1.
Peter I of Portugal
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Peter I, was King of Portugal and of the Algarves from 1357 until his death. He was the third but only surviving son of Afonso IV of Portugal and his wife, in 1328, Peters father, Afonso IV arranged for the marriage of his eldest daughter, Maria, to Alfonso XI of Castile. In 1334, she bore him a son, who ultimately became Peter of Castile, for two years Juan Manuel had waged war against the Castilians, who had kept Constanza hostage, until Bishop John del Campo of Oviedo mediated a peace in 1329. Enraged by Alfonsos infidelity and mistreatment of his wife, her father made a new alliance with the powerful Castilian aristocrat. Afonso married his son and heir, Peter, to Constanza, when Constanza arrived in Portugal in 1339, Inês de Castro, the beautiful and aristocratic daughter of a prominent Galician family, accompanied her as her lady-in-waiting. Peter soon fell in love with Inês, and the two conducted a love affair that lasted until Inêss murder in 1355. Constanza died in 1345, weeks after giving birth to Fernando, the scandal of Peters affair with Inês, and its political ramifications, caused Afonso to banish Inês from court after Constanza died. Peter refused to marry any of the princesses his father suggested as a wife. The two aristocratic lovers began living together in secret, Peter claimed that he had married Inês against his fathers orders. In any event, in 1355, Afonso sent three men to find Inês at the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha in Coimbra, where she was detained, enraged, Peter revolted against his father. Afonso defeated his son within a year, but died shortly thereafter, Peter reigned for a decade, and is often confused with his Castilian nephew because of their identical nicknames. Fernão Lopes labels Peter the Just and said that the Portuguese king loved justice—especially the dispensing of it, the Portuguese king conducted a public trial of Pêro Coelho and Álvaro Gonçalves in 1381. After finding them guilty of Ines murder, the king ripped their hearts out with his own hands, according to Lopes, diogo Lopes Pacheco escaped and died in 1383. According to legend, Peter later had Inês body exhumed and placed upon a throne, dressed in robes and jewels. Peter had two tombs constructed, one for each of them, so they would see each other when rising at the Last Judgment, the tombs show Peter and Inês facing each other, with the words Até o fim do mundo. Peter was also the father of Ferdinand I of Portugal and John I of Portugal, before his marriage to Constance, in 1329 he was betrothed to Blanche of Castile but because of her weak mental health and incapacity, the marriage never took place
2.
Alabaster
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Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft and often used for carving, as well as being processed for plaster powder. The term is used in different ways by archaeologists and the processing industry on the one hand. The first use is in a meaning, covering varieties of two different minerals, the fine-grained massive type of gypsum, as well as the fine-grained banded type of calcite. Geologists only define the gypsum variety as alabaster, chemically, gypsum is a hydrous sulfate of calcium, while calcite is a carbonate of calcium. Both types of alabaster have broadly similar properties and they are usually light-coloured, translucent and soft stones that have been used throughout human history mainly for carving decorative artifacts. Onyx-marble must be understood as a traditional, but geologically inaccurate term, in general, ancient alabaster is calcite in the wider Middle East, including Egypt and Mesopotamia, while it is gypsum in medieval Europe. Modern alabaster is calcite, but may be either. Both are easy to work and slightly water-soluble and they have been used for making a variety of indoor artworks and carvings, as they will not survive long outdoors. Moreover, calcite alabaster, being a carbonate, effervesces when treated with hydrochloric acid, the origin of the word alabaster is in Middle English through Old French alabastre, in turn derived from the Latin alabaster, and that from Greek ἀλάβαστρος or ἀλάβαστος. The Greek words were used to identify a vase made of alabaster and this name may be derived further from the Ancient Egyptian word a-labaste, which refers to vessels of the Egyptian goddess Bast. She was represented as a lioness and frequently depicted as such in figures placed atop these alabaster vessels, other suggestions include derivation from the town of Alabastron in Egypt, described in sometimes contradictory manner by Roman-era authors Pliny and Ptolemy and whose location is not yet known. The purest alabaster is a material of fine uniform grain, but it often is associated with an oxide of iron. The coarser varieties of gypsum alabaster are converted by calcination into plaster of Paris, the softness of alabaster enables it to be carved readily into elaborate forms, but its solubility in water renders it unsuitable for outdoor work. If alabaster with a smooth, polished surface is washed with dishwashing liquid, it will become rough, dull and whiter, losing most of its translucency and lustre. The finer kinds of alabaster are employed largely as a stone, especially for ecclesiastical decoration and for the rails of staircases. Alabaster is mined and then sold in blocks to alabaster workshops, the effect of heating appears to be a partial dehydration of the gypsum. If properly treated, it closely resembles true marble and is known as marmo di Castellina. Alabaster is a stone and can be dyed into any colour or shade
3.
Kingdom of Castile
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The Kingdom of Castile was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region and it began as the County of Castile, an eastern frontier lordship of the Kingdom of León in the 9th century. During the 10th century its counts increased their autonomy, but it was not until 1065 that it was separated from León, between 1072 and 1157 it was again united with León, and after 1230 this union became permanent. Throughout this period the Castilian kings made conquests in southern Iberia at the expense of the Islamic principalities. Castile and León, with their southern acquisitions, came to be known collectively as the Crown of Castile, according to the chronicles of Alfonso III of Asturias, the first reference to the name Castile can be found in a document written during AD800. The name reflects its origin as a march on the frontier of the Kingdom of Asturias, protected by castles. The County of Castile, bordered in the south by the northern reaches of the Spanish Sistema Central mountain system and it was re-populated by inhabitants of Cantabria, Asturias, Vasconia and Visigothic and Mozarab origins. It had its own Romance dialect and customary laws, the areas that they settled didnt extend far from the Cantabrian southeastern ridges, and not beyond the southern reaches of the high Ebro river valleys and canyon gores. Subsequently, the region was subdivided, separate counts being named to Alava, Burgos, Cerezo & Lantarón, the minority of Count García Sánchez led Castile to accept Sancho III of Navarre, married to the sister of Count García, as feudal overlord. García was assassinated in 1028 while in León to marry the princess Sancha, Sancho III, acting as feudal overlord, appointed his younger son Ferdinand as Count of Castile, marrying him to his uncles intended bride, Sancha of León. At the Battle of Tamarón Bermudo was killed, leaving no surviving offspring, in right of his wife, Ferdinand then assumed the royal title as king of León and Castile, for the first time associating the royal title with the rule of Castile. When Ferdinand I died in 1065, the territories were divided among his children, Sancho II became King of Castile, Alfonso VI, King of León and García, King of Galicia, while his daughters were given towns, Urraca, Zamora, and Elvira, Toro. Sancho II allied himself with Alfonso VI of León and together they conquered, Sancho later attacked Alfonso VI and invaded León with the help of El Cid, and drove his brother into exile, thereby reuniting the three kingdoms. Urraca permitted the greater part of the Leonese army to take refuge in the town of Zamora, Sancho laid siege to the town, but the Castilian king was assassinated in 1072 by Bellido Dolfos, a Galician nobleman. As a result, Alfonso VI recovered all his territory of León. This was the union of León and Castile, although the two kingdoms remained distinct entities joined only in a personal union. The sworn oath taken by El Cid before Alfonso VI in Santa Gadea de Burgos regarding the innocence of Alfonso in the matter of the murder of his brother is well known, under Alfonso VI, there was an approach to the rest of Europeans kingdoms, including France. He gave his daughters, Elvira, Urraca and Theresa, in marriage to Raymond of Toulouse, Raymond of Burgundy, in the Council of Burgos in 1080 the traditional Mozarabic rite was replaced by the Roman one
4.
Alfonso XI of Castile
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Alfonso XI of Castile, called the Avenger, 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 fathers death in 1312, several disputes ensued over who would hold regency, which were resolved in 1313. Once Alfonso was declared adult in 1325, he began a reign that would serve to strengthen royal power and his achievements include solving the problems of the Gibraltar Strait and the conquest of Algeciras. Alfonso XI was the son of King Ferdinand IV of Castile and his father died when Alfonso was one year old. As soon as he took the throne, he began working hard to strengthen royal power by dividing his enemies and his early display of rulership skills included the unhesitant execution of possible opponents, including his uncle Juan el Tuerto in 1326. Once that conflict was resolved, he redirected all his Reconquista efforts to fighting the Moorish king of Granada and he is variously known among Castilian kings as the Avenger or the Implacable, and as He of Río Salado. Alfonso XI never went to the lengths of his son Peter of Castile. He killed for reasons of state without any form of trial and he openly neglected his wife, Maria of Portugal, and indulged a scandalous passion for Eleanor of Guzman, who bore him ten children. This set Peter an example which he failed to better, Alfonso XI first married Constanza Manuel in 1325, but had the union annulled two years later. His second marriage, in 1328, was to Maria of Portugal and they had, Ferdinand, Peter of Castile, King of Castile. King Alfonso was not very tall but well proportioned, and he was rather strong and had fair skin and hair. Chapman, Charles Edward and Rafael Altamira, A history of Spain and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Alphonso. Medieval Iberia, an encyclopedia, Ed. E. Michael Gerli and Samuel G. Armistead, Routledge,2003
5.
