Juan Fernández De Heredia
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Juan Fernández de Heredia (in Aragonese ''Johan Ferrández d'Heredia'', pronounced ; – 1396) was a knight from the
Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...
who served as
Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller This is a list of grand masters of the Knights Hospitaller, including its continuation as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta after 1798. It also includes unrecognized "anti-grand masters" and lieutenants or stewards during vacancies. In lists ...
from 24 September 1377 to his death. His tenure was occupied by the "affair of Achaea", the persistent, but ultimately fruitless, efforts by the Knights to acquire the
Principality of Achaea The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of Morea was one of the vassal states of the Latin Empire, which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom of Thes ...
in southern Greece. He was also a great patron of the translation and composition of historiographical works in the
Aragonese language Aragonese ( ; in Aragonese) is a Romance languages, Romance language spoken in several dialects by about 12,000 people as of 2011, in the Pyrenees valleys of Aragon, Spain, primarily in the Comarca#Spain, comarcas of Somontano de Barbastro, Ja ...
and a counsellor to two
Kings of Aragon This is a list of the kings and queens of Aragon. The Kingdom of Aragon was created sometime between 950 and 1035 when the County of Aragon, which had been acquired by the Kingdom of Navarre in the tenth century, was separated from Navarre in ...
.


Early life

Heredia was born in Munebrega,
Kingdom of Aragon The Kingdom of Aragon (; ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Monarchy, kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain. It became a part of the larger ...
. As a knight of the Hospitaller order (from 1328), Heredia was the commander of the castles of Villel, Aliaga, and Alfambra. He was originally patronised by
Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV (Catalan: ''Pere IV d'Aragó;'' Aragonese; ''Pero IV d'Aragón;'' 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''El Cerimoniós''; Aragonese: ''el Ceremonioso''), was from 1336 until his death the king of ...
and Pope Innocent VI. Through the aid of the latter, he was appointed to govern the grand priories of the kingdoms of Castile and León, and of the abbey of Saint-Gilles in southern France, the richest priory of the order. He supported Peter IV against the
Union of Aragon The Union of Aragon, Aragonese Union ( Castilian and Aragonese: , ), or "Union of the Nobles" was an anti-royalist movement among the nobility and the townsmen of the lands of the Crown of Aragon during the last quarter of the thirteenth century. I ...
and fought on his side in the successful Battle of Epila (1348). In 1346, with the king of Aragon's support, he gained the
castellany A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...
of
Amposta Amposta () is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Montsià, in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain, 190 km south of Barcelona on the Mediterranean Coast. It is located at 8 metres above sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shorten ...
(which was the priory of
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...
). Heredia made himself and his family (and illegitimate children) enormously wealthy at the expense of the order. His power and influence was greatly circumscribed by the Grand Master Raymond Berengar, but in 1371 he entered the favour of
Pope Urban V Pope Urban V (; 1310 – 19 December 1370), born Guillaume de Grimoard, was head of the Catholic Church from 28 September 1362 until his death, in December 1370 and was also a member of the Order of Saint Benedict. He was the only Avignon pope ...
and was elevated as the master's lieutenant in Western Europe.


