Álvaro de Luna | |
|---|---|
 Álvaro de Luna dressed in the habit of theOrder of Santiago | |
| Constable of Castile | |
| In office 1423–1453 | |
| Preceded by | Ruy López Dávalos |
| Succeeded by | Miguel Lucas de Iranzo [es] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Cañete, Crown of Castile |
| Died | (1453-06-02)2 June 1453 Valladolid, Crown of Castile |
| Spouses | |
Álvaro de Luna y Fernández de Jarava[1] (between 1388 and 1390 – 2 June 1453), was a Castilian statesman,favourite ofJohn II of Castile. He served asConstable of Castile and as Grand Master of theOrder of Santiago. He earned great influence in the Crown's affairs in the wake of his support to John II against the so-calledInfantes of Aragon. Once he lost the protection of the monarch, he was executed in Valladolid in 1453.
He was born between 1388 and 1390 inCañete, in what is now theprovince of Cuenca, as the illegitimate son of the Castiliannoble don Álvaro Martínez de Luna,copero mayor (the page who poured drinks for a nobleman) of KingHenry III of Castile, and María Fernández de Jarana, a woman of great character and beauty.
He was introduced to the court as apage by his uncle Pedro V de Luna,Archbishop of Toledo in 1410. Álvaro soon secured a commanding influence overJohn II, then a boy. During theregency of King John's uncleFerdinand, which ended in 1412, he was not allowed to be more than a servant. When, however, Ferdinand was electedking of Aragon, and the regency was assumed by the king's mother,Catherine of Lancaster, daughter ofJohn of Gaunt, and granddaughter of KingPeter of Castile, Álvaro became a very important person, the so-called "contino", or old friend of the King.[2][n. 1]
Álvaro de Luna married Elvira de Portocarrero in 1420.[4] They had no issue. In 1430, he marriedJuana Pimentel, with whom he had two children.[4]
The young King regarded him with love and affection which the superstition of later time attributed towitchcraft. As the King was under pressure by greedy and unscrupulous nobles — among whom his cousins, the sons of Ferdinand, commonly known as theInfantes of Aragon, were perhaps the most dangerous — his reliance on afavourite who had every motive to be loyal to him, is quite understandable.[5] Luna was also a master of all the accomplishments the King admired: a fine horseman, skillful with alance and a writer of court verse.[2] But beyond the purview of his peers, he was a master of intrigue and dissimulation.[citation needed]
Until he lost the King's protection, Álvaro was the central figure of the Castilian history of the time. It was a period of constant conflict, characterised by shifting coalitions of nobles, namely the Infantes of AragonHenry andJohn of Aragon, brothers of John II's wifeMaria, who, under the pretence of freeing the King from the undue influence of his favourite, were intent on making a puppet of him for their own ends.[2]
The part which Álvaro de Luna played has been diversely judged. TheEncyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition recounts that toJuan de Mariana he appears as a mere self-seeking favourite. To others, he has seemed to be a loyal servant of the King who endeavoured to enforce the authority of the crown, which in Castile was the only alternative toanarchy. He fought for his own ends, but his supremacy was perhaps better than the rule of lawless alliances of plundering nobles.
In 1427, he was solemnly expelled by a coalition of the nobles, only to be recalled in the following year. In 1431, he endeavoured to employ the restless nobles in a campaign for thereconquest ofGranada, the remaining territory ofMuslim Spain and then ruled by the sultanMuhammed IX. Some successes were gained at theBattle of La Higueruela, but in the end de Luna failed. A consistent policy was impossible with a rebellious aristocracy and a king of indolent character.[2]
In 1445, the faction of nobles allied with Álvaro's main enemies, the Infantes of Aragon, were defeated at theFirst Battle of Olmedo. One of them, Infante Henry, Duke of Villena, brother of the Queen, died of his wounds. Luna, who had been Constable of Castile and Count of San Esteban de Gormaz since 1423, became Grand Master of theOrder of Santiago by election of the Knights.[2]
Queen Maria died under suspicious circumstances, pointing to Luna as the mastermind. Nevertheless, his power appeared to be thoroughly established. It was, however, based only on the personal affection of the King. The King's second wife,Isabella of Portugal, although her whole royal marriage was a product of Luna's arrangements, was soon offended by the immense influence of the Constable, and when the murder of the King's accountant Alfonso Pérez de Vivero was suspected to have been at Luna's orders, she urged her husband to free himself from thralldom to his favourite. In 1453, the King succumbed to his wife's demands; Luna was arrested, tried and condemned to death, and soon executed by beheading atValladolid on 2 June 1453.[2]
By his marriage withJuana Pimentel, Álvaro de Luna had two children:
By Margarita Manuel, Álvaro de Luna had anatural son:
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Luna, Álvaro de".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 123.| Spanish nobility | ||
|---|---|---|
| New title | Count of San Esteban de Gormaz 1423–1445 | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Grand Master of theOrder of Santiago 1445–1453 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Constable of Castile 1423–1453 | Succeeded by |
