Pedro of Castile
Encyclopedia
Peter (30 August 1334 – 23 March 1369), sometimes called "the Cruel" (el Cruel or O Cruel) or "the Lawful" , was the king of Castile and León
from 1350 to 1369. He was the son of Alfonso XI of Castile
and Maria of Portugal, daughter of Afonso IV of Portugal
. Peter was the last ruler of the main branch of the House of Burgundy
.
, Peter had a pale complexion, with blue eyes and very light blond hair; he was tall (1'83 m.) and muscular. He was accustomed to long, strenuous hours of work. He was well read and a patron of the arts, though in his formative years he enjoyed entertainment, music and poetry.
Peter began his reign when but sixteen years old and subjected to the control of his mother and her favourites. He was to be married to Joan
, daughter of Edward III of England
; on her way to Castile, however, she travelled through cities infested with the Black Death
, ignoring townspeople who had warned her not to enter their settlements. Joan soon contracted the disease and died.
Though at first controlled by his mother, Peter emancipated himself with the encouragement of the minister Albuquerque. Becoming attached to María de Padilla
, he married her in secret in 1353. María turned him against Albuquerque.
In the summer of 1353, the young king was practically coerced by his mother and the nobles into marrying Blanche of Bourbon; he deserted her at once. This marriage necessitated Peter's denying that he had married María, but his relationship with her continued and she bore him four children. He also apparently went through the form of marriage with a lady of the family of Castro (who bore him a son who died young, after Peter's death), then deserted her. A period of turmoil followed in which the king was for a time overpowered and in effect imprisoned. The dissension within the party striving to coerce him enabled him to escape from Toro, where he was under observation, to Segovia
.
In 1361, Queen Blanche died at Medina Sidonia. Legend claims that Peter murdered her: one version of the story says she was poisoned, another that she was shot with a crossbow.
in the "War of the Two Peters
", in which he showed neither ability nor good hand in his support of his English ally or Castilian interests in the Mediterranean against the French and Aragonese. The king of Aragon then supported Pedro's bastard brothers against him. It was during this period that Peter perpetrated the series of murders which made him notorious.
In 1366 began the calamitous Castilian Civil War
, which would see him dethroned. He was assailed by his bastard brother Henry of Trastámara at the head of a host of soldiers of fortune, including Bertrand du Guesclin
and Hugh Calveley
, and abandoned the kingdom without daring to give battle, after retreating several times (first from Burgos
, then from Toledo
, and lastly from Seville
) in the face of the oncoming armies. Peter fled with his treasury to Portugal, where he was coldly received by his uncle, King Peter I of Portugal
, and thence to Galicia, in the northern Iberian Peninsula
, where he ordered the murder of Suero, the archbishop of Santiago
, and the dean
, Peralvarez.
s beginning a period of anti-Jewish riots and forced conversion
s in Castile that lasted approximately from 1370 to 1390. Peter took forceful measures against this, including the execution of at least five anti-Jewish leaders of a riot.
.
Meanwhile, Henry of Trastámara returned to Castile
in September, 1368. The cortes
(parliament) of the city of Burgos
recognized him as King of Castile. Others followed, including Córdoba
, Palencia
, Valladolid
, and Jaén
. Galicia and Asturias
, on the other hand, continued to support Pedro. As Henry made his way toward Toledo
, Peter, who had retreated to Andalusia
, chose to confront him in battle. On March 14, 1369, the forces of Peter and Henry met at Montiel
, a fortress then controlled by the Order of Santiago. Henry prevailed with the assistance of Bertrand du Guesclin
. Peter took refuge in the fortress, which, being controlled by a military order of Galician origin, remained faithful to him. Negotiations were opened between the holed-up Peter and his besieger, Henry. Peter met with du Guesclin, who was acting as Henry's envoy. Peter appealed to du Guesclin's well-known treacherous side. He offered du Guesclin 200,000 gold coins and several towns, including Soria, Almazan, and Atienza to betray Henry. Ever vigilant in his opportunistic ways, du Guesclin informed Henry of the offer and immediately bargained for greater compensation from Henry to betray the conspiracy proposed to him by the isolated monarch.
Having made a deal with Henry, Du Guesclin returned to Peter. Under the guise of accepting his proposal to betray Henry, du Guesclin led Peter to his tent on the night of March 23, 1369. Henry was waiting. The historian Lopez de Ayala described the encounter as follows:
, who after his father's change of allegiance had little choice but to serve Peter's usurper. After time passed, there was a reaction in Peter's favour and an alternative name was found for him. It became a fashion to speak of him as El Justiciero, the executor of justice (the Lawful). Apologists were found to say that he had killed only men who would not submit themselves to the law or respect the rights of others. Peter did have his supporters. Even Ayala confessed that the king's fall was regretted by many, among them the peasants and burghers subjected to the nobles by late feudal gifts and by the merchants, who enjoyed security under his rule.
