page_title: Ferdinand IV of Castile
section_title: Conflicts with John of Castile and Juan Manuel of Villena (1310–1311)
hierarchical_section_title: Ferdinand IV of Castile / Life / Reign (1295–1312) / Last years and death (1310–1312) / Conflicts with John of Castile and Juan Manuel of Villena (1310–1311)
context_page_description: Ferdinand IV of Castile called the Summoned, was the king of Castile and León from 1295 until his death.
  During his minority, his upbringing and the custody of his person were entrusted to his mother, Queen María de Molina, while his tutorship was entrusted to his granduncle Henry of Castile the Senator. At that time, and also for the rest of his reign, his mother tried to placate the nobility, confronted her son's enemies, and repeatedly prevented Ferdinand IV from being dethroned. He faced the insubordination of the nobility, led at numerous times by his uncle John of Castile, Lord of Valencia de Campos, and by Juan Núñez II de Lara, who were supported in some occasions by another royal relative, Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena.
  Like his predecessors on the throne, Ferdinand IV continued the Reconquista and, although he failed to conquer Algeciras in 1309, he captured the city of Gibraltar that same year, and in 1312 the city of Alcaudete was also conquered. During the Cortes of Valladolid of 1312, he promoted the reform of the administration of justice, and that of all areas of administration, while attempting to strengthen the royal authority to the detriment of the nobility.
context_section_description: In 1310, after the siege of Algeciras, Ferdinand IV sent Juan Núñez II de Lara to confer with Pope Clement V, to implore him not to permit the process against his predecessor Pope Boniface VIII, who had legitimized the marriage of the parents of Ferdinand IV in 1301, thereby legitimizing the Castilian King himself. Juan Núñez II de Lara was to inform the Pope about the causes that had motivated the lifting of the siege of Algeciras, and also had to petitioned, on behalf of Ferdinand IV, funds for the continuation of the war against the Kingdom of Granada. Pope Clement V tried to soften the animosity that King Philip IV of France felt towards the late Pope Boniface VIII, condemn the behavior of John of Castile and Juan Manuel of Villena during the siege of Algeciras, granted the Castilian monarch the tithes collected In his domains for a year, and sent various letters to the prelates of the Kingdom of Castile and León in which they were ordered to severely reprimand those who didn't collaborate with Ferdinand IV in the enterprise of the Reconquista.
  In the meanwhile, Ferdinand IV undertook again the war against the Kingdom of Granada. His brother the Infante Peter conquered the castle of Tempul and later went to Seville, where the King was. In November 1310, both brothers went to Córdoba, where a popular uprising had taken place against several knights of the city. Meanwhile, Dowager Queen María de Molina, who was in Valladolid, begged her son to join her there, so that the monarch might be present at the wedding of his sister, the Infanta Isabella with John, Viscount of Limoges and heir of the Duchy of Brittany. On the way to Burgos, Ferdinand IV stopped in the city of Toledo and confessed to Juan Núñez II de Lara that he planned to arrest or assassinate John of Castile, because he thought that if he still live, he would harm and hinder him in all his purposes. However, Juan Núñez II de Lara, in spite of his hatred for John of Castile, realized that the King didn't do it out of affection for him, and that if he helped Ferdinand IV to get rid of John of Castile, this would mean his own ruin.
  Ferdinand IV arrived in Burgos in January 1311, and after the marriage of his sister, he planned to assassinate John of Castile, as a revenge for his desertion during the siege of Algeciras and, at the same time, to subdue the nobility, who again rebelled against the royal authority. However, the Dowager Queen advised John of Castile of the purposes of her son and he was able to escape. Ferdinand IV, accompanied by his brother Infante Peter, Lope Díaz de Haro, and by the troops of the council of Burgos persecuted John of Castile and his supporters, who took refuge in the city of Saldaña.
  The King then deprived John of Castile of his title of Adelantado Mayor (who was granted to Juan Núñez II de Lara) and ordered the confiscation of lands and lordships that he had given to him and his sons Alfonso de Valencia and Juan The one-eyed, and the same luck was suffered by Sancho of Castile, cousin of Ferdinand IV and supporter of John of Castile. At the same time, Juan Manuel of Villena reconciled with the monarch and asked him to grant him the position of First Majordomo; Ferdinand IV, who wished that Juan Manuel would break his friendship with John of Castile, stripped Infante Peter of the position of First Majordomo and gave it to Juan Manuel of Villena, and in as a compensation for the loss of the title the King gave his brother the cities of Almazán and Berlanga de Duero, which he had previously promised to him.
  At the beginning of February 1311, and although he had reconciled with Ferdinand IV, Juan Manuel of Villena left the city of Burgos and went to Peñafiel, reuniting shortly afterwards with John of Castile in Dueñas. The supporters and vassals of John of Castile, fearing the wrath of the King, prepared to defend him, among them Sancho of Castile and Juan Alfonso de Haro. In view of the situation, Ferdinand IV, who didn't want an open revolt of the supporters of John of Castile, in addition to wanting to dedicate himself exclusively
caption: Coat of arms of Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena.