Henry of Castile (March 1230 – 8 August 1303), called the Senator (''el Senador''), was a
Castilian ''
infante
''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to th ...
'', the fourth son of
Ferdinand III of Castile
Ferdinand III ( es, Fernando, link=no; 1199/120130 May 1252), called the Saint (''el Santo''), was King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230 as well as King of Galicia from 1231. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguel ...
by his first wife,
Beatrice of Swabia
Beatrice or Beatrix of Swabia (April/June 1198 – 11 August 1212), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was Holy Roman Empress and German Queen in 1212 as the first wife of the Welf emperor Otto IV. She was also the shortest-serving Holy Roma ...
.
Youth and rebellion
Henry spent his childhood at
Burgos
Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos.
Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of ...
, where among his tutors was the future cardinal
Giles of Torres. He received the typical education of a royal prince in both arms and letters.
In 1246, Henry accompanied his father on the
expedition to Jaén. His father granted him in
fief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...
the first of the new conquests:
Morón de la Frontera
Morón de la Frontera () is a Spanish town in Province of Seville, Seville province, Andalusia, South-East of Seville. Situated in the south of the province, it is the center of the region that bears the same name and is the head of one of the 85 ...
and
Cote. After the
fall of Seville, he was enfeoffed with more conquered towns:
Jérez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , the c ...
,
Lebrija
Lebrija () is a city and municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Andalusia, most specifically in the Province of Sevilla. It straddles the left bank of the Guadalquivir river, and the eastern edge of the marshes known as La ...
,
Arcos and
Medina Sidonia
Medina Sidonia is a city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, southern Spain. Considered by some to be the oldest city in Europe, it is used as a military defence location because of its elevation. ...
. In the ''repartimiento'' (division) of Seville itself, Henry and his retinue received a part. He spent the next few years mostly at Seville, often at the court of his father's second wife,
Joan of Ponthieu. The
troubadour
A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairi ...
ic allusions to their illicit relationship are, however, of no evidentiary value.
As early as 1246, Henry had refused his father's request that he pay
homage (''homagium'') to his elder brother, the future
Alfonso X
Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Germ ...
. After their father's death in 1252, Henry and his brother
Frederick Frederick may refer to:
People
* Frederick (given name), the name
Nobility
Anhalt-Harzgerode
*Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670)
Austria
* Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198
* Frederick ...
chafed under the rule of Alfonso. In March 1253, Alfonso withdrew the privileges which Ferdinand had granted Henry on his vast southern estates. He also interfered to prevent Henry from contracting an advantageous marriage. At
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, ...
, according to the ''Libro de las armas'' of
Juan Manuel, Henry's nephew, he asked for the hand in marriage of king of Aragon's daughter, Constance of Aragon, but Alfonso prevented it.
These insults induced Henry plot against Alfonso. In a meeting at
Maluenda in 1255, Henry temporarily brought
James I of Aragon
James I the Conqueror ( es, Jaime el Conquistador, ca, Jaume el Conqueridor; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276; King of Majorca from 1231 to 1276; and Valencia from 1238 to 12 ...
over to his side. Finally, in October, leagued with
Diego López IV de Haro
Diego López IV de Haro (died 1289) was a Spanish noble and the Lord of Biscay from 1288 to his death in 1289.
Family Origins
A member of the House of Haro, Diego López was the son of Lope Díaz III de Haro, from whom he inherited the titl ...
,
lord of Biscay
The Lordship of Biscay ( es, Señorío de Vizcaya, Basque: ''Bizkaiko jaurerria'') was a region under feudal rule in the region of Biscay in the Iberian Peninsula between 1040 and 1876, ruled by a political figure known as the Lord of Biscay. On ...
, and drawing support from
Galicia as well, he went into open rebellion. Despite an initial victory over troops of the royal party, he was defeated near Morón and forced to flee the country. He took ship at
Cádiz
Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia.
Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...
and sailed through the Mediterranean, stopping at
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
, and passed through France, initially seeking refuge with his stepmother in
Ponthieu
Ponthieu (, ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville.
History
Ponthieu play ...
. She may have suggested he visit his half-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 ...
, who was married to
Edward, the son and heir of King
Henry III of England
Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry a ...
.
English exile
Henry arrived at the English court in towards the middle of 1256. He lived comfortably there for three years entirely on King Henry's good graces, but the English offered him no political support. In the spring of 1257,
Giovanni Colonna,
archbishop of Messina and an ambassador from
Pope Alexander IV
Pope Alexander IV (1199 or 1185 – 25 May 1261) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 December 1254 to his death in 1261.
