Brites de Menezes, 2nd Countess of Vila Real
Encyclopedia
Dona
Brites de Menezes (1400 – c.1460) (sometimes modernized as 'Beatriz de Meneses') was a Portuguese
noblewoman. She was the 2nd Countess of Vila Real
from 1437, a title she shared with her consort, Fernando de Noronha
.
Brites de Meneses was the eldest legitimate daughter of D. Pedro de Menezes, 1st Count of Vila Real
and Margarida de Miranda. On October 30, 1430, Brites married the Castilian-Portuguese nobleman Fernando de Noronha
, the son of two bastard lines of the royal houses of Portugal
and Castile
(i.e. Fernando de Noronha was a grandson of Henry II of Castile and Ferdinand I of Portugal
).
Brites de Meneses competed with her half-brother Duarte de Menezes
(born illegitimate, but legitimized by royal letter) to secure the inheritance of her father's titles for herself and her husband. Upon her father Pedro de Meneses' death in 1437, the titles were distributed - the crown-granted title of Count of Vila Real
went to Brites and Fernando, while the older family title of Count of Viana do Alentejo went to Duarte.
Brites de Menezes had two legitimate sons from her marriage to Fernando de Noronha:
Don (honorific)
Don, from Latin dominus, is an honorific in Spanish , Portuguese , and Italian . The female equivalent is Doña , Dona , and Donna , abbreviated "Dª" or simply "D."-Usage:...
Brites de Menezes (1400 – c.1460) (sometimes modernized as 'Beatriz de Meneses') was a Portuguese
Kingdom of Portugal
The Kingdom of Portugal was Portugal's general designation under the monarchy. The kingdom was located in the west of the Iberian Peninsula, Europe and existed from 1139 to 1910...
noblewoman. She was the 2nd Countess of Vila Real
Count of Vila Real
Count of Vila Real was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, in 1424, by King John I of Portugal, and granted to Dom Pedro de Menezes, also known as Peter I of Menezes, 1st Count of Viana .The Menezes, a high nobility family quite close to the first Dynasty Kings in Portugal,...
from 1437, a title she shared with her consort, Fernando de Noronha
Fernando de Noronha, 2nd Count of Vila Real
Dom Fernando de Noronha was a 15th C. Castilian-Portuguese nobleman. He was the 2nd Count of Vila Real, a title which he acquired and shared by his marriage to Brites de Menezes, 2nd Countess of Vila Real and the third Portuguese governor of Ceuta from 1437.Fernando de Noronha united two...
.
Brites de Meneses was the eldest legitimate daughter of D. Pedro de Menezes, 1st Count of Vila Real
Pedro de Menezes, 1st Count of Vila Real
Dom Pedro de Menezes Portocarrero, was a 15th C. Portuguese nobleman and military figure. Pedro de Menezes was the 2nd Count of Viana do Alentejo, 1st. Count of Vila Real and the first Portuguese governor of Ceuta.Pedro de Menezes was the son of the powerful 14th C...
and Margarida de Miranda. On October 30, 1430, Brites married the Castilian-Portuguese nobleman Fernando de Noronha
Fernando de Noronha, 2nd Count of Vila Real
Dom Fernando de Noronha was a 15th C. Castilian-Portuguese nobleman. He was the 2nd Count of Vila Real, a title which he acquired and shared by his marriage to Brites de Menezes, 2nd Countess of Vila Real and the third Portuguese governor of Ceuta from 1437.Fernando de Noronha united two...
, the son of two bastard lines of the royal houses of Portugal
Kingdom of Portugal
The Kingdom of Portugal was Portugal's general designation under the monarchy. The kingdom was located in the west of the Iberian Peninsula, Europe and existed from 1139 to 1910...
and Castile
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...
(i.e. Fernando de Noronha was a grandson of Henry II of Castile and Ferdinand I of Portugal
Ferdinand I of Portugal
Ferdinand I , sometimes referred to as the Handsome or rarely as the Inconstant , was the ninth King of Portugal and the Algarve, the second son of Peter I and his wife, Constance of Castile...
).
Brites de Meneses competed with her half-brother Duarte de Menezes
Duarte de Menezes, 3rd Count of Viana
Dom Duarte de Menezes, was a 15th C. Portuguese nobleman and military figure. Duarte de Menezes was the 3rd Count of Viana do Alentejo, 2nd Count of Viana , Lord of Caminha and the first Portuguese captain of Alcácer-Ceguer.- Family :Duarte de Menezes was an illegitimate...
(born illegitimate, but legitimized by royal letter) to secure the inheritance of her father's titles for herself and her husband. Upon her father Pedro de Meneses' death in 1437, the titles were distributed - the crown-granted title of Count of Vila Real
Count of Vila Real
Count of Vila Real was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, in 1424, by King John I of Portugal, and granted to Dom Pedro de Menezes, also known as Peter I of Menezes, 1st Count of Viana .The Menezes, a high nobility family quite close to the first Dynasty Kings in Portugal,...
went to Brites and Fernando, while the older family title of Count of Viana do Alentejo went to Duarte.
Brites de Menezes had two legitimate sons from her marriage to Fernando de Noronha:
- Pedro de Menezes, 3rd Count (1st Marquis) of Vila Real (from which stems the Portuguese noble house of Count of Vila RealCount of Vila RealCount of Vila Real was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, in 1424, by King John I of Portugal, and granted to Dom Pedro de Menezes, also known as Peter I of Menezes, 1st Count of Viana .The Menezes, a high nobility family quite close to the first Dynasty Kings in Portugal,...
) - João de Noronha, Lord of Sortelha (from which stems the Portuguese noble house of Count of Monsanto)