Life
His strange title is given to him in the chronicles because of a story in which he tyrannically puts to death two brothers named Carvajal, and was given a time (plazo) by them in which to answer for his crime in the next world. But the tale is not contemporary, and is an obvious copy of the story told of Jacques de Molay, grand-master of the Temple, and Philip IV of France.
His reign came at a time of anarchy. From 1296 to 1301 the Kingdom of León was independent under Juan I of León, being crowned as King of León, Galicia and Seville. He owed his escape from the violence of competitors and nobles, partly to the tact and undaunted bravery of his mother Maria de Molina, and partly to the loyalty of the citizens of Ávila, who gave him refuge within their walls. As a king he proved ungrateful to his mother, and weak as a ruler.
In 1302 he married Constance, daughter of King Denis of Portugal. Their children were:
- Eleanor (1307–1359), married King Alfonso IV of Aragon
- Constance (1308–1310)
- Alfonso XI of Castile (1311–1350)
In 1309 he captured Gibraltar from the Moors (who had held it since 711) with the help of Alonso Pérez de Guzmán of Aragón. He died suddenly in his tent at Jaén when preparing for a raid into the Emirate of Granada on 7 September 1312.
Read more about this topic: Ferdinand IV Of Castile
Famous quotes containing the word life:
“The work of adult life is not easy. As in childhood, each step presents not only new tasks of development but requires a letting go of the techniques that worked before. With each passage some magic must be given up, some cherished illusion of safety and comfortably familiar sense of self must be cast off, to allow for the greater expansion of our distinctiveness.”
—Gail Sheehy (20th century)
“His speech is a burning fire;
With his lips he travaileth;
In his heart is a blind desire,
In his eyes foreknowledge of death:
He weaves, and is clothed with derision;
Sows, and he shall not reap;
His life is a watch or a vision
Between a sleep and a sleep.”
—A.C. (Algernon Charles)
“Boswell, when he speaks of his Life of Johnson, calls it my magnum opus, but it may more properly be called his opera, for it is truly a composition founded on a true story, in which there is a hero with a number of subordinate characters, and an alternate succession of recitative and airs of various tone and effect, all however in delightful animation.”
—James Boswell (1740–1795)