sancho of Castile dies, what happens next?

Ferdinand de la Cerda was the oldest son of Alfonso x of Castile and had two sons named Alfonso and Ferdinand. His death in 1275, allowed his brother Sancho to claim the throne and cause a smal civil war that ended when Alfonso de law Cerda renounced his rights to the throne. What would’ve happened had Sancho of Castile had died in 1284 almost immediately after taking the throne?
 
Ferdinand de la Cerda was the oldest son of Alfonso x of Castile and had two sons named Alfonso and Ferdinand. His death in 1275, allowed his brother Sancho to claim the throne and cause a smal civil war that ended when Alfonso de law Cerda renounced his rights to the throne. What would’ve happened had Sancho of Castile had died in 1284 almost immediately after taking the throne?

Sancho IV was acknowledged as King in 1284 with his daughter Isabel as heir. That is pretty much the only argument in favour of a Sancho-line succession in Castile. On the other hand :

1. His marriage was deemed illegitimate by the Church, canonically, his daughter is a bastard unable to inherit.
2. His own father disinherited him.
3. His only brother left, infante Juan, "el de Tarifa", did not like him and would not push his niece to the throne.
4. The Infantes de la Cerda have numerous partisans, including Aragon and France.

If Sancho died without sons, the dispositions of Alfonso X's will would have been put into effect : Alfonso de la Cerda is proclaimed King of Castile and Leon, Juan is King of Sevilla and Badajoz and Regent. IMO, that is material for a second civil war between uncle and nephews.
 
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Sancho IV was acknowledged as King in 1284 with his daughter Isabel as heir. That is pretty much the only argument in favour of a Sancho-line succession in Castile. On the other hand :

1. His marriage was deemed illegitimate by the Church, canonically, his daughter is a bastard unable to inherit.
2. His own father disinherited him.
3. His only brother left, infante Juan, "el de Tarifa", did not like him and would not push his niece to the throne.
4. The Infantes de la Cerda have numerous partisans, including Aragon and France.

If Sancho died without sons, the dispositions of Alfonso X's will would have put into effect : Alfonso de la Cerda is proclaimed King of Castile and Leon, Juan is King of Sevilla and Badajoz and Regent. IMO, that is material for a second civil war between uncle and nephews.
Oh how so? Why would Juan become king of Sevilla?
 
Ah I see, so, I imagine then that things would be tempered for a while until Alfonso de la Cerda became a fully fledged adult?
 
Ah I see, so, I imagine then that things would be tempered for a while until Alfonso de la Cerda became a fully fledged adult?
Alfonso is already 13 in 1284, so things can go messy real quick if there is no settlement between uncle and nephew.

Just for fun a quick made map of this alt-Iberia

Castile de La Cerda.png
 
OOOh I like it, I imagine Juan would remain obstinate right though he did want his nephew on the throne original right?
 
OOOh I like it, I imagine Juan would remain obstinate right though he did want his nephew on the throne original right?

Juan was mainly interested in his own power. He played along with Sancho at first, then turn on him when the Vizcaya inheritance seemed threatened, he was an opponent of Ferdinand IV, but a regent for Alfonso XI, etc. Not a very straithforward type of guy.
 
This is very true, I imagine he'd need to be killed off eh? I wonder who Alfonso could marry

Peter of Aragon would need reassurances before letting his grandnephew taking the throne, so I figured Violant of Aragon, but they are a little too closely related (first cousins once removed). Violante Manuel is also a possibility, but the family link is the same. Maybe in Italy ? I am rather fond of the idea of Princess Fleur-de-lys (a real Disney Princess name !), the last daughter of Manfred of Sicily. She is the sister in law of Peter, so the link with Aragon is there, her mother came from the Byzantine imperial family, her father from the German imperial family, so prestige is here (even if the former came from a cadet lien and the latter was a bastard).
 
Peter of Aragon would need reassurances before letting his grandnephew taking the throne, so I figured Violant of Aragon, but they are a little too closely related (first cousins once removed). Violante Manuel is also a possibility, but the family link is the same. Maybe in Italy ? I am rather fond of the idea of Princess Fleur-de-lys (a real Disney Princess name !), the last daughter of Manfred of Sicily. She is the sister in law of Peter, so the link with Aragon is there, her mother came from the Byzantine imperial family, her father from the German imperial family, so prestige is here (even if the former came from a cadet lien and the latter was a bastard).

Oh that could be quite interesting, a daughter of Manfred would be good as it brings ties with Siciliy as you say and also ensures that perhaps there might be some shenanigans there later on. So, would Peter march northwards to aid his nephew?
 
Oh that could be quite interesting, a daughter of Manfred would be good as it brings ties with Siciliy as you say and also ensures that perhaps there might be some shenanigans there later on. So, would Peter march northwards to aid his nephew?

Though weren't Manfred's kids kept in prison by Charles of Sicily?
 
