Pedro Girón, Maester of Calatrava

Pedro Girón de Acuña Pacheco was a Castilian nobleman belonging to the court of Henry IV of Castile, known for being master of the Order of Calatrava for 20 years (from 1445 to 1466), succeeding Alfonso de Aragón y Escobar.

Early Years

He was born in 1423 in Belmonte (Cuenca) and was raised in the royal palace as a page of Prince Henry, later Henry IV of Castile.

Before becoming Master of the Order of Calatrava, he was chief chamberlain and chief notary of the kingdom of Castile.

In 1443, he obtained one of the mayoralties of Ecija and the alguacilazgo of Baeza. He also received the office of notary public and the almojarifazgo of Jaén, and the portages of Jaén, Baeza, Úbeda and Andújar.

In 1444, Prince Henry granted him the scrivener"s office of the council of Medina del Campo.

Battle of Olmedo

The Battle of Olmedo was the fundamental milestone in the upward trajectory. With the defeat of the Aragonese infantry in 1445, a new political struggle began in Castile for power and control of the kingdom between Constable Álvaro de Luna and Prince Henry, who was backed by Pedro Girón and Juan Pacheco.

By participating on the side of the victors, Pedro Girón was one of the great beneficiaries, along with Juan Pacheco (brother and master of Santiago), of the distribution of the possessions and dignities of the princes of Aragon.

Thanks to this victory, in 1445, Pedro Girón was entrusted with the government of Segovia, as well as being ceded the towns of Tiedra and Urueña, in Valladolid, and Arévalo (Ávila) and the Moorish estates of Jaén, Baeza, Úbeda and Andújar. In addition, it was here that he was granted the mastery of Calatrava. Álvaro de Luna was granted the County of Alburquerque and the Maestrazgo of Santiago, and Juan Pacheco the Marquisate of Villena.

Conflicts in the Order of Calatrava

In 1445, Pedro Girón was elected Master of the Order of Calatrava. This decision was supported by the main civil authorities, clerics, laymen and commanders. King Juan II approved this election to reward Girón for his role in the battle of Olmedo.

However, Juan Ramírez de Guzmán, comendador mayor, did not recognise this election, as he also aspired to this masterly election. In fact, Ramírez de Guzmán proclaimed himself master of Calatrava, conquering for himself some places and places of the order, such as the land of Zorita, the towns of Osuna and Martos.

This internal conflict was resolved with the signing of an agreement in which Ramírez de Guzmán renounced his claims in exchange for monetary concessions.

This was not the first succession dispute to affect Pedro Girón. Years later, Girón clashed with Alfonso of Aragon (bastard son of the King of Navarre), his predecessor as Master of the Order of Calatrava. Alfonso, with the support of Álvaro de Luna, entered Castile, but soon failed against the host led by Girón.

Civil War of 1464

The Pacheco-Girón brothers were the right-hand men of King Henry IV. When Beltrán de la Cueva became the king"s new favourite, thus displacing the Marquis of Villena (Juan Pacheco), the two brothers began a noble league.

Pedro Girón was involved in two attempts to seize Henry IV, which was considered treason and for which an attempt was made to summon the brotherhoods, the courts and the nobles loyal to the king"s cause. On the other hand, the Marquis of Villena brought together the most important aristocracy of the kingdom in Burgos in 1464. There, they publicly accused Henry IV of all the ills afflicting the kingdom, while at the same time demanding the recognition of the infant Alfonso (his son) as crown prince and administrator of the maestrazgo of Santiago, which Beltrán de la Cueva was to relinquish.

The king initially accepted the nobility"s demands, although he later backed down and the aristocracy that supported the Marquis of Villena reacted with the symbolic overthrow of Henry IV and the proclamation of the Infante Alfonso as King of Castile (Farsa de Ávila, 1465).

Meanwhile, Pedro Girón defended the noble League in Andalusia. By the end of 1465, he had taken control of Andalusia, proclaiming the Infante Alfonso as King of Castile, with the support of the Duke of Medina Sidonia, the Bishop of Jaén, the Count of Arcos and the cities of Córdoba, Seville, Carmona, Écija, Jerez, Úbeda and Baeza.

With the situation under control, Pedro Girón proclaimed himself viceroy of Andalusia and occupied the main fortresses of the Order of St John.

From January 1466 onwards, the noble league began to split into two camps: those in favour of continuing hostilities and those inclined to negotiate with Henry IV, led by Juan Pacheco.

The latter side proposed an agreement to Henry IV whereby Juan Pacheco would return to the king"s service and Pedro Girón would guarantee the support of the Order of Calatrava and all of Andalusia under his control. In return, the alliance with Portugal, which included the marriage between the Infanta Isabella (sister of Henry IV and later known as Queen Isabella the Catholic) and Alfonso of Portugal, was to be suspended and Beltrán de la Cueva was to be expelled from the Court.

If the agreement was accepted, Pedro Girón was to resign his position as Master of the Order of Calatrava, since, as a member of a military order, he was subject to a vow of perpetual chastity.

Henry IV accepted the conditions and Pedro Girón set out for the Court to celebrate his marriage to the Infanta Isabella. However, the marriage did not take place due to the death of the Master of the Order of Calatrava. His death meant that Henry IV regained control over most of Andalusia, the Marquis of Villena distanced himself from the Court and, consequently, a consolidation of the division among the rebellious nobility.

Pedro Girón"s estate

• Captain General of the border with Granada.
• He received the city of Lorca and the towns of Alhama, Calasparra, Canara, Caravaca, Cehegín, Cieza, Mula, Socobos and Xiquena.
• Dominion over Peñafiel and its land.
• Moorish properties in Jaén, Ándujar, Baeza and Úbeda.
• A large part of Valladolid.
• Castle of Villardompardo, Lopera and Bugalimar.
• Lands of El Berrueco and Martos, with the castle of La Peña.
• He received the towns of Gumiel de Izán, Langayo, San Mamés, Piñel de Suyo, the town of Briones and the towns of Bélmez and Fuenteovejuna, in Córdoba.
• By purchase, he received the town of Olvera, the castle of Ayamonte and the towns of Gelves and Ortegícar (Seville).
• He acquired Jódar and its fortress.
• The towns of Morón de la Frontera, Arahal and the castle of Cote.
• Osuna and Cazalla.
• Villas of Los Arcos, La Guardia, San Vicente and Viana.
• Archidona.