Discover

(Redirected from Pedro IV of Aragon)


'Peter IV' (September 1319 – 5 January 1387), called 'the Ceremonious' (''el Cerimoniós'') or '''El del Punyalet''' ("the one of the little dagger"), was the King of Aragon, King of Sardinia and Corsica (as 'Peter I'), King of Valencia (as 'Peter II'), and Count of Barcelona (and the rest of the Principality of Catalonia as 'Peter III') from 1336 until his death. He deposed James III of Majorca and made himself King of Majorca in 1344. His reign was occupied with attempts to strengthen the crown against the Union of Aragon and other such devices of the nobility, with their near constant revolts, and with foreign wars, in Sardinia, Sicily, the Mezzogiorno, Greece, and the Balearics. His wars in Greece made him Duke of Athens and Neopatria in 1381.
Peter was the eldest son and heir of Alfonso IV and his first wife, Teresa d'Entença. Peter was designated to inherit all of his father's title save that of Count of Urgell, which went to James.

Contents

Military career

Conquest of Majorca

Generalitat

Marriage and children

References

Notes

External links

Military career

By the Pact of Madrid, Peter was constrained to aid Alfonso XI of Castile in his successful attack on Algeciras (1344) and his failed attempt on Gibraltar (1349) by defending against a Moroccan counterattack.
He found himself facing a rebellion among the nobles which would fail after he defeated the nobles in the Battle of Epila in 1348.
In 1356, he engaged with Peter I of Castile in what was called the "War of the Two Peters". It ended in 1375 with the Treaty of Almazán, without a winner due to the Black Death and several natural disasters.
He conquered Sicily in 1377 but the possession was given to his son Martin.
Throughout his reign, Peter IV had frequent conflicts with the inquisitor general of Aragon, Nicolau Aymerich.

Conquest of Majorca

In 1343, Peter declared his brother-in-law, James III of Majorca, guilty of openly conspiring against him and deposed. He invaded Majorca and defeated James' troops at Santa Ponça. Afterwards he invaded James' continental possessions, taking Roussillon and completely dispossessing James of his throne. He allowed James to keep the little Lordship of Montpellier, from where he attempted to recuperate Cerdagne and Conflent to no avail. In 1349, James invaded Majorca, but was soundly defeated by Peter's troops at the Battle of Llucmajor, in which he died.
After James' death, Peter allowed James IV, his successor, to retain his royal title on purely formal terms until his death in 1375. After that date, Peter assumed the titular. Majorca remained one of the component crowns of the Crown of Aragon until the Nueva Planta decrees.

Generalitat

At a cortes celebrated at Barcelona, Vilafranca del Penedès and Cervera in 1358–1359, Peter instituted the Generalitat. Castile had recently invaded Aragon and Valencia and the cortes decided to streamline the government by designating a dozen deputies to oversee the fiscal and material policies of the Crown. The first "President of the Generalitat" was Berenguer de Cruïlles, Bishop of Girona (1359).

Marriage and children

On 1338, he married Maria of Navarre (1329-1347), daughter of Joan II of Navarre. She bore him two daughters:

★ Constança of Aragon (1343-1363), who married Frederick III of Sicily.

★ Joan, Countess of Empuries (b.c. 1346).
On 1347, he married Leonor of Portugal (1328-1348), daughter of Afonso IV of Portugal. She died one year later of the Black Death.
His third marriage was to Eleanor of Sicily (1325-1375), daughter of Peter II of Sicily. Four children were born from this marriage:

★ Juan I

★ Martí I

★ Eleanor, who married Juan I of Castile and was the mother of Ferdinand I of Aragon.

★ Alfonso (died young).
His last marriage, in 1377, was to Sibila of Fortià, who bore him a daughter:

★ Elizabeth (1376-1424), who married her cousin James (Jaume), Count of Urgell.

References

★ Chaytor, H. J. ''A History of Aragon and Catalonia''. London: Methuen, 1933.

★ Setton, Kenneth M. ''Catalan Domination of Athens 1311–1380''. Revised edition. London: Variorum, 1975.

Notes

External links

★ Peter III of Catalonia-Aragon


|-
|-