Henry II of Castile
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Henry II, called the Fratricidal or the one of las Mercedes, was the first King of Castile and León from the House of Trastámara. He became king in 1369 by defeating his half-brother, Peter the Cruel, after numerous rebellions, as king he was involved in the Ferdinand Wars and the Hundred Years War. Henry was the fourth of ten children of King Alfonso XI of Castile and Eleanor de Guzmán. He was born a twin to Fadrique Alfonso, Lord of Haro, at birth, he was adopted by Rodrigo Álvarez de las Asturias. Rodrigo died the year and Henry inherited his lordship of Noreña. It made him the head of the new Trastámara dynasty, arising from the branch of Burgundy-Ivrea. While Alfonso XI lived, his lover Eleanor gave a great many titles and privileges to their sons and this caused discontent among many of the noblemen and in particular the queen, Maria of Portugal, and her son, Pedro, known as Pedro the Cruel and the Just. They had a chance for revenge when Alfonso XI died unexpectedly from a fever in the siege of Gibraltar in March,1350 and they pushed Eleanor, her sons and their supporters aside, and Henry and his brothers fled and scattered. They were fearful of what their brother, the new king Pedro I of Castile, the late king had not even been buried. Although Eleanor and her sons reached an agreement with Pedro to live peacefully in his court, Henry and his brothers Fadrique, Tello and Sancho staged numerous rebellions against the new king. In 1351, the King took counsel from Juan Alfonso de Alburquerque and he became convinced that his fathers lover was the instigator of the uprisings, so he ordered Eleanor to be incarcerated and finally executed in Talavera de la Reina. After that, Henry fled to Portugal and he was pardoned by Pedro and returned to Castile, then revolted in Asturias in 1352. He reconciled with his brother, only to rebel against him again in a long, intermittent war, which ended with Henrys flight to France, shortly after, Henry and his men spent time in Peter IV of Aragons army in their war against Castile. During that conflict, he was defeated and held prisoner in Nájera and he was liberated and exiled himself to France once more. Then Peter IV of Aragon attacked Castile again, Henry agreed to help him on condition that he would lend his support to destroying his brother, Pedro of Castile. This became the Castilian Civil War, the attack combined Henrys Castillian allies, the Aragonese and the French. Henry was proclaimed king in Calahorra, in return, he had to reward his allies with titles and riches for the help they had provided. This earned him the nickname el de las Mercedes, Pedro of Castile fled north to Bordeaux, the capital of the English dominions in France, where Edward, the Black Prince held court
6.
Burgos
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Burgos is a city in northern Spain and the historic capital of Castile. It is situated on the confluence of the Arlanzón river tributaries and it has about 180,000 inhabitants in the actual city and another 20,000 in the metropolitan area. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the community of Castile. A large number of churches, palaces and other buildings from the medieval age remain, the city is surrounded by the Fuentes Blancas and the Paseo de la Isla parks. The city forms the principal crossroad of northern Spain along the Camino de Santiago and it has a well-developed transportation system, forming the main communication node in northern Spain. In 2008, the international Burgos Airport started to offer commercial flights, furthermore, AVE high speed trains are planned to start service in the near future, stopping at the newly-built Rosa de Lima train station. The Museum of Human Evolution was opened in 2010, unique in its kind across the world, the museum features the first Europeans, which lived in this area 800,000 years ago. Burgos was selected as the Spanish Gastronomy Capital of 2013, there are several possible origins for the toponymy. When the city was founded, the inhabitants of the country moved into the fortified village. The city began to be called Caput Castellae, early humans occupied sites around Burgos as early as 800,000 years ago. When the Romans took possession of what is now the province of Burgos, in Roman times, it belonged to Hispania Citerior and then to Hispania Tarraconensis. The region came to be known as Castile, i. e. land of castles, the city began to be called Caput Castellae. The county of Burgos, subject to the Kings of León, continued to be governed by counts and was extended, one of these counts, Fernán González. In the 11th century, the city became the see of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burgos, throughout the 13th and 14th centuries, Burgos was a favourite seat of the kings of León and Castile and a favoured burial site. In 1285, Sancho IV added a new body to the consejo which came to dominate it, the jurado in charge of collecting taxes and overseeing public works, the alguacil was the royal official instituted to judge disagreements. On 9 June 1345, sweeping aside the city government, Alfonso XI established direct rule of Burgos through the Regimiento of sixteen appointed men. In 1574, Pope Gregory XIII made the bishopric a Metropolitan archbishorpic, Burgos has been the scene of many wars, with the Moors, the struggles between León and Navarre, and between Castile and Aragon. In the Peninsular War against Napoleonic France, the siege of Burgos was a scene of a withdrawal for Arthur Wellesley, again in the 19th-century Carlist civil wars of the Spanish succession Burgos was the scene of a battle
7.
Crown of Castile
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The title of King of Castile remained in use by the Habsburg rulers during the 16th and 17th centuries. Charles I was King of Aragon, Majorca, Valencia, and Sicily, in the early 18th century, Philip of Bourbon won the War of the Spanish Succession and imposed unification policies over the Crown of Aragon, supporters of their enemies. This unified the Crown of Aragon and the Crown of Castile into the kingdom of Spain, even though the Nueva Planta decrees did not formally abolish the Crown of Castile, the country of was called Spain by both contemporaries and historians. King of Castile also remains part of the title of Felipe VI of Spain. The Kingdom of León arose out of the Kingdom of Asturias, the Kingdom of Castile appeared initially as a county of the Kingdom of León. From the second half of the 10th century to the first half of the 11th century it changed hands between León and the Kingdom of Navarre, in the 11th century it became a kingdom in its own right. The two kingdoms had been united twice previously, From 1037 until 1065 under Ferdinand I of León, upon his death his kingdoms passed to his sons, León to Alfonso VI, Castile to Sancho II, and Galicia to García. From 1072 until 1157 under Alfonso VI, Urraca, and Alfonso VII, from 1111 until 1126 Galicia was separate from the union under Alfonso VII. In 1157 the kingdoms were divided between Alfonsos sons, with Ferdinand II receiving León and Sancho III Castile, from then on the two kingdoms were united under the name of the Kingdom of León and Castile, or simply as the Crown of Castile. Ferdinand III later conquered the Guadalquivir Valley, while his son Alfonso X conquered the Kingdom of Murcia from Al-Andalus, the heir to the throne has been titled Prince of Asturias since the 14th century. Almost immediately after the union of the two kingdoms under Ferdinand III, the parliaments of Castile and León were united. It was divided into three estates, which corresponded with the nobility, the church and the cities, and included representation from Castile, León, Galicia, Toledo, Navarre, under Alfonso X, most sessions of the Cortes of both kingdoms were held jointly. The Cortes of 1258 in Valladolid comprised representatives of Castile, Extremadura and León, subsequent Cortes were celebrated separately, for example in 1301 that of Castile in Burgos and that of León in Zamora, but the representatives demanded that the parliaments be reunited from then on. These laws continued to be in force until 1889, when a new Spanish civil code, in the 13th century there were many languages spoken in the Kingdoms of León and Castile among them Castilian, Leonese, Basque and Galician-Portuguese. But, as the century progressed, Castilian gained increasing prominence as the language of culture, henceforth all public documents were written in Castilian, likewise all translations of Arabic legal and government documents were made into Castilian instead of Latin. In 1492, under the Catholic Monarchs, the first edition of the Grammar of the Castilian Language by Antonio de Nebrija was published, Castilian was eventually carried to the Americas in the 16th century by the conquistadors. Because of Castilians importance in the land ruled by the Spanish Crown, on the death of Alfonso XI a dynastic conflict started between his sons, the Infantes Peter and Henry, Count of Trastámara, which became entangled in the Hundred Years War. Alfonso XI had married Maria of Portugal with whom he had his heir, however, the King also had many illegitimate children with Eleanor of Guzman, among them the above-mentioned Henry, who disputed Peters right to the throne once the latter became king
8.
Castilian Kingdom of Toledo
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The Kingdom of Toledo, was a realm in the Iberian Peninsula, created after Alfonso VI of Leóns capture of Toledo in 1085. It continued in existence until 1833, its region currently is within Spain, in April 1065 Emir Al-Muqtadir of Zaragoza besieged Barbastro, aided by 500 Sevillian knights. At around the same time Emir Al-Muqtadir broke off relationships with Castile, despite being a tributary of Castile, emir Al-Mamun of Toledo led a force in support of his son-in-law, Emir Abd al-Malik. Mamun subsequently dethroned Abd al-Malik and incorporated Valencia into the Kingdom of Toledo, Ferdinand fell dangerously ill and retired from the field. Ferdinand died in December 1065, and his empire was divided between his three sons, Sancho II in Castile, Alfonso VI in León, and García in Galicia. The former taifa lands remained subject to a struggle with its Muslim neighbors, at least until the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. The Muslim-led Kingdom of Toledo became a subordinate Christian-led southern realm of the Crown of Castille, having its own court and rulers. As the lands became more homogeneous, by the 18th century the territory was denominated New Castile, the old Kingdom of Toledo was disestablished in 1833, and its lands compose portions of several provinces of modern Spain
9.
Blanche of Bourbon
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Blanche of Bourbon was Queen of Castile as the wife of King Peter. She was one of the daughters of Peter I, Duke of Bourbon, on 3 June 1353, aged 14, she married in person at Valladolid, Spain, King Peter of Castile. Previously, she had married by proxy at Abbaye de Preuilly on 9 July 1352. They married because Peter wanted an alliance with France and it is believed that King Peter had married his lover, the Castilian noble Maria de Padilla before his marriage to Blanche, though he did deny this. There were many difficulties in getting the money promised as a dowry for Blanche, three days after their marriage, Peter abandoned Blanche for Maria de Padilla, with whom he later had four children. Eventually Blanche was imprisoned in the castle of Arevalo, blanches cousin, John II of France, appealed to Pope Innocent VI to have Peter excommunicated for keeping Blanche imprisoned, but the Pope refused. Blanche and Peter had no children, in 1361, Blanche was transferred to the town of Medina Sidonia, where she was kept distant from possible rescue by the forces from Aragon and France battling King Peter. The pope advocated for her release, in 1361, after Peter had made peace with the King of Aragon, he returned to Seville and hoped to eliminate the last bastions of resistance to his rule. According to Pero López de Ayala, he then instructed Iñigo Ortiz de Estuñiga, Ayala, who had later joined with winning faction led by Henry II, states that to Peters anger, Estuñiga declined because the act was treasonous and likely to cause further disorder in the country. The King demanded that she be handed over to Juan Pérez de Rebolledo of Jeréz, a crossbowman of the king, who carried out the execution. However, partisans over the years were to write divergent stories about these events, during the 19th century, while Spain was ruled by the Bourbon monarchy, her tomb was provided with the following inscription in Latin, CHRISTO OPTIMO MAXIMO SACRUM. AETATIS VERO SUAE XXV Christ most supreme and Holy, however, whether Peter did have her assassinated is a controversial claim. Zuñiga who amended Ayalas chronicles notes that partisans of the king called it a natural death, others question such events, since she did not die in Jeréz, but in Medina Sidonia as per contemporary accounts. Male descendants of King Henry II, the bastard half-brother of King Peter, Henry III, who was grandson of Henry II, would marry Catherine of Lancaster, the daughter of John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster, and Constance of Castile, daughter of Peter. Thus subsequent descendants of the lines would try to ameliorate the iniquity of Peter chronicled by the faction of Henry II. Bourbon rulers had a stake in sanctifying the image of Blanche, Hale, Edward Everett, and Susan Hale. Googlebooks. com Accessed November 16,2007 Jones, William H. Blanche de Bourbon, and other poems
10.
Isabella of Castile, Duchess of York
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Isabella of Castile, Duchess of York was the daughter of King Peter and his mistress María de Padilla. She accompanied her sister, Constance, to England after Constances marriage to John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster. Isabella was the youngest of the three daughters of King Peter of Castile by his mistress, María de Padilla. According to Pugh, Isabella and Edmund of Langley were an ill-matched pair, according to Pugh, the possibility that Holland was the father of Isabellas favourite son, Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge, cannot be ignored. In her will Isabel named King Richard as her heir, requesting him to grant her son, Richard. Isabella died 23 December 1392, aged about 37, and was buried 14 January 1393 at the church of the Dominicans at Kings Langley. After Isabellas death, Edmund of Langley married Joan Holland, sister and co-heir of Edmund Holland, 4th Earl of Kent, with whom his daughter, Isabella was appointed a Lady of the Garter in 1379. Edward served in administrative offices and military campaigns during the reigns of Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V. Constance was involved in a plot to abduct the young Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, in February 1405, Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge, who married Anne Mortimer, and was beheaded on 5 August 1415 for his role in the Southampton Plot. Isabella is depicted, ahistorically, as living in late December 1399 at the time of the Epiphany Rising in Act V of Shakespeares Richard II, the Complete Peerage, edited by Geoffrey H. White. Harriss, G. L. Richard, earl of Cambridge, Pugh, T. B. Henry V and the Southampton Plot of 1415. Magna Carta Ancestry, A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, britains Royal Families, The Complete Genealogy. Date accessed,21 October 2012 Liss, Peggy K. Isabel the Queen, New York, reston, James, Dogs of God, New York, Doubleday,2005
11.
Dynasty
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A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
12.
Maria of Portugal, Queen of Castile
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Infanta Maria of Portugal was a Portuguese infanta, Queen consort of Castile upon her marriage to Alfonso XI in 1328, and mother of King Peter of Castile. She was the first daughter of King Afonso IV of Portugal and her maternal grandparents were Sancho IV of Castile and María de Molina. In 1328, Maria married King Alfonso XI, as part of the arras, King Alfonso gave her Guadalajara, Talavera de la Reina and Olmedo. In 1335, Maria returned to her father in Évora, who demanded that Alfonso separated from Leonor by use of alliances with the Pope, the Muslims and rebels inside Castile, and finally by an invasion. At the death of Alfonso 26 March 1350, Maria secured a position by exerting influence upon the leader of her sons council. She participated in the rebellion against her son in 1354, and turned over Toro to the rebels, after this, she returned to Portugal. He was buried in the monastery of San Clemente de Sevilla, Peter of Castile, king of Castile and León at the death of his father in 1350. He married Maria de Padilla, Blanche of Bourbon and Jeanne de Castro and his remains lie today in the crypt of the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Seville. She died in Évora on 18 January 1357 and was buried there until, against the wishes expressed in her will, the gravestone made of simple tiles at the monastery mentions that she is buried there with two tender infants. El Real Monasterio de San Clemente, Un monasterio cisterciense en la Sevilla Medieval, Sevilla, Comisaría de la Ciudad de Sevilla para 1992, Ayuntamiento de Sevilla. Crónica de los Reyes de Castilla, Don Pedro, Don Enrique II, Don Juan I, Don Enrique III
13.
Spanish language
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Spanish —also called Castilian —is a Romance language that originated in the Castile region of Spain, with hundreds of millions of native speakers around the world. It is usually considered the worlds second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese and it is one of the few languages to use inverted question and exclamation marks. Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. Beginning in the early 16th century, Spanish was taken to the colonies of the Spanish Empire, most notably to the Americas, as well as territories in Africa, Oceania, around 75% of modern Spanish is derived from Latin. Greek has also contributed substantially to Spanish vocabulary, especially through Latin, Spanish vocabulary has been in contact from an early date with Arabic, having developed during the Al-Andalus era in the Iberian Peninsula. With around 8% of its vocabulary being Arabic in origin, this language is the second most important influence after Latin and it has also been influenced by Basque as well as by neighboring Ibero-Romance languages. It also adopted words from languages such as Gothic language from the Visigoths in which many Spanish names and surnames have a Visigothic origin. Spanish is one of the six languages of the United Nations. It is the language in the world by the number of people who speak it as a mother tongue, after Mandarin Chinese. It is estimated more than 437 million people speak Spanish as a native language. Spanish is the official or national language in Spain, Equatorial Guinea, speakers in the Americas total some 418 million. In the European Union, Spanish is the tongue of 8% of the population. Spanish is the most popular second language learned in the United States, in 2011 it was estimated by the American Community Survey that of the 55 million Hispanic United States residents who are five years of age and over,38 million speak Spanish at home. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the language of the whole Spanish State in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas. Article III reads as follows, El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado, las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas. Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State, the other Spanish languages as well shall be official in their respective Autonomous Communities. The Spanish Royal Academy, on the hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. Two etymologies for español have been suggested, the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary derives the term from the Provençal word espaignol, and that in turn from the Medieval Latin word Hispaniolus, from—or pertaining to—Hispania
14.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
15.
Edward III of England
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Edward III transformed the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe. Edward was crowned at age fourteen after his father was deposed by his mother, Isabella of France, at age seventeen he led a successful coup against Mortimer, the de facto ruler of the country, and began his personal reign. After a successful campaign in Scotland he declared himself heir to the French throne in 1337. This started what would become known as the Hundred Years War, following some initial setbacks the war went exceptionally well for England, victories at Crécy and Poitiers led to the highly favourable Treaty of Brétigny. Edwards later years, however, were marked by international failure and domestic strife, largely as a result of his inactivity, Edward III was a temperamental man but capable of unusual clemency. He was in ways a conventional king whose main interest was warfare. Admired in his own time and for centuries after, Edward was denounced as an adventurer by later Whig historians such as William Stubbs. This view has been challenged recently and modern historians credit him with some significant achievements, Edward was born at Windsor Castle on 13 November 1312, and was often referred to as Edward of Windsor in his early years. The reign of his father, Edward II, was a problematic period of English history. One source of contention was the inactivity, and repeated failure. Another controversial issue was the kings patronage of a small group of royal favourites. The birth of an heir in 1312 temporarily improved Edward IIs position in relation to the baronial opposition. To bolster further the independent prestige of the prince, the king had him created Earl of Chester at only twelve days of age. In 1325, Edward II was faced with a demand from his brother-in-law, Charles IV of France, Edward was reluctant to leave the country, as discontent was once again brewing domestically, particularly over his relationship with the favourite Hugh Despenser the Younger. Instead, he had his son Edward created Duke of Aquitaine in his place, the young Edward was accompanied by his mother Isabella, who was the sister of King Charles, and was meant to negotiate a peace treaty with the French. While in France, however, Isabella conspired with the exiled Roger Mortimer to have Edward deposed, to build up diplomatic and military support for the venture, Isabella had Prince Edward engaged to the twelve-year-old Philippa of Hainault. An invasion of England was launched and Edward IIs forces deserted him completely, the king was forced to relinquish the throne to his son on 25 January 1327. The new king was crowned as Edward III on 1 February 1327 and it was not long before the new reign also met with other problems caused by the central position at court of Roger Mortimer, who was now the de facto ruler of England
16.
