Henry IV of Castile

King of Castile (r. 1454-1474)

• Born: January 6, 1425
• Birthplace: Valladolid, Castile (now in Spain)
• Died: December 11, 1474
• Place of death: Madrid (now in Spain)

Henry IV, although a weak king, was a centralizer, a consistent proponent of an alliance between Castile and Portugal, and an expansionist at the expense of Granada.

Early Life

Henry was one of three children born to John II , king of Castile (r. 1406-1454). Within days of his birth, the young boy was proclaimed heir-apparent to the throne, or prince of the Asturias. John, who preferred academic pursuits and hunting to the business of the kingdom and raising a family, delegated much of his authority to Álvaro de Luna, a nephew of the powerful archbishop of Toledo.

As the king’s chief counselor, de Luna arranged for the care of the young prince and placed him eventually in the hands of three trusted associates. He also introduced Henry to Juan Pacheco, who would soon become the heir’s closest friend, and arranged for Pacheco to join the prince’s household.

De Luna, the power behind the throne until 1453, kept the nobles under control and maintained the best interests of the monarchy. He negotiated treaties, arranged for the marriage of young Henry to Bianca of Navarre, and oversaw the marriage festivities when John II did not attend. Equally important, he permitted the future monarch to reside in relative obscurity at the fortress of Segovia north of Madrid. Henry preferred to dress simply, often in drab colors, and to dispense with court protocol. He loved the city, its people, and the solitude of its surrounding forests. All that is known about Henry’s life in Segovia is that he encountered an earthquake in 1431 that nearly killed him, and he also faced an accident in 1436. He had a good friendship with the Jewish community there, and he was married to Bianca in 1440. De Luna was always careful to have the heir in court in the company of his parents on key ceremonial days.

Life’s Work

The prince’s marriage, with the accompanying festivities and gathering of nobles, largely ended his seclusion, and John II’s absence from the occasion made it even more notable. When the king, threatened by Aragon and a coalition of his own nobles, found himself forced to fight in 1441, his son ignored the royal summons to assist and instead remained at Segovia. The matter, of course, was more complicated.

Henry favored his mother, Maria, an Aragonese princess, and the war split the royal couple. At this juncture, the king refused to recognize Henry as prince of the Asturias and may have denied his paternity, a not uncommon “weapon.” By remaining aloof, Henry and a faction of nobles who supported his position demonstrated that they controlled the balance of power. Yet, it was not until 1443, with John imprisoned by his enemies, that father and son were reconciled briefly. Neither Henry nor his supporters could counsel the imprisonment of his father or a diminishing of the Crown’s powers. United, they defeated the forces of Aragon, which had occupied a considerable part of Castile, and drove them from Castile in 1445.

The royal arrangement soon collapsed with Prince Henry negotiating with all factions but siding with none. In 1452, Henry again withdrew from active politics. By doing this, he permitted de Luna to arrange a second marriage for his father with Isabella of Portugal, a position the prince supported, and then allowed his father, John, to turn on de Luna and have him executed.

Unfortunately, Henry’s inactivity and lack of policy were unpopular among the nobles, who expected their future king to assume a strong and consistent stance. In addition, it was evident to the nobility that Henry was falling more and more under the influence of his childhood friend, Juan Pacheco. Juan, like Henry, was indifferent to his dress and preferred seclusion to grandeur. Yet, he was also everything that the king was not a good speaker, a persuasive debater, a master politician, and an excellent judge of people. It was not surprising, then, that Henry turned to Pacheco as a spokesperson, or favorite, and requested his father to bestow Crown lands and titles on Pacheco.

The rule of Henry IV began auspiciously in July of 1454. The young king was twenty-nine, blond, bearded, and blue-eyed. He quietly confirmed most of his father’s civil servants in their positions for the purpose of continuity and appointed others to fill vacancies. He preferred people with experience and education, and if the position required a noble, he made it a point to elevate lower nobles rather than greater ones, people who would be dependent on him.

