep with the King of Aragon in Tarazona in his place. However, the King, suspicious of John of Castile, disavowed his proposals and sought to satisfy him by other means.

Because of the desertions of some ricoshombres, including Alfonso de Valencia, Rodrigo Álvarez de las Asturias and García Fernández de Villamayor, and also because of the incapacity of the Dowager Queen, Ferdinand IV decided to begin negotiations with Juan Núñez II de Lara. After the capitulation of the town of Tordehumos at the beginning of 1308, Juan Núñez II de Lara promised to surrender all his lands to the Ferdinand IV, with the exception of his possessions in La Bureba and La Rioja, for which he would pay homage to the King.

Treaty of Alcalá de Henares (1308)

In March 1306 Ferdinand IV had requested to meet with James II of Aragon, and from that moment the ambassadors of the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon tried to set a date for the meeting between the two sovereigns, that had to be postponed several times due to the existing internal conflicts in both Kingdoms. The clauses of the Treaty of Alcalá de Henares, signed on 19 December 1308, had their origins in the meetings held by the Kings of Castile and Aragon in the Monastery of Santa María de Huerta and in Monreal de Ariza in December 1308. The themes discussed in the meetings were the relaunch of the Reconquista wars, desired by both sovereigns, and the marriage of the Infanta Eleanor of Castile, eldest daughter and heiress of Ferdinand IV, with the Infante James of Aragon, eldest son and heir of James II and, finally, the satisfaction of the commitments made with Alfonso de la Cerda, which had not yet been fully fulfilled.

Regarding the marriage between Eleanor of Castile and James of Aragon, although it was celebrated in October 1319 was never consummated, since the Infante James escaped after the wedding ceremony, resigned soon after to his rights to the Aragonese throne, and entered in the Knights Hospitaller Order. The Infanta Eleanor, years later (1329), marry with Alfonso IV of Aragon, second son and successor of James II. Regarding the second subject discussed in the meetings of the sovereigns, Ferdinand IV gave to Alfonso de la Cerda 220,000 maravedíes that had not yet been received by him and in exchange he surrender to the king the cities of Deza, Serón and Alcalá. The idea of re-launching the struggle against the Kingdom of Granada was enthusiastically received by both sovereigns, who had the support of King Abu al-Rabi Sulayman of Morocco, who was at war against Sultan Muhammed III of Granada.

After the meetings held between the two sovereigns, Ferdinand IV met in the town of Almazán with his mother and both agreed to clean up the area between Almazán and Atienza from criminals and destroy the fortresses that served them as a refuge, work which was made by Infante Philip of Castile, brother of Ferdinand IV. For her part, the Dowager Queen was pleased with the agreements between her son and the King of Aragon. Immediately after, the King went to Alcalá de Henares.

On 19 December 1308, in Alcala de Henares, Ferdinand IV and the Aragonese ambassadors Bernaldo de Sarriá and Gonzalo García signed the Treaty of Alcalá de Henares. The Castilian sovereign, who had the support of his brother, the Infante Peter, Diego López V de Haro, the Archbishop of Toledo and the Bishop of Zamora, agreed to start the war against the Kingdom of Granada on 24 June 1309 and promised, like the Aragonese monarch, not to sign a separate peace with the Granadine ruler. Ferdinand IV and James II both agree to contribute with ten galleys each for the expedition. It was approved with the consent of both parties that the troops of the Kingdom of Castile and León would attack the cities of Algeciras and Gibraltar, while the troops of the Kingdom of Aragon would conquer the city of Almería.

