Henry II (Castile)

Enrique de Trastámara, Henry II of Castile

Coat of arms of Enrique de Trastámara before his royal dignity

Heinrich II , also Heinrich von Trastámara , ( Spanish Enrique de Trastámara , born January 13, 1334 in Seville , † May 29, 1379 in Santo Domingo de la Calzada ) was King of Castile and León (1369-1379). He was the illegitimate son of Alfonso XI. and Leonor de Guzmán , a high Castilian nobleman who was partly of Jewish descent. Thus he was half-brother of his lifelong enemy and predecessor Peter I.

Life

Heinrich murders his half-brother Peter I.

His father Alfonso XI. Henry had made Count of Trastámara and given him a few villages in Galicia . After the unexpected death of his father and his legitimate successor, Peter I saw the opportunity to take action against his mother's rival and her descendants.

After decades of feuds between Henry and his arch-enemy Peter I, which forced him to leave the country several times and seek protection and help in Portugal and France , he was proclaimed king in Calahorra in 1366 . In the following year, however, his army, allied with the French under Bertrand du Guesclin , suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Nájera (1367). Two years later, Henry II won the decisive victory in the Battle of Montiel (1369) with renewed help from the French military leader Bertrand du Guesclin. He dethroned his half-brother and imprisoned him; then he murdered Peter himself. In the Hundred Years War he sided with France and thus against Portugal and England.

He died on May 29, 1379 in Santo Domingo de la Calzada and was buried in Toledo Cathedral.

Persecution of the Jews

Coin portrait of Heinrich II.

Despite his partly Jewish ancestry on his mother's side, Heinrich was the first ruler to use anti-Judaism as a political tool in Spain ; Among other things, he let the rumor spread that his predecessor was in reality an exchanged child of Jewish parents. After gaining royal power, however, he placed the Jews under his personal protection. A good century later, the persecution of converted Jews by the Spanish Inquisition began , which ultimately led to their expulsion (see: History of the Jews in Spain ).

progeny

Henry II's tomb in Toledo Cathedral

Heinrich was married to Juana, the daughter of Juan Manuel de Villena , a member of a branch of the House of Castile, and had three children with her, including their son John I , who succeeded him.

Johann I.
Eleonore (* around 1363, † 1415 or 1416), ∞ Karl III. , King of Navarre
Johanna

He was also the father of the children:

Eleonore Señora de Cifuentes ∞ Diniz, Titular King of Portugal
Konstanze Señora de Alba de Tormes ∞ Johann, Titular King of Portugal
Johanna ∞ Peter of Aragón, Marques de Villena
Henry of Castile, Duke of Medina-Sidonia (1378–1404)
Ferdinand Señor de Puenas and Alcaçovas (1365–1438)
Isabella, nun
Beatrix ∞ Juan Alfonso de Guzmán, Señor de Niebla
Mary of Castile ∞ Diego Hurtado de Mendoza
Alfons Enrique, Count de Gijón y Noreña (1355–1395)
Frederick of Castile, Duke of Benavente

literature

Julio Valdeón: Henry II. Trastámara . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages (LexMA). Volume 4, Artemis & Winkler, Munich / Zurich 1989, ISBN 3-7608-8904-2 , Sp. 2056 f.

Web links

Commons : Henry II (Castile) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

predecessor	Office	successor
Peter I.	King of Castile and León 1369–1379	Johann I.

personal data
SURNAME	Henry II
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Henry of Trastámara; Enrique de Trastámara
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	King of Castile and León (1369–1379)
DATE OF BIRTH	January 13, 1334
PLACE OF BIRTH	Seville
DATE OF DEATH	May 29, 1379
Place of death	Santo Domingo de la Calzada