Henry IV of Castile (
Castilian: ''Enrique IV''; 5 January 1425 – 11 December 1474), King of
Castile and
León, nicknamed the Impotent, was the last of the weak late-medieval kings of Castile and León. During Henry's reign, the nobles became more powerful and the nation became less centralised.
Early life
Henry was born in 1425 at the Casa de las Aldabas (since destroyed) in Teresa Gil street of
Valladolid
Valladolid () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province o ...
. He was the son of
John II of Castile
John II of Castile ( es, link=no, Juan; 6 March 1405 – 20 July 1454) was King of Castile and León from 1406 to 1454. He succeeded his older sister, Maria of Castile, Queen of Aragon, as Prince of Asturias in 1405.
Regency
John was the ...
and
Maria of Aragon, daughter of King
Ferdinand I of Aragon
Ferdinand I (Spanish: ''Fernando I''; 27 November 1380 – 2 April 1416 in Igualada, Òdena) named Ferdinand of Antequera and also the Just (or the Honest) was king of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sardinia and (nominal) Corsica and king of Sicily ...
. He displaced his older sister,
Eleanor
Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages.
The name was introd ...
, and became heir apparent to the Castilian throne as the
Prince of Asturias
Prince or Princess of Asturias ( es, link=no, Príncipe/Princesa de Asturias; ast, Príncipe d'Asturies) is the main substantive title used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the monarchy of Spain, throne of Spain. According to the Sp ...
.
At the time of his birth, Castile was under control of
Álvaro de Luna, Duke of Trujillo Álvaro (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname (see Spanish naming customs) of Visigothic origin. Some claim it may be related to the Old Norse name Alfarr, formed of the elements ''alf'' "elf" and ''arr'' "warrio ...
, who intended to select Henry's companions and direct his education. The companions of his own age included
Juan Pacheco
Juan Pacheco, 1st Duke of Escalona (1419 – 1 October 1474), better known as Juan Pacheco, Marquess of Villena, was a Castilian noble of Portuguese descent who rose to power in the last years of the reign of Juan II of Castile and came to dom ...
, who became his closest confidant. The struggles, reconciliations and intrigues for power among the aristocracy, Álvaro de Luna, and the
Infantes of Aragon {{Short description, Term for the sons of King Ferdinand I of Aragon
The Infantes of Aragon ( es, Los Infantes de Aragón) is an appellation commonly used by Spanish historians to refer to a group of 15th-century '' infantes'' (princes) of the Hou ...
would be constant.
On 10 October 1444, he became the first and only prince of
Jaén. In 1445 he won the
First Battle of Olmedo
The First Battle of Olmedo, between Castilian forces and those of Navarre and Aragon, took place on 19 May 1445 outside Olmedo in Castile (now in the province of Valladolid, Spain).
The war was in part prompted by the decrees of John II of C ...
, defeating the Infantes of Aragon. After the victory at Olmedo, Álvaro de Luna's power waned, and Prince Henry and Juan Pacheco's influence grew.
Accession and rule
Henry IV's father died on 20 July 1454 and he was proclaimed king the following day.
One of King Henry's first priorities was the alliance with Portugal. He achieved this by marrying a second time to
Joan of Portugal
Joan of Portugal ( pt, Joana uˈɐnɐ 31 March 1439 – June 13, 1475)Charles Cawley, ''Medieval Lands, Portugal'' was the Queen of Castile as the second wife of King Henry IV of Castile. The posthumous daughter of King Edward of Portuga ...
, daughter of
King Edward of Portugal
Edward ( pt, Duarte (; 31 October 1391 – 9 September 1438), also called Edward the King Philosopher (''Duarte o Rei-Filósofo'') or the Eloquent (''o Eloquente''), was the King of Portugal from 1433 until his death. He was born in Viseu, the so ...