The English, who backed Peter, also remembered the king positively. Geoffrey Chaucer
visited Castile during Peter's reign and lamented the monarch's death in The Monk's Tale
, part of The Canterbury Tales
. (Chaucer's patron, John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
, had fought on Peter's side in his struggle to reclaim the throne.)
Peter had many qualities of those later monarchs educated in the centralization
style, building a strong Royal administrative force ahead of his times, what was his ultimate failure, and to count or check all the feudal powers that rallied around to an alternative possibility, however illegitimate and opposite to the principles of aristocracy they represented themselves. But his moral superiority was reduced too by the violent means, included fratricides, by which he intended to suppress it or check them, which at times veered in the extremely despotic and unpredictable, even by the standards of his age. In this he was preceded by his father methods which since the crisis at the end of the rule of Alfonso X
had been involved in multiple rebellions to the Royal authority.
With the death of King Peter, the traditional alliance that had been started by the Plantagenet right since their accession to the throne of England with Castile and Navarre to keep in check the French Crown since the marriages of Eleanor of England and Berengaria of Navarre
came to a stop during a critical time and was to be renewed again by the Trastámara
and the Tudor
s to strengthen the legitimacy of each side.
Peter had one son with Juana de Castro:
, Histoire de Don Pedro I, roi de Castille (1848) and a modern history setting Peter in the social and economic context of his time by Clara Estow (Pedro the Cruel of Castile (1350–1369), 1995).
Strictly speaking, Peter was not defeated by Henry but by the opposing aristocracy; the nobles accomplished their objective of enthroning a weaker dynasty (the House of Trastámara), much more amenable to their interests. Most of the bad stories about Peter are likely to be colored by Black Legend
, coined by his enemies, who finally succeeded in their rebellion. The Chancellor López de Ayala, the main source for Peter's reign, was the official chronicler of the Trastámara, a servant of the new rulers and of Peter's aristocratic adversaries.
The change of dynasty can be considered as the epilogue of the first act of a long struggle between the Castilian monarchy and the aristocracy; this struggle was to continue for more than three centuries and come to an end only under Charles I of Spain, the grandson of Ferdinand II of Aragon
(Ferdinand V of Castile) and Isabella I of Castile
(The Catholic Monarchs), in the first quarter of the 16th century.
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...
from 1350 to 1369. He was the son of Alfonso XI of Castile
Alfonso XI of Castile
Alfonso XI was the king of Castile, León and Galicia.He was the son of Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. Upon his father's death in 1312, several disputes ensued over who would hold regency, which were resolved in 1313...
and Maria of Portugal, daughter of Afonso IV of Portugal
Afonso IV of Portugal
Afonso IV , called the Brave , was the seventh king of Portugal and the Algarve from 1325 until his death. He was the only legitimate son of King Denis of Portugal by his wife Elizabeth of Aragon.-Biography:...
. Peter was the last ruler of the main branch of the House of Burgundy
Anscarids
The Anscarids or Anscarii or the House of Ivrea were a medieval Frankish dynasty of Burgundian origin which rose to prominence in Italy in the tenth century, even briefly holding the Italian throne. They also ruled the County of Burgundy in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and it was one of their...
.
Early life
According to chancellor and chronicler Pero López de AyalaPero López de Ayala
Don Pero López de Ayala was a Castilian statesman, historian, poet, chronicler, chancellor, and courtier. Ayala were one of the major aristocratic families of Castile; they were later claimed to be of the Jewish converso descent, but Pero's own father composed a genealogy tracing the family from...
, Peter had a pale complexion, with blue eyes and very light blond hair; he was tall (1'83 m.) and muscular. He was accustomed to long, strenuous hours of work. He was well read and a patron of the arts, though in his formative years he enjoyed entertainment, music and poetry.
Peter began his reign when but sixteen years old and subjected to the control of his mother and her favourites. He was to be married to Joan
Joan of England (1335-1348)
Joan of England was a daughter of King Edward III of England and his Queen, Philippa of Hainault. Joan, also known as Joanna, was born perhaps in February 1333 in the Tower of London. As a child she was placed in the care of Marie de St Pol, wife of Aymer de Valence and foundress of Pembroke...
