Ferdinand de la Cerda

Ferdinand de la Cerda (23 October 1255 – 1275) was the heir apparent to the Crown of Castile as the eldest son of Alfonso X and Violant of Aragon. His nickname, de la Cerda, means "of the bristle" in Spanish, a reference to being born with a full head of hair.[1]

Arms of the House de la Cerda to the 13th century, a combination of Castile and León, from infante Fernando, and the arms of France, for Blanche of France.[2]

Ferdinand de la Cerda
heir apparent of Castile & León
Tomb of Ferdinand de la Cerda
Born	23 October 1255
Died	1275 (aged 19 or 20) Ciudad Real
Noble family	House of la Cerda
Spouse(s)	Blanche of France
Issue Alfonso de la Cerda Fernando de la Cerda
Father	Alfonso X of Castile
Mother	Violant of Aragon
Religion	Roman Catholicism

In November 1268 he married Blanche, the daughter of King Louis IX of France. They had two sons:

• Alfonso de la Cerda (1270-1333), who was believed to have married Matilde of Narbonne, daughter of Viscount Aimery VI of Narbonne.[3] Recent research showed that Alfonso de la Cerda married Matilde of Brienne, daughter of John I of Brienne.[4] They had four sons and three daughters.
• Fernando de la Cerda (1275-1322), who married Juana Núñez de Lara, called "la Palomilla", Lady of Lara & Herrera, daughter of Juan Núñez de Lara “el Mayor” and Teresa Álvarez de Azagra. They had one son and three daughters. One daughter, Blanca Núñez de Lara, was the mother-in-law to King Henry II of Castile.

Ferdinand became regent of Castile in November 1274 when his father left for Germany. In May 1275 the Marinids from Morocco landed in Spain upon call from Muhammad II of Granada and attacked Castile. Ferdinand raised troops and moved south from Burgos to defend the kingdom but died unexpectedly in Villa Real in August 1275 leaving Castile open to invasion. His sons did not inherit the throne of their grandfather, since their uncle Sancho, who had repulsed the Moorish invasion, usurped the throne.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Ferdinand de la Cerda

16. Ferdinand II of León 8. Alfonso IX of León 17. Urraca of Portugal 4. Ferdinand III of Castile 18. Alfonso VIII of Castile 9. Berengaria of Castile 19. Eleanor of England 2. Alfonso X of Castile 20. Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor 10. Philip of Swabia 21. Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy 5. Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen 22. Isaac II Angelos 11. Irene Angelina 23. Unknown Palaiologina?, afterwards Irene 1. Ferdinand de la Cerda 24. Alfonso II of Aragon 12. Peter II of Aragon 25. Sancha of Castile 6. James I of Aragon 26. William VIII of Montpellier 13. Marie of Montpellier 27. Eudokia Komnene 3. Violant of Aragon 28. Béla III of Hungary 14. Andrew II of Hungary 29. Agnes of Antioch 7. Violant of Hungary 30. Peter II of Courtenay 15. Yolanda de Courtenay 31. Yolanda of Flanders

References

1. Historia del apodo "de la Cerda". ARGOTE DE MOLINA, Gonzalo. Nobleza del Andaluzía. 1588.
2. Maclagan, Michael and Jiri Louda, Lines of Succession, (MacDonald & Co., 1981), Table 47.
3. Medieval Iberia: An Encyclopedia, Ed. E. Michael Gerli and Samuel G. Armistead, (Routledge, 2003), 50.
4. Masnata y de Quesada, David E. (1985). «La Casa Real de la Cerda». Estudios Genealógicos y Heráldicos (Madrid: Asociación Española de Estudios Genealógicos y Heráldicos): pp. 169–229

• "Medieval Lands Project". Retrieved 2007-06-21.