Infantes de Aragon

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The term Infantes de Aragón (Prince of Aragon) is generally used in Spanish historiography to refer to the children of King Ferdinand I of Aragon and his wife Eleonore Urraca of Castile .

parents

father

Ferdinand was the second son of King John I of Castile. In 1386 he received the newly created title of Duke of Peñafiel from his father John I of Castile. After the death of his brother Heinrich III. of Castile in 1406, he refused the Crown of Castile offered to him by the Cortes of Castile and, together with his sister-in-law Catherine of Lancaster, took over the reign of the minor John II of Castile. Ferdinand's reputation grew particularly through the conquest of the city of Antequera during the Reconquista in 1410. Since this victory he was known as "el de Antequera" (that of Antequera). In 1412 Ferdinand was appointed ruler of the Crown of Aragon by an arbitration award from Caspe .

mother

Eleonore Urraca of Castile (1374-1435) came from a sideline of the Castilian royal house of the House of Trastámara on her father's side and the Portuguese royal house, the House of Avis, on her mother 's side . After the death of her brother, Eleanor inherited not only the title of Countess of Albuquerque, but also rich estates in Castile, La Rioja and Extremadura. She passed some of these possessions on to her sons while she was still alive. After her husband's death (1416), she lived on her property in Medina del Campo . Eleonore tried at different times to mediate between her children and King John II of Castile.

Children (infantes)

  • Maria (1396–1445) married her cousin John II of Castile in 1420 . She had a son, who later became King Henry IV of Castile.
  • Alfons (1396-1458) succeeded his father as ruler of the Crown of Aragon. In 1415 he married his cousin Maria (1401-1458) of Castile, the sister of King John II of Castile.
  • Johann (1397–1479) received the title of Duke of Peñafiel from his father in 1414. Through his marriage to Blanka of Navarre in 1420 he became co-ruling king, after Blanka's death sole king of Navarre. After the death of his brother Alfons in 1458 he became ruler of the Crown of Aragon.
  • Heinrich (1399 / 1400–1445) was 1st Duke of Villena, Count of Alburquerque and Lord of Ledesma, Grand Master of the Order of Santiago (1409–1445). In addition to the Castilian titles, his brother Alfons gave him various Aragonese and Catalan titles. He was married to his cousin Catherine of Castile (1403–1439) the sister of John II of Castile in his first marriage since 1420 . In his second marriage he married Beatriz Pimentel.
  • Sancho (1400–1416) became Grand Master of the Alcántara Order at the age of eight .
  • Eleonore (1402–1445) married Edward the then heir to the throne and later King of Portugal in 1428 . After her husband's death in 1438, she was regent for her underage son Alfons . In 1439 she was ousted from office by her brother-in-law Peter of Portugal .
  • Peter (1406–1438), was Duke of Notho and Count of Albuquerque, he particularly appeared as an assistant and deputy to his brother Alfons.

activity

The Infantes de Aragón were born in Castile at a time when their father was Ferdinand Infante of Castile and Duke of Peñafiel. As regent for his nephew John II, Ferdinand gave his sons control over important territories in Castile and the leadership of the rich and politically influential knightly orders of Santiago and Alcántara. The daughters Maria and Eleonore were married to the king of Castile and Portugal, respectively. The important possession of Eleonore Urraca of Castile, mother of the Infantes de Aragón, led to them forming an influential group in Castilian politics.

The Infantes de Aragón were basically Castilian nobles. They had their followers especially in the Castilian nobility. These strove for a greater power of the nobility over the crown. Their opponents were the king and his advisers, the lower nobility and the representatives of the cities in the Cortes, who had an interest in strengthening the authority of the crown. This group was represented by Álvaro de Luna . The power struggle between the nobility and the crown ran through Castilian politics throughout the 15th century. A decision in favor of the crown was only brought about by the victory of the Catholic Kings in the War of the Castilian Succession . The capture of Granada further strengthened their position .

Since the eldest of the Infants, Alfons, King of Aragon after the death of his father in 1416 and the second eldest, John, became King of Navarre in 1420 through his marriage to Blanka of Navarre, the third oldest son, Heinrich, took care of the family interests in Castile. In some cases, however, there were also differences of opinion, especially between Johann and Heinrich.