As an absolutist he expanded the use of royal agents (corregidores) and sales taxes (alcabala) and supported the wool trade through the Mesta, a sheep-owner’s guild. According to tradition, he released most of those that John II had imprisoned and rewarded his own supporters with land and money. The bulk of his promotions were to the rank of count and were applauded, but two promotions, that of Juan Pacheco to marquis of Villena and of Pedro Giron, Juan’s brother, to master of Calatrava, were met with distrust and resistance. Juan and Pedro were able and astute, but their meteoric rise from obscurity and their insatiable search for wealth and lands brought them few friends. While being Portuguese by birth made them even less desirable, Castile’s nobles would use Juan, in particular, to advance their goals and agendas because they understood that he usually got what he sought.

Henry IV, however, could not focus on the job and preferred, like his father, to allow others the constable of Castile, the duke of Albuquerque, and Pacheco to rule in his stead. With his friends working at cross-purposes and without adequate direction from the king, the early reforms were soon neglected. More significantly, Henry allowed the war against Moorish Granada to wind down because he could not resolve conflicting goals. The king understood that his nobles desired the conquest of the region to enhance their properties, but as monarch he knew that he needed to preserve the Islamic Moors and their industries. It was, thus, not surprising or popular when he opted for limited war against key fortresses, such as Gibralter. In return, his nobles, including Pacheco, accused him of “loving” Arabs and of cowardice. Many turned, as they did under his father, to Aragon, and the crises of the previous regime returned. Since Henry was no better than his father in defusing these threats to his authority, he failed to notice or could not believe that his favorites were destroying his authority.

The king’s control was so weakened by 1457 that talk began about his younger half brother, Alfonso, being named prince of the Asturias. While the king was able to sidestep this obvious reduction of his power, he was forced to accept the arrangement in 1462. The birth of a daughter, Joan, only postponed the plan, with Alfonso being declared prince and then king by Pacheco and the rebels in 1465. The young Alfonso’s unexpected death in 1468 allowed Henry’s half sister, Isabella, to take his position as heir in 1470. She became Queen Isabella I of Castile in 1474 and joint ruler with her husband, King Ferdinand II of Aragon, in 1479.

Ignoring the less important question of inheritance, Henry IV concentrated his last years on maintaining the realm and passing it on intact. He allied with Portugal, Granada, and France in 1464 in anticipation of civil war and resumed conflict with Aragon. He offered land and money to key supporters and pardoned his enemies. Yet, his failure to act decisively repeatedly opened the way for his opponents to block his designs. As a result, he would die quietly in 1474 without achieving his long-term goal of reunifying Castile. Although unintended, Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II would accomplish what Henry IV failed to do by using many of the centralist instruments that Henry so ineffectively wielded.

Significance

Henry is remembered as one of Castile’s weakest monarchs. He was shy, introverted, and untrained in the ways of kingship. In addition, he was unassertive and gave way readily to those who were stronger than he. His seeming ineptitude, rumors of friendship with Jews and Moors, and his reputation as a lowlife raised grave questions of his leadership qualities. Still, he realized that Castile required more centralization to survive, surrounded as it was by Portugal, France, Navarre, Aragon, and Granada, and he did his best, however erratic, to accomplish this end. His efforts in this direction were often sensible and innovative and foretold the later work of Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II of Spain.

Bibliography

Doubleday, Simon, trans. “A Late-Medieval Spanish Nobleman: Don Juan Pacheco, Master of the Order of Santiago (1419-1474).” In Medieval Sourcebook. Bronx, N.Y.: Fordham University Center for Medieval Studies, 1971. Although tongue in cheek, this is the best source on Pacheco. The writer, a contemporary to the favorite, knew both his flaws and his virtues.

Lefseldt, E. A. “Ruling Sexuality: The Political Legitimacy of Isabel of Castile.” Renaissance Quarterly 53, no. 1 (Spring, 2000): 31-56. Examines the gendered construction of power during the reign of Queen Isabella I. Argues that her legitimacy as a ruler was based on her ability to “transcend” her gender and thereby compensate for Henry’s weaknesses.

Phillips, William D. Enrique IV and the Crisis of Fifteenth Century Castile, 1425-1480. Cambridge, England: Mediaeval Academy, 1978. Presents an excellent survey of works on Henry prior to 1975 and is the most readable account of his life. Lacks a detailed discussion of key aspects of Henry’s life. No index.

Ruiz, Teofilio. Spanish Society, 1400-1600. Harlow, England: Longmans, 2001. Good commentary on Spanish society and customs; however, limited discussion of Henry IV.