Toro, Zamora
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Toro is a town and municipality in the province of Zamora, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is located on a high plain, northwest of Madrid at an elevation of 740 metres. Toro is known as a center of Mudéjar art and as a wine-producing region and it is located on the Duero River roughly halfway between Zamora, the provincial capital and Tordesillas in the province of Valladolid. The four-lane freeway A-11 now connects two cities and passes just north of Toro. Highway N122 passes through the town, the distance to Madrid by highway is 220 km. Distances to other cities are,32 km to Zamora,62 km to Valladolid and 72 km to Salamanca, Toro is an ancient town, possibly the Arbukala of the Vaccai tribe which was conquered by Hannibal in 220 BC but survived to trouble the Romans. The Roman town was called Albucella, the modern name may derive from the bull totem of that Celtiberian people. In the 8th century it was conquered by the Moors, after the Muslims had been partially rolled back, Alfonso III repopulated the town in about 910. Ferdinand III was crowned King of León in Toro in 1230, enrique II, first of the Trastámara line, summoned his first Cortes here in 1369. Juan II of Castile was born here in 1404, but the town was to have significance for his daughter Isabella I of Castile. La Beltranejas supporters arranged her betrothal to Alfonso V of Portugal who was feeling upset over his rejection by Isabella. Alfonso invaded Castile in May 1475, backed by a number of dissident Castilian nobles, Isabella made Tordesillas her headquarters, while Ferdinand moved to secure the loyalty of Salamanca, Toro, and Zamora. Alfonso reached Arévalo in July and both Zamora and Toro went over to him, a blow for the young monarchs. Zamora swung back to Isabellas cause, the Portuguese crown prince arrived with reinforcements and in March 1,1476 the rival armies met at Peleagonzalo, a few kilometres southwest of Toro. Ferdinand was victorious in this battle decided by light cavalry. The Portuguese under Alfonso broke, but the fortress of Zamora surrendered to Ferdinand soon thereafter while Toro remained in Portuguese hands during more than half a year. After that Alfonso gave up the fight and la Beltraneja retired to a Lisbon convent where she died in 1530, in January 1506, after Isabellas death, Ferdinand summoned a Cortes at Toro. Isabellas legal successors in Castile were her daughter Joanna the Mad and her husband Philip the Handsome, the Cortes took the oath to Ferdinand as temporary ruler and agreed that if Juana be deemed incurably ill, which she showed every sign of being, he should become regent. When the pair reached Spain in the spring of 1506, the two men agreed that Juana was incapable of ruling, Ferdinand turned over the sole rule to her husband Philip the Handsome and left for Kingdom of Aragon
17.
Segovia
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Segovia is a city in the autonomous region of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital of Segovia Province, the name of Segovia is of Celtiberian origin. The first inhabitants named the city Segobriga and this name comes from two terms of the Celtiberian language of the Celtic branch of Indo-European. The term Sego means «victory» and the suffix -briga would mean «city» or «strength», so the name might be translated as City of the victory or Victorious city. Under the Romans and Arabs, the city was called Segovia, Segovia is located on the plains of Old Castile, near Valladolid and the Spanish capital, Madrid. Segovia is one of nine provinces that make up the region of Castile. Burgos and Valladolid lie to the north, Ávila to the west, Madrid to the south, the altitude of the province varies from 750 metres in the extreme northwest to a maximum of 2,430 m at Peñalara peak in the Sierra de Guadarrama. The town lies on the route of the Camino de Santiago de Madrid. The climate is hot-summer Mediterranean near the boundaries of Csb and BSk, resulting from the high altitude, the average annual temperature is 12.42 °C, with a minimum in December of −14 °C and maximum in August of 39 °C. All of this make the province a damp corner in the context of the region, the predominant forms of vegetation in the mountainous areas include pine, evergreen, oak, beech and juniper. Aside from the city, there are a number of other villages within the municipality of Segovia. Fuentemilanos Hontoria Madrona Revenga, established in 1983 as a local entity. Zamarramala Torredondo Perogordo The first recorded mention of a settlement in what is today Segovia was a Celtic possession, control later passed into the hands of the Romans. The city is a site of the battle in 75 BCE where Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius was victorious over the Quintus Sertorius and Hirtuleius. During the Roman period the settlement belonged to one of numerous contemporary Latin convents and it is believed that the city was abandoned after the Islamic invasion of Spain centuries later. Segovias position on trading routes made it an important centre of trade in wool, the end of the Middle Ages saw something of a golden age for Segovia, with a growing Jewish population and the creation of a foundation for a powerful cloth industry. Several splendid works of Gothic architecture were also completed during this period, notably, Isabella I was proclaimed queen of Castile in the church of San Miguel de Segovia on December 13,1474. Like most Castilian textile centres, Segovia joined the Revolt of the Comuneros under the command of Juan Bravo, despite the defeat of the Communities, the citys resultant economic boom continued into the sixteenth century, its population rising to 27,000 in 1594
18.
Medina Sidonia
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Medina-Sidonia is a city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, southern Spain. It is considered by some to be the oldest city in Europe, the citys name comes from Medina and Sidonia, meaning City of Sidon. The title of Duque de Medina Sidonia was bestowed upon the family of Guzmán El Bueno for his valiant role in taking the town, the line continues and was led until March 2008 by the controversial socialist, Luisa Isabel Álvarez de Toledo, 21st Duchess of Medina Sidonia. This city was most likely ancient Asido, an Iberian settlement which may have founded by the Phoenicians. By the 3rd century BC the Romans had gained control over much of southern Spain, in 712 the town was conquered by the Muslim commander Musa ibn Nusair, and became the capital of the cora of Sidonia in the emirate of Spain. It returned in Christian hands with Alfonso X of Castile, in 1264, becoming a stronghold along the frontier with the last Muslim country in the Iberian peninsula and it was also the seat of several military orders. In 1440 it became part of the lordship of the Dukes of Medina-Sidonia, the town is characterized by medieval walls and tidy narrow cobbled streets flanked by rows of reja-fronted houses. Sights include, The Castle Roman archaeological complex Town Hall La Alameda Ducal Stables Church of Saint Mary the Crowned Castle of Torrestrella Duke of Medina Sidonia
19.
Aragon
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Aragon is an 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, the current Statute of Autonomy declares Aragon a nationality of Spain. Aragons northern province of Huesca borders France and is positioned in the middle of the Pyrenees, within Spain, the community is flanked by Catalonia to the east, Valencia and Castile–La Mancha to the south, and Castile and León, La Rioja, and Navarre to the west. Aragon is home to many rivers—most notably, the river Ebro, Spains largest river in volume and it is also home to the Aneto, the highest mountain in the Pyrenees. As of 2015, the population of Aragon was 1,317,847, with more than half of it living in Zaragoza. As of 2015, half of Aragons population,50. 45%, Huesca is the only other city in the region with a population greater than 50,000. The majority of Aragonese citizens,71. 8%, live in the province of Zaragoza,17. 1% in Huesca and 11. 1% in Teruel, the population density of the region is the second lowest in Spain, only 26, 8/km2, after Castilla La Mancha. Only four cities have more than 20,000 inhabitants, Zaragoza 700,000, Huesca 50,000, Teruel 35,000 and Calatayud 20,000. Spanish is the language in most of Aragon, and it is the only official language, understood. The strip-shaped Catalan-speaking area in Aragon is often called La Franja, with such a low population density large areas of Aragon remain wild and relatively untouched. It is a land of natural contrasts, both in climate and geologically, from the green valleys and snow-capped peaks of the Pyrenees to the dry plains. Aragons Pyrenees include splendid and varied mountain landscapes with soaring peaks, deep canyons, dense forests and its rugged peaks include the Aneto, the highest in the range, the misty Monte Perdido, Perdiguero, Cotiella and many others. The park is one of the last sanctuaries of birds of prey in the range. Many beautiful mountain butterflies and flowers can be seen in the summer, the principal valleys in the mountains include those of Hecho, Canfranc, Tena, Benasque and others. The green valleys hide pretty villages with nice Romanesque churches and typical Pyrenean houses with flowers on the balconies, the oldest Romanesque cathedral in Spain is located in the medieval town of Jaca in the very northern part of Huesca Province. In the Pyrenean foothills, or pre-Pyrenees, the Mallos de Riglos are a natural rock formation. Ancient castles nestle on lonely hills, the most famous being the magnificent Loarre Castle, further south, the Ebro valley, irrigated by the river Ebro, is a rich and fertile agricultural area covered with vast fields of wheat, barley and other fruit and vegetable crops. Many beautiful and little-known settlements, castles and Roman ruins dot the landscape here, some of the most notable towns here include Calatayud, Daroca, Sos del Rey Catolico, Caspe and others
20.