1418-1425

Johann II of Castile stood since the death of his father Heinrich III. of Castile under the tutelage of his mother, Catherine of Lancaster and his uncle Ferdinand (the father of the Infantes). His uncle died on April 2, 1416. His mother died on June 2, 1418. On October 20, 1418 the thirteen-year-old King John II of Castile and the Aragonese Infanta María, who was 22 years old at the time, got engaged.

In March 1419, the Cortes of Castile, meeting in Madrid, declared King John, then 14 years old, to be of legal age. Since Heinrich saw the interests of his family threatened by the king's advisors, he brought the king, who was currently in Tordesillas, into his power in June 1420. Heinrich moved with the king first to Seville and then to Talavera de la Reina . During this time of the king's semi-captivity, Henry married the king's sister, Catherine of Castile. The wedding of John II of Castile and the Aragonese Infanta María took place on August 4, 1420 in Ávila.

At the end of November 1420, the king managed to escape from Heinrich's surveillance. The escape was largely planned by Álvaro de Luna (Castile) . He subsequently became King John's most important advisor and confidante. In June 1422, Henry was captured and imprisoned by royal soldiers. His possessions in Castile were revoked. An administrator was appointed for the office of Grand Master of the Order of Santiago. Supporters of Heinrich were also taken prisoner if they could not escape. In 1423 Alfonso V of Aragon, the eldest of the Infants, returned from Italy, where he had sought rule in Naples since 1421. Various diplomatic attempts by Alfonso to free his brother Heinrich were unsuccessful. Only when Alfons made preparations for war in 1425 to invade Castile, an agreement was reached. On October 10, 1425 Heinrich was released after three years of imprisonment in Toledo. After some disputes, his former claims in Castile were returned to him.

1429-1432

In response to an invasion of Castile by Aragonese troops, which united with Henry's soldiers, Johann II had Henry's entire property in Castile again confiscated in 1429. This decision was to be enforced by Rodrigo Alfonso Pimentel, to whom 600 lancers were subordinate. Before this force, Heinrich withdrew towards the border with Portugal. There his brother Peter joined him. In August, the Privy Council had the entire property of Heinrich and his wife Katharina, Johann von Navarra and his wife Blanka von Navarra and their son Karl confiscated in Castile . The military actions of both sides caused great costs, but there was hardly any serious fighting. The negotiations, which take place over and over again, were primarily about severance payments that should be paid to the Infantes for the confiscated goods. In June 1432, Peter, Henry's youngest brother, was captured by the king's troops. Heinrich admitted defeat and concluded an agreement with the other side and went with the released Peter via Lisbon to Valencia.

Battle for Naples

The island of Sicily also belonged to the territory of the Crown of Aragon, which Alfonso V had ruled from 1416. The part of the historical kingdom located on the Italian peninsula has been ruled separately from the island as the Kingdom of Naples since the Peace of Caltabellotta in 1302.

In 1420 Alfons had traveled to Sicily to secure his property claims in Italy. In the years 1421 to 1423 Alfons fought for Johanna II. Of Naples Louis of Anjou, who was crowned King of Sicily and Naples by the Pope in 1419 . In 1423 Alfons came back to the Spanish peninsula at the urging of the Cortes of Aragon. In 1432 Alfons traveled to Sicily again. His brothers Johann, Heinrich and Peter accompanied him.

When Queen Joan II of Naples died in February 1435, she had named René I of Anjou as her heir in her will . Since René at the time of Duke Philip III. was held captive by Burgundy, his wife Isabella of Lorraine traveled to Naples to take over the inheritance. She was accompanied by Duke Filippo Maria Visconti of Milan and a Genoese fleet. Since Alfonso also claimed the Kingdom of Naples as the dominion of the Crown of Aragon, he wanted to travel to Naples by sea. Alfons' ships were attacked by the Genoese fleet. In the naval battle of Ponza in August 1435, the Infantes de Aragón were captured and handed over to the Duke of Milan.

At the end of 1435 Johann was released. He traveled to the Spanish peninsula to raise ransom money for the release of his brothers.

