History of Portugal (1112-1279) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The history of Portugal, in most of the 12th and 13th centuries, is chiefly that of its origin as a separate state, in the process of the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula

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...

Background

Towards the close of the 11th century crusading knights came from every part of Europe to aid the kings of León

Kingdom of León

The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in AD 910 when the Christian princes of Asturias along the northern coast of the peninsula shifted their capital from Oviedo to the city of León...

, 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 Aragon

Aragon

Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...

in combatting the Moors

Moors

The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...

. Among these adventurers was Henry of Burgundy

Henry, Count of Portugal

Henry of Burgundy, Count of Portugal was Count of Portugal from 1093 to his death. He was brother of Hugh I, Duke of Burgundy, and Odo I, Duke of Burgundy, all sons of Henry, the heir of Robert I, Duke of Burgundy. His name is Henri in modern French, Henricus in Latin, Enrique in modern Spanish...

, who, in 1095, married Theresa of León

Theresa, Countess of Portugal

Theresa of Portugal was the first ruler of independent Portugal...

, natural daughter of Alfonso VI of León

Alfonso VI of Castile

Alfonso VI , nicknamed the Brave or the Valiant, was King of León from 1065, King of Castile and de facto King of Galicia from 1072, and self-proclaimed "Emperor of all Spain". After the conquest of Toledo he was also self-proclaimed victoriosissimo rege in Toleto, et in Hispania et Gallecia...

. The County of Portugal

County of Portugal

The County of Portugal was the region around Braga and Porto, today corresponding to littoral northern Portugal, from the late ninth to the early twelfth century, during which it was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León.-History:...

was included in Theresa's dowry. Count Henry ruled as a vassal

Vassal

A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...

of Alfonso VI, whose Galician marches

Marches

A march or mark refers to a border region similar to a frontier, such as the Welsh Marches, the borderland between England and Wales. During the Frankish Carolingian Dynasty, the word spread throughout Europe....

were thus secured against any sudden Moorish raid. But in 1109 Alfonso VI died, bequeathing all his territories to his legitimate daughter, Urraca of Castile

Urraca of Castile

Urraca was Queen regnant of León, Castile, and Galicia, and claimed the imperial title as suo jure Empress of All the Spains from 1109 until her death in childbirth, as well as Empress of All Galicia.- Childhood :...

, and Count Henry at once invaded León, hoping to add to his own dominions at the expense of his suzerain.

After three years of war against Urraca and other rival claimants to the throne of León, Count Henry himself died in 1112, leaving his widow Theresa to govern Portugal north of the Mondego during the minority of her infant son Afonso: south of the Mondego the Moors were still supreme.

Theresa renewed the struggle against her half-sister and suzerain Urraca in 1116-1117, and again in 1120; in 1121 she was besieged in Lanhoso and captured. But a peace was negotiated by the archbishops Diogo Gelmires of Santiago de Compostela and Burdino of Braga, rival churchmen whose wealth and military resources enabled them to dictate terms. Bitter jealousy existed between the two prelates, each claiming to be primate

Primate (religion)

Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence ....

"of all Hispania", and their antagonism had some historical importance insofar as it fostered the growth of separatist tendencies among the Portuguese. But the quarrel was temporarily suspended because both Gelmires and Burdino, virtually princes within their territories, had reason to dread the extension of Urraca's authority. It was arranged that Theresa should be liberated and should continue to hold the county of Portugal as a fief of León.

During the next five years she lavished wealth and titles upon her lover Fernando Peres, count of Trava, thus estranging her son, the archbishop of Braga and the nobles, most of whom were foreign knight adventurers. In 1128, after her power had been crushed in another unsuccessful conflict with León, she was deposed by her own rebellious subjects and exiled in company with Peres. She died in 1130.

Meanwhile, her son Afonso Henriques (meaning "Afonso son of Henry") thrived. The boy, probably born around 1109, followed his father as Count of Portugal in 1112, under the tutelage of his mother. The relations between Teresa and her son Afonso proved difficult. Only eleven years old, Afonso already had his own political ideas, greatly different from his mother's. In 1120, the young prince took the side of the archbishop

Archbishop

An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...

of Braga

Braga

Braga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and the third major city of the country. Braga is the oldest Portuguese city and one of the oldest Christian cities in the World...

, a political foe of Teresa, and both were exiled by her orders. Afonso spent the next years away from his own county, under the watch of the bishop. In 1122 Afonso became fourteen, the adult age in the 12th century. He made himself a knight

Knight

A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

on his own account in the Cathedral of Zamora, raised an army, and proceeded to take control of his lands. Near