War of the Two Peters
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The War of the Two Peters was fought from 1356 to 1375 between the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon. Its name refers to the rulers of the countries, Peter of Castile, one historian has written that all of the centuries-old lessons of border fighting were used as two evenly matched opponents dueled across frontiers that could change hands with lightning speed. Peter IV of Aragon supported Henry of Trastámara, Henry was, in turn, supported by the French commander Bertrand du Guesclin and his free companies of troops. Peter of Castile was supported by the English, the War of the Two Peters can thus be considered an extension of the wider Hundred Years War as well as the Castilian Civil War. Peter of Castile sought to claim the Kingdom of Valencia, which included parts of Murcia, Elche, Alicante, Peter of Aragon wished to dominate the Mediterranean in opposition to Castile and Castiles ally Genoa. Genoa was an ally of Castile, Peter of Castile, leading the Castilian fleet, caught up to Perellós at Tavira but was unable to capture him. The war lasted from 1356 to 1375, prolonged because Peter of Castile lost his throne to Henry of Trastámara, the war primarily took place on the border between Castile and Aragon, namely Aragonese border towns such as Teruel, which fell to the Castilians. In 1357, Castile penetrated Aragon and conquered Tarazona on March 9, on May 8, at the beginning of 1361, the Castilians conquered the fortresses of Verdejo, Torrijos, Alhama, and other places. However, the peace of Terrer was negotiated on May 18,1361, bernardo de Cabrera, ambassador of the Aragonese king, negotiated the peace. Peter IV married his daughter Constance to Frederick III the Simple, in June 1362, Peter of Castile met with Charles II of Navarre at Soria, and mutual aid was promised. Peter also contracted an alliance with Edward III of England and Edwards son The Black Prince, with these negotiations complete, the Castilian king invaded Aragonese territory without officially declaring war, and the conflict commenced again. The Aragonese king was at Perpignan without troops, and thus caught off guard, the Castilians took the castles of Arize, Atece, Terrer, Moros, Cetina, and Alhama. Peter of Castile was unable to take Calatayud, even though he attacked it with all types of siege machines, without taking his conquests any further, he returned to Seville. In 1363 Castile continued the war against Aragon, and again occupied Tarazona, Peter of Castile received reinforcements from Portugal and Navarre. Meanwhile, the Aragonese king negotiated a treaty with France and a treaty with Henry II of Castile. Pedro of Castile then conquered Cariñena, Teruel, Segorbe, Morvedre, Almenara, Xiva, the papal nuncio Jean de la Grange arranged the peace of Morvedre between the two kings. The peace was not ratified, however, and hostilities continued, the Castilians penetrated the Kingdom of Valencia in 1363, and conquered Alicante, Caudete, Elda, Gandia, and other places. From 1365 to 1369 Peter of Castile was preoccupied with maintaining his position on the Castilian throne against Henry of Trastámara, the Castilian Civil War began in 1366 and Peter of Castile was dethroned
21.
Castilian Civil War
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The Castilian Civil War was a war of succession over the Kingdom of Castile that lasted from 1351 to 1369. The conflict started after the death of king Alfonso XI of Castile in March 1350 and it became part of the larger conflict then raging between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France, the Hundred Years War. Peter was called by his supporters The Just and by his detractors The Cruel, to the higher ranks of the nobility, he was a tyrant, forcing the royal will on hitherto free men. He had greatly extended the authority and had entered into a war with the Crown of Aragon. His illegitimate brother Henry quickly obtained the support of not only the upper noblesse, but France, Aragon, in 1366, he officially deposed his brother as king of Castile, León, Toledo, and Seville and had himself proclaimed king in the monastery of Las Huelgas. He successfully forced Peter to flee, Peter fled to Bayonne, a city in English-held Gascony. There, he petitioned Edward, the Black Prince, for aid and, in exchange for lands in Castile, received it. With English troops led by the prince, he returned to Castile and reasserted his power in 1367. He refused, however, to good on his dealings with the English and his allies, including the Prince of Wales himself. In 1368, Henry and Charles of France signed the Treaty of Toledo whereby the Castilians lent a fleet in the Bay of Biscay to the French in return for aid on land. Henry entered Galicia, took some towns and then took the city of León in April, after this, the whole province of Galicia took sides with Henry. He reentered Castile in 1369 and murdered Peter at the Battle of Campo de Montiel and he was acclaimed Henry II and immediately solidified his rule by removing Jews from high office. Castile became, at time, a stern ally of the French in their ongoing wars. The Rough Guide History of Spain
22.
Bertrand du Guesclin
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Bertrand du Guesclin, nicknamed 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, well known for his Fabian strategy, he took part in six pitched battles and won the four in which he held command. Bertrand du Guesclin was born at Motte-Broons near Dinan, in Brittany, first-born son of Robert du Guesclin and his date of birth is unknown but is thought to have been sometime in 1320. His family was of minor Breton nobility, the seigneurs of Broons and he initially served Charles of Blois in the Breton War of Succession. Charles was supported by the French crown, while his rival, Du Guesclin was knighted in 1354 while serving Arnoul dAudrehem, after countering a raid by Hugh Calveley on the Castle of Montmuran. In 1356–57, Du Guesclin successfully defended Rennes against an English siege by Henry of Grosmont, during the siege, he killed the English knight William Bamborough who had challenged him to a duel. The resistance of du Guesclin helped restore French morale after Poitiers, when he became King in 1364, Charles sent Du Guesclin to deal with Charles II of Navarre, who hoped to claim the Duchy of Burgundy, which Charles hoped to give to his brother, Philip. On 16 May, he met an Anglo-Navarrese army under the command of Jean de Grailly, Captal de Buch at Cocherel, the victory forced Charles II into a new peace with the French king, and secured Burgundy for Philip. On 29 September 1364, at the Battle of Auray, the army of Charles of Blois was heavily defeated by John IV, Duke of Brittany, de Blois was killed in action, ending the pretensions of the Penthievre faction in Brittany. After chivalric resistance, Du Guesclin broke his weapons to signify his surrender and he was captured and ransomed by Charles V for 100,000 francs. In 1366, du Guesclin, with Guillaume Boitel, his companion, leader of his vanguard. Bertrands elevation must have taken place at Burgos between 16 March and 5 April 1366, but Henrys army was defeated in 1367 by Pedros forces, now commanded by Edward, the Black Prince, at Nájera. Du Guesclin was again captured, and again ransomed by Charles V, however, the English army suffered badly in the battle as four English soldiers out of five died during the Castilian Campaign. The Black Prince, affected by dysentery, soon withdrew his support from Pedro, Du Guesclin and Henry of Trastámara renewed the attack, defeating him at the decisive Battle of Montiel. After the battle, Pedro fled to the castle at Montiel, from whence he made contact with du Guesclin, Pedro bribed du Guesclin to obtain escape. Du Guesclin agreed, but also told it to Henry who promised him more money, once there, after crossed accusations of bastardy the two half-brothers started a fight to death, using daggers because of the narrow space. At a moment when they fought on the floor, Pedro got the upper side and was about to finish Henry, but then Du Guesclin, who had stayed inactive for he was compromised to both, made his final choice. He grabbed Pedro´s ankle and turned him belly-up, thus allowing Henry to stab Pedro to death, Bertrand was made Duke of Molina, and the Franco-Castllian alliance was sealed
23.
Hugh Calveley
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Sir Hugh Calveley was an English knight and commander, who took part in the Hundred Years War, gaining fame during the War of the Breton Succession and the Castilian Civil War. He held various posts in Brittany and Normandy. He should not be confused with his nephew, also Sir Hugh Calveley, Calveley was born the youngest son of David de Calveley of Lea, and his wife, Joanna. The family held the manor of Calveley in Bunbury, Cheshire, estimates of the year of his birth range from 1315 to 1333. It is possible that he was a relative, maybe even a half-brother. An anonymous Breton poets account of the Battle of the Thirty in 1351 has Hue de Caverle as a knight fighting on the English side. One estimate of the date of his knighthood is 1346, though documents from 1354 do not refer to him as a knight, in 1354, Calveley was captain of the English-held fortress of Becherel. He planned a raid on the castle of Montmuran on 10 April, to capture Arnoul dAudrehem, Marshal of France, bertrand du Guesclin, in one of the early highlights of his career, anticipated the attack, posting archers as sentries. When the sentries raised the alarm at Calveleys approach, both du Guesclin and dAudrehem hurried to intercept, in the ensuing fight, Calveley was unhorsed by a knight named Enguerrand dHesdin, captured, and later ransomed. In 1359 Sir Robert Knolles and Calveley invaded the Rhône Valley, the city of Le Puy fell to them in July. The campaign ended when their way to Avignon was barred by the army of Thomas de la Marche, Deputy for Louis II, Duke of Bourbon, at which point both English commanders retreated. At the Battle of Auray on 29 September 1364, Calveley had the command of the division of the forces of Jean de Montfort. Charles de Blois was killed at Auray, enabling Jean de Montfort to claim the Duchy without further conflict, after the conclusion of the Breton civil war, Calveley, along with many other soldiers, found himself unemployed. These soldiers, banding together in the Free Companies, continued to support themselves by raiding widely, for his services to Enrique, he was made Count of Carrion. He married one of the Aragonese queens ladies-in-waiting, named Constanza, Pedro the Cruel, having fled from Castile, invoked his alliance with England. Calveley was ordered back to the service of England by the Black Prince, at Nájera, Calveley was once again in the rearguard, sharing command with Count Jean I of Armagnac. The two commaders had the glory of delivering the final blow to the enemy infantry by a cavalry charge. Enrique of Trastamara escaped from the battle, though his title as Count of Carrion had been granted by Enrique, Pedro confirmed it upon reclaiming the Castilian throne
24.