During his imprisonment, Alfons was able to bring Duke Filippo Maria Visconti to his side. After his release, Alfons continued the conquest of the Kingdom of Naples with his brothers Heinrich and Peter. During the siege of Naples in 1438 the infant Peter was killed. In 1442 Alfonso ruled over the entire kingdom of Naples.

1436-1445

In January 1436, Alfonso V appointed his brother John as his deputy in Aragon and authorized him to negotiate the restitution of property in Castile with John II of Castile in his name. These negotiations led to the Treaty of Toledo in September 1436. This contract provided for: the pardon of all those involved in the previous fighting and financial compensation for the Infantes. This compensation should, however, be well below the losses that the Infantes had suffered from the confiscation of their property. In addition, the marriage of the Castilian Crown Prince Henry , the son of King John II of Castile, with Blanka (II) of Navarre, daughter of John the Infante of Aragón and King of Navarre, was agreed. As a morning gift , Blanka was to receive the confiscated family property of the Infantes de Aragón in Medina del Campo, Olmedo, Aranda and Roa and the Margraviate of Villena in 1429.

The Infantes felt disadvantaged by the treaty; They therefore supported an uprising by members of the high nobility in Castile against Álvaro de Luna. In 1437 he was banished from the court of King John II of Castile. The Infantes de Aragón, Johann and Heinrich, began to take their old domains in Castile by force. What they largely succeeded in doing until 1440, with the support of the Castilian nobility. In March 1440, King John II of Castile gave up his resistance to the Infantes and promised to share power with the high nobility. In September 1440 the marriage of the fifteen-year-old Castilian heir to the throne, Heinrich, took place with the sixteen-year-old Blanka of Navarre.

Edward of Portugal died in 1438. He had appointed his wife Eleanor of Aragon as regent for his son Alfons . Her regency was contested by her brother-in-law Peter of Portugal , so she fled to Castile in 1440. There she found the support of her brothers. The danger of being drawn into a conflict with Portugal made the high nobility of Castile move away from the Infantes de Aragón.

Through the marriage of the Infante Heinrich with Beatriz de Pimentel and Johanns with Juana Enríquez the connection between the Infantes de Aragón and the Castilian high nobility was improved again, but there was a tendency towards the decline of their influence in Castile.

Heinrich and Johann always asked Alfonso V to return to the Iberian Peninsula in order to consolidate their position. Alfons did not comply with these requests.

In order to finally secure his claims in Castile, Johann marched into Castile with a force from Navarre in 1445.

Battle of Olmedo

The penetration of John of Navarre into Castile happened in the first weeks of the year 1445. He came from Navarre and was moving towards Atienza. At this place the forces of the King of Navarre consisted of 400 heavy cavalry and 400 foot soldiers. The troops of the Count of Medinaceli joined him. When the army moved in the direction of the Río Jarama, it received significant reinforcement from the followers of Infante Heinrich. These were primarily knights of the Order of Santiago who came from the Murcia area . In addition, the troops of the Mendoza family were expected.

When he became aware of the invasion of the King of Navarre's troops, King John II of Castile withdrew his troops, which consisted mainly of the royal guards and the militias of the great cities, as well as those under the command of Crown Prince Henry and the command of Álvaro de Luna troops standing together at San Martín de Valdeiglesias.

The army of the Infantes de Aragón and their supporters finally went to Olmedo. The troops of the king of Castile set up an army camp some distance from the city, which was protected by a wooden palisade. King John held a meeting of the Cortes in this camp. A resolution was passed confirming the king's right to assemble the Privy Council according to his will.

The army camp of the King of Castile did not form a closed ring of siege around the city of Olmedo, so that the troops in the city could be reinforced by 600 cavalrymen from the Order of Alcántara.

After a few skirmishes , the battle broke out on May 19, 1445. In Olmedo two armies clashed , which were roughly the same in composition and military strength. Both sides had about 2500 men of light and heavy cavalry . The number of royal infantrymen , at around 4,000, was somewhat higher than the number of enemy infantrymen. Among them were crossbow and archers. Most of them, however, were auxiliaries for the knights of the heavy cavalry. On both sides the knights of the heavy cavalry were decisive in the battle. There is no evidence of the use of mercenary troops or artillery .

