Jump to content

Constable of Castile

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Filiep (talk | contribs) at 08:07, 3 February 2023. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Constable of Castile (Template:Lang-es) was a title of a military nature created by John I, King of Castile in 1382, as a result of the Third Fernandine War against the Portuguese and the English.

The post substituted the title of Alférez Mayor del Reino and was more consistent with that of the French Constable of France. The constable was the second person in power in the kingdom, after the King and had supreme authority over the Army, as well as broad jurisdictional powers.

In 1473, Henry IV of Castile made the title hereditary for the Velasco family and the dukes of Frías. By that time, the position lacked any substance, and therefore it was decided that the title would cease to have any military or administrative connotations, and was simply an honorific title.

List of constables of Castile

Hereditary ceremonial title

Sources

Portal de Archivos Españoles