The First Battle of Olmedo, between Castilian forces and those of

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, ...

and

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 ...

, took place on 19 May 1445 outside Olmedo in Castile (now in the

province of Valladolid Valladolid () is a Provinces of Spain, province of northwest Spain, in the central part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile-Leon, Castile and León. It has a population of 520,716 people in a total of 225 munici ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

). The war was in part prompted by the decrees 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 his aide

Álvaro de Luna Álvaro de Luna y Fernández de Jarava (between 1388 and 13902 June 1453), was a Castilian statesman, favourite of John II of Castile. He served as Constable of Castile and as Grand Master of the Order of Santiago. He earned great influence in t ...

that rents, that is taxes, from the town of

Medina del Campo Medina del Campo is a town and municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Part of the Province of Valladolid, it is the centre of a farming area. History Medina del Campo grew in importance thanks to its fairs ...

would be paid to his administration, rather than that of

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 ...

, also of Navarre. The latter king invaded Castile, aided by his brother

Alfonso V of Aragón Alfonso the Magnanimous (139627 June 1458) was King of Aragon and King of Sicily (as Alfonso V) and the ruler of the Crown of Aragon from 1416 and King of Naples (as Alfonso I) from 1442 until his death. He was involved with struggles to the th ...

. The Castilian king departed from Medina del Campo, and met the invasion at Olmedo, where he was successful. The ''infante'' (prince)

Henry of Aragon Infante Henry of Aragon (1400 – 15 June 1445), 1st Duke of Villena, 4th Count of Alburquerque, Count of Ampurias, was the Grand Master of the Order of Santiago. Childhood A member of the House of Trastamara, Henry was the third son of Ki ...

, the younger brother of Alfonso and John, died of his wounds a few days later in

Calatayud Calatayud (; 2014 pop. 20,658) is a municipality in the Province of Zaragoza, within Aragón, Spain, lying on the river Jalón, in the midst of the Sistema Ibérico mountain range. It is the second-largest town in the province after the capital, ...

Sources

*Translated from Spanish Wikipedia * * {{coord missing, Spain Olmedo 1 Olmedo 1 Olmedo 1 15th century in Aragon Olmedo 1445 in Europe 15th century in Castile History of the province of Valladolid

See also

Sources