, in 1455; and by meeting her brother
King Afonso V of Portugal in
Elvas
Elvas () is a Portuguese municipality, former episcopal city and frontier fortress of easternmost central Portugal, located in the district of Portalegre in Alentejo. It is situated about east of Lisbon, and about west of the Spanish fortress ...
in 1456. His other main concerns were the possibility of intervention from
King John II of Navarre, establishing peace with France and Aragon, and pardoning various aristocrats.
[ Henry IV convened the Cuéllar Courts to launch an offensive against the ]Emirate of Granada
The Emirate of Granada ( ar, إمارة غرﻧﺎﻃﺔ, Imārat Ġarnāṭah), also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada ( es, Reino Nazarí de Granada), was an Emirate, Islamic realm in southern Iberia during the Late Middle Ages. It was the ...
.[ The campaigns of 1455 and 1458 developed into a ]war of attrition
The War of Attrition ( ar, حرب الاستنزاف, Ḥarb al-Istinzāf; he, מלחמת ההתשה, Milhemet haHatashah) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from ...
based on punitive raids and avoiding pitched battles. It was not popular with the aristocracy or the people. Juan Pacheco
Juan Pacheco, 1st Duke of Escalona (1419 – 1 October 1474), better known as Juan Pacheco, Marquess of Villena, was a Castilian noble of Portuguese descent who rose to power in the last years of the reign of Juan II of Castile and came to dom ...
, the Marquis of Villena, and his brother Pedro Girón were put in charge of government decisions. King Henry also took other advisors, such as Beltrán de la Cueva Beltrán is a Spanish male given name and surname. In non-Spanish speaking countries, the accent is usually omitted as Beltran. It derives from the Germanic words berht ("bright") and hramn ("raven"). It shares this same Germanic origin with Bertran ...
, Miguel Lucas de Iranzo, and Gómez de Cáceres to balance against their influence.
In 1458, King Alfonso V of Aragon died and was succeeded by his brother, John II of Navarre. King John II resumed his interference in Castillian politics, supporting the aristocratic opposition to Juan Pacheco's ambitions. With the support of the King Henry, Pacheco moved to seize Álvaro de Luna's assets, but his widow allied herself with the Mendoza family, causing a division among the aristocracy. This process resulted in the formation of a League of Nobles in March 1460. They raised a large number of noblemen, took control of expenditure, and gained the acceptance of Alfonso of Castile, the King Henry's half-brother and Prince of Asturias.
To counteract King John II's politicking, Henry IV reacted by invading Navarre
Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
in support of Charles, Prince of Viana
Charles, Prince of Viana ( eu, Karlos IV.a) (29 May 1421 – 23 September 1461), sometimes called Charles IV of Navarre, was the son of King John II of Aragon and Queen Blanche I of Navarre.
Background
His mother was the daughter and heiress of C ...
. Charles was the heir to Navarre, and he revolted against his father John II in 1450 when he refused to cede the throne of Navarre.[ The campaign was a military success, but King Henry made peace with the League of Nobles in August 1461 to ward off the power of the Mendozas, which had allowed John II to intervene in Castile.
King John II was in conflict with the ]Principality of Catalonia
The Principality of Catalonia ( ca, Principat de Catalunya, la, Principatus Cathaloniæ, oc, Principat de Catalonha, es, Principado de Cataluña) was a Middle Ages, medieval and early modern state (polity), state in the northeastern Iberian P ...
, and on the death of his eldest son, Charles of Viana, the principality elected Henry IV to be Count of Barcelona
The Count of Barcelona ( ca, Comte de Barcelona, es, Conde de Barcelona, french: Comte de Barcelone, ) was the ruler of the County of Barcelona and also, by extension and according with the Usages of Barcelona, usages and Catalan constitutions, of ...
on 11 August 1462. King Henry's intervention was framed as a rivalry between him and John II, making Catalonia an unstable point in the Crown of Aragon. But he was unsuccessful, and the Castillian economy would suffer from an enmity with France, who had supported John II with the ''Treaty of Bayonne''.[ Henry IV therefore agreed to a settlement in the ''Judgment of Bayonne'', resulting in the abandonment of the ]Catalans
Catalans (Catalan language, Catalan, French language, French and Occitan language, Occitan: ''catalans''; es, catalanes, Italian language, Italian: ''catalani'', sc, cadelanos) are a Romance languages, Romance ethnic group native to Cataloni ...
