Edward of Portugal
Encyclopedia
Edward, KG
, (duˈaɾt(ɨ); 31 October 1391 in Viseu
– 9 September 1438 in Tomar
), called the Philosopher or the Eloquent, was the eleventh King of Portugal and the Algarve and second Lord of Ceuta from 1433 until his death. He was the son of John I of Portugal
and his wife, Philippa of Lancaster
, a daughter of John of Gaunt. He was named in honor of his great-grandfather, King Edward III of England
. Edward was the oldest member of the Ínclita Geração
.
in North Africa, across from Gibraltar
. He became king in 1433 when his father died of the plague
. He soon showed interest in building internal political consensus. During his short reign of five years, Edward called the Portuguese Cortes
(the national assembly) no less than five times to discuss he political affairs of his kingdom. He also followed the politics of his father concerning the maritime exploration of Africa. He encouraged and financed his famous brother, Henry the Navigator, who founded a "school" of maritime navigation
at Sagres
and initiated many expeditions. That of Gil Eanes
in 1434 first rounded Cape Bojador
on the northwestern coast of Africa, leading the way for further exploration southward along the African coast.
The colony at Ceuta rapidly became a drain on the Portuguese treasury, and it was realised that without the city of Tangier
, possession of Ceuta was worthless. When Ceuta was captured by the Portuguese, the camel caravans that were part of the overland trade routes began to use Tangier as their new destination. This deprived Ceuta of the materials and goods that made it an attractive market and a vibrant trading locale, and it became an isolated community.
In 1437, Edward's brothers
Henry and Ferdinand
persuaded him to launch an attack on the Marinid
sultanate of Morocco
. The expedition was not unanimously supported: Infante Peter, Duke of Coimbra, and the Infante John
were both against the initiative; they preferred to avoid conflict with the king of Morocco. Their instincts proved to be justified. The resulting attack on Tangier
, led by Henry, was a debacle. Failing to take the city in a series of assaults, the Portuguese siege camp was soon itself surrounded and starved into submission by a Moroccan relief army. In the resulting treaty, Henry promised to deliver Ceuta back to the Marinids in return for allowing the Portuguese army to depart unmolested. Edward's youngest brother, Ferdinand, was handed over to the Marinids as a hostage for the final handover of the city.
The debacle at Tangier dominated Edward's final year. Peter and John urged him to fulfill the treaty, yield Ceuta and secure Ferdinand's release, while Henry (who had signed the treaty) urged him to renege on it. Caught in indecision, Edward assembled the Portuguese Cortes at Leiria
in early 1438 for consultation. The Cortes refused to ratify the treaty, preferring to hang on to Ceuta and requesting that Edward find some other way of obtaining Ferdinand's release.
Edward died late that summer of the plague, like his father and mother (and her mother) before him. Popular lore suggested he died of heartbreak over the fate of his hapless brother (Ferdinand would remain in captivity in Fez until his own death in 1443).
Edward's premature death provoked a political crisis in Portugal. Leaving only a young son, Afonso
, to inherit the throne, it was generally assumed that Edward's brothers would take over the regency
of the realm. But Edward's will appointed his unpopular foreign wife, Eleanor of Aragon, as regent. A popular uprising followed, in which the burghers of the realm, assembled by John of Reguengos, acclaimed Peter of Coimbra as regent. But the nobles backed Eleanor's claim, and threatened civil war. The regency crisis was defused by a complicated and tense power-sharing arrangement between Eleanor and Peter.
Another less political side of Duarte's personality is related to culture. A reflective and scholarly infante, he wrote the treatises O Leal Conselheiro (The Loyal Counsellor) and Livro Da Ensinanca De Bem Cavalgar Toda Sela (The Art of Riding on Every Saddle) as well as several poems. He was in the process of revising the Portuguese law code when he died.
and Eleanor of Alburquerque
, in 1428.
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
, (duˈaɾt(ɨ); 31 October 1391 in Viseu
Viseu
Viseu is both a city and a municipality in the Dão-Lafões Subregion of Centro Region, Portugal. The municipality, with an area of 507.1 km², has a population of 99,593 , and the city proper has 47,250...
– 9 September 1438 in Tomar
Tomar
Tomar Municipality has a total area of 351.0 km² and a total population of 43,007 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 16 parishes, and is located in Santarém District...
), called the Philosopher or the Eloquent, was the eleventh King of Portugal and the Algarve and second Lord of Ceuta from 1433 until his death. He was the son of John I of Portugal
John I of Portugal
John I KG , called the Good or of Happy Memory, more rarely and outside Portugal the Bastard, was the tenth King of Portugal and the Algarve and the first to use the title Lord of Ceuta...
and his wife, Philippa of Lancaster
Philippa of Lancaster
Philippa of Lancaster, LG was a Queen consort of Portugal. Born into the royal family of England, her marriage with King John I secured the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance and produced several famous children who became known as the "Illustrious Generation" in Portugal...