The Conquest of Gibraltar and the Siege of Algeciras (1309)

In the campaign participated John of Castile, Juan Manuel of Villena, Diego López V de Haro, Juan Núñez II de Lara, Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, Fernán Ruiz de Saldaña, and other Castilian magnates and ricoshombres. Also took part in the enterprise the council militias of Salamanca, Segovia, Seville and other cities. For its part, King Denis of Portugal, father-in-law of Ferdinand IV, sent a contingent of 700 knights under the command of Martín Gil de Sousa, and James II of Aragon contributed to the expedition against Algeciras with 10 galleys. Pope Clement V, by the bull "Prioribus, decanis" issued on 29 April 1309 in the city of Avignon, granted Ferdinand IV a tenth of all the ecclesiastical revenues of his Kingdoms for three years, in order to contribute to the maintenance of the war against the Kingdom of Granada.

From the city of Toledo, Ferdinand IV went to Córdoba, where the emissaries of James II of Aragon announced that he was ready to begin the siege of Almería. In the city of Córdoba Ferdinand IV again discussed the campaign plan, because his brother the Infante Peter of Castile, John of Castile, Juan Manuel of Villena and Diego López V de Haro, among others, were opposed to the project of besiege the city of Algeciras, since all of them preferred to plunder and devastate the Vega de Granada through a series of successive attacks that would demoralize the Granada Muslims. Nevertheless, the will of Ferdinand IV prevailed and the Castilian-Leonese troops prepared to besiege Algeciras. The last preparations of the campaign were made in the city of Seville, to which Ferdinand IV arrived in early July 1309. The provisions and supplies accumulated in the city of Seville by the Castilian-Leonese army were transferred by the Guadalquivir river, and then by sea to Algeciras.

On 27 July 1309, a part of the Castilian-Leonese army was found before the walls of the city of Algeciras, and three days later, on 30 July, arrived Ferdinand IV and John of Castile accompanied by numerous ricoshombres. James II of Aragon began to besiege the city of Almería on 15 August, and the siege lasted until 26 January 1310. A few days after the start of the siege of Algeciras, Ferdinand IV sent Juan Núñez II de Lara, Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, the Archbishop of Seville, the council of the city of Seville and the Master of the Order of Calatrava to besiege Gibraltar, who capitulated before the Castilian troops on 12 September 1309 after a brief and hard siege.

Final Years and Death (1310–1312)

Conflicts with John of Castile and Juan Manuel of Villena (1310–1311)

In 1310, after the siege of Algeciras, Ferdinand IV sent Juan Núñez II de Lara to confer with Pope Clement V, to implore him not to permit the process against his predecessor Pope Boniface VIII, who had legitimized the marriage of the parents of Ferdinand IV in 1301, thereby legitimizing the Castilian King himself. Juan Núñez II de Lara was to inform the Pope about the causes that had motivated the lifting of the siege of Algeciras, and also had to petitioned, on behalf of Ferdinand IV, funds for the continuation of the war against the Kingdom of Granada. Pope Clement V tried to soften the animosity that King Philip IV of France felt towards the late Pope Boniface VIII, condemn the behavior of John of Castile and Juan Manuel of Villena during the siege of Algeciras, granted the Castilian monarch the tithes collected In his domains for a year, and sent various letters to the prelates of the Kingdom of Castile and León in which they were ordered to severely reprimand those who didn't collaborate with Ferdinand IV in the enterprise of the Reconquista.

In the meanwhile, Ferdinand IV undertook again the war against the Kingdom of Granada. His brother the Infante Peter conquered the castle of Tempul and later went to Seville, where the King was. In November 1310, both brothers went to Córdoba, where a popular uprising had taken place against several knights of the city. Meanwhile, Dowager Queen María de Molina, who was in Valladolid, begged her son to join her there, so that the monarch might be present at the wedding of his sister, the Infanta Isabella with John, Viscount of Limoges and heir of the Duchy of Brittany. On the way to Burgos, Ferdinand IV stopped in the city of Toledo and confessed to Juan Núñez II de Lara that he planned to arrest or assassinate John of Castile, because he thought that if he still live, he would harm and hinder him in all his purposes. However, Juan Núñez II de Lara, in spite of his hatred for John of Castile, realized that the King didn't do it out of affection for him, and that if he helped Ferdinand IV to get rid of John of Castile, this would mean his own ruin.

