Afonso III of Portugal
Encyclopedia
Afonso III or Affonso (Archaic Portuguese), Alfonso or Alphonso (Portuguese-Galician) or Alphonsus (Latin
), the Bolognian (Port.
o Bolonhês), the fifth King of Portugal (5 May 1210 in Coimbra
– 16 February 1279 in Alcobaça, Coimbra
or Lisbon
) and the first to use the title King of Portugal and the Algarve, from 1249. He was the second son of King Afonso II of Portugal
and his wife, Urraca of Castile; he succeeded his brother, King Sancho II of Portugal
, who was removed from the throne on 4 January 1248.
As the second son of King Afonso II of Portugal
, Afonso was not expected to inherit the throne, which was destined to go to his elder brother Sancho. He lived mostly in France, where he married Matilda, the heiress of Boulogne
, in 1238, thereby becoming Count of Boulogne
. In 1246, conflicts between his brother, the king, and the church became unbearable. Pope Innocent IV
then ordered Sancho II to be removed from the throne and be replaced by the Count of Boulogne. Afonso, of course, did not refuse the papal order and marched to Portugal. Since Sancho was not a popular king, the order was not hard to enforce; he was exiled to Castile
and Afonso III became king in 1248 after his brother's death. To ascend the throne, he abdicated from the county of Boulogne and later (1253) divorced Matilda.
Determined not to commit the same mistakes as his brother, Afonso III paid special attention to what the middle class, composed of merchants and small land owners, had to say. In 1254, in the city of Leiria
, he held the first session of the Cortes
, a general assembly comprising the nobility, the middle class and representatives of all municipalities. He also made laws intended to restrain the upper classes from abusing the least favoured part of the population. Remembered as a notable administrator, Afonso III founded several towns, granted the title of city to many others and reorganized public administration.
Afonso showed extraordinary vision for the time. Progressive measures taken during his kingship include: representatives of the commons, besides the nobility and clergy, were involved in governance; the end of preventive arrests such that henceforward all arrests had to be first presented to a judge to determine the detention measure; and fiscal innovation, such as negotiating extraordinary taxes with the mercantile classes and direct taxation of the Church, rather than debasement of the coinage. This led to his excommunication by the holy see and possibly precipitated his death, and his son Dom Dinis's premature rise to the throne at only 18 years old.
Secure on the throne, Afonso III then proceeded to make war with the Muslim communities that still thrived in the south. In his reign the Algarve became part of the kingdom, following the capture of Faro
—Portugal thus becoming the first Iberian kingdom to complete its Reconquista
.
Following his success against the Moors, Afonso III had to deal with a political situation arising from the borders with Castile. The neighbouring kingdom considered that the newly acquired lands of the Algarve should be Castilian, not Portuguese, which led to a series of wars between the two kingdoms. Finally, in 1267, a treaty was signed in Badajoz
, determining that the southern border between Castile and Portugal should be the River Guadiana
, as it is today.
. She had two sons (Roberto and an unnamed one), but both died young. He divorced Matilda in 1253 and, in the same year, married Beatrice of Castile, illegitimate daughter of Alfonso X, King of Castile
, and Mayor Guillén de Guzmán (Maria de Guzman).
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
), the Bolognian (Port.
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
o Bolonhês), the fifth King of Portugal (5 May 1210 in Coimbra
Coimbra
Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
– 16 February 1279 in Alcobaça, Coimbra
Coimbra
Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
or Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
) and the first to use the title King of Portugal and the Algarve, from 1249. He was the second son of King Afonso II of Portugal
Afonso II of Portugal
Afonso II , or Affonso , Alfonso or Alphonso or Alphonsus , nicknamed "the Fat" , third king of Portugal, was born in Coimbra on 23 April 1185 and died on 25 March 1223 in the same city. He was the second but eldest surviving son of Sancho I of Portugal by his wife, Dulce, Infanta of Aragon...
and his wife, Urraca of Castile; he succeeded his brother, King Sancho II of Portugal
Sancho II of Portugal
Sancho II , nicknamed "the Pious" and "the Caped" or "the Capuched" , , fourth King of Portugal, was the eldest son of Afonso II of Portugal by his wife, Infanta Urraca of Castile...
, who was removed from the throne on 4 January 1248.
As the second son of King Afonso II of Portugal
Afonso II of Portugal
Afonso II , or Affonso , Alfonso or Alphonso or Alphonsus , nicknamed "the Fat" , third king of Portugal, was born in Coimbra on 23 April 1185 and died on 25 March 1223 in the same city. He was the second but eldest surviving son of Sancho I of Portugal by his wife, Dulce, Infanta of Aragon...