, a daughter of John of Gaunt. He was named in honor of his great-grandfather, King Edward III of England
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
. Edward was the oldest member of the Ínclita Geração
Illustrious Generation (Portugal)
The Ínclita Geração is a term commonly used by Portuguese historians to refer to a group of 15th C. infantes of the House of Aviz, specifically the sons of King John I of Portugal and his wife Philippa of Lancaster...
.
Biography
As an infante, Edward always followed his father in the affairs of the kingdom. He was knighted in 1415, after the Portuguese capture of the city of CeutaCeuta
Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta along with the other Spanish...
in North Africa, across from Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
. He became king in 1433 when his father died of the plague
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
. He soon showed interest in building internal political consensus. During his short reign of five years, Edward called the Portuguese Cortes
Portuguese Cortes
In the Medieval Kingdom of Portugal, the Cortes was an assembly of representatives of the estates of the realm - the nobility, clergy and bourgeoisie. It was called and dismissed by the King of Portugal at will, at a place of his choosing...
(the national assembly) no less than five times to discuss he political affairs of his kingdom. He also followed the politics of his father concerning the maritime exploration of Africa. He encouraged and financed his famous brother, Henry the Navigator, who founded a "school" of maritime navigation
Navigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
at Sagres
Sagres
Sagres Point , is a windswept shelf-like promontory located in the southwest Algarve region of southern Portugal. Only 4 km to the west and 3 km to the north lies Cape St. Vincent which is usually taken as the southwesternmost tip of Europe. The vicinity of Sagres Point and Cape St...
and initiated many expeditions. That of Gil Eanes
Gil Eanes
Gil Eanes was a 15th-century Portuguese navigator and explorer.Little is known about the personal life of Gil Eanes, prior to his role in the Portuguese Age of Discovery, and was considered a household servant and shield-bearer of the Infante Henry the Navigator...
in 1434 first rounded Cape Bojador
Cape Bojador
Cape Bojador or Cape Boujdour is a headland on the northern coast of Western Sahara, at 26° 07' 37"N, 14° 29' 57"W. , as well as the name of a nearby town with a population of 41,178.It is shown on nautical charts with the original Portuguese name "Cabo Bojador", but is sometimes...
on the northwestern coast of Africa, leading the way for further exploration southward along the African coast.
The colony at Ceuta rapidly became a drain on the Portuguese treasury, and it was realised that without the city of Tangier
Tangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
, possession of Ceuta was worthless. When Ceuta was captured by the Portuguese, the camel caravans that were part of the overland trade routes began to use Tangier as their new destination. This deprived Ceuta of the materials and goods that made it an attractive market and a vibrant trading locale, and it became an isolated community.
In 1437, Edward's brothers
Illustrious Generation (Portugal)
The Ínclita Geração is a term commonly used by Portuguese historians to refer to a group of 15th C. infantes of the House of Aviz, specifically the sons of King John I of Portugal and his wife Philippa of Lancaster...
Henry and Ferdinand
Fernando, the Saint Prince
The Blessed Infante Fernando , commonly known as the Saint Prince was an infante of Portugal of the House of Aviz and a saint of the Roman Catholic Church....
persuaded him to launch an attack on the Marinid
Marinid
The Marinid dynasty or Benemerine dynasty was a Zenata Berber dynasty of Morocco. The Marinid dynasty overtook the Almohads in controlling Morocco in 1244. They controlled most of the Maghreb from the mid-14th century to the 15th century and supported the Kingdom of Granada in Al-Andalus in the...
sultanate of Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. The expedition was not unanimously supported: Infante Peter, Duke of Coimbra, and the Infante John
Infante João of Portugal
The Infante João, 1st Lord of Reguengos de Monsaraz, Colares and Belas was a Portuguese infante of the House of Aviz, Constable of Portugal and master of the Portuguese Order of St. James .- Life :Infante John was the son of King John I of Portugal and his wife Philippa of Lancaster...
were both against the initiative; they preferred to avoid conflict with the king of Morocco. Their instincts proved to be justified. The resulting attack on Tangier
Battle of Tangier (1437)
The 1437 Battle of Tangier, sometimes referred to as the Siege of Tangiers, refers to the attempt by a Portuguese expeditionary force to seize the Moroccan citadel of Tangier, and their subsequent defeat by the armies of the Marinid sultanate of Morocco....
, led by Henry, was a debacle. Failing to take the city in a series of assaults, the Portuguese siege camp was soon itself surrounded and starved into submission by a Moroccan relief army. In the resulting treaty, Henry promised to deliver Ceuta back to the Marinids in return for allowing the Portuguese army to depart unmolested. Edward's youngest brother, Ferdinand, was handed over to the Marinids as a hostage for the final handover of the city.