Ferdinand IV arrived in Burgos in January 1311, and after the marriage of his sister, he planned to assassinate John of Castile, as a revenge for his desertion during the siege of Algeciras and, at the same time, to subdue the nobility, who again rebelled against the royal authority. However, the Dowager Queen advised John of Castile of the purposes of her son and he was able to escape. Ferdinand IV, accompanied by his brother Infante Peter, Lope Díaz de Haro, and by the troops of the council of Burgos persecuted John of Castile and his supporters, who took refuge in the city of Saldaña.

Concord of Palencia and Meeting of Calatayud (1311–1312)

In mid-1311, John of Castile and the principal magnates of the Kingdom threatened Ferdinand IV by ceasing to serve him, if the monarch didn't satisfy their requests. John of Castile and his followers demanded that the King replace his advisers and privates for John of Castile himself, the Dowager Queen, Infante Peter, Juan Manuel of Villena, Juan Núñez II de Lara and the Bishops of Astorga, Zamora, Orense and Palencia. Juan Manuel of Villena remained loyal to Ferdinand IV, because on 15 October the King had given him all the royal pechos (tributes) and rights of Valdemoro and Rabrido, except for the moneda forera of both places and the martiniega (another tribute) de Rabrido, which had been granted to Alfonso de la Cerda.

With the desire to achieve peace in order to continue with the Reconquista, Ferdinand IV agreed to sign the Concord of Palencia on 28 October 1311 with John of Castile and the rest of the magnates, and whose clauses were ratified in the Cortes of Valladolid in 1312. The King promised to respect the customs, fueros and privileges of the nobles, prelates, and subjects of the towns, and not to try to deprive the nobles of the rents and lands that belonged to the Crown. Ferdinand IV ratified that the custody of his son, the Infante Alfonso, would be entrusted to his brother, Infante Peter, to whom was also ceded the city of Santander. The King ceded to John of Castile the municipality of Ponferrada, on the condition that John would not establish any type of alliance with Juan Núñez II de Lara; John violated his word on 5 November, eight days after signing of the Concord.

In December 1311 Ferdinand IV meet in Calatayud with James II of Aragon. At that moment was celebrated the marriage of Infante Peter of Castile and the Infanta Maria of Aragon, daughter of James II, although some authors indicate that the marriage was celebrated in January 1312. At the same time, Ferdinand IV gave to James II his eldest daughter, the Infanta Eleanor of Castille, to be raised in the Aragonese court until she had the proper age to marry the Infante James of Aragon, firstborn son and heir of James II.

In the meeting of Calatayud of 1311 it was also agreed to resume the war against the Kingdom of Granada, but it was decided that each Kingdom should do it separately, while James II promised to mediate between Ferdinand IV and his father-in-law in the conflict that both maintained about the possession of some cities of which Denis of Portugal had taken over during Ferdinand IV's minority. However, the death of Ferdinand IV in September 1312 put an end to such negotiations between the sovereigns of Aragon and Portugal. On 3 April 1312, shortly after the meeting of Calatayud, Juan Manuel of Villena married in the city of Xàtiva with the Infanta Constance of Aragon, another daughter of James II.

Final Days of Ferdinand IV's life (1312)

After his stay in the city of Calatayud, Ferdinand IV went to the city of Valladolid, where the Cortes were to meet. In the Cortes of Valladolid in 1312, the last of the reign of Ferdinand IV, funds were raised to maintain the army to be used in the next campaign against the Kingdom of Granada, were reorganized the administration of justice, the territorial administration and the local administration, thus showing the King's desire to make profound reforms in all areas of administration, while attempting to strengthen the royal authority against the nobility. The Cortes approved the concession of five services and one moneda forera, for the payment of the soldiers of the King's vassals, except for Juan Núñez II de Lara, who had become the vassal of King Denis of Portugal.