, Afonso was not expected to inherit the throne, which was destined to go to his elder brother Sancho. He lived mostly in France, where he married Matilda, the heiress of Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
, in 1238, thereby becoming Count of Boulogne
Count of Boulogne
The county of Boulogne was a historical region in the Low Countries. It consisted of a part of the present-day French département of the Pas-de-Calais , in parts of which there is still a Dutch-speaking minority....
. In 1246, conflicts between his brother, the king, and the church became unbearable. Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV , born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was pope from June 25, 1243 until his death in 1254.-Early life:...
then ordered Sancho II to be removed from the throne and be replaced by the Count of Boulogne. Afonso, of course, did not refuse the papal order and marched to Portugal. Since Sancho was not a popular king, the order was not hard to enforce; he was exiled to Castile
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...
and Afonso III became king in 1248 after his brother's death. To ascend the throne, he abdicated from the county of Boulogne and later (1253) divorced Matilda.
Determined not to commit the same mistakes as his brother, Afonso III paid special attention to what the middle class, composed of merchants and small land owners, had to say. In 1254, in the city of Leiria
Leiria
Leiria is a city in Leiria Municipality in the Centro Region, Portugal. It is the capital of Leiria District. The city proper has 50,200 inhabitants and the entire municipality has nearly 120,000...
, he held the first session of the Cortes
Cortes Generales
The Cortes Generales is the legislature of Spain. It is a bicameral parliament, composed of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate . The Cortes has power to enact any law and to amend the constitution...
, a general assembly comprising the nobility, the middle class and representatives of all municipalities. He also made laws intended to restrain the upper classes from abusing the least favoured part of the population. Remembered as a notable administrator, Afonso III founded several towns, granted the title of city to many others and reorganized public administration.
Afonso showed extraordinary vision for the time. Progressive measures taken during his kingship include: representatives of the commons, besides the nobility and clergy, were involved in governance; the end of preventive arrests such that henceforward all arrests had to be first presented to a judge to determine the detention measure; and fiscal innovation, such as negotiating extraordinary taxes with the mercantile classes and direct taxation of the Church, rather than debasement of the coinage. This led to his excommunication by the holy see and possibly precipitated his death, and his son Dom Dinis's premature rise to the throne at only 18 years old.
Secure on the throne, Afonso III then proceeded to make war with the Muslim communities that still thrived in the south. In his reign the Algarve became part of the kingdom, following the capture of Faro
Faro, Portugal
Faro is the southernmost city in Portugal. It is located in the Faro Municipality in southern Portugal. The city proper has 41,934 inhabitants and the entire municipality has 58,305. It is the seat of the Faro District and capital of the Algarve region...
—Portugal thus becoming the first Iberian kingdom to complete its Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
.
Following his success against the Moors, Afonso III had to deal with a political situation arising from the borders with Castile. The neighbouring kingdom considered that the newly acquired lands of the Algarve should be Castilian, not Portuguese, which led to a series of wars between the two kingdoms. Finally, in 1267, a treaty was signed in Badajoz
Badajoz
Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain, situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana, and the Madrid–Lisbon railway. The population in 2007 was 145,257....
, determining that the southern border between Castile and Portugal should be the River Guadiana
Guadiana
The Guadiana , or Odiana, is an international river located on the Portuguese–Spanish border, separating Extremadura and Andalucia from Alentejo and Algarve...
, as it is today.
Ancestors
Marriages and descendants
Afonso's first wife was Matilda II, Countess of Boulogne, daughter of Renaud, Count of Dammartin, and Ida, Countess of BoulogneIda, Countess of Boulogne
Ida of Boulogne was Countess of Boulogne. She was the eldest daughter of Matthew of Alsace by Marie I, Countess of Boulogne. Her maternal grandparents were King Stephen of England and Matilda I of Boulogne....
. She had two sons (Roberto and an unnamed one), but both died young. He divorced Matilda in 1253 and, in the same year, married Beatrice of Castile, illegitimate daughter of Alfonso X, King of Castile
Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X was a Castilian monarch who ruled as the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1252 until his death...
, and Mayor Guillén de Guzmán (Maria de Guzman).
