Juan of Austria
| John of Austria | |
|---|---|
Oil in canvas, 2nd half of 16th century, probably by Juan Pantoja de la Cruz.
Museo del Prado, Madrid. |
|
| Born |
24 February 1547 Regensburg |
| Died | 1 October 1578 (aged 31) Bouge near Namur |
| Parent(s) |
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Barbara Blomberg |
John of Austria (24 February 1547 – 1 October 1578), in English traditionally known as Don John of Austria, in Spanish as Don Juan de Austria and in German as Ritter Johann von Österreich, was an illegitimate son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. He became a military leader in the service of his half-brother, King Philip II of Spain and is best known for his role as the admiral of the Holy Alliance fleet at the Battle of Lepanto.
Born in the Free imperial city of Regensburg, Upper Palatinate, John of Austria was the product of a brief liaison between Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (a widower since 1539) and Barbara Blomberg, a burgher's daughter and singer.
The date of his birth is unknown, with some sources indicating that he was born in the year 1545 and others, like G. Parker or P. Pierson, in 1547. Pierson makes mention that some contemporaries affirmed that he was born in 1545, but that the oldest evidence found in France with regards to public ceremonies, supports the date of 1547.
In the summer of 1554, the boy was taken to the castle of Luis de Quijada in Villagarcía de Campos, Valladolid. His wife, Magdalena de Ulloa, took charge of his education, assisted by the Latin teacher Guillén Prieto, the chaplain García de Morales and the squire Juan Galarza.
Charles V wrote a codicil, dated 6 June 1554, in which he recognized: "For since I was in Germany, after being widowed, I had a natural child of one unmarried woman, named Geronimo". In the summer of 1558, Charles V had ordered Luis de Quijada, his wife Magdalena de Ulloa, and Jeromín to relocate to the village of Cuacos de Yuste. The Emperor was already residing nearby at the Monastery of Yuste. From that time forward, and until his own death in September of that year, Charles V saw his son (now an 11 year old boy) several times. In his last will of 1558, the Emperor officially recognized Jeromín as his son, and had requested that the child would be renamed John, honoring his late mother (and Jeromín's grandmother) Queen Joanna I of Castile, Charles also made the provision that John should enter the clergy and pursue an ecclesiastical career.
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