.
During his reign as king, Henry IV spent a lot of time at the Royal Alcázar of Madrid
The Royal Alcázar of Madrid (Spanish: ''Real Alcázar de Madrid'') was a fortress located at the site of today's Royal Palace of Madrid, Madrid, Spain. The structure was originally built in the second half of the ninth century by the Muslims, ...
where he would stay there for long periods of time. The Royal Alcazar was later replaced with the Royal Palace of Madrid
The Royal Palace of Madrid ( es, Palacio Real de Madrid) is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid, although now used only for state ceremonies.
The palace has of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the ...
by the rulers of Spain.
Marriages
Blanche II of Navarre
Prince Henry celebrated his marriage to Blanche of Navarre in 1440, when he was 15 years old. The cardinal Juan de Cervantes
Juan de Cervantes (c. 1380 or 1382 in Seville, Spain – 25 November 1453, buried in Seville Cathedral) was a Cardinal of the Catholic Church.
Cervantes studied at the University of Salamanca and obtained a doctorate in civil and canon law ...
presided over the official ceremony. Her parents were Blanche I of Navarre
Blanche I (6 July 1387Anthony (1931) states that she was the fourth-born daughter of King Charles III of Navarre by Queen Eleanor, and she was preceded by Joan, Maria and Margaret and the two latter died early. Anthony defines Blanche's exact birt ...
and John II of Navarre
John II (Spanish: ''Juan II'', Catalan: ''Joan II'', Aragonese: ''Chuan II'' and eu, Joanes II; 29 June 1398 – 20 January 1479), called the Great (''el Gran'') or the Faithless (''el Sense Fe''), was King of Aragon from 1458 until his death i ...
. The marriage had been agreed in 1436 as part of the peace negotiations between Castile and Navarre. The dowry included territories and villas that had previously belonged to Navarre but had been won by the Castillian side during the war, and the Castilians agreed to hand the lands back provided they would be given them back again as part of this dowry.[
In May 1453, the bishop of Segovia Luis Vázquez de Acuña annulled the marriage of Henry and Blanche, on the grounds of Henry's sexual impotence due to a curse. This neatly reflected the recent political changes: Castile had supported ]Charles, Prince of Viana
Charles, Prince of Viana ( eu, Karlos IV.a) (29 May 1421 – 23 September 1461), sometimes called Charles IV of Navarre, was the son of King John II of Aragon and Queen Blanche I of Navarre.
Background
His mother was the daughter and heiress of C ...
in his fight against John II of Aragon for the Navarrese throne since 1451, and Álvaro de Luna, Duke of Trujillo Álvaro (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname (see Spanish naming customs) of Visigothic origin. Some claim it may be related to the Old Norse name Alfarr, formed of the elements ''alf'' "elf" and ''arr'' "warrio ...
had been executed in May 1453, leaving Henry with greater control of Castile.[ Henry alleged that he had been incapable of sexually consummating the marriage, despite having tried for over three years, the minimum period required by the church. Other women, prostitutes from Segovia, testified that they had had sexual relations with Henry, which is why he blamed his inability to consummate the marriage on a spell. Henry's alleged "permanent impotence" only affected his relations with Blanche. Blanche and Henry were cousins, and he was also a cousin of ]Joan of Portugal
Joan of Portugal ( pt, Joana uˈɐnɐ 31 March 1439 – June 13, 1475)Charles Cawley, ''Medieval Lands, Portugal'' was the Queen of Castile as the second wife of King Henry IV of Castile. The posthumous daughter of King Edward of Portuga ...