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| By Matilda II of Boulogne Matilda II of Boulogne Mahaut or Matilda II of Boulogne was Countess of Boulogne in her own right and Queen of Portugal by marriage to King Afonso III from 1248 until their divorce in 1253.... (c. 1202–1262; married in 1239) |
|||
| Infante Roberto (Robert) | 1239 | 1239 | |
| By Beatrice of Castile (1242–1303; married in 1253) | |||
| Infanta Branca Infanta Branca of Portugal Infanta Branca of Portugal , Blanche in English, was a Portuguese infanta , eldest daughter of King Afonso III and his second wife Beatrice of Castile. She was named after her great-aunt Blanche of Castile, queen of France.Branca was born in Guimarães, Kingdom of Portugal... (Blanche) |
25 February 1259 | 17 April 1321 | Abbess of the Convent of Huelgas |
| Infante Fernando (Ferdinand) | 1260 | 1262 | |
| Infante Dinis (Denis) | 9 October 1261 | 7 January 1325 | Succeeded him as Denis, 6th King of Portugal. Married Infanta Isabel of Aragon. |
| Infante Afonso Infante Afonso, Lord of Portalegre Infante Afonso of Portugal was a Portuguese infante , son of King Afonso III of Portugal and his second wife Beatrice of Castile... |
8 February 1263 | 2 November 1312 | Lord of Portalegre. Married to Violante Manuel of Castile (daughter of Juan Manuel of Castile Juan Manuel, Lord of Villena Juan Manuel was the son of Ferdinand III of Castile and his wife Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen.... ). |
| Infanta Sancha Infanta Sancha of Portugal Infanta Sancha of Portugal was a Portuguese infanta , daughter of King Afonso III of Portugal and his second wife Beatrice of Castile... |
2 February 1264 | c. 1302 | |
| Infanta Maria Infanta Maria of Portugal (nun) Infanta Maria of Portugal was a Portuguese infanta daughter of King Afonso III of Portugal and his second wife Beatrice of Castile... |
21 November 1264 | 6 June 1304 | Nun in the Convent of Saint John Santa Cruz Monastery The Santa Cruz Monastery, The Santa Cruz Monastery, The Santa Cruz Monastery, (English: Monastery of the Holy Cross, Portuguese: Mosteiro de Santa Cruz, best known as Igreja (Church) de Santa Cruz is a National Monument in Coimbra, Portugal. Because the first two kings of Portugal are buried in the... in Coimbra Coimbra Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the... . |
| Infanta Constança (Constance) | 1266 | 1271 | |
| Infante Vicente (Vincent) | 1268 | 1271 | |
| By Madragana Madragana Madragana Ben Aloandro, later Maior or Mór Afonso - was a famous Algarvian mistress to king Afonso III of Portugal, in the 13th century, when he ended the Reconquista in Portugal by taking Faro in 1249... (Mor Afonso) (c. 1230-?) |
|||
| Martim Afonso Chichorro | c. 1250 | a. 1313 | Natural son; Married Inês Lourenço de Valadres. |
| Urraca Afonso | c. 1260 | ? | Natural daughter; Married twice: 1st to D. Pedro Anes de Riba Vizela, 2nd to João Mendes de Briteiros |
| By Maria Peres de Enxara (?-?) | |||
| Afonso Dinis | c. 1260 | a. 1310 | Natural son; Married to D. Maria Pais Ribeira, Lady of the House of Sousa, Ancestor of Queen Silvia of Sweden Queen Silvia of Sweden |align=right|Queen Silvia of Sweden is the Queen consort of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Styled Her Majesty The Queen, Silvia is the mother of the heir apparent to the throne, Crown Princess Victoria.-Childhood:Queen Silvia was born in Heidelberg, Germany, on 23 December 1943... |
| Other natural offspring | |||
| Leonor Afonso | c. 1250 | 1291 | Natural daughter. Married twice: 1st to D. Estevão Anes de Sousa (without issue), 2nd to D. Gonçalo Garcia de Sousa, Count of Neiva (without issue). |
| Gil Afonso | 1250 | 31 December 1346 | Natural son; Knight of the Order of the Hospital. |
| Fernando Afonso | ? | ? | Natural son; Knight of the Order of the Hospital. |
| Rodrigo Afonso | 1258 | about 12 May 1272 | Natural son; Prior of the city of Santarém Santarém, Portugal Santarém is a city in the Santarém Municipality in Portugal. The city itself has a population of 28,760 and the entire municipality has 64,124 inhabitants.It is the capital of Santarém District.... . |
| Leonor Afonso (nun) | ? | 1259 | Natural daughter; Nun in the Monastery of Santa Clara of Santarém Santarém, Portugal Santarém is a city in the Santarém Municipality in Portugal. The city itself has a population of 28,760 and the entire municipality has 64,124 inhabitants.It is the capital of Santarém District.... . |
| Urraca Afonso | 1250 | 4 November 1281 | Natural daughter; Nun in the Monastery of Lorvão. |
| Henrique Afonso | ? | ? | Natural son; Married to Inês (last name unknown). |