Sancho IV of Castile

Sancho IV of Castile, called "the Brave" (Valladolid, May 12, 1258-Toledo, April 25, 1295), was King of Castile between 1284 and 1295. He was the son of King Alfonso X "el Sabio" and his wife, Queen Violante of Aragon, daughter of Jaime I "el Conquistador", King of Aragon.

Biography

The arrival of Sancho IV to the throne was motivated, in part, by the rejection of a sector of Castilian high society to the politics of his father, Alfonso X, and his admiration for Arab and Jewish culture.

The succession of Alfonso X

The eldest son of Alfonso X and heir to the throne, Don Fernando de la Cerda, died in 1275 in Villa Real, when he was on his way to face a North African invasion in Andalusia. According to Castilian customary law, in the event of the death of the first-born in succession to the Crown, the rights should fall to the second-born, Sancho; however, the private Roman law introduced in the code of Las Siete Partidas established that the succession should correspond to the children of Fernando de la Cerda.

King Alfonso was initially inclined to satisfy the aspirations of Don Sancho, who had distinguished himself in the war against the Islamic invaders in substitution of his late brother. But later, pressured by his wife Violante de Aragón and by Felipe III of France, uncle of the so-called "infants de la Cerda" (sons of Don Fernando), he was forced to compensate them. Sancho confronted his father when he tried to create a kingdom in Jaén for the oldest son of the former heir, Alfonso de la Cerda.

Finally, Sancho and a good part of the nobility of the kingdom rebelled, even depriving Alfonso X of his powers, although not of the title of king (1282). Only Seville, Murcia and Badajoz remained faithful to the old monarch. Alfonso cursed his son, whom he disinherited in his will, and helped by his former enemies, the Benimerines, began to recover his position. When more and more rebellious nobles and cities were abandoning Sancho's faction, the Wise King died in Seville on April 4, 1284.

Reign

This commemorative statue to the take of the city of Tarifa located at the gates of its castle.

Arc de Tarifa with a plaque in honor of those who fought in the conflict of Tarifa.

Sancho rose as king without respecting his father's will and was crowned in Toledo on April 30, 1284. He was recognized by most of the towns and nobles, but at the same time there was a fairly large group of supporters of the Infantes de la Cerda who claimed compliance with the testament in question, King Alfonso III of Aragon had Alfonso de la Cerda proclaimed King of Castile in Jaca in 1288, and made a brief campaign in Castile (1289-1290)..

Throughout the reign of Sancho IV there were internal struggles and fights for power. One of the characters that caused the most discord was his brother, the Infante Don Juan, and the noble Don Lope Díaz III de Haro, VIII Lord of Vizcaya, joined his cause. King Sancho had the de Haro executed and had the infant imprisoned. He too, according to the chronicles, gave the order to execute 4,000 followers of the infantes de la Cerda, putting them to the sword in the city of Badajoz, 400 in Talavera, and many others in Ávila and Toledo. In 1285 he appointed Pedro Álvarez de las Asturias mayordomo of the kingdom.

After these events, he forgave his brother Don Juan, who soon revolted again, causing the conflict in Tarifa. Don Juan called to his aid the Benimerines from North Africa and they besieged the square that was defended by his governor Guzmán el Bueno, Lord of León. There the famous heroic act and the innocent death of Guzmán's son occurred. The Tarifa square was faithfully defended and the Benimerines returned to their place of origin. In this way, the plans of the Infante Don Juan and those of the Benimerin sultan, who wanted an invasion, were disrupted.

When Jaime II ascended the throne of Aragon in 1291, there was a rapprochement with Sancho IV embodied in the Treaty of Monteagudo. On the other hand, Sancho IV was a great friend, as well as a tutor, of the historical figure known as the Infante Don Juan Manuel.

Sancho died in 1295, leaving his nine-year-old son Fernando as heir. He also left the legacy of disputes and rivalries with the infantes de la Cerda and his supporters.

Culture

Alcalá de Henares (20-05-1293).

Sancho IV's time was almost as active in book composition as his father's. Thus, in addition to the book Punishments and documents of King Don Sancho (collection of sentences and stories for the education of the crown prince), he promotes the translation of two large encyclopedias: the Treasure Book, almost literal version of Li livres dou tresor, by Brunetto Latini and the Lucidario, very free translation of Elucidarius by Honorio de Autun, in whose prologue, composed by himself, he affirms that a king has to serve God first with his deeds, and secondly with his sayings. between 1284 and 1289, the so-called Sanchina version of the Estoria de España by Alfonso X el Sabio.

On May 20, 1293, he promulgated the General Studies of Alcalá de Henares, the predecessor of the University of Alcalá.

Burial

Main facade of Toledo Cathedral.

Crown of Sancho IV.

Upon his death, the corpse of Sancho IV was buried in the Chapel of Santa Cruz of the Cathedral of Toledo, thus fulfilling the will of the monarch, expressed in his will. The monarch, years before his death, ordered the erection of the Chapel of Santa Cruz in the Cathedral of Toledo, a place to which he had the remains of kings Alfonso VII the Emperor, Sancho III of Castile transferred on November 21, 1289 and Sancho II of Portugal, who were buried in the chapel of the Holy Spirit of the cathedral.