Toledo, Spain
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Toledo is a city and municipality located in central Spain, it is the capital of the province of Toledo and the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986 for its cultural and monumental heritage and historical co-existence of Christian, Muslim. Toledo has a history in the production of bladed weapons, which are now popular souvenirs of the city, people who were born or have lived in Toledo include Brunhilda of Austrasia, Al-Zarqali, Garcilaso de la Vega, Eleanor of Toledo, Alfonso X and El Greco. It was also the place of important historic events such as the Visigothic Councils of Toledo, as of 2015, the city has a population of 83,226 and an area of 232.1 km2. The town was granted arms in the 16th century, which by special royal privilege was based on the royal of arms of Spain, Toledo is mentioned by the Roman historian Livy as urbs parva, sed loco munita. At that time, Toletum was a city of the Carpetani tribe and it was incorporated into the Roman Empire as a civitas stipendiaria, that is, a tributary city of non-citizens. It later achieved the status of municipium by Flavian times, with this status, city officials, even of Carpetani origin, obtained Roman citizenship for public service, and the forms of Roman law and politics were increasingly adopted. At approximately this time were constructed in Toletum a Roman circus, city walls, public baths, and a municipal water supply and storage system. The Roman circus in Toledo was one of the largest in Hispania, at 423 metres long and 100 metres wide, chariot races were held on special holidays and were also commissioned by private citizens to celebrate career achievements. A fragmentary stone inscription records circus games paid for by a citizen of unknown name to celebrate his achieving the sevirate, archaeologists have also identified portions of a special seat of the sort used by the city elites to attend circus games, called a sella curulis. The circus could hold up to 15000 spectators, during Roman times, Toledo was never a provincial capital nor a conventus iuridicus. It started to gain importance in late antiquity, there are indications that large private houses within the city walls were enlarged, while several large villas were built north of the city through the third and fourth centuries. Games were held in the circus into the fourth and early fifth centuries C. E. also an indication of active city life. A church council was held in Toledo in the year 400 to discuss the conflict with Priscillianism, a second council of Toledo was held in 527. The Visigothic king Theudis was in Toledo in 546, where he promulgated a law and this is strong though not certain evidence that Toledo was the chief residence for Theudis. King Athanagild died in Toledo, probably in 568 and this changed with Liuvigild, who brought the peninsula under his control. The Visigoths ruled from Toledo until the Moors conquered the Iberian peninsula in the years of 8th century. Today the historic center is pierced of basements, passages, wells, baths, a series of church councils was held in Toledo under the Visigoths
25.
Seville
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Seville is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville, Spain. It is situated on the plain of the river Guadalquivir, the inhabitants of the city are known as sevillanos or hispalenses, after the Roman name of the city, Hispalis. Its Old Town, with an area of 4 square kilometres, the Seville harbour, located about 80 kilometres from the Atlantic Ocean, is the only river port in Spain. Seville is also the hottest major metropolitan area in the geographical Western Europe, Seville was founded as the Roman city of Hispalis. It later became known as Ishbiliya after the Muslim conquest in 712, in 1519, Ferdinand Magellan departed from Seville for the first circumnavigation of the Earth. Spal is the oldest known name for Seville and it appears to have originated during the Phoenician colonisation of the Tartessian culture in south-western Iberia and, according to Manuel Pellicer Catalán, meant lowland in the Phoenician language. During Roman rule, the name was Latinised as Hispalis, nO8DO is the official motto of Seville. It is popularly believed to be a rebus signifying the Spanish No me ha dejado, meaning It has not abandoned me, the eight in the middle represents a madeja, or skein of wool. The emblem is present on the flag and features on city property such as manhole covers. Seville is approximately 2,200 years old, the passage of the various civilisations instrumental in its growth has left the city with a distinct personality, and a large and well-preserved historical centre. The city was known from Roman times as Hispalis, important archaeological remains also exist in the nearby towns of Santiponce and Carmona. The walls surrounding the city were built during the rule of Julius Caesar. Following Roman rule, there were successive conquests of the Roman province of Hispania Baetica by the Vandals, the Suebi, Seville was taken by the Moors, Muslims from North of Africa, during the conquest of Hispalis in 712. It was the capital for the kings of the Umayyad Caliphate, the Moorish urban influences continued and are present in contemporary Seville, for instance in the custom of decorating with herbaje and small fountains the courtyards of the houses. However, most buildings of the Moorish aesthetic actually belong to the Mudéjar style of Islamic art, developed under Christian rule and inspired by the Arabic style. Original Moorish buildings are the Patio del Yeso in the Alcázar, the city walls, in 1247, the Christian King Ferdinand III of Castile and Leon began the conquest of Andalusia. The decisive action took place in May 1248 when Ramon Bonifaz sailed up the Guadalquivir, the city surrendered on 23 November 1248. The citys development continued after the Castilian conquest in 1248, Public buildings constructed including churches, many of which were built in the Mudéjar style, and the Seville Cathedral, built during the 15th century with Gothic architecture
26.
Galicia (Spain)
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Galicia is an autonomous community of Spain and historic nationality under Spanish law. It had a population of 2,718,525 in 2016 and has an area of 29,574 km2. Galicia has over 1,660 km of coastline, including its islands and islets, among them Cíes Islands, Ons, Sálvora, Cortegada. Galicia was incorporated into the Roman Empire at the end of the Cantabrian Wars in 19 BC, in 410, the Germanic Suebi established a kingdom with its capital in Braga, this kingdom was incorporated into that of the Visigoths in 585. The Governor also presided the Real Audiencia do Reino de Galicia, from the 16th century, the representation and voice of the kingdom was held by an assembly of deputies and representatives of the cities of the kingdom, the Cortes or Junta of the Kingdom of Galicia. This institution was forcibly discontinued in 1833 when the kingdom was divided into four provinces with no legal mutual links. During the 19th and 20th centuries, demand grew for self-government and this resulted in the Statute of Autonomy of 1936, soon frustrated by Francos coup detat and subsequent long dictatorship. After democracy was restored the legislature passed the Statute of Autonomy of 1981, approved in referendum and currently in force, the interior of Galicia is characterized by a hilly landscape, mountain ranges rise to 2,000 m in the east and south. The coastal areas are mostly a series of rías and cliffs. The climate of Galicia is usually temperate and rainy, with drier summers. Its topographic and climatic conditions have made animal husbandry and farming the primary source of Galicias wealth for most of its history, allowing for a relative high density of population. With the exception of shipbuilding and food processing, Galicia was based on a farming and fishing economy until after the mid-20th century, in 2012, the gross domestic product at purchasing power parity was €56,000 million, with a nominal GDP per capita of €20,700. There are smaller populations around the cities of Lugo and Ourense. The political capital is Santiago de Compostela, in the province of A Coruña, Vigo, in the province of Pontevedra, is the most populous municipality, with 292,817, while A Coruña is the most populous city, with 215,227. 56% of the Galician population speak Galician as their first language and these Callaeci were the first tribe in the area to help the Lusitanians against the invading Romans. The Romans applied their name to all the tribes in the northwest who spoke the same language. In any case, Galicia, being per se a derivation of the ethnic name Kallaikói, the name evolved during the Middle Ages from Gallaecia, sometimes written Galletia, to Gallicia. This coincides with the spelling of the Castilian Spanish name, the historical denomination Galiza became popular again during the end of the 19th and the first three-quarters of the 20th century, and is still used with some frequency today
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Iberian Peninsula
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The Iberian Peninsula /aɪˈbɪəriən pəˈnɪnsjᵿlə/, also known as Iberia /aɪˈbɪəriə/, is located in the southwest corner of Europe. The peninsula is divided between Portugal and Spain, comprising most of their territory. With an area of approximately 582,000 km2, it is the second largest European peninsula, at that time, the name did not describe a single political entity or a distinct population of people. Strabos Iberia was delineated from Keltikē by the Pyrenees and included the land mass southwest of there. The ancient Greeks reached the Iberian Peninsula, of which they had heard from the Phoenicians, hecataeus of Miletus was the first known to use the term Iberia, which he wrote about circa 500 BC. Herodotus of Halicarnassus says of the Phocaeans that it was they who made the Greeks acquainted with. According to Strabo, prior historians used Iberia to mean the country side of the Ἶβηρος as far north as the river Rhône in France. Polybius respects that limit, but identifies Iberia as the Mediterranean side as far south as Gibraltar, elsewhere he says that Saguntum is on the seaward foot of the range of hills connecting Iberia and Celtiberia. Strabo refers to the Carretanians as people of the Iberian stock living in the Pyrenees, according to Charles Ebel, the ancient sources in both Latin and Greek use Hispania and Hiberia as synonyms. The confusion of the words was because of an overlapping in political, the Latin word Hiberia, similar to the Greek Iberia, literally translates to land of the Hiberians. This word was derived from the river Ebro, which the Romans called Hiberus, hiber was thus used as a term for peoples living near the river Ebro. The first mention in Roman literature was by the annalist poet Ennius in 200 BC. Virgil refers to the Ipacatos Hiberos in his Georgics, the Roman geographers and other prose writers from the time of the late Roman Republic called the entire peninsula Hispania. As they became interested in the former Carthaginian territories, the Romans began to use the names Hispania Citerior. At the time Hispania was made up of three Roman provinces, Hispania Baetica, Hispania Tarraconensis, and Lusitania, Strabo says that the Romans use Hispania and Iberia synonymously, distinguishing between the near northern and the far southern provinces. Whatever language may generally have been spoken on the peninsula soon gave way to Latin, except for that of the Vascones, the Iberian Peninsula has always been associated with the Ebro, Ibēros in ancient Greek and Ibērus or Hibērus in Latin. The association was so known it was hardly necessary to state, for example. Pliny goes so far as to assert that the Greeks had called the whole of Spain Hiberia because of the Hiberus River, the river appears in the Ebro Treaty of 226 BC between Rome and Carthage, setting the limit of Carthaginian interest at the Ebro. The fullest description of the treaty, stated in Appian, uses Ibērus, with reference to this border, Polybius states that the native name is Ibēr, apparently the original word, stripped of its Greek or Latin -os or -us termination
