Fernando IV of Castile - Madrid, Spain
N 40° 25.004 W 003° 41.295
30T E 441609 N 4474239
This statue of Fernando IV (aka Ferdinand IV) of Castile is located in the Parque del Buen Retiro in Madrid, Spain.
Waymark Code: WMGF28
Location: Comunidad de Madrid, Spain
Date Posted: 02/24/2013
Views: 8
ABOUT THE STATUE:
The statue is one of many statues of the Spanish monarchy located along the Paseo de la Argentina (more commonly known as the Paseo de las Estatuas or Statue Walk). The statues were built between 1750 and 1752 as decorations for the Royal Palace, but King Charles III ordered them removed because he thought they made the palace look too baroque.
This stone statue depicts Fernando IV standing straight forward but with his head angled to the right as if looking at something in that direction. He is standing with his left foot planted straight below his body and his right foot angled off to the right. He is wearing a tunic, pantaloons, a long cape, a ruff, and boots. His left hand rests on a shield containing a woman's facial profile in relief. His right hand is raised in front of his body chest high. He sports a mustache.
Etched on the statue's base:
D. Fernando 4°.
M°. A°. de 1312.
ABOUT THE MAN:
"Ferdinand IV, El Emplazado or "the Summoned," (6 December 1285 – 7 September 1312) was a king of Castile (1295–1312) and León and Galicia (1301–1312). He was a son of Sancho El Bravo and his wife Maria de Molina.
Life
His strange title is given to him in the chronicles because of a story in which he tyrannically puts to death two brothers named Carvajal, 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 Philip IV of France.
His reign came at a time of anarchy. From 1296 to 1301 the Kingdom of León was independent under Juan I of León, being crowned as King of León, Galicia and Seville. 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.
In 1302 he married Constance, daughter of King Denis of Portugal. Their children were:
Eleanor (1307–1359), married King Alfonso IV of Aragon
Constance (1308–1310)
Alfonso XI of Castile (1311–1350)
In 1309 he captured Gibraltar from the Moors (who had held it since 711) with the help of Alonso Pérez de Guzmán of Aragón. He died suddenly in his tent at Jaén when preparing for a raid into the Emirate of Granada on 7 September 1312."
-- Source