John II of Castile

2025-09-12T05:47:19Z

2601:249:1100:92D0:3DDA:D8CC:AA79:594A: /* Life */

{{Short description|King of Castile and León from 1406 to 1454}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = John II
| image = File:Burgos - Cartuja de Miraflores - Tumba de Juan II de Castilla.jpg
| caption = Tomb of John II in the [[Miraflores Charterhouse]]
| succession = [[King of Castile]] and [[List of Leonese monarchs|León]]
| reign = {{nowrap|25 December 1406 – 20 July 1454}}
| predecessor = [[Henry III of Castile|Henry III]]
| successor = [[Henry IV of Castile|Henry IV]]
| spouses = {{plainlist|
*{{marriage|[[Maria of Aragon, Queen of Castile|Maria of Aragon]]|1420|1445|end=d}}
*{{marriage|[[Isabella of Portugal, Queen of Castile|Isabella of Portugal]]|1447}}}}
| issue = {{plainlist|
*[[Catherine, Princess of Asturias]]
*[[Eleanor, Princess of Asturias]]
*[[Henry IV of Castile|Henry IV]]
*[[Isabella I]]
*[[Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (1453–1468)|Alfonso, Prince of Asturias]]}}
| issue-link = #Family and children
| issue-pipe = among others...
| house = [[House of Trastámara|Trastámara]]
| father = [[Henry III of Castile]]
| mother = [[Catherine of Lancaster]]
| birth_date = 6 March 1405
| birth_place = [[Toro, Zamora]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1454|07|20|1405|03|06|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Valladolid]]
| burial_date =
| burial_place = [[Miraflores Charterhouse]]
| signature = Signature of John II of Castile.svg
}}

[[File:1881, Indumentaria española documentos para su estudio, desde la época visigoda hasta nuestros dias, D. Juan II, siglo XV, Francisco Aznar (cropped).jpg|thumb|"John II of Castile", imaginary portrait by Francisco Aznar (1881)]]

'''John II of Castile''' ({{langx|es|link=no|Juan}}; 6 March 1405 – 20 July 1454) was [[King of Castile|King]] of [[Kingdom of Castile|Castile]]<ref name="Piferrer Busel 1859 p. 228">{{cite book |last1=Piferrer |first1=Francisco | last2=Busel |first2=A.R. |title=Nobiliario de los reinos y señorios de España (revisado por Antonio Rujula y Busel). |year=1859 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1lUBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA228 |language=es |access-date=24 December 2019 |page=228 |isbn=9781144644695}}</ref> and [[Kingdom of León|León]] from 1406 to 1454. He succeeded his older sister, [[Maria of Castile, Queen of Aragon]], as [[Prince of Asturias]] in 1405.

==Regency==

John was the son of [[Henry III of Castile|King Henry III]] and his wife, [[Catherine of Lancaster]], a granddaughter of [[Peter of Castile|King Peter]]; Peter had been ousted by Henry III's grandfather [[Henry II of Castile|King Henry II]].{{sfn|Previte-Orton|1912|p=902}} John succeeded his father on 25 December 1406, and united in his person the claims of both Peter and Henry II. His mother and his uncle, [[Ferdinand I of Aragon|King Ferdinand I of Aragon]], were co-regents during his minority. When Ferdinand I died in 1416, his mother governed alone until her death in 1418.

==Personal rule==

John II's reign, lasting 48 years, was one of the longest in Castilian history, but John himself was not a particularly capable monarch.<ref name=":0" /> His birth was a consequence of a diplomatic agreement in 1386, negotiated by his grandfather's royal [[Steward (office)|steward]] and ambassador [[Diego López de Medrano, Lord of Agoncillo#Royal Ambassador of Castile to Prince John of Gaunt (1386)|Diego López de Medrano, Lord of Agoncillo]], and two others, between [[John of Gaunt]] and [[John I of Castile]] over the Crown of Castile.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Diego López de Medrano {{!}} Fernão Lopes |url=https://fernaolopes.fcsh.unl.pt/people/diego-l%C3%B3pez-de-medrano |access-date=2025-03-07 |website=fernaolopes.fcsh.unl.pt}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ayala |first=Pedro López de |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GDRjKW0OwcIC&q=L%C3%B3pez+de+Medrano&pg=PA236 |title=Cronicas de los Reyes de Castilla Don Pedro, Don Enrique II, Don Juan I, Don Enrique III: que contiene las de Don Enrique II, D. Juan I y D. Enrique III |date=1780 |publisher=en la imprenta de Don Antonio de Sancha |pages=273–275 |language=es}}</ref><ref>''Crónica de D. João'' I, part 2, ch. 84 https://fernaolopes.fcsh.unl.pt/chronicles/cr%C3%B3nica-de-d-jo%C3%A3o-i-part-2</ref> This agreement ultimately led to the 1388 [[Treaty of Bayonne (1388)|Treaty of Bayonne]], which arranged the marriage of his mother [[Catherine of Lancaster]] to his father [[Henry III of Castile]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Peña |first=Santiago de Alvarado y de la |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DA-Ujocp8_wC&pg=PA126 |title=Elementos de la historia general de España desde el diluvio universal hasta el años de 1826 ó sea Resumen Cronológico de todos los principales sucesos ocurridos en nuestra nacion desde su fundacion hasta el día |date=1826 |publisher=Imprenta de E. Aguado |pages=126 |language=es}}</ref>

=== Life ===
Born on 6 March 1405, John II of Castile was under the [[Legal guardian|guardianship]] of Diego López de Medrano, from the House of the Lords of San Gregorio in [[Soria]], who also served as his [[Majordomo|''mayordomo'']].<ref>Index of the Salazar y Castro Collection: 28313. Royal Academy of History.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Tabla genealógica de la familia de Medrano, señores de San Gregorio. [Manuscrito] |url=https://www.europeana.eu/en/item/344/https___hispana_mcu_es_lod_oai_bibliotecadigital_rah_es_54796_ent0 |access-date=2024-08-14 |website=www.europeana.eu |language=en-GB}}</ref> He spent his time verse-making, hunting, and holding tournaments. His [[favourite]], [[Álvaro de Luna]], heavily influenced him until his second wife, [[Isabella of Portugal, Queen of Castile|Isabella of Portugal]], obtained control of his feeble will. At her instigation, he dismissed and executed his faithful and able servant, an act which is said to have caused him much remorse.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} The relationship between Álvaro and Juan has been described by some as [[pederastic]].<ref name=":0">{{cite encyclopedia
|title=Encyclopedia of Homosexuality
|editor-first=Wayne
|editor-last=Dynes
|location=New York
|publisher=[[Garland]]
|year=1990
|first=Daniel
|last=Eisenberg
|contribution-url=https://studylib.es/doc/5602146/juan-ii-and-enrique-iv--an-article-from-the-encyclopedia-of
|access-date=July 2, 2020
|author-link=:es:Daniel Eisenberg
|contribution=Juan II of Castile; Enrique IV of Castile
}}</ref>

=== Laws ===
John II's Regents declared the Valladolid laws in 1411, which restricted the social activity of [[Jews]]. Among the most notable of the provisions were outlining that Jews must wear distinctive clothes and banned them from holding administrative positions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=John II of Castile |url=https://www.mintageworld.com/media/detail/13989-john-ii-of-castile/ |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=Mintage World |language=en}}</ref> However, once John took control of the throne for himself in 1418, he (though likely influenced politically by de Luna) reversed such ordinances, favoring instead a more tolerant attitude toward the already battered Jewish population of Castile following the mass wave of conversions between 1391 and 1415.

=== Moorish vassal ===
In 1431, John placed [[Yusuf IV, Sultan of Granada|Yusuf IV]] on the throne as the [[Sultan of Granada]] in the Moorish [[Emirate of Granada]], in exchange for tribute and vassal status to Castile.{{sfn|Harvey|1990|p=251}} This exchange is depicted in the short ballad the [[Romance of Abenamar]].

=== Characteristics ===
He was "[T]all and handsome, fair-skinned and slightly ruddy... his hair was the color of a very mature hazelnut, the nose a little snub, the eyes between green and blue... he had very graceful legs and feet and hands."<ref>From 'Crónica de Juan II' by Lorenza Galindez de Carvajal (1517)</ref>

=== Alcázar of Segovia ===
John II was the single largest contributor to the continuing construction of the [[Alcázar of Segovia]] and built the "New Tower" known today as the "Tower of John II".