Early career
He was born as Rinaldo di Jenne in Jenne (now in the Province of Rome), he ...
, arrived in England to negotiate with the king the investiture of his second son,
Edmund, with the
Kingdom of Sicily. Henry offered to lead troops to Italy to conquer the kingdom for Edmund, but a rebellion in Wales diverted attention from these projects.
After several sojourns in France proved fruitless, Henry decided to seek his fortune in Africa, where the
Hafsid emir of Tunis,
Muhammad al-Mustansir, had carved out a large empire. After securing a vow that he would not attack Castile, the king of England let Henry leave for Tunisia in July 1259, even granting him a safeconduct through the
Gascon ports under his control.
Tunisian expedition
Henry sailed to Catalonia, but King James refused to allow any of his vassals to accompany Henry to Tunisia. In 1260, Henry arrived in Tunis, where his brother Frederick soon joined him. Henry took command of a contingent of Spanish knights in the service of al-Mustansir. In 1261, with the emir's brother, Abou Hafs, he led an attack on the desert city of
Miliana
Miliana ( ar, مليانة) is a commune in Aïn Defla Province in northwestern Algeria. It is the administrative center of the daïra, or district, of the same name. It is approximately southwest of the Algerian capital, Algiers.r/sup>, which ...
. These campaigns strengthened Hafsid independence in the face of the
Almohads
The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the unity of God) was a North African Berber Muslim empire f ...
, the Moroccan dynasty which had also ruled much of Spain the previous century.
In Tunis, Henry adopted the customs and dress of the Hafsid court, much to the shock of the local Christian community. He used the money he earned in the emir's service to finance commercial ventures originating out of the
Genoese merchant colony in Tunis. From funds accrued through this trade, the king of France,
Louis IX
Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the d ...
, was later able to make a loan to Henry of England.
Italian campaigns
Henry later made his way to Italy, where he joined his cousin
Charles of Anjou
Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and Forcalquier (1246–48, 1256–85) ...
's campaign in 1266 to become
King of Sicily (
Battle of Benevento
The Battle of Benevento was a major medieval battle fought on 26 February 1266, near Benevento in present-day Southern Italy, between the forces of Charles I of Anjou and those of King Manfred of Sicily. Manfred's defeat and death resulted in Ch ...
) and lent him large sums of money. It was here that Henry earned his title of ''El Senador'' when Charles had him made
senator of Rome (at the time, the ancient
Senate of Rome
The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...
evolved into an institution where a single senator was entrusted with civil power in the city of Rome). However, he was never repaid by Charles; and Henry had aspired to the
kingship of Sardinia or some other high title, and found the senatorship poor compensation.
As a result, when his cousin
Conradin
Conrad III (25 March 1252 – 29 October 1268), called ''the Younger'' or ''the Boy'', but usually known by the diminutive Conradin (german: link=no, Konradin, it, Corradino), was the last direct heir of the House of Hohenstaufen. He was Duk ...
invaded Italy in 1268, Henry changed sides and joined him. He was one of Conradin's generals at the
Battle of Tagliacozzo
The Battle of Tagliacozzo was fought on 23 August 1268 between the Ghibelline supporters of Conradin of Hohenstaufen and the Guelph army of Charles of Anjou. The battle represented the last act of Hohenstaufen power in Italy. The capture and ...
; he was in command of a host of three hundred Spanish knights sent by his brother Afonso X of Castille. He won the first encounter against the French, but was defeated by a surprise attack of a hidden reinforcement of one thousand French knights under Charles of Anjou. After the loss of the battle, he fled to the
Convent of San Salvatore,
Monte Cassino
Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first ho ...
, where he was captured by the Angevins.
Imprisonment
According to
Ferdinand Gregorovius he spent the next twenty-three years in captivity—in the
castle of Canosa from 1268 to 1277, and in
Castel del Monte from 1277 to 1291.
In 1272, his half-sister Eleanor and her husband King
Edward I of England
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...
came to Sicily on return from the Crusades. Eleanor's attempts to get him released from prison were unsuccessful, but she kept in touch with him until her own death.
On 8 March 1286,
Pope Honorius IV
Pope Honorius IV (c. 1210 – 3 April 1287), born Giacomo Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 April 1285 to his death in 1287. During his pontificate he largely continued to pursue the pro-French politi ...
absolved him from the excommunication he had incurred when he had ravaged the city of Rome with Conradin, and committed insults and harm to Cardinal Giordano Orsini (the future
Pope Nicholas III
Pope Nicholas III ( la, Nicolaus III; c. 1225 – 22 August 1280), born Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 November 1277 to his death on 22 August 1280.