In contemporary reports, the battle of Olmedo, which was fought between Christians in their own country, is referred to as the "knightly war" (guerra caballeresca), which stood in contrast to the "cruel war" (guerra cruel) of the Reconquista against unbelievers in the area to be conquered . It was not about the annihilation of the enemy, but about asserting political interests and participation rights of the nobility over the monarch. An essay in the work “En la España Medieval” (Spain in the Middle Ages) asks whether it was a war or a tournament. After different waves of attack were ridden from both sides, the supporters of the Infantes de Aragón had to withdraw. The direct result of the battle was little more than twenty dead (out of more than 12,000 people involved in the fight). However, a large number of the wounded died from their injuries in the following days. The troops of the King of Castile were able to capture a number of high nobles from the opposite side. The number of prisoners taken by the troops of the allies of the Infante, on the other hand, was very small.

The supporters of the Infantes de Aragón, mostly belonging to the high nobility, had not achieved their goal of weakening the power of the crown. Nevertheless, the victory of Olmedo was not a final victory for the crown over the claims of those who wanted to expand the influence of the high nobility. Since King John II of Castile did not have the opportunity to enforce punishments against the followers of the Infantes de Aragón, they were pardoned by him after a short time. John of Navarre and the Infante Heinrich fled towards Aragon. Heinrich died on June 15, 1445 in Calatayud in Aragon, less than a month after the Battle of Olmedo, as a result of an injury to his forearm.

The two remaining Infantes de Aragón, King John of Navarre, who was his brother Alfons' deputy in Aragon, Valencia and Mallorca, and Alfons, who lived in Italy from 1432 until his death in 1458, were of no importance for Castilian politics.

Descendants of the Infantes de Aragón

Some of the descendants of the Infantes de Aragón played a prominent role in the politics of Castile, but their importance did not result from the political activities of the Infantes.