, daughter of Edward III of England
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
; on her way to Castile, however, she travelled through cities infested with the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
, ignoring townspeople who had warned her not to enter their settlements. Joan soon contracted the disease and died.
Though at first controlled by his mother, Peter emancipated himself with the encouragement of the minister Albuquerque. Becoming attached to María de Padilla
María de Padilla
María Díaz de Padilla was the mistress of King Peter of Castile whom he married in secret in 1353.She was a Castilian noblewoman...
, he married her in secret in 1353. María turned him against Albuquerque.
In the summer of 1353, the young king was practically coerced by his mother and the nobles into marrying Blanche of Bourbon; he deserted her at once. This marriage necessitated Peter's denying that he had married María, but his relationship with her continued and she bore him four children. He also apparently went through the form of marriage with a lady of the family of Castro (who bore him a son who died young, after Peter's death), then deserted her. A period of turmoil followed in which the king was for a time overpowered and in effect imprisoned. The dissension within the party striving to coerce him enabled him to escape from Toro, where he was under observation, to Segovia
Segovia
Segovia is a city in Spain, the capital of Segovia Province in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is situated north of Madrid, 30 minutes by high speed train. The municipality counts some 55,500 inhabitants.-Etymology:...
.
In 1361, Queen Blanche died at Medina Sidonia. Legend claims that Peter murdered her: one version of the story says she was poisoned, another that she was shot with a crossbow.
Wars with Aragon
From 1356 to 1366, Peter engaged in constant wars with AragonAragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
in the "War of the Two Peters
War of the Two Peters
The War of the Two Peters was a war fought from 1356 to 1375 between the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon. Its name refers to the two rulers of these countries: Peter of Castile and Peter IV of Aragon, respectively...
", in which he showed neither ability nor good hand in his support of his English ally or Castilian interests in the Mediterranean against the French and Aragonese. The king of Aragon then supported Pedro's bastard brothers against him. It was during this period that Peter perpetrated the series of murders which made him notorious.
In 1366 began the calamitous Castilian Civil War
Castilian Civil War
The Castilian Civil War lasted three years from 1366 to 1369. It became part of the larger conflict then raging between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France: the Hundred Years' War...
, which would see him dethroned. He was assailed by his bastard brother Henry of Trastámara at the head of a host of soldiers of fortune, including Bertrand du Guesclin
Bertrand du Guesclin
Bertrand du Guesclin , known as the Eagle of Brittany or the Black Dog of Brocéliande, was a Breton knight and French military commander during the Hundred Years' War. He was Constable of France from 1370 to his death...
and Hugh Calveley
Hugh Calveley
Sir Hugh Calveley was an English soldier and commander, who took part in the Hundred Years' War, gaining fame during the War of the Breton Succession and the Castilian Civil War...
, and abandoned the kingdom without daring to give battle, after retreating several times (first from Burgos
Burgos
Burgos is a city of northern Spain, historic capital of Castile. It is situated at the edge of the central plateau, with about 178,966 inhabitants in the city proper and another 20,000 in its suburbs. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León...
, then from Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
, and lastly from Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
) in the face of the oncoming armies. Peter fled with his treasury to Portugal, where he was coldly received by his uncle, King Peter I of Portugal
Peter I of Portugal
Peter I , called the Just , was the eighth King of Portugal and the Algarve from 1357 until his death. He was the third but only surviving son of Afonso IV of Portugal and his wife, princess Beatrice of Castile....
, and thence to Galicia, in the northern Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
, where he ordered the murder of Suero, the archbishop of Santiago
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
, and the dean
Dean (religion)
A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...
, Peralvarez.
Peter's pro-Jewish policies
Peter's rival Henry of Trastámara continuously depicted Peter as "King of the Jews", and had some success in taking advantage of popular Castilian resentment towards the Jews. Henry of Trastámara instigated pogromPogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
s beginning a period of anti-Jewish riots and forced conversion
Forced conversion
A forced conversion is the religious conversion or acceptance of a philosophy against the will of the subject, often with the threatened consequence of earthly penalties or harm. These consequences range from job loss and social isolation to incarceration, torture or death...
s in Castile that lasted approximately from 1370 to 1390. Peter took forceful measures against this, including the execution of at least five anti-Jewish leaders of a riot.
Death
In the summer of 1366, Peter took refuge with Edward, the Black Prince, who restored him to his throne in the following year after the Battle of Nájera. But he disgusted his ally with his faithlessness and ferocity, as well as his failure to repay the costs of the campaign, as he had promised to do. The health of the Black Prince broke down, and he left the Iberian PeninsulaIberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
.