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Santiago de Compostela
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Santiago de Compostela, commonly known as Santiago, is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the cathedral, as destination of the Way of St. James. In 1985 the citys Old Town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Santiago is the local Galician evolution of Vulgar Latin Sanctus Iacobus Saint James. Other etymologies derive the name from Latin compositum, local Vulgar Latin Composita Tella, meaning ground, or simply from Latin compositella. Other sites in Galicia share this toponym, akin to Compostilla in the province of León, the cathedral borders the main plaza of the old and well-preserved city. Legend has it that the remains of the apostle James were brought to Galicia for burial, in 813, according to medieval legend, the light of a bright star guided a shepherd who was watching his flock at night to the burial site in Santiago de Compostela. The shepherd quickly reported his discovery to the bishop of Iria, the bishop declared that the remains were those of the apostle James and immediately notified King Alfonso II in Oviedo. To honour St. James, the cathedral was built on the spot where his remains were said to have been found, along the western side of the Praza do Obradoiro is the elegant 18th century Pazo de Raxoi, now the city hall. The Obradoiro façade of the cathedral, the best known, is depicted on the Spanish euro coins of 1 cent,2 cents, Santiago is the site of the University of Santiago de Compostela, established in the early 16th century. The main campus can be seen best from an alcove in the municipal park in the centre of the city. Within the old town there are many narrow winding streets full of historic buildings, the new town all around it has less character though some of the older parts of the new town have some big flats in them. Santiago de Compostela has a substantial nightlife, both in the new town and the old town, a mix of middle-aged residents and younger students maintain a lively presence until the early hours of the morning. Santiago gives its name to one of the four orders of Spain, Santiago, Calatrava, Alcántara. One of the most important economic centres in Galicia, Santiago is the seat for organisations like Association for Equal, under the Köppen climate classification, Santiago de Compostela has a temperate oceanic climate, with mild to warm and somewhat dry summers and mild, wet winters. The prevailing winds from the Atlantic and the surrounding mountains combine to give Santiago some of Spain’s highest rainfall, about 1,545 millimetres annually. The climate is mild, frosts are common only in December, January and February, with an average of just 8 days per year, while snow is rare, temperatures over 30 °C are exceptional. The population of the city in 2012 was 95,671 inhabitants, in 2010 there were 4,111 foreigners living in the city, representing 4. 3% of the total population. The main nationalities are Brazilians, Portuguese and Colombians, by language, according to 2008 data, 21% of the population always speak in Galician, 15% always speak in Spanish and the rest use both interchangeably
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Dean (religion)
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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, the Roman Catholic Church, a deans assistant is called a subdean. In the church, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, except for presiding and delegating administrative tasks, they have no authority over the cardinals, acting as primus inter pares. In the academic community, the Dean is the leader of the Faculty who presides over the Faculty Board. He is deputized by a Vice-Dean and equally assisted by a Sub-Dean who can be delegated some of the task of the Dean. The most senior Professor or a Vice-Dean is the person who can act for a Dean in his or her absence from office. In the Church of England and elsewhere in the Anglican Communion, the dean is the chief resident cleric of a cathedral or other collegiate church, if the cathedral or collegiate church has its own parish, the dean is usually also rector of the parish. However, in the Church of Ireland the roles are often separated, in the Church in Wales, however, most cathedrals are parish churches, and their deans are now also vicars of their parishes. In some parts of the Communion, the senior resident cleric in a cathedral is a provost. Each diocese of the Scottish Episcopal Church has a dean of the diocese, in this way, a Scottish Episcopal dean is similar to an archdeacon in the other member churches of the Communion. In the Anglican Church of Canada, the roles of senior cleric of the cathedral are combined in one person who is referred to as Rector of Cathedral, thus, Peter Elliott is Rector of Christ Church Cathedral and Dean of New Westminster. The style The Very Reverend distinguishes a cleric as a dean, for example, the Very Reverend June Osborne is Dean of Salisbury Cathedral. In consideration of the status of a Dean, the Very Reverend title is normally a permanent title preferment. Some important deans include the deans of St Pauls, Canterbury Cathedral, Westminster Abbey is a royal peculiar, not the seat of any bishop or a cathedral, but is led by a dean. The deans of Washington National Cathedral and St. Patricks Cathedral, in many parts of the Anglican Communion, parishes are grouped together to form deaneries, each being a constituent administrative district of the diocese. Usually, a deanery is led by one of the incumbents of the parishes, who is called a rural dean. Such a dean chairs the meeting of the clergy. Rural Deans rank as primi inter pares of their chapters, the head of an Anglican theological college or seminary may also be called a dean
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Pogrom
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A pogrom is a violent riot aimed at the massacre or persecution of an ethnic or religious group, particularly one aimed at Jews. The term originally entered the English language in order to describe 19th and 20th century attacks on Jews in the Russian Empire, similar attacks against Jews at other times and places also became retrospectively known as pogroms. The word is now sometimes used to describe publicly sanctioned purgative attacks against non-Jewish ethnic or religious groups. First recorded in 1882, the Russian word pogrom is a derived from the verb gromit meaning to destroy, to wreak havoc. Its literal translation is to harm, the noun pogrom, which has a relatively short history, is used in English and many other languages as a loanword, possibly borrowed via Yiddish. Its widespread circulation in todays world began with the excesses in the Russian Empire in 1881–1883. Anti-Jewish riots took place in Europe already in the Middle Ages, some 510 Jewish communities were destroyed in this period, extending further to the Brussels massacre of 1370. The first atrocities against Jewish civilians, on a scale of destruction, were committed during the Khmelnytsky Pogroms of 1648–1657 in present-day Ukraine. The precise number of dead is not known, although it is estimated that about 20 percent of Jews of the region were killed. Modern historians give estimates of the scale of the murders by Khmelnytskys Cossacks ranging between 40,000 and 100,000 men, women and children, or perhaps many more. In conquered territories, a new entity called Pale of Settlement was formed in 1791 by Catherine the Great. Most Jewish people from the former Commonwealth were only allowed to reside within the Pale, including families expelled by decree from St. Petersburg, Moscow. The 1821 Odessa pogroms marked the beginning of the 19th century pogroms in Tsarist Russia, Jewish self-governing Kehilla was abolished by Tsar Nicholas I in 1844. The first, in the 20th century Russia, was the Kishinev pogrom of 1903 in which 47 Jews were killed and it was followed by the Kiev pogrom of October 1905, resulting in a massacre of approximately 100 Jews. However, at about the time, the Jewish Labour Bund began organizing armed self-defence units ready to shoot. According to professor Colin Tatz, between 1881 and 1920, there were 1,326 pogroms in Ukraine which took the lives of 70,000 to 250,000 civilian Jews, leaving half a million homeless. Large-scale pogroms, which began in the Russian Empire several decades earlier, intensified during the period of the Russian Civil War and the Revolution of 1917. Professor Zvi Gitelman estimated that only in 1918–1919 over 1,200 pogroms took place in Ukraine thus amounting to a greatest slaughter of Jews in Eastern Europe since 1648
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Forced conversion
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Forced conversion is adoption of a different religion or irreligion under duress. Forced abandonment of religion has been described as conversion to atheism and those who convert may willingly embrace their new religion or irreligion, or may continue, covertly, with the beliefs and practices originally held, while outwardly behaving as converts. Crypto-Jews, crypto-Christians, crypto-Muslims and crypto-Pagans are historical examples of the latter, in general, anthropologists have shown that the relationship between religion and politics is complex, especially when viewed over the expanse of human history. While religious leaders and the state generally have different aims, both are concerned with power and order, both use reason and emotion to motivate behavior, the relationship is far from simple. But religion has often been used coercively, and has used coercion, Christianity was a minority religion during much of the Roman Empire, and the early Christians were persecuted during that time. When Constantine I converted to Christianity, it became the dominant religion in the Roman Empire, already under the reign of Constantine I, Christian heretics had been persecuted, beginning in the late 4th century, the ancient pagan religions were also actively suppressed. In the view of historians, the Constantinian shift turned Christianity from a persecuted religion into one capable of persecution. Forced conversions of Jews were carried out with support of rulers during Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages in Gaul, the Iberian peninsula and in the Byzantine empire. During the Saxon Wars, Charlemagne, King of the Franks, forcibly Roman Catholicized the Saxons from their native Germanic paganism by way of warfare, and law upon conquest. Forced conversion that occurred after the seventh century generally took place during riots and massacres carried out by mobs, Jews were forced to convert to Christianity by the Crusaders in Lorraine, on the Lower Rhine, in Bavaria and Bohemia, in Mainz and in Worms. It is, to be sure, contrary to the Christian Faith that anyone who is unwilling and wholly opposed to it should be compelled to adopt, for this reason a valid distinction is made by some between kinds of unwilling ones and kinds of compelled ones. After the end of the Islamic control of Spain, Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, in Portugal, following an order for their expulsion in 1496, only a handful were allowed to leave and the rest were forced to convert. Muslims were expelled from Portugal in 1497, and were forced to convert in the constituent kingdoms of Spain. The forced conversion of Muslims was implemented in the Crown of Castile from 1500–02, after the conversions, the so-called New Christians were those inhabitants who were baptized under coercion and in the face of execution, becoming forced converts from Islam or from Judaism. Jewish conversos still resided in Spain and often practiced Judaism cryptically and were suspected by the Old Christians of being Crypto-Jews, the Spanish Inquisition generated much wealth and income for the church and individual inquisitors by confiscating the property of the persecuted. The Ottoman Empire and Morocco absorbed most of the Jewish refugees, upon converting to Christianity in the 10th century, Vladimir the Great, the ruler of Kievan Rus, ordered Kievs citizens to undergo a mass baptism in the Dnieper river. After Ivan the Terribles conquest of the Khanate of Kazan, the Muslim population faced slaughter, expulsion, forced resettlement, in the 18th century, Elizabeth of Russia launched a campaign of forced conversion of Russias non-Orthodox subjects, including Muslims and Jews. The Portuguese practised religious persecution in Goa, India in the 16th and 17th centuries, the natives of Goa, most of them Hindus, were subjected to severe torture and oppression by the zealous Portuguese rulers and missionaries, and forcibly converted to Christianity
