Juan de Castilla y Haro, most commonly known as Juan el Tuerto (the one-eyed) (b. ? - d. 31 October 1326, Toro), was a Spanish

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...

of the House of Haro and of the royal line of the

Kingdom of Castile The Kingdom of Castile (; es, Reino de Castilla, la, Regnum Castellae) was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region. It began in the 9th centu ...

descended from Alfonso X of Castile. He was the Lord of

Cuéllar Cuéllar () is a municipality in the Province of Segovia, within the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. The municipality had a population of 9,730 inhabitants according to the municipal register of inhabitants (INE) as of 1 Janu ...

from 1319 to 1325 and the

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 ...

from 1322 until his assassination by order of King

Alfonso XI of Castile 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 ...

in 1326.

Family Origins

He was the son and heir of

María II Díaz de Haro Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...

, from whom he inherited the Lordship of

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

, and her husband the infante John of Castile. His paternal grandfather was King Alfonso X of Castile and his maternal grandfather was Diego López III de Haro.

Marriage and Descendants

Juan married Isabel of Portugal, Lady of Penela, the daughter of Infante Afonso of Portugal, son of King Afonso III of Portugal, and his wife Violante Manuel, the daughter of Infante Manuel of Castile. This marriage produced the following children: *

María Díaz II de Haro María Díaz II de Haro ( - 16 September 1348) was a Spanish nobility, noble of the House of Haro. She was the daughter of Juan de Castilla y Haro and his wife, Iabel of Portugal, Lady of Penela, Isabel of Portugal and was Lord of Biscay, Lady o ...

- would go on to inherit the Lordship of Biscay from

Maria II Diaz de Haro Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...

. She married Juan Núñez III de Lara, the head of the House of Lara, son of the infante Ferdinand de la Cerda and great grandson of Alfonso X.

Political intrigues

The chronicle of the reign of Alfonso XI of Castile describes the minority of the young king as a time of violence and social tension, when knights and powerful lords robbed and oppressed those weaker than they.

Linehan, Peter Peter Anthony Linehan (11 July 1943 – 9 July 2020) was a British historian of medieval Spain. He was a fellow of St John's College, Cambridge, where he was Dean of Discipline, and a fellow of the British Academy. Life Linehan was born in Mortl ...

. ''History and Historians of Medieval Spain'', Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1993 In 1325, the fourteen year old king announced his intention to rule in his own right, without the aid of the regents who had exploited their time in control. Many of his subjects had fled to nearby kingdoms to avoid the turmoil. All hoped the king would restore order. Among the princes prepared to oppose the king militarily if necessary was ''el Tuerto''.

Death

Juan el Tuerto was lured to Toro with the prospect of a pardon and reconciliation with the King Alfonso. On the Feast of All Saints, the king ordered the murder of el Tuerto and two of his knights, then summoned the nobles to the square to hear an account of the infante's treasonable conduct.Ruiz, Teofilo F., "Towards a Symbolic History of Alfonso XI of Castile: Power, Ceremony and Triumph", ''The Emergence of León-Castile c.1065-1500: Essays Presented to J.F. O'Callaghan'', (James J Todesca, ed.), Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2015

References

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