, whom he wanted to marry instead. Therefore, the reason he used to seek the annulment was the sort of spell that only affected his ability to consummate this one marriage, and would not cause any problems for him with other women.[ ]Pope Nicholas V
Pope Nicholas V ( la, Nicholaus V; it, Niccolò V; 13 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene IV, Po ...
corroborated the decision in December of the same year in a papal bull and provided a papal dispensation for Henry's new marriage with the sister of the Portuguese king.
One of Henry's detractors, the historian Alfonso de Palencia, wrote that the marriage had been a sham and accused Henry of despising his wife and planning to commit adultery to bear children. According to Palencia, Henry demonstrated "most extreme abhorrence" to his wife, and indifference to the confines of marriage.[ However, in 1462 Blanche gave up her right to the Navarre throne so Henry could take it, and selected him as her protector, against her own father ]John II of Aragon
John II (Spanish: ''Juan II'', Catalan: ''Joan II'', Aragonese: ''Chuan II'' and eu, Joanes II; 29 June 1398 – 20 January 1479), called the Great (''el Gran'') or the Faithless (''el Sense Fe''), was King of Aragon from 1458 until his death i ...
.
Joan of Portugal
The remoteness of Aragon led to an approach to Portugal. In March 1453, before his divorce from Blanche was finalised, there was no record of negotiations for the new marriage between Henry and Joan of Portugal
Joan of Portugal ( pt, Joana uˈɐnɐ 31 March 1439 – June 13, 1475)Charles Cawley, ''Medieval Lands, Portugal'' was the Queen of Castile as the second wife of King Henry IV of Castile. The posthumous daughter of King Edward of Portuga ...
, sister of the king Afonso V of Portugal
Afonso V () (15 January 1432 – 28 August 1481), known by the sobriquet the African (), was King of Portugal from 1438 until his death in 1481, with a brief interruption in 1477. His sobriquet refers to his military conquests in Northern Africa. ...
. The first marital approaches were made in December of that year, although the negotiations were long and the proposal wasn't definitively agreed until February 1455.[ According to chroniclers of the time, Joan did not provide a dowry and would not have to return anything even if the marriage turned out to be a failure. The length of the negotiations and the concessions could be interpreted as caused by the concerns about the rumours of Henry's impotence.][ The wedding was celebrated in May 1455, but without an affidavit of official bull authorizing the wedding between them, although they were first cousins (their mothers were sisters) and half second cousins (their paternal grandmothers were half-sisters). On 28 February 1462, the queen gave birth to a daughter ]Joanna la Beltraneja
Joanna ''la Beltraneja'' (21 February 1462 – 12 April 1530) was a claimant to the throne of Castile, and Queen of Portugal as the wife of King Afonso V, her uncle.
Birth and parentage
King Henry IV of Castile married Joan of Portugal, dau ...
, whose paternity came into question during the conflict for succession to the Castillian throne when Henry died.
Henry IV was twenty-six years old when his half-sister Isabella was born. She was the daughter of his father's second marriage in 1447, to Isabella of Portugal
Isabella of Portugal (24 October 1503 – 1 May 1539) was the empress consort and queen consort of her cousin Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, and Duke of Burgundy. She was Queen of Spain and Germany, and La ...
. Henry made a number of attempts throughout his reign to arrange a politically advantageous marriage for his much younger sister. The first attempt was when the six-year-old Isabella was betrothed to Ferdinand
Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...
, son of John II of Navarre
John II (Spanish: ''Juan II'', Catalan: ''Joan II'', Aragonese: ''Chuan II'' and eu, Joanes II; 29 June 1398 – 20 January 1479), called the Great (''el Gran'') or the Faithless (''el Sense Fe''), was King of Aragon from 1458 until his death i ...
(a cadet branch of the House of Trastámara
The House of Trastámara (Spanish, Aragonese and Catalan: Casa de Trastámara) was a royal dynasty which first ruled in the Crown of Castile and then expanded to the Crown of Aragon in the late middle ages to the early modern period.
They were a ...
). This arrangement, however, did not last long.