Meanwhile, Henry of Trastámara returned to Castile
Castile (historical region)
A former kingdom, Castile gradually merged with its neighbours to become the Crown of Castile and later the Kingdom of Spain when united with the Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Navarre...
in September, 1368. The cortes
Cortes
Cortes is surname of Spanish and Portuguese origin. Cortes or Cortés may also refer to:-Institutions:* The Cortes , the national legislative assembly of Spain...
(parliament) of the city of Burgos
Burgos
Burgos is a city of northern Spain, historic capital of Castile. It is situated at the edge of the central plateau, with about 178,966 inhabitants in the city proper and another 20,000 in its suburbs. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León...
recognized him as King of Castile. Others followed, including Córdoba
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
, Palencia
Palencia
Palencia is a city south of Tierra de Campos, in north-northwest Spain, the capital of the province of Palencia in the autonomous community of Castile-Leon...
, Valladolid
Valladolid
Valladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales...
, and Jaén
Jaén, Spain
Jaén is a city in south-central Spain, the name is derived from the Arabic word Jayyan, . It is the capital of the province of Jaén. It is located in the autonomous community of Andalusia....
. Galicia and Asturias
Asturias
The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...
, on the other hand, continued to support Pedro. As Henry made his way toward Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
, Peter, who had retreated to Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
, chose to confront him in battle. On March 14, 1369, the forces of Peter and Henry met at Montiel
Montiel
Montiel is a municipality in the province of Ciudad Real, Castile-La Mancha, Spain.The ruined castle on the hilltop above the town was the refuge for Peter of Castile after his defeat by the forces of Henry of Trastamara at the Battle of Montiel. He was lured into a meeting by Bertrand du Guesclin,...
, a fortress then controlled by the Order of Santiago. Henry prevailed with the assistance of Bertrand du Guesclin
Bertrand du Guesclin
Bertrand du Guesclin , known as the Eagle of Brittany or the Black Dog of Brocéliande, was a Breton knight and French military commander during the Hundred Years' War. He was Constable of France from 1370 to his death...
. Peter took refuge in the fortress, which, being controlled by a military order of Galician origin, remained faithful to him. Negotiations were opened between the holed-up Peter and his besieger, Henry. Peter met with du Guesclin, who was acting as Henry's envoy. Peter appealed to du Guesclin's well-known treacherous side. He offered du Guesclin 200,000 gold coins and several towns, including Soria, Almazan, and Atienza to betray Henry. Ever vigilant in his opportunistic ways, du Guesclin informed Henry of the offer and immediately bargained for greater compensation from Henry to betray the conspiracy proposed to him by the isolated monarch.
Having made a deal with Henry, Du Guesclin returned to Peter. Under the guise of accepting his proposal to betray Henry, du Guesclin led Peter to his tent on the night of March 23, 1369. Henry was waiting. The historian Lopez de Ayala described the encounter as follows:
Upon entering du Guesclin's tent, Henry "saw King Peter. He did not recognize him because they had not seen each other for a long time. One of Bertrand's men said 'This is your enemy.' But King Henry asked if it was he and . . . King Peter said twice, 'I am he, I am he.' Then King Henry recognized him and hit him in the face with a knife and they . . . fell to the ground. King Henry struck him again and again."Having dispatched his half-brother, Henry left Peter's body unburied for three days, during which time it was subjected to ridicule and abuse.
Legacy and reputation
Popular memory generally views Peter as a vicious monster. Much but not all of Peter's reputation comes from the works of the chronicler Pero López de AyalaPero López de Ayala
Don Pero López de Ayala was a Castilian statesman, historian, poet, chronicler, chancellor, and courtier. Ayala were one of the major aristocratic families of Castile; they were later claimed to be of the Jewish converso descent, but Pero's own father composed a genealogy tracing the family from...
, who after his father's change of allegiance had little choice but to serve Peter's usurper. After time passed, there was a reaction in Peter's favour and an alternative name was found for him. It became a fashion to speak of him as El Justiciero, the executor of justice (the Lawful). Apologists were found to say that he had killed only men who would not submit themselves to the law or respect the rights of others. Peter did have his supporters. Even Ayala confessed that the king's fall was regretted by many, among them the peasants and burghers subjected to the nobles by late feudal gifts and by the merchants, who enjoyed security under his rule.
The English, who backed Peter, also remembered the king positively. Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
visited Castile during Peter's reign and lamented the monarch's death in The Monk's Tale
The Monk's Prologue and Tale
The Monk's Tale is one of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.The Monk's tale to the other pilgrims is a collection of seventeen short stories, exempla, on the theme of tragedy...
