Ferdinand, the brother of Henry III, had so fully won the esteem of the nation that the Castilian nobles tendered him the crown. This the high-minded prince[45] indignantly refused; but lest the kingdom should be left to the weak hands of a child and a woman, he undertook the government in conjunction with Catherine, the widowed queen, and displayed such admirable qualifications for rule that Castile was for many years spared the evils usually inseparable from a minority. He gained the confidence of the estates, kept the nobles under control, and won the fortress of Antequera and the surrounding country in a successful war against the Moors (1411). When the cortes of Aragon elected him king (1412), he continued to govern his nephew’s dominions in conjunction with the queen-mother, and the power which was thereby concentrated in his hands enabled him not merely to subdue the rebellious nobles of Aragon and secure himself and his house in possession of the crown, but to frustrate every revolt in Sardinia and the Balearic Islands, and to assume the tone of a ruler and arbitrator, even in Sicily. Unfortunately he died after a reign of four years, in 1416, and Queen Catherine passed away not long after, too early for the young king, Juan II, who had hitherto shown but small intellectual vigour, and who now, in the fourteenth year of his age, took the sceptre in his own hands without either capacity, experience, or strength of character to wield it. A troublous time then began for Castile, during which revolts and civil wars dealt grievous blows at the prosperity and power of the nation.[c] The old historian Guzman[j] has traced a faithful portrait of the young sloth who now filled the throne. GUZMAN’S PORTRAIT OF JUAN AND HIS MINISTER [Sidenote: [1406-1454 A.D.]] Juan was of tall stature and largely built, but was neither well made nor possessed of great strength; he had a pleasing countenance, fair complexion, and high shoulders; his face was broad, his speech slightly rapid. He was calm and gentle, his conversation measured and simple. As his disposition was most extraordinary, it is necessary to dilate thereon: he was a man who in speech was wise and prudent, possessed great knowledge of other men, and understood those whose conversation was best, most discreet, and most witty. It pleased him to listen to well-informed men, and he took good note of what they said. He both spoke and understood Latin. He read well; books and histories delighted him; he loved to hear witty rhymes, and could point out their defects; he enjoyed gay and intelligent conversation, in which he could bear his part. He spent much time in the chase and hunting of fierce animals, and was well skilled in the art of it. He had studied music, and could both sing and play well; he was skilful in jousting, and well versed in the exercise of tilting with reeds.