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Samuel ha-Levi
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Samuel ben Meir Ha-Levi Abulafia, was the treasurer of king Pedro I the Cruel of Castile and founder of the Synagogue of El Transito in Toledo, Spain. Born to the Abu-l-Afiyat family of Tunisian Jewish origins his parents died of plague shortly after arriving in Toledo. His employment ended when the enemies of Pedro I led by Henry of Trastámara organized a pogrom against the Toledan Jewry, which enabled them to assume possession of the royal treasures. In Toledo he lived in the palace that is today the Museo de El Greco, the building was one of ten small synagogues serving Toledos large Jewish population, and while architecturally exquisite its dimensions are not particularly impressive. Its construction was opposed vociferously by the Catholic church, but King Pedro permitted it, constantly criticized by his rivals for his permissive stance towards Jews, eventually the King turned against ha-Levi and had him encarcerated and tortured on suspicion of embezzlement in 1360. He died under duress of torture, and even Samuels career shows that the opportunities for Jews were restricted to certain offices and positions whereas other forms of advancement were denied to them. Ongoing research indicates that his descendants took on the epithet Palacio, de Palenzuela, descendants may include Samuel Pallache and grand rabbi Haim Palachi –see Pallache family
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Froissart's Chronicles
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Froissarts Chronicles are a prose chronicle of the Hundred Years War written in the 14th century by Jean Froissart. For centuries the Chronicles have been recognized as the expression of the chivalric culture of 14th-century England. Froissarts work is perceived as being of importance to informed understandings of the European 14th century. Froissart is sometimes repetitive or covers seemingly insignificant subjects, nevertheless, his battle descriptions are lively and engaging. For the earlier periods Froissart based his work on other existing chronicles, although Froissart may never have been in a battle, he visited Sluys in 1386 to see the preparations for an invasion of England. Sir Walter Scott once remarked that Froissart had marvellous little sympathy for the villain churls, nevertheless, Froissart was not indifferent to the wars effects on the rest of society. The Chronicles are an extensive work, with their almost 1.5 million words. Few modern complete editions have been published, but the text was printed from the late 15th century onwards, enguerrand de Monstrelet continued the Chronicles to 1440, while Jean de Wavrin incorporated large parts of it in his own work. In the 15th and 16th centuries the Chronicles were translated into Dutch, English, Latin, Spanish, Italian, the text of Froissarts Chronicles is preserved in more than 150 manuscripts, many of which are illustrated, some extensively. Jean Froissart came from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut, situated in the tip of the Holy Roman Empire. He appears to have gained his living as a writer, and was a notable French poet in his day, at least by the end of his life he had taken holy orders, and received a profitable benefice. He first wrote a chronicle for the English queen Philippa of Hainault. In particular he denounced his earlier rhyming chronicle, whose accuracy, he admitted, had not always been as good as such important matters as war and knightly prowess require. Froissart also used texts, such as the Life of the Black Prince by Chandos Herald. He furthermore inserted some official documents into his text, including the act of hommage by King Edward III to the French King Philip VI and the English version of the Peace Treaty of Calais. Jean of Hainault had also taken part in several of the battles of the Hundred Years War, first on the English side. His grandson, Guy II, Count of Blois later became the patron of Froissarts Chronicles. Jean Le Bel himself, throughout his work expressed great admiration for Edward III, comparison of Froissarts Book I with Le Bels work shows that for the early parts of the Chronicles Froissart often directly copied and developed very large parts of Le Bels text
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Edward the Black Prince
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Edward of Woodstock KG, called the Black Prince, was the eldest son of King Edward III and Philippa of Hainault, and the father of King Richard II of England. He was the first Duke of Cornwall, the Prince of Wales and he was called Edward of Woodstock in his early life, after his birthplace, and since the 16th century has been popularly known as the Black Prince. He was a military leader, and his victories over the French at the Battles of Crécy. In 1348 he was made a Founding Knight of the Garter, Edward died one year before his father, becoming the first English Prince of Wales not to become King of England. The throne passed instead to his son Richard II, a minor, Richard Barber comments that Edward has attracted relatively little attention from serious historians, but figures largely in popular history. Edward was born on 15 June 1330 at Woodstock Palace in Oxfordshire and he was created Earl of Chester on 18 May 1333, Duke of Cornwall on 17 March 1337 and finally invested as Prince of Wales on 12 May 1343 when he was almost thirteen years old. In England, Edward served as a regent for periods in 1339,1340. He was expected to all council meetings, and he performed the negotiations with the papacy about the war in 1337. He also served as High Sheriff of Cornwall from 1340–1341,1343,1358, Edward had been raised with his cousin Joan, The Fair Maid of Kent. Edward gained permission for the marriage from Pope Innocent VI and absolution for marriage to a blood-relative, the marriage caused some controversy, mainly because of Joans chequered marital history and the fact that marriage to an Englishwoman wasted an opportunity to form an alliance with a foreign power. When in England, Edwards chief residence was at Wallingford Castle in Berkshire and he served as the kings representative in Aquitaine, where he and Joan kept a court which was considered among the most fashionable of the time. It was the resort of exiled kings such as James IV of Majorca, Peter of Castile, thrust from his throne by his illegitimate brother Henry of Trastámara, offered Edward the lordship of Biscay in 1367, in return for the Black Princes aid in recovering his throne. Edward was successful in the Battle of Nájera, in which he defeated the combined French. However Peter did not pay fully and refused to yield Biscay, Edward retreated to Guienne by July. The Black Prince returned to England in January 1371 and died on 8 June 1376, Edward lived in a century of decline for the knightly ideal of chivalry. However, some argue he may have been playing for time to preparation of his archers positions. On the other hand, his tendencies were overridden by expediency on many occasions. The Crécy Campaign on the front, which crippled the French army for ten years
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Castile (historical region)
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Castile is a vaguely defined historical region of Spain. There are different conceptions and definitions of Castile, and since it lacks modern day official recognition, historically, Kingdom of Castile occupied the area. In modern Spain, it is considered to comprise the majority of the autonomous communities of Castile and León. Modern Spanish monarchs are numbered according to the system of Castile, castiles name is thought to derive from Spanish for land of castles in reference to the castles built in the area to consolidate the Christian Reconquest from the oncoming Moors. Originally an eastern county of the kingdom of León, in the 11th century Castile became an independent realm with its capital at Burgos, the County of Castile, which originally included most of Burgos and parts of Vizcaya, Álava, Cantabria and La Rioja. The capture of Toledo in 1085 added New Castile to the territories. León was finally reunited with Castile in 1230, and the following decades saw the capture of Córdoba, Murcia, by the Treaty of Alcaçovas with Portugal on March 6,1460, the ownership of the Canary Islands was transferred to Castile. See List of Spanish monarchs and Kings of Spain family tree, the Muslim Kingdom of Granada was conquered in 1492, formally passing to the Crown of Castile in that year. At the present time there are two nominally Castilian autonomous communities in Spain, as they hold the toponym in their own name, Castile and Leon. Other territories in the former Crown of Castile are left out for different reasons, however, in 1833, Spain was organised into administrative regions with specific official borders. The language of Castile emerged as the language of Spain—known to many of its speakers as castellano and in English sometimes as Castilian. See Names given to the Spanish language, Castilians are defined as a community with a shared culture and history. Their origin is, as well as most of parts of the Spain. Thus, it is not correct to establish a common origin. Over time, most Castilians have mixed with other Spaniards due to their past political dominance, Castilians and their cultural influence spread throughout the entire plateau of central Spain during the Reconquista, carried out principally by the Kingdom of Toledo which was renamed New Castile. Castilian ethnicity is the product of the conquest, by a kingdom in northern Spain. These lands were populated, during the reconquest, by peoples all over the peninsula. The Castilian language, now known as Spanish, gradually became the main language of Spain
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Fotheringham, James Gainsborough (1889). "Felton, William (d.1367)". In Stephen, Leslie. Dictionary of National Biography. 18. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 311.
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