Next to the tomb that contained the remains of Alfonso VII, was placed the tomb in which the corpse of Sancho IV was buried, and which had been carved during the latter's lifetime, although later, in 1308, Queen María de Molina, replaced it with another, more sumptuous tomb. of the Cathedral of Toledo, in the place that was occupied by the chapel of Santa Cruz. Once the consent of the Catholic Monarchs was obtained, the chapel of Santa Cruz was demolished and the remains of the kings buried there were transferred to the tombs that Cardinal Cisneros ordered the sculptor Diego Copín de Holanda to carve, and which were placed in the new presbytery of the Toledo cathedral.

The mausoleum intended to house the remains of Sancho IV and Sancho III of Castile, is located on the Epistle side, and was made by the sculptor Diego Copín de Holanda. The layout of the mausoleum is similar to the one intended to house the remains of Alfonso VII of León and the Infante Pedro de Aguilar, illegitimate son of Alfonso XI, located in front of it. The recumbent statue representing Sancho IV is placed below the one that represents Sancho III. The statue represents Sancho IV with a youthful appearance, resting his head on a cushion, barefoot, and wearing a Franciscan habit with a cord.

In 1947, during an archaeological exploration carried out in the presbytery of the Cathedral of Toledo, in order to locate the remains of King Sancho II of Portugal and to have them returned to his country, the remains of Sancho were found IV. The king's remains were mummified, in good condition, the sovereign being naked from the waist up, and wearing a Franciscan habit, attached to the monarch's waist by means of a Franciscan cord. The sovereign, who in life must have exceeded The two meters tall, he wore a silver crown gilt on his temples, adorned with Roman cameos and sapphires, and held by a cord that passed under the chin of the monarch. The corpse wielded a sword, with a gilded hilt, and an inscription was engraved on the blade of the sword, of which only a few fragments survived, the blade being found rusty in some parts. The length of the sword, which does not correspond to the high stature of the sovereign, and some documentary reference to the crown of his grandfather Fernando III suggest that he would have received both pieces by inheritance.

After examining the remains, Cardinal Enrique Plá y Deniel, Archbishop of Toledo, ordered that the corpse of Sancho IV be dressed in a Franciscan habit, and deposited again in his mausoleum in the presbytery of the Toledo cathedral.

Marriage and offspring

In 1281, Sancho IV married his second aunt María de Molina, daughter of the Infante Alfonso de Molina and Mayor Alfonso de Meneses and granddaughter of King Alfonso IX of León and Berenguela of Castile. From this marriage seven children were born:

• Isabel de Castilla (1283-1328), queen consorte de Jaime II de Aragón.
• Fernando IV de Castilla (1285-1312).
• Alfonso de Castilla (1286-1291), died at the age of five.
• Enrique de Castilla (1288-1299), died at the age of eleven.
• Pedro de Castilla (1290-1319), Mister of the Cameros.
• Felipe de Castilla (1292-1327), lord of Cabrera and Ribera and elder of Santiago.
• Beatriz de Castilla (1293-1359). Queen consort of Portugal between 1325 and 1357 for her marriage to Alfonso IV of Portugal.

The following children were born as a result of his extramarital relationship with María Alfonso Téllez de Meneses, Mrs. Ucero and second cousin of Queen María de Molina:

• Violante Sánchez de Castilla, married in 1293 with Fernando Rodríguez de Castro, Mr. de Lemos and Sarria. It was buried in the monastery of Sancti Spiritus de Salamanca.
• Teresa Sánchez de Castilla, married Juan Alfonso Téllez de Meneses, I conde de Barcelos and IV Sr de Alburquerque, e hijo de Rodrigo Anes de Meneses, III señor de Alburquerque, and Teresa Martínez de Soverosa this last granddaughter of Gil Vázquez de Soverosa. After the widow of her first husband, the count of Barcelos, in May of 1304, Teresa contracted a second marriage with Ruy Gil de Villalobos, rich man, and had a daughter named María Rodríguez de Villalobos, the second wife of Lope Fernández Pacheco, and testamentary of her nephew Juan Alfonso de Alburquerque.

From his relationship with Marina Pérez was born:

• Alfonso Sánchez de Castilla, husband of María de Salcedo, daughter of Diego López de Salcedo. He died without leaving offspring.

By another woman, whose name is unknown, he had another son:

• Juan Sánchez.

The beginnings of the marriage with Queen María de Molina were difficult, since the marriage did not have the essential pontifical dispensation, due to a double reason, since on the one hand there were ties of consanguinity in the third degree between the contracting parties, and In addition, there were previous betrothals of the then infant Sancho, although never consummated, with a rich Catalan heiress named Guillerma de Montcada. The marriage with María de Molina was initially considered null and therefore all the children born to him were considered illegitimate.

Cause of death

Sancho IV of Castile died of tuberculosis after years of fighting the disease.

Ancestors

Anecdotes

• On June 8, 1288 he was in Alfaro and discussed castles and women with Lope Díaz III de Haro, VIII Lord of Vizcaya and Juan Alfonso López de Haro I, XI Lord of Cameros. Agrid the argument, he ordered that Lope de Haro be apprehended. It was then that:

...the Earl got a lot of asses and said, "Preses?" How? Get down! Oh, mine! and he put a knife in hand and let himself go to the door where the King was brought out and the tall hand... ballesteros and knights, seeing that the Count is going against the King, they set the Count, and said to him with a sword in his hand, and cut it, and then fell his hand on the ground with the knife; and then they said to him with a chalk in his hand.

Chronicle of the reign of Sancho IV the Bravo.

Predecessor: Alfonso X

King of Castile 1284-1295

Successor: Fernando IV