Oh that could be quite interesting, a daughter of Manfred would be good as it brings ties with Siciliy as you say and also ensures that perhaps there might be some shenanigans there later on. So, would Peter march northwards to aid his nephew?
Though weren't Manfred's kids kept in prison by Charles of Sicily?

Alfonso de la Cerda is a guest/ward/prisoner of Peter of Aragon, so the latter's good will is paramount. As tension is building up with France, Peter would likely gain some tranquility on his west by negociating with Juan and sending at least a token force with Alfonso (but keeping Fernando, just in case...). Marrying Alfonso with Constance's sister also ensures he would always be an ally in the Sicilian question.

I had find no info on Fleur de lys herself, but her sister Beatrice was kept prisonner in Naples and freed after the Battle of the Bay of Naples (june 5).
 
Alfonso de la Cerda is a guest/ward/prisoner of Peter of Aragon, so the latter's good will is paramount. As tension is building up with France, Peter would likely gain some tranquility on his west by negociating with Juan and sending at least a token force with Alfonso (but keeping Fernando, just in case...). Marrying Alfonso with Constance's sister also ensures he would always be an ally in the Sicilian question.

I had find no info on Fleur de lys herself, but her sister Beatrice was kept prisonner in Naples and freed after the Battle of the Bay of Naples (june 5).

Hmm interesting as wikipedia says this: Manfred's second wife was Helena Angelina Doukaina,[11] daughter of Michael II Komnenos Doukas, ruler of the despotate of Epirus, who made this marriage to ally with Manfred after being attacked by him at Thessalonica. Helena and Manfred had four children: Beatrix, Frederick, Henry and Azzolino. Helena and all her children were captured by Charles of Anjou after Manfred's death in 1266.[13] Helena died in prison in Nocera in 1271. The children were imprisoned in the Castel dell'Ovo until they were moved to the Castel Nuovo by Charles II in 1299. Azzolino died first, followed by Henry in 1309. Beatrice had been released on the orders of the Aragonese commander Roger of Lauria following a battle off Naples in 1284. She went on to marry Manfred IV, Marquis of Saluzzo.[14] The eldest son, Frederick, escaped his prison and fled to Germany. He spent time in several European courts before dying in Egypt in 1312.
 
Hmm interesting as wikipedia says this: Manfred's second wife was Helena Angelina Doukaina,[11] daughter of Michael II Komnenos Doukas, ruler of the despotate of Epirus, who made this marriage to ally with Manfred after being attacked by him at Thessalonica. Helena and Manfred had four children: Beatrix, Frederick, Henry and Azzolino. Helena and all her children were captured by Charles of Anjou after Manfred's death in 1266.[13] Helena died in prison in Nocera in 1271. The children were imprisoned in the Castel dell'Ovo until they were moved to the Castel Nuovo by Charles II in 1299. Azzolino died first, followed by Henry in 1309. Beatrice had been released on the orders of the Aragonese commander Roger of Lauria following a battle off Naples in 1284. She went on to marry Manfred IV, Marquis of Saluzzo.[14] The eldest son, Frederick, escaped his prison and fled to Germany. He spent time in several European courts before dying in Egypt in 1312.

Floredelis may have been Manfred's bastard (at least one reference), but it:wikipedia gives her as a daughter of Helena Doukaina. In fact, maybe Flordelis did not exist. Annette Parks could not pronounce herself in an article about the captivity of Manfred's children (Medieval Hostageship C.700-c.1500, Matthew Bennett and Katherine Weikert ed.)
 
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She may a litteraly "fantasy princess" rather than an actual one.

Ahaha this is true, in which case, who would be considered realistically for Alfonso? WOuld Juan have tried to stake a claim to Castile directly, or would he have invited his nephew to take the throne?
 
Ahaha this is true, in which case, who would be considered realistically for Alfonso? WOuld Juan have tried to stake a claim to Castile directly, or would he have invited his nephew to take the throne?

The problem for Juan is legitimacy. Sancho was able to bypass his nephews because a "son passes before a grandson" (a la Mahaut d'Artois BTW), but Juan cannot, as his late brother had a daughter. He is not the closest one to the last king and his niece was sworn in as heiress. His narrow way is acknowledging the legitimacy of Sancho, but not his marriage. He would piss off the Molina and the Haro (because the bastard daughter thing) without rallying the partisans of the infantes de la Cerda.
 
The problem for Juan is legitimacy. Sancho was able to bypass his nephews because a "son passes before a grandson" (a la Mahaut d'Artois BTW), but Juan cannot, as his late brother had a daughter. He is not the closest one to the last king and his niece was sworn in as heiress. His narrow way is acknowledging the legitimacy of Sancho, but not his marriage. He would piss off the Molina and the Haro (because the bastard daughter thing) without rallying the partisans of the infantes de la Cerda.

Hmm interesting could he push for the girl to be recognised as Queen then? Alternatively, could as a way to broker peace, Alfonso de la Cerda marry Isabella?
 
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