Constable of Castile () was a title of a military nature created by
John I John I may refer to:
People
Religious figures
* John I (bishop of Jerusalem)
* John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople
* John I of Antioch (died 441)
* Pope John I of Alexandria, Coptic Pope from 496 to 505
* Pope John I, P ...
, King of
Castile in 1382, as a result of the
Third Fernandine War against the Portuguese and the English.
The post substituted the title of ''Alférez Mayor del Reino'' and was more consistent with that of the French
Constable of France
The Constable of France (, from Latin for 'count of the stables') was lieutenant to the King of France, the first of the original five Great Officers of the Crown (along with seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and chancellor) and the commander-in ...
. The constable was the second person in power in the kingdom, after the King and had supreme authority over the Army, as well as broad jurisdictional powers.
In 1473,
Henry IV of Castile
Henry IV of Castile (Spanish language, Castilian: ''Enrique IV''; 5 January 1425 – 11 December 1474), nicknamed the Impotent, was King of Kingdom of Castile, Castile and Kingdom of León, León and the last of the weak late-medieval kings of Ca ...
made the title hereditary for the Velasco family and the
dukes of Frías. By that time, the position lacked any substance, and therefore it was decided that the title would cease to have any military or administrative connotations, and was simply an honorific title.
List of constables of Castile
* 1382–1391:
Alfonso of Aragon and Foix
* 1393–1400:
Pedro Enrique de Trastámara, son of
Fadrique Alfonso of Castile
* 1400–1423:
Ruy López Dávalos
* 1423–1453:
Álvaro de Luna
* 1458–1473: Miguel Lucas de Iranzo
Hereditary ceremonial title
* 1473–1492:
Pedro Fernández de Velasco, 2nd Count of Haro
* 1492–1512:
Bernardino Fernández de Velasco, 1st Duke of Frías
* 1512–1528:
Íñigo Fernández de Velasco, 2nd Duke of Frías
Íñigo Fernández de Velasco (1462–17 September 1528), 2nd Duke of Frías, Grandee of Spain, and Constable of Castile (), was a Spanish nobleman.
Fernández de Velasco was the son of Pedro Fernández de Velasco and of Beatriz Manrique ...
* 1528–1559:
Pedro Fernández de Velasco, 3rd Duke of Frías
* 1559–1585:
Íñigo Fernández de Velasco, 4th Duke of Frías
* 1585–1615:
Juan Fernández de Velasco, 5th Duke of Frías
* 1615–1652:
Bernardino Fernández de Velasco, 6th Duke of Frías
* 1652–1696:
Íñigo Melchor de Velasco, 7th Duke of Frías
Inigo is a masculine given name deriving from the Castilian rendering (Íñigo) of the medieval Basque name Eneko. Ultimately, the name means "my little (man)". While mostly seen among the Iberian diaspora, it also gained a limited popularity ...
* 1696–1713: José Fernández de Velasco y Tovar, 8th Duke of Frías
Sources Portal de Archivos Españoles
Spanish noble titles
Spanish Army
Military history of Spain
1382 establishments in Europe
14th-century establishments in Castile
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