As early as October 1311, Ferdinand IV had requested a loan from King Edward II of England, in order to continue the war against the Kingdom of Granada, although the English sovereign refused to grant it, arguing that he had many expenses due to his war against Scotland. In July 1312, Ferdinand IV pledge the Templar castles of Burguillos del Cerro and Alconchel for 3,600 marks to King Denis of Portugal, which he needed to continue the war against the Kingdom of Granada. At the end of April 1312, after the Cortes had been end, the King left the city of Valladolid. In 1312 Sancho of Castile, Lord of Ledesma first-cousin of Ferdinand IV died; immediately the King went to Ledesma, that acted as a capital of the dominions of his cousin, and incorporated the dominions to the royal patrimony, after it had been proved that the deceased had no legitimate children. Ferdinand IV then went to Salamanca, and deprived his cousin Alfonso de la Cerda (who had rebelled again against him) of the municipalities of Béjar and Alba de Tormes.

On 13 July 1312, the King arrived in Toledo, after leaving the Infante Alfonso, heir to the throne, in the city of Ávila, and went to the province of Jaén, where his brother Infante Peter of Castile was besieging the town of Alcaudete. The King, after a short stay in the city of Jaén, went to the town of Martos, where he ordered the execution of the Carvajal brothers, accused of having murdered Juan Alonso de Benavides, private of Ferdinand IV, in Palencia. According to legend, since this is not included in the Chronicle of Ferdinand IV, the brothers were condemned to be introduced into an iron cage with sharp points inside and later to be thrown from top of the Rock of Martos, still inside the iron cage. The Chronicle of Ferdinand IV states that before dying, the brothers summoned the King to appear before the Court of God within thirty days.

Different Versions of the King's Death

Ferdinand IV died on 7 September 1312 in the city of Jaén, without anyone seeing him die. History and legend have intertwined indissolubly in what concerns the death of the monarch, who received at his death the nickname of "the Summoned", because of the mysterious circumstances in which it occurred. Ferdinand IV died aged 26, and when he died he left an only 1-year-old son, who would reign as Alfonso XI of Castile.

The Chronicle of Fernando IV, written around 1340, almost thirty years after the death of the king, describes the death of the Castilian-Leonese monarch in Chapter XVIII of the work, and the Carvajal brothers, thirty days Before that of Ferdinand IV, although it does not specify how the latter died:

The King left Jaén, and went to Martos, and being and ordered to kill two knights who were in his house, because they were blamed for the death of a knight who was say they killed when the King was in Palencia, after leaving the house of the King one night, namedh Juan Alonso de Benavides. It is these knights, when the King ordered them to be killed, seeing that they were killed with treason, they said that they would summoned the King that he would appear before God with them on a trial after thirty days from that moment. They were dead, and the next day was the King with his army in Alcaudete, and every day he waited for the infante John of Castile, according to what was expectred from him...It is the King being in this siege of Alcaudete, took a very great ailment in such a way that he came to Jaén with the disease, and ate meat every day, and drank wine...And the day Thursday, seven days of September, the eve of Sancta Maria, the King went to bed, and a little after half a day they found him dead in hs bed, so that no one saw him die. This Thursday, the thirty days of the summons of the knights that he had killed in Martos were fulfilled...

In the chapter III of the Chronicle of Alfonso XI, the death of Ferdinand IV is described in the same way as described in the Chronicle of Ferdinand IV. The historian Diego Rodríguez de Almela, in his work Valerio de las historias escolásticas y de los hechos de España, which was written around the year 1472, related as follows the death of the monarch:

King Ferdinand IV of Castile, who took Gibraltar, was in Martos, and were accused before him two knights, called the one Pedro Carbajal and the other Juan Alfonso de Carbajal, his brother, who both belonged to his court, that a night, while the King was in Palencia, they killed a knight named Gómez de Benavides, loved very much by the King, giving many indications and presumptions because it seemed that they had been killed him. King Ferdinand , using rigorous justice, made the two brothers arrest, and thrown from top of the Rock of Martos; before they were thrown out they said that God was their witness and knew the truth that they were not guilty in that death, and that the King ordered them to be kill without reason, that he was summoned from that day that they died in thirty days that he should appear with them in judgment before God. The knights were killed, and King Ferdinand came to Jaén. He realized that two days before the time was over he felt angry, ate meat and drank wine. As the day of the thirty-day period that the knights he killed placed him, he wanted to leave for Alcaudete, that his brother the infante Peter had taken the Moors, ate early, and lay down to sleep, which was in summer; and when they came to awaken him, they found him dead in bed, that no one should see him die. A great deal must be paid to the Judges before they proceed to execute justice, especially of blood, until they truly know the fact that justice must be carried out. As in the Genesis it reads: whoever draws blood without sin, God will demand it. This King did not have the way that suited the execution of justice, and therefore ended as it.

Burial

In September 1312, shortly after his death, the mortal remains of Ferdinand IV were transferred to the city of Córdoba, and on 13 September they were buried in a chapel of the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba, although his corpse should have been buried in the Toledo Cathedral next to his father Sancho IV or in Seville Cathedral with his paternal grandfather Alfonso X and his paternal great-grandfather Ferdinand III.

However, due to the high temperatures that occurred in September 1312, Queen Constance of Portugal, widow of Ferdinand IV, and the Infante Peter of Castile, brother of the late King, decided the burial of the mortal remains of Fernando IV in the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba. Queen Constance also founded six chaplaincies and ordered that in September was celebrated the perpetual anniversary in memory of the late King. Within a year of the monarch's death, four candles burned permanently in his grave, and daily, during that year, the bishop of the city and the cathedral chapter sang once a day prays for the soul of the King. In 1371, the mortal remains of Ferdinand IV and those of his son Alfonso XI were deposited in the Royal Chapel of the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba, whose construction had ended that same year.

In 1728, Pope Benedict XIII issued a bull for which the Royal Chapel of the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba was attached to the Church of Saint Hippolytus of Córdoba, and that same year, after several requests on the part of the canons of Saint Hippolytus, who had requested Philip V to have the remains of Ferdinand IV and Alfonso XI transferred to his Collegiate Church, the King authorized the transfer of the remains of the two monarchs.

In 1729 works for the completion of the Church of Saint Hippolytus were begun, which were terminated in 1736, and on the night of 8 August 1736, with all honors, the mortal remains of Ferdinand IV and Alfonso XI were transferred to the Royal Collegiate Church of Saint Hippolytus, where they rest since then. At the same time, the canons of Saint Hippolytus transferred to their Collegiate Church all the furniture of the Royal Chapel of the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba.

In the first section of the presbytery of the Royal Collegiate Church of Saint Hippolytus, housed in two arcosolium, are the tombs that contain the mortal remains of Ferdinand IV (located on the side of the Epistle) and the one containing the remains of his son Alfonso XI (which is on the side of the Gospel). The remains of both monarchs are deposited inside red marble urns, built with marble from the disappeared Monastery of San Jerónimo of Córdoba, and both were made in 1846, commissioned by the Monuments Commission.

Marriage and Issue

In Valladolid on 23 January 1302, Ferdinand IV married with Constance, daughter of King Denis of Portugal. They had:

Eleanor (1307–1359), married firstly in 1319 with James of Aragon (the union was never consummated and annulled) and secondly in 1329 with King Alfonso IV of Aragon, brother of her first husband. She was killed in Castrojeriz by orders of her nephew, King Peter of Castile.

Constance (1308–1310), who died in infancy. She was initially buried in the lost Convent of Santo Domingo el Real in Madrid, and in 1869 her remains were found and transferred to the crypt of the Church of San Antonio de los Alemanes, where they still remain.

Alfonso XI (1311–1350), successor of his father in the Castilian-Leonese throne. He died a victim of the Black Death during the Fifth Siege of Gibraltar.