Civil war
Before the birth of his daughter, Henry convened the Court in Madrid and Joanna was sworn in as Princess of Asturias. But a conflict with the nobility was created when Beltrán de la Cueva Beltrán is a Spanish male given name and surname. In non-Spanish speaking countries, the accent is usually omitted as Beltran. It derives from the Germanic words berht ("bright") and hramn ("raven"). It shares this same Germanic origin with Bertran ...
deposed Juan Pacheco, the Marquis of Villena, and his brother Pedro Girón, Master of Calatrava from Henry's court.[ This caused a change in alliances: Mendoza began to support the king, and Pacheco revived the Aristocratic League aimed at eliminating the influence of Beltrán de la Cueva. They had doubts about the paternity of Henry's daughter, saying that she was in fact the daughter of the new favourite, and started referring to her as ''"la Beltraneja"''.][ The league of nobles, controlling the king's siblings ]Alfonso
Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
and Isabella
Isabella may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Isabella (surname), including a list of people
Places
United States
* Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...
, forced Henry at the 1464 Representation of Burgos to repudiate Joanna and recognize Alfonso as his official heir. Alfonso then became Prince of Asturias, a title previously held by Joanna. Henry agreed to the compromise with the stipulation that Alfonso someday marry Joanna, to ensure that they both would one day receive the crown.
Not long after this, Henry reneged on his promise and began to support his daughter's claim once more. The nobles in league against him conducted a ceremonial deposition-in-effigy of Henry outside the city of Avila and crowned Alfonso as a rival king. This event is known in history as the Farce of Avila. Shortly thereafter, Alfonso began handing out land and titles as if he were already uncontested ruler. A civil war began. The most notable clash was at the Second Battle of Olmedo
The Second Battle of Olmedo was fought on 20 August 1467 near Olmedo in Castile (now in the province of Valladolid, Spain) as part of the War of the Castilian Succession between Henry IV of Castile and his half-brother Alfonso, Prince of As ...
in 1467, which concluded as a draw.
Death
However, in 1468, at the age of only 14, Alfonso died, most likely from the plague (although poison and slit throat have been suggested). His will left his crown to his sister, Isabella, who was asked to take her brother's place as the champion of the rebels. Shortly thereafter at the negotiation of Toros de Guisando
The Bulls of Guisando ( es, Toros de Guisando) are a set of ancient sculptures located on the hill of Guisando in the municipality of El Tiemblo, Ávila, Spain. The four sculptures, made of granite, represent quadrupeds identified as bulls or pi ...
, in which she and her allies received most of what they desired, Henry agreed to exclude Joanna la Beltraneja from the succession, and to recognize Isabella as his official heir. Though Henry continued to resist this decision when possible, his actions were ineffective, and he remained at peace with Isabella for the rest of his reign. Isabella became Castile's next monarch when he died in 1474.
After the death of the king, war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
broke out in Castile. Joanna
Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from from he, יוֹחָנָה, translit=Yôḥānāh, lit=God is gracious. Variants in English include Joan (given name), Joan, Joann, Joanne (given name), Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in ...
was supported by Portugal, while the eventual winner, Henry's half-sister Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as List of Aragonese royal consorts, Queen consort ...
, had the support of Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...
. France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
initially supported Joanna, yet in 1476, after losing the Battle of Toro
The Battle of Toro was part of the War of the Castilian Succession, fought on 1 March 1476, near the city of Toro, between the Castilian-Aragonese troops of the Catholic Monarchs and the Portuguese-Castilian forces of Afonso V and Prince John ...
, France refused to help Joanna, further and in 1478 signed a peace treaty with Isabella.
Debate over his health and sexuality
In 1440, at the age of fifteen, he was married to Blanche II of Navarre
Blanche II ( es, Blanca, eu, Zuria; 9 June 1424 – 2 December 1464), was the titular Queen of Navarre between 1461 and 1464. She was the daughter of John II of Aragon and Blanche I of Navarre. She was also Princess of Asturias by marriage t ...
