Ferdinand IV of Castile and Leon

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Fernando, IV de Castilla i León
Title: 3rd Monarch of Castile and Leon
 Term in office: 12951312
 Predecessor: King Sancho IV
 Successor: King Alfonso XI
Birth:  
 Date: 1285
 Place:
Death:  
 Date: 1312
 Place:
Profession: ...
Relgious Affiliation: Catholic

Ferdinand IV, El Emplazado or "the Summoned," (December 6, 1285 - September 7, 1312) was a king of Castile and Leon (1295 - 1312). He was a son of Sancho El Bravo and his wife Maria de Molina.

His strange title is given him in the chronicles on the strength of a story that he put two brothers of the name of Carvajal to death tyrannically, and was given a time (plazo) by them in which to answer for his crime in the next world. But the tale is not contemporary, and is an obvious copy of the story told of Jacques de Molay, grand-master of the Temple, and Philippe Le Bel.

His minority was a time of anarchy. He owed his escape from the violence of competitors and nobles, partly to the tact and undaunted bravery of his mother Maria de Molina, and partly to the loyalty of the citizens of Ávila, who gave him refuge within their walls. As a king he proved ungrateful to his mother, and weak as a ruler.

He married Constance, Daughter of King Denis of Portugal.

He captured Gibraltar in 1309, with the help of Aragon. He died suddenly in his tent at Jaen when preparing for a raid into the Moorish territory of Granada, on September 7, 1312.

Preceded by:
Sancho IV
King of Castile and Leon Succeeded by:
Alfonso XI