, part of The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The tales are told as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at...
. (Chaucer's patron, John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster , KG was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault...
, had fought on Peter's side in his struggle to reclaim the throne.)
Peter had many qualities of those later monarchs educated in the centralization
Centralization
Centralisation, or centralization , is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning and decision-making, become concentrated within a particular location and/or group....
style, building a strong Royal administrative force ahead of his times, what was his ultimate failure, and to count or check all the feudal powers that rallied around to an alternative possibility, however illegitimate and opposite to the principles of aristocracy they represented themselves. But his moral superiority was reduced too by the violent means, included fratricides, by which he intended to suppress it or check them, which at times veered in the extremely despotic and unpredictable, even by the standards of his age. In this he was preceded by his father methods which since the crisis at the end of the rule of Alfonso X
Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X was a Castilian monarch who ruled as the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1252 until his death...
had been involved in multiple rebellions to the Royal authority.
With the death of King Peter, the traditional alliance that had been started by the Plantagenet right since their accession to the throne of England with Castile and Navarre to keep in check the French Crown since the marriages of Eleanor of England and Berengaria of Navarre
Berengaria of Navarre
Berengaria of Navarre was Queen of the English as the wife of King Richard I of England. She was the eldest daughter of King Sancho VI of Navarre and Sancha of Castile. As is the case with many of the medieval queens consort of the Kingdom of England, relatively little is known of her life...
came to a stop during a critical time and was to be renewed again by the Trastámara
Trastámara
The House of Trastámara was a dynasty of kings in the Iberian Peninsula, which first governed in Castile beginning in 1369 before expanding its rule into Aragón, Navarre and Naples.They were a cadet illegitimate line of the House of Burgundy....
and the Tudor
Tudor dynasty
The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a European royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including the Lordship of Ireland, later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch was Henry Tudor, a descendant through his mother of a legitimised...
s to strengthen the legitimacy of each side.
Children
Peter's children by María de Padilla were:- Beatrice, nun at the Abbey of Santa Clara at Tordesillas
- ConstanceConstance of Castile (1354-1394)Constance of Castile was claimant of the Castilian throne after the death of her father Peter the Cruel, her mother being María de Padilla, whom Peter had secretly married but was then forced to repudiate, only to keep her as a mistress...
, married John of Gaunt - IsabellaIsabella of Castile, Duchess of YorkInfanta Isabella of Castile, Duchess of York was a daughter ofKing Peter of Castile and María de Padilla. She was a younger sister of Constance, Duchess of Lancaster....
, married Edmund of Langley - Alfonso, died young
Peter had one son with Juana de Castro:
- John, married doña Elvira de Eril, had issue
Sources
The great original but hostile authority for the life of Peter the Cruel is the Chronicle of the Chancellor Pedro López de Ayala (1332–1407). To put that in perspective are a biography by Prosper MériméeProsper Mérimée
Prosper Mérimée was a French dramatist, historian, archaeologist, and short story writer. He is perhaps best known for his novella Carmen, which became the basis of Bizet's opera Carmen.-Life:...
, Histoire de Don Pedro I, roi de Castille (1848) and a modern history setting Peter in the social and economic context of his time by Clara Estow (Pedro the Cruel of Castile (1350–1369), 1995).
Black Legend
The Black Legend refers to a style of historical writing that demonizes Spain and in particular the Spanish Empire in a politically motivated attempt to morally disqualify Spain and its people, and to incite animosity against Spanish rule...
, coined by his enemies, who finally succeeded in their rebellion. The Chancellor López de Ayala, the main source for Peter's reign, was the official chronicler of the Trastámara, a servant of the new rulers and of Peter's aristocratic adversaries.
The change of dynasty can be considered as the epilogue of the first act of a long struggle between the Castilian monarchy and the aristocracy; this struggle was to continue for more than three centuries and come to an end only under Charles I of Spain, the grandson of Ferdinand II of Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
(Ferdinand V of Castile) and Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I was Queen of Castile and León. She and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon brought stability to both kingdoms that became the basis for the unification of Spain. Later the two laid the foundations for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor...
(The Catholic Monarchs), in the first quarter of the 16th century.
Ancestry
Further reading
- Bibliography of recent works (in Spanish)
- http://www.liceus.com/cgi-bin/ac/pu/King%20Peter%20the%20Cruel.pdf Santiago Sevilla, "El Rey Don Pedro el Cruel", "King Peter the Cruel", "Peter der Grausame König" a tragedy in Spanish, English, and German versions.