Campaigns in Greece

In 1376, Heredia conducted the fleet bearing
Pope Gregory XI Pope Gregory XI (; born Pierre Roger de Beaufort; c. 1329 – 27 March 1378) was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1370 to his death, in March 1378. He was the seventh and last Avignon pope and the most recent French pope. In 1377, ...
back to
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, presaging the end of the
Avignon Papacy The Avignon Papacy (; ) was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven successive popes resided in Avignon (at the time within the Kingdom of Arles, part of the Holy Roman Empire, now part of France) rather than in Rome (now the capital of ...
. The next year, on September 24, Gregory formally appointed Heredia grand master, following the death of Robert of Juilly on July 27. Heredia embarked from
Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
for
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
late in 1377, arriving in
Vonitsa Vonitsa () is a town in the northwestern part of Aetolia-Acarnania in Greece, seat of the municipality of Aktio-Vonitsa. The beach town is situated on the south coast of the Ambracian Gulf, and is dominated by a Venetian fortress on a hill. Von ...
in April 1378. Heredia immediately set about to take Arta but was captured by Gjin Bua Shpata, lord of
Aetolia Aetolia () is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania. Geography The Achelous River separates Aetolia from Acarnania to the west; on ...
and
Acarnania Acarnania () is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today it forms the western part ...
, and sold to the
Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...
. He was quickly ransomed, for he was in Glarentsa on 20 May 1379, though during his absence, his commandant, Gaucher of La Bastide, hired the Navarrese Company of mercenaries and brought them to the
Principality of Achaea The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of Morea was one of the vassal states of the Latin Empire, which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom of Thes ...
for eight months. After his release, Heredia went to
Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...
, the headquarters of the order, in July. Power was readily ceded to him, as he was an adherent of the Avignonese
Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the most unfortunate o ...
. Heredia tried to make a deal to have the Navarrese turn over the castles they were holding in the name of the prince to the military order. The Navarrese' preponderant demands, however, quickly sunk any possible agreement. Heredia ignored the powerful company and instead dealt directly with Marie of Blois, who claimed the principality on behalf of her son
Louis II of Naples Louis II (5 October 1377 – 29 April 1417) was Duke of Anjou and Count of Provence from 1384 to 1417; he claimed the Kingdom of Naples, but only ruled parts of the kingdom from 1390 to 1399. His father, Louis I of Anjouthe founder of the House ...
. Marie signed over her son's rights to the order on 24 January 1387, with the consent of Clement VII. The transaction cost the order 20,000 gold ''
florins The Florentine florin was a gold coin (in Italian ''Fiorino d'oro'') struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains () of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a pu ...
''. Later, the pope reversed his endorsement at the request of the Achaean claimant Amadeus, Lord of Pinerolo. Despite these failures with the Navarrese, Heredia had continued to use them in his war. Though Peter IV had forbid any Hospitallers of his realm to travel with Heredia east, he himself had claimed the rights to the
Duchy of Athens The Duchy of Athens (Greek language, Greek: Δουκᾶτον Ἀθηνῶν, ''Doukaton Athinon''; Catalan language, Catalan: ''Ducat d'Atenes'') was one of the Crusader states set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during ...
. The Navarrese, under Juan de Urtubia, attacked Thebes, the capital of the duchy, and Heredia, though friendly with the king, was warned in a letter to stop abetting his enemies (10 September 1380).


Life in Avignon

Heredia spent most of his life in
Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...
after 9 April 1382, when he embarked for the West with his powers diminished some by the untrusting convent in Rhodes. In April 1383, the Roman
Pope Urban VI Pope Urban VI (; ; c. 1318 – 15 October 1389), born Bartolomeo Prignano (), was head of the Catholic Church from 8 April 1378 to his death, in October 1389. He was the last pope elected from outside the College of Cardinals. His pontificate be ...
appointed Riccardo Caracciolo, prior of
Capua Capua ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, located on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etruscan ''Capeva''. The ...
, anti-master in opposition to Heredia. Caracciolo had the support of some Italian priories, of the
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and other Urbanist regions, but his power was insignificant by his death in 1395, after which no one was elected to replace him. Heredia did not long survive him and was succeeded by Philibert of Naillac. Heredia was wealthy and learned, a patron of historiography and translation. It was he who ordered the ''
Chronicle of Morea ''The Chronicle of Morea'' () is a long 14th-century history text, of which there are four extant versions: in French, Greek (in verse), Italian and Aragonese. More than 9,000 lines long, the ''Chronicle'' narrates events of the Franks' estab ...
'' translated into Aragonese sometime before 1393, though it does not contain any mention of his term of service in the Morea. The medieval stonework of his fortified castles in Mora de Rubielos and Rubielos de Mora has been much studied in the last few years. He was buried in
Caspe Caspe is a municipality in the province of Zaragoza, part of the autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain, seat of the comarca of Bajo Aragón-Caspe. As of 2018 it had a population of 9,525 inhabitants (INE 2018) and its municipality, of 5 ...
. His tomb was destroyed by anarchist soldiers during the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
(1936–1939), although some photographs remain.


Sources

*Setton, Kenneth M. ''Catalan Domination of Athens 1311–1380''. Revised edition. London: Variorum, 1975. * * Luttrell, Anthony. ''Juan Fernandez de Heredia, Castellan of Amposta (1346–1377), Master of the Order of St. John at Rhodes (1377–1396)''. PhD diss., University of Oxford (1959). * Luttrell, Anthony. "Juan Fernandez de Heredia's History of Greece," ''Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies'', 34,1 (2010), 30–37. * Ciprés Palacín, María Ángeles
"Elementos lingüísticos galorrománicos en el texto aragonés ''Flor de las ystorias de Orient'', del ''scriptorium'' de Juan Fernández de Heredia", ''Alazet'', 23 (2011), 29–39
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heredia, Juan Fernandez de 1310s births 1396 deaths Viceroys of Catalonia Christians of the Crusades Aragonese-language writers 14th-century people from the Crown of Aragon Grand masters of the Knights Hospitaller Rhodes under the Knights Hospitaller Captains General of the Church