=== Death ===
John II died on 20 July 1454 in [[Valladolid]].

==Family and children==
In 1418, John married [[Maria of Aragon, Queen of Castile|Maria of Aragon]], the oldest daughter of his paternal uncle, Ferdinand I of Aragon.{{sfn|Previte-Orton|1912|p=902}} The marriage produced:

*[[Catherine, Princess of Asturias]] (1422–1424), his heiress presumptive from her birth until her death
*[[Eleanor, Princess of Asturias]] (1423–1425), his heiress presumptive from the death of Catherine until the birth of Henry
*King [[Henry IV of Castile]] (1425–1474){{sfn|Previte-Orton|1912|p=902}}
*Infanta Maria (1428–1429)

Of all their children, only the future [[Henry IV of Castile]] survived infancy. John was widowed in 1445 and remarried to [[Isabella of Portugal, Queen of Castile|Isabella of Portugal]],{{sfn|Previte-Orton|1912|p=902}} daughter of [[John, Lord of Reguengos de Monsaraz|Infante John of Portugal]], with whom he had two children:

*Queen [[Isabella I of Castile]] (1451–1504){{sfn|Previte-Orton|1912|p=902}}
*[[Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (1453–1468)|Alfonso, Prince of Asturias]] (1453–1468){{sfn|Previte-Orton|1912|p=902}}

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''John II of Castile'''
|2= 2. [[Henry III of Castile]]
|3= 3. [[Catherine of Lancaster]]
|4= 4. [[John I of Castile]]
|5= 5. [[Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Castile|Eleanor of Aragon]]
|6= 6. [[John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster|John, 1st Duke of Lancaster]]
|7= 7. [[Constance of Castile, Duchess of Lancaster|Constance of Castile]]
|8= 8. [[Henry II of Castile]]
|9= 9. [[Juana Manuel of Castile|Joan of Castile]]
|10= 10. [[Peter IV of Aragon]]
|11= 11. [[Eleanor of Sicily]]
|12= 12. [[Edward III of England]]
|13= 13. [[Philippa of Hainault]]
|14= 14. [[Peter of Castile]]
|15= 15. [[María de Padilla]]
}}

== See also ==

* [[Castilian Civil War of 1437–1445]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book |title=Islamic Spain, 1250 to 1500 |first=L. P. |last=Harvey |author-link=L.P. Harvey |location=Chicago |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |year=1990 }}
*{{cite book |first=C.W. |last=Previte-Orton |author-link=Charles Previté-Orton |chapter=The States of Western Europe |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.149602/page/n243/mode/2up |pages=872–910 |title=[[The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History]] |volume=2 |location=Cambridge |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=1912 }}
{{Commons category}}
*{{EB1911|wstitle=John II. of Castile|display=John II.|volume=15|page=441}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[House of Trastámara]]|6 March|1405|20 July|1454}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Henry III of Castile|Henry III]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Castilian monarchs|King of Castile]] and [[List of Leonese monarchs|León]]|years=1406–1454}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Henry IV of Castile|Henry IV]]}}
{{s-roy|es}}
{{s-bef|rows=1|before=[[Maria of Castile|Infanta Maria]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Prince of Asturias]]|years=1405–1406}}
{{s-aft|rows=1|after=[[Catherine, Princess of Asturias|Infanta Catherine]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Princes of Asturias}}
{{Castilian monarchs}}
{{Leonese monarchs}}
{{Galician monarchs}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:John 02 Of Castile}}
[[Category:House of Trastámara]]
[[Category:1405 births]]
[[Category:1454 deaths]]
[[Category:15th-century Castilian monarchs]]
[[Category:Castilian infantes]]
[[Category:Medieval child monarchs]]
[[Category:Grand masters of the Order of Santiago]]
[[Category:Princes of Asturias]]
[[Category:Burials at Miraflores Charterhouse]]
[[Category:People from the Province of Zamora]]
[[Category:People from the Crown of Castile]]

[[Category:Sons of kings]]

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John II of Castile