  • Mary's son , Henry IV, was King of Castile.
  • Alfons had a son Ferdinand who, as King of Naples, played no role in Castilian politics.
  • Johann's daughter , Blanka (II) of Navarre, married her cousin Henry IV of Castile in 1440. The marriage was divorced in 1453.
  • Johann's son , Ferdinand , became King of Castile through marriage to Isabella I.
  • The other children of King John , Charles of Viana and Eleanor of Navarre, hardly played a role in relation to Castile.
  • The posthumously born son of Infante Heinrich , Enrique de Aragón y Pimentel, was temporarily the deputy of his cousin Ferdinand II in Catalonia. He did not intervene in Castilian politics.
  • The Infante Sancho had no offspring.
  • Eleonore's daughter , Joanna of Portugal, married her cousin Henry IV of Castile in 1455 . The daughter of Johannas and Heinrichs was Joan of Castile . Johanna was the opponent of the Catholic Kings in the War of the Castilian Succession .
  • The son of Eleanor , Alfonso V of Portugal married in 1475 his niece Joanna of Castile. In the War of the Castilian Succession he fought unsuccessfully for his wife. The marriage was later declared null and void.
  • The Infante Peter had no offspring.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Infantes de Aragón. (PDF) In: Gran Enciclopedia Aragonesa. El Periodico de Aragón, September 17, 2009, accessed January 20, 2015 (Spanish).
  2. ↑ Vicente Ángel Álvarez Palenzuela: Enrique, Infante de Aragón, Maestre de Santiago . In: Medievalismo: Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Estudios Medievales . No. 12 , 2002, p. 67 ff . (Spanish, unirioja.es [accessed June 7, 2015]).
  3. ↑ Fernando Castillo Cáceres: ¿Guerra o torneo ?: la Batalla de Olmedo, modelo de enfrentamiento caballeresco . In: En la España Medieval . No. 32 , 2009, p. 142 (Spanish, ucm.es [accessed June 7, 2015]).
  4. ↑ Joseph Perez: Ferdinand and Isabella . Callwey, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-7667-0923-2 , pp. 57 ff . (From the French by Antoinette Gittinger).
  5. ↑ Vicente Ángel Álvarez Palenzuela: Enrique, Infante de Aragón, Maestre de Santiago . In: Medievalismo: Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Estudios Medievales . No. 12 , 2002, p. 45 (Spanish, unirioja.es [accessed June 7, 2015]).
  6. ↑ Vicente Ángel Álvarez Palenzuela: Enrique, Infante de Aragón, Maestre de Santiago . In: Medievalismo: Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Estudios Medievales . No. 12 , 2002, p. 48 (Spanish, unirioja.es [accessed June 7, 2015]).
  7. ↑ Vicente Ángel Álvarez Palenzuela: Enrique, Infante de Aragón, Maestre de Santiago . In: Medievalismo: Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Estudios Medievales . No. 12 , 2002, p. 72 ff . (Spanish, unirioja.es [accessed June 7, 2015]).
  8. ↑ Vicente Ángel Álvarez Palenzuela: Enrique, Infante de Aragón, Maestre de Santiago . In: Medievalismo: Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Estudios Medievales . No. 12 , 2002, p. 67 ff . (Spanish, unirioja.es [accessed June 7, 2015]).
  9. ↑ Vicente Ángel Álvarez Palenzuela: Enrique, Infante de Aragón, Maestre de Santiago . In: Medievalismo: Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Estudios Medievales . No. 12 , 2002, p. 78 (Spanish, unirioja.es [accessed June 7, 2015]).
  10. ↑ Eloísa Ramírez Vaquero: La reina Blanca y Navarra . In: Príncipe de Viana . No. 217 , 1999, pp. 335 (Spanish, unirioja.es [accessed June 7, 2015]).
  11. ↑ Vicente Ángel Álvarez Palenzuela: Enrique, Infante de Aragón, Maestre de Santiago . In: Medievalismo: Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Estudios Medievales . No. 12 , 2002, p. 87 (Spanish, unirioja.es [accessed June 7, 2015]).
  12. ↑ Vicente Ángel Álvarez Palenzuela: Enrique, Infante de Aragón, Maestre de Santiago . In: Medievalismo: Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Estudios Medievales . No. 12 , 2002, p. 88 (Spanish, unirioja.es [accessed June 7, 2015]).
  13. ↑ Fernando Castillo Cáceres: ¿Guerra o torneo ?: la Batalla de Olmedo, modelo de enfrentamiento caballeresco . In: En la España Medieval . No. 32 , 2009, p. 144 (Spanish, ucm.es [accessed June 7, 2015]).
  14. ↑ Fernando Castillo Cáceres: ¿Guerra o torneo ?: la Batalla de Olmedo, modelo de enfrentamiento caballeresco . In: En la España Medieval . No. 32 , 2009, p. 150 (Spanish, ucm.es [accessed June 7, 2015]).
  15. ↑ Fernando Castillo Cáceres: ¿Guerra o torneo ?: la Batalla de Olmedo, modelo de enfrentamiento caballeresco . In: En la España Medieval . No. 32 , 2009, p. 160 (Spanish, ucm.es [accessed June 7, 2015]).
  16. ↑ Fernando Castillo Cáceres: ¿Guerra o torneo ?: la Batalla de Olmedo, modelo de enfrentamiento caballeresco . In: En la España Medieval . No. 32 , 2009, p. 139–166 (Spanish, ucm.es [accessed June 7, 2015]).
  17. ↑ Fernando Castillo Cáceres: ¿Guerra o torneo ?: la Batalla de Olmedo, modelo de enfrentamiento caballeresco . In: En la España Medieval . No. 32 , 2009, p. 161 (Spanish, ucm.es [accessed June 7, 2015]).
  18. ↑ Fernando Castillo Cáceres: ¿Guerra o torneo ?: la Batalla de Olmedo, modelo de enfrentamiento caballeresco . In: En la España Medieval . No. 32 , 2009, p. 166 (Spanish, ucm.es [accessed June 7, 2015]).

literature

  • Vicente Ángel Álvarez Palenzuela: Enrique, Infante de Aragón, Maestre de Santiago . In: Medievalismo: Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Estudios Medievales . No. 12 , 2002, p. 37–90 (Spanish, unirioja.es [accessed June 7, 2015]).