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Alfonso IV of Aragon

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Alfonso IV
Seal of Alfonso IV
King of Aragon, Valencia, Sardinia and Corsica, Count of Barcelona
Reign2/5 November 1327 – 24 January 1336
PredecessorJames II
SuccessorPeter IV
Born2 November 1299
Naples
Died24 January 1336 (aged 36)
Barcelona
SpouseTeresa d'Entença
Eleanor of Castile
IssueAlfonso
Constance, Queen of Majorca
Peter IV, King of Aragon
James I, Count of Urgell
HouseHouse of Barcelona
FatherJames II of Aragon
MotherBlanche of Anjou

Alfonso IV, called the Kind (also the Gentle or the Nice, Catalan: Alfons el Benigne) (2 November 1299 – 24 January 1336) was the King of Aragon[1] and Count of Barcelona[2] (as Alfonso III) from 1327 to his death. He was born in Naples, the second son of James II and Blanche of Anjou. His reign saw the incorporation of the County of Urgell, Duchy of Athens, and Duchy of Neopatria into the Crown of Aragon.

During the reign of his father, he was the procurator general of the Crown. He married Teresa d'Entença y Cabrera, heiress of Urgell, in 1314 in the Cathedral of Lerida. He is reputed to have been so liberal in the expenses during the wedding, that the local counsels imposed restrictions on how much he could spend. In 1323–1324, he undertook the conquest of Sardinia. He became heir after his older brother James renounced his rights to become a monk. In 1329, he began a long war with the Republic of Genoa. The city of Sassari surrendered in 1323, but rebelled three more times and was contested by Genoa.

After being widowed in 1327, Alfonso married in February 1329 Eleanor of Castile (1308–1359), who was betrothed to his brother James, who had refused to consummate the marriage. She was the sister of Alfonso XI of Castile. Because of some favoritism he showed towards his second wife, the last years of his life, he had to contend with the son of his first marriage, the future Peter IV.

Children

Artistic presentation of Alfonso IV, painted by Manuel Aguirre y Monsalbe (1822–1856)

By Teresa d'Entença:

By Eleanor of Castile:

Ancestors

16. Peter II of Aragon
8. James I of Aragon
17. Maria of Montpellier
4. Peter III of Aragon
18. Andrew II of Hungary
9. Violant of Hungary
19. Yolanda de Courtenay
2. James II of Aragon
20. Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
10. Manfred of Sicily
21. Bianca Lancia
5. Constance of Sicily
22. Amadeus IV, Count of Savoy
11. Beatrice of Savoy
23. Marguerite of Burgundy
1. Alfonso IV of Aragon
24. Louis VIII of France
12. Charles I of Naples
25. Blanche of Castile
6. Charles II of Naples
26. Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence
13. Beatrice of Provence
27. Beatrice of Savoy
3. Blanche of Anjou
28. Béla IV of Hungary
14. Stephen V of Hungary
29. Maria Laskarina
7. Maria of Hungary
30. Kuthen the Cuman
15. Elizabeth the Cuman
31. Galicie of Halicz

Notes

  1. ^ O'Callaghan, Joseph F.,A History of Medieval Spain, (Cornell University Press, 1975), 408.
  2. ^ Medieval Iberia: an encyclopedia, Ed. E. Michael Gerli, Samuel G. Armistead, (Routledge, 2003), 95.

Sources

  • Diccionario universal de historia y de geografía, p. 152. By Lucas Alamán, Manuel Orozco y Berra
  • Medieval Iberia: an encyclopedia, Ed. E. Michael Gerli, Samuel G. Armistead, Routledge, 2003.
  • O'Callaghan, Joseph F., A History of Medieval Spain, Cornell University Press, 1975.
Alfonso IV of Aragon
Cadet branch of the House of Barcelona
Born: c. 1299 Died: 24 January 1336
Regnal titles
Preceded by King of Aragon, Valencia,
Sardinia and Corsica;
Count of Barcelona
1327–1336 		Succeeded by
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