Kindly incompetence

Maria wrote: Hi all, and slightly OT but historical
head's-up: today, in 1453, don Alvaro de Luna was
beheaded on a scaffold in the public square of the
city of Valladolid. For about half a century, he had
been the favorite of Juan II of Castile, and
the man who basically held the kingdom together in the
wake of his king's kindly incompetence. Brilliant but
grasping, he had few friends among the nobility, and,
when, in 1447, he arranged a second marriage for Juan
with Isabel of Portugal, she helped unite the nobility
against him, to turn Juan against him over the course
of seven years, and finally, this triumph.
Unfortunately for her, Juan couldn't survive without
don Alvaro, and died a year later. Isabel of Portugal
was forced into retirement, with her two children,
Isabel (who would become Isabel the Catholic), and
Alfonso. Isabel of Portugal would disintegrate
mentally and be kept quietly out of the way until her
death in about 1497.

****

Thank you for the phrase "kindly incompetence." I've
been working my way through books about Henry VI, and
none of the authors I've read describe him in a way
that works for me. "Kindly incompetence" is the best
I've heard, although you're not describing Henry VI.

Do you think Juan II of Castile had much in common
with Henry VI besides kindly incompetence? What kind
of military training did Juan II receive? Did don
Alvaro de Luna have much in common with the Duke of
Suffolk or the Duke of Somerset? Was Juan II's
government as insolvent as Henry VI's?

I've been asking myself what Henry VI's apparent lack
of military training says about his uncles' [and
caretakers'] understanding of the young king's mental
abilities. I have found only a few sentences about
Henry VI's military education, and it suggests to me
that the people responsible for his upbringing might
have realized that Henry VI was mentally deficient.
But none of the authors I've read come out and say it.

What did Juan II's subjects say about him? Was he
considered a saint after his death?

TIA!

Marion







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