. The marriage was never consummated. In 1453, after thirteen years, Henry sought an annulment. An official examination confirmed the virginity of Blanche, and a priest questioned the prostitutes of Segovia
Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia.
Segovia is in the Inner Plateau (''Meseta central''), near the northern slopes of th ...
, who confirmed that Henry was sexually capable. Blanche was sent home; eight years later, she became ''de jure'' Queen of Navarre and died under strange circumstances.
In 1455, Henry married Joan of Portugal
Joan of Portugal ( pt, Joana uˈɐnɐ 31 March 1439 – June 13, 1475)Charles Cawley, ''Medieval Lands, Portugal'' was the Queen of Castile as the second wife of King Henry IV of Castile. The posthumous daughter of King Edward of Portuga ...
, sister of Afonso V of Portugal
Afonso V () (15 January 1432 – 28 August 1481), known by the sobriquet the African (), was King of Portugal from 1438 until his death in 1481, with a brief interruption in 1477. His sobriquet refers to his military conquests in Northern Africa. ...
. After six years of marriage, in 1462, she gave birth to a daughter, Joanna
Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from from he, יוֹחָנָה, translit=Yôḥānāh, lit=God is gracious. Variants in English include Joan (given name), Joan, Joann, Joanne (given name), Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in ...
, nicknamed "La Beltraneja". Six years after the birth of the throne's heir, part of the nobility of Castile revolted against the king. The rebels claimed that the princess was not the daughter of the king, but actually the daughter of Beltrán de La Cueva Beltrán is a Spanish male given name and surname. In non-Spanish speaking countries, the accent is usually omitted as Beltran. It derives from the Germanic words berht ("bright") and hramn ("raven"). It shares this same Germanic origin with Bertran ...
, 1st Duke of Alburquerque (thus the nickname "Beltraneja"). This hypothesis was reinforced when the Queen had another two children with the nephew of a bishop. Though many contemporary historians and chroniclers believed Henry was impotent
Erectile dysfunction (ED), also called impotence, is the type of sexual dysfunction in which the penis fails to become or stay erect during sexual activity. It is the most common sexual problem in men.Cunningham GR, Rosen RC. Overview of male ...
or homosexual, the royal chronicles of his reign were all written or revised during the reign (and under the influence) of Isabella I
Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as Queen consort of Aragon from 1479 until 1504 by ...
, his half-sister and ultimate successor, whose strong interest in proving Joanna illegitimate renders these accounts at least partially suspect, in addition to the fact that female prostitutes testified to having intercourse with Henry. The question of Joanna's paternity and right to the throne is therefore not firmly answerable, given the lack of available reliable sources.
The doubt of her legitimacy as an heir, the weakness of the king, the adultery of the queen, and the unruliness of the nobility all set the stage for a struggle for succession after Henry's death. Henry divorced his wife after her scandalous behavior with Bishop Fonseca's nephew. After a long period of conflict between the rival factions, Henry finally agreed to name Isabella his successor, in Guisando (Ávila
Ávila (, , ) is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila.
It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m abov ...
), provided she allow him to arrange her strategic marriage. Isabella would go on to break this stipulation of the agreement.
Henry died in 1474 and was buried at Santa María de Guadalupe
The Royal Monastery of Saint Mary of Guadalupe ( es, Real Monasterio de Santa María de Guadalupe) is a Roman Catholic monastic establishment built during the 14th century located in Guadalupe, in Extremadura, Spain. It is located at the foot of ...
, next to his mother.
Appearance
Henry was a striking man. Tall, blonde and well built, he had broken his nose as a child. The accident left him with an adult face that made him look, depending on to whom one listened, like either a terrifying lion or a foolish monkey.
Ancestry
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
More about Henry IV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry 04 Of Castile
1425 births
1474 deaths
15th-century Castilian monarchs
15th-century Aragonese monarchs
Castilian infantes
Counts of Barcelona
Grand Masters of the Order of Santiago
House of Trastámara
People from Valladolid
Princes of Asturias
Spanish people of English descent
Burials in Extremadura