FERDINAND IV.

ferdinand iv., _el emplazado_ or "the summoned," king of castile (_d_. 1312), son of sancho el bravo, and his wife maria de molina, is a figure of small note in spanish history. his strange title is given him in the chronicles on the strength of a story that he put two brothers of the name of carvajal to death tyrannically, and was given a time, a _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 philippe le bel. ferdinand iv. succeeded to the throne when a boy of six. his minority was a time of anarchy. 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 avila, who gave him refuge within their walls. as a king he proved ungrateful to his mother, and weak as a ruler. he died suddenly in his tent at jaen when preparing for a raid into the moorish territory of granada, on the 7th of september 1312.