The debacle at Tangier dominated Edward's final year. Peter and John urged him to fulfill the treaty, yield Ceuta and secure Ferdinand's release, while Henry (who had signed the treaty) urged him to renege on it. Caught in indecision, Edward assembled the Portuguese Cortes at 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...
in early 1438 for consultation. The Cortes refused to ratify the treaty, preferring to hang on to Ceuta and requesting that Edward find some other way of obtaining Ferdinand's release.
Edward died late that summer of the plague, like his father and mother (and her mother) before him. Popular lore suggested he died of heartbreak over the fate of his hapless brother (Ferdinand would remain in captivity in Fez until his own death in 1443).
Edward's premature death provoked a political crisis in Portugal. Leaving only a young son, Afonso
Afonso V of Portugal
Afonso V KG , called the African , was the twelfth King of Portugal and the Algarves. His sobriquet refers to his conquests in Northern Africa.-Early life:...
, to inherit the throne, it was generally assumed that Edward's brothers would take over the regency
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
of the realm. But Edward's will appointed his unpopular foreign wife, Eleanor of Aragon, as regent. A popular uprising followed, in which the burghers of the realm, assembled by John of Reguengos, acclaimed Peter of Coimbra as regent. But the nobles backed Eleanor's claim, and threatened civil war. The regency crisis was defused by a complicated and tense power-sharing arrangement between Eleanor and Peter.
Another less political side of Duarte's personality is related to culture. A reflective and scholarly infante, he wrote the treatises O Leal Conselheiro (The Loyal Counsellor) and Livro Da Ensinanca De Bem Cavalgar Toda Sela (The Art of Riding on Every Saddle) as well as several poems. He was in the process of revising the Portuguese law code when he died.
Ancestry
Marriages and descendants
Duarte married Eleanor of Aragon, a daughter of Ferdinand I of AragonFerdinand I of Aragon
Ferdinand I called of Antequera and also the Just or the Honest) was king of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sardinia and Corsica and king of Sicily, duke of Athens and Neopatria, and count of Barcelona, Roussillon and Cerdanya...
and Eleanor of Alburquerque
Eleanor of Alburquerque
Eleanor, 2nd Countess of Alburquerque became Queen consort of Aragon by her marriage to Ferdinand I of Aragon. In Spanish, she is known as Leonor Urraca de Castilla, condesa de Alburquerque.- Family :...
, in 1428.
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| By Eleanor of Aragon (c. 1402-19 February 1445); married on 22 September 1428) | |||
| Infante John | October 1429 | b. 14 August 1433 | Crown Prince of Portugal (1429–1433). |
| Infanta Philippa | 27 November 1430 | 24 March 1439 | |
| Infante Afonso Afonso V of Portugal Afonso V KG , called the African , was the twelfth King of Portugal and the Algarves. His sobriquet refers to his conquests in Northern Africa.-Early life:... |
15 January 1432 | 28 August 1481 | Who succeeded him as Afonso V, King of Portugal. |
| Infanta Maria | 7 December 1432 | 8 December 1432 | |
| Infante Ferdinand | 17 November 1433 | 18 September 1470 | Duke of Viseu Duke of Viseu Duke of Viseu was a Portuguese Royal Dukedom created in 1415 by King John I of Portugal for his third male child, Prince Henry the Navigator, following the conquest of Ceuta.... . He was declared heir to his brother Afonso V for two brief periods, and therefore used the style of Prince instead of Infante. He was the father of future king Manuel I Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I , the Fortunate , 14th king of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, , by his wife, Infanta Beatrice of Portugal... . |
| Infanta Eleanor | 18 September 1434 | 3 September 1467 | Holy Roman Empress by marriage to Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick the Peaceful KG was Duke of Austria as Frederick V from 1424, the successor of Albert II as German King as Frederick IV from 1440, and Holy Roman Emperor as Frederick III from 1452... . |
| Infante Edward | 12 July 1435 | 12 July 1435 | |
| Infanta Catherine | 26 November 1436 | 17 June 1463 | |
| Infanta Joan | 20 March 1439 | 13 June 1475 | Queen of Castile by marriage to King Henry IV of Castile Henry IV of Castile Henry IV , King of the Crown of Castile, nicknamed the Impotent , was the last of the weak late medieval kings of Castile... . |
| By Joana Manuel de Vilhena (c. 1395-?) | |||
| João Manuel João Manuel, Bishop of Guarda João Manuel de Vilhena was a religious Carmelite, Bishop of Ceuta and Bishop of Guarda .He was a bastard son of Edward of Portugal and Joana Manuel de Vilhena, great-granddaughter of Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena. He joined the Carmelites, in 1441 to become provincial of the Order in Portugal... |
c. 1416 | 1476 | Natural son. Bishop of Guarda Guarda, Portugal Guarda is a city in Guarda Municipality, Portugal. The city has a population of 32 111Guarda was founded in 1199 by the second king of Portugal, Sancho I.... . Ancestor of the Marquis of Tancos/Counts of Atalaia. |