He was a Roman nobleman who ...
), his nephew
Matteo Rosso Orsini, and Giordano Savelli. His absolution was conditional upon sacramental confession and restitution for all the damages done to interested parties, or, if he had insufficient means, a solemn promise to make full restitution when he was able.
Both Eleanor and Charles were dead before Henry was finally released in 1291. He returned to Castile in 1298, where he was appointed
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
for his grandnephew, King
Ferdinand IV. He married
Juana Núñez de Lara
Juana Núñez de Lara (1286 – 1351) was a daughter of Juan Núñez de Lara ''the Fat'' and his wife Teresa Díaz II de Haro of the lordship of Biscay. Juana is also known as la Palomilla or Lady of Lara.
Life
Juana was first married to Infan ...
, but had no known legitimate children before his death in 1304.
Traditions
According to tradition he had a son out of wedlock with a lady called Mayor Rodríguez Pecha, daughter of the lord (
Alcaide
Alcaide is a Spanish name, meaning 'castle commander'. It is borrowed from the Arabic term , which literally means 'commander'.
Etymology
The Spanish form is alcayde whereas Portuguese form is alcaide.
Notable people
* Anselmo Pardo Alcaide ...
) of the
castle of Zamora. This son was called Enrique Enriquez de Sevilla, who became
Justicia Mayor
Justicia mayor was a title bestowed upon a person in 19th century Spanish Empire which authorized him to perform law enforcement and judicial functions within a town, city of region. It is similar to the position of sheriff in some jurisdictions ...
or
Chief Judge of Castile under King
Alfonso XI
Alfonso XI (13 August 131126 March 1350), called the Avenger (''el Justiciero''), was King of Castile and León. He was the son of Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. Upon his father's death in 1312, several disputes en ...
.
A recent study attributes the cavalry novel "
Amadis de Gaula" to Henry of Castile.
[Author Santiago Sevilla, http://www.liceus.com/cgi-bin/ac/pu/Santiago_Sevilla_Amadis.pdf]
References
Sources
*
Further reading
* Ballesteros Beretta, Antonio. ''Sevilla en el siglo XIII''
* Parsons, John Carmi. ''Eleanor of Castile: Queen and Society in Thirteenth Century England''
*
* Santiago Sevilla ''Setecientos años buscando al Author del "Amadís"'' in Liceus El Portal de las Humanidades.
* Santiago Sevilla ''Personajes Reales en el Amadis'' in Liceus El Portal de las Humanidades
* Santiago Sevilla ''El Verdadero Author del Amadís de Gaula'' Diario de León Jueves 13 de Marzo de 2008
* Santiago Sevilla ''Parentescos Principescos y Amadís'' in Liceus El Portal de las Humanidades.
* Santiago Sevilla ''La Geografía fantástica del Amadís de Gaula'' in Liceus El Portal de las Humanidades.
Paolo Borsa ''Letteratura Antiangioina tra Provenza, Italia e Catalogna. La Figura di Carlo I''*
Peter Herde
Peter Herde (Born 5 February 1933) is a German historian. His research activities range from fundamental work on papal diplomatics of the Middle Ages to the history of the country up to the Second World War.
Life
Herd was born in 1933 in Racibó ...
''Die Schlacht bei Tagliacozzo'', Zeitschrift für Bayerische Landesgeschichte
* Giuseppe Del Giudice ''Don Arrigo Infante di Castiglia'' Biblioteca nazionale Sagarriga Visconti-Volpi-Bari - BA.
* Arrigo da Castiglia Don ''Alegramente e con grande baldanza / canzone/'' in Virgilio da Benedetto, Contributi allo studio della poesia storico politica delle origini. Due poesie per la discesa in Italia di Corradino di Svevia 1956.
* Ferdinand Gregorovius ''Wanderjahre in Italien'' in Projekt Gutenberg-DE
* Valeria Bertolucci Pizzorusso,
Universitá di Pisa ''Don Enrique / Don Arrigo: un infante di Castiglia tra storia e letteratura''. ALCANATE IV 2004-2005 Revista de Estudios Alfonsíes El Puerto de Santa María
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enrique of Castile
1230 births
1304 deaths
Castilian infantes
Castilian House of Burgundy
Spanish mercenaries
Regents of Castile
Medieval mercenaries
Sons of kings