Henry II of Castile, also called Henry of Trastámara, was the first Castilian king of the Trastámara dynasty. Born in 1334 as an illegitimate son of Alfonso XI and Eleanor de Guzmán, he became the principal rival of his half-brother King Peter of Castile. Their struggle formed part of a wider civil war involving noble factions and foreign intervention. Henry relied heavily on French support, including mercenary forces commanded by Bertrand du Guesclin, while Peter drew assistance from the English prince Edward of Woodstock.
Henry was briefly driven from the throne after defeat at Nájera in 1367 but returned and defeated Peter at Montiel in 1369, where Peter was killed during a personal confrontation. Henry then had to consolidate a monarchy dependent on nobles who had supported his cause, rewarding allies with lands and privileges while rebuilding royal authority. His reign also remained entangled in the Hundred Years’ War and conflict with Portugal and Aragon. When he died in 1379, the Trastámara dynasty he founded was securely established in Castile.
In David Gilman’s Shadow of the Hawk, Thomas Blackstone is sent first into the struggle over Brittany and then toward Castile, where the fate of Don Pedro threatens to open another front the English can hardly afford. In David Gilman’s To Kill a King, in 1367, Thomas Blackstone is entangled with Don Pedro of Castile while the Prince of Wales’s position in Aquitaine grows more dangerous.
