Editing Ferdinand IV of Castile (section)

==Meeting of Ariza and death of Henry of Castile (1303)==
In 1303, while the King was in [[Badajoz]], [[Henry of Castile the Senator|Henry of Castile]], [[Diego López V de Haro]] and [[Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena]] had a meeting in [[Roa de Duero|Roa]], and they agreed that Juan Manuel would have a meeting with the King of Aragon, who agreed that the three magnates and himself should meet the Day of [[John the Baptist]] in the municipality of [[Ariza, Zaragoza|Ariza]]. Later, Henry of Castile communicated his plans to María de Molina, who was in [[Valladolid]], with the purpose of that she was united to them. The plan of Henry of Castile consisted in that [[Alfonso de la Cerda]] became King of León and married with the ''Infanta'' [[Isabella of Castile, Queen of Aragon|Isabel]] (sister of Ferdinand IV and repudiated child-bride of the Aragonese monarch), while the ''Infante'' [[Peter of Castile, Lord of Cameros|Peter of Castile]] (brother of Fernando IV) would be proclaimed King of Castile and would marry with a daughter of James II of Aragon. Henry of Castile stated that his intention was to achieve peace in the Kingdom and to eliminate the influence of the John of Castile and Juan Núñez II de Lara.

This plan, which would have meant the disintegration of the Kingdom of Castile and León, as well as the forced resignation of Ferdinand IV to the throne, was rejected by the Dowager Queen, who refused to support the project and to participate in the Meeting of Ariza. In the meanwhile, Ferdinand IV begged his mother to put peace between him and the magnates who supported Henry of Castile, who again begged the Dowager Queen to support the Henry's plan, to which she refused. While still celebrating the Meeting of Ariza, the Dowager Queen reminded Henry of Castile and his companions of the loyalty they owed to her son, as well as the properties with which she had endowed them, thereby enabling some knights to leave Ariza without seconding Henry's plan. However, Henry of Castile, Juan Manuel of Villena and other knights were committed to make the war to Ferdinand IV, as well as to that the Kingdom of Murcia should be returned to Aragon and the Kingdom of Jaén given to Alfonso de la Cerda. However, while the Dowager Queen met the Councils and obstructed the intentions of Henry of Castile, he became seriously ill and had to be transferred to his village of Roa. Faced with Henry's illness, the Dowager Queen, fearing that his lordships and castles would be inherited by Juan Manuel of Villena and Lope Díaz de Haro (to those he planned to bequeath his possessions to his death), she persuaded Henry's confessor, as well as his companions, to convince him to return his properties to the Crown, to which Henry refused, since he didn't wish that his inheritance could be taken by Ferdinand IV.
[[File:Armas del infante Enrique de Castilla.svg|200px|thumb|left|Coat of arms of the [[Henry of Castile the Senator]], son of [[Ferdinand III of Castile]], who served as guardian of the king during the minority of Ferdinand IV.]]
When Juan Manuel of Villena, nephew of Henry of Castile, arrived at Roa, he found him speechless, and taking him for dead, he took possession of all the valuable objects that were there, as referred to in the ''Chronicle of Ferdinand IV'':{{Sfn|Benavides|1860|p=122}}

{{Blockquote|And when he saw Prince Henry speechless, and believing him dead, took everything he found in the house, silver and beasts and letters with the royal seal, and leave the village and took with him everything he found from Prince Henry, and goes to Peñafiel, who belonged to Prince Juan Manuel.}}

The Dowager Queen then sent orders to all the fortresses of the dying Henry, in which it was arranged that if he died, they would not surrender the castles but to the King's troops, to which they belonged. Henry of Castile died on 8 August 1303 and was buried in the disappeared [[Monastery of San Francisco of Valladolid]]. His vassals gave little evidence of mourning for him, and when the Dowager Queen learned of it, she ordered that a brocade cloth be placed on the coffin, and that all the clerics and nobles present in Valladolid should attend the funerals.

While Henry of Castile was agonizing, Ferdinand IV made a pact with Sultan [[Muhammed III, Sultan of Granada|Muhammed III of Granada]], which stipulated that the sovereign of Granada would keep [[Alcaudete]], [[Quesada, Spain|Quesada]] and Bedmar, while Ferdinand IV would keep the city of [[Tarifa]]. Muhammed III declared himself vassal of Ferdinand IV and promised to pay him the corresponding ''[[parias]]''. On learning that Henry of Castile had died, Ferdinand IV was pleased and granted most of his land to Juan Núñez II de Lara, who also received the position of ''Adelantado mayor'' of the [[Andalusia]]n border, while returning [[Écija]] to María de Molina, for having been hers before she gave it to Henry of Castile. In November 1303 the King was in Valladolid with his mother, and requested her advice, since he wished to put an end to the dispute between John of Castile and Diego López V de Haro for the possession of the [[Lordship of Biscay]]. The Dowager Queen told him that she would help him to resolve the matter, while the King made important donations to her, for the good relations between Ferdinand IV and his mother had been fully restored.

In January 1304, when the King was in [[Carrión de los Condes]], John of Castile claimed again, in the name of his wife, and supported by Juan Núñez II de Lara, the Lordship of Biscay, although the monarch at first resolved that John of Castile's wife be satisfied with receiving [[Paredes de Nava]] and [[Villalón de Campos]] as compensation, to which John of Castile refused, arguing that his wife would not accept this for disagreeing with the previous pacts established by her husband in relation to The Lordship of Biscay. In view of the situation, the King proposed that Diego López V de Haro surrender to [[María I Díaz de Haro]], in exchange for the Lordship of Biscay, the cities of [[Tordehumos]], [[Íscar]], Santa Olalla, as well as his possessions in [[Cuéllar]], [[Córdoba, Andalusia|Córdoba]], [[Murcia]], Valdetorio, and the Lordship of Valdecorneja. For his part, Diego López V de Haro would retain the Lordship of Biscay, [[Orduña-Urduña|Orduña]], [[Balmaseda|Valmaseda]], [[Enkarterri|Las Encartaciones]], and [[Durango, Biscay|Durango]]. John of Castile accepted the offer of the King, who called Diego López V de Haro to Carrión de los Condes. Nevertheless, the Lord of Biscay didn't accept the proposal of the sovereign and threatened him with the rebellion before leaving. The King then made his mother reconcile with Juan Núñez II de Lara, while were initiated the maneuvers for the [[Treaty of Torrellas]], signed in 1304, in which Diego López V de Haro didn't take part because he was distanced from Ferdinand IV, who promised to John of Castile to give him the Lordship of Biscay, and to Juan Núñez II de Lara [[La Bureba]] and the possessions of Diego López V de Haro in [[La Rioja (Spain)|La Rioja]], if both resolved the diplomatic negotiations with Aragon following the desire of the monarch.

In April 1304, John of Castile began negotiations with the Kingdom of Aragon, pledging Fernando IV to accept the decisions to be made by the mediators of the Kingdoms of Portugal and Aragon, who would meet in the following months, regarding the demands of [[Alfonso de la Cerda]] and respect to his disputes with the King of Aragon. At the same time, the King confiscated the lands of Diego López V de Haro and Juan Alfonso de Haro, Lord of Cameros, and divided them among the ''ricoshombres''. In spite of this, both magnates didn't rebel against the King.

In the meanwhile, in [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], the ''Infante'' [[Philip of Castile, Lord of Cabrera and Ribera|Philip of Castile]], brother of Fernando IV, defeated in a battle his brother-in-law [[Fernando Rodríguez de Castro (died 1304)|Fernando Rodríguez de Castro]] (husband of Violante Sánchez, illegitimate daughter of [[Sancho IV of Castile]]) who lost his life in that battle.{{Sfn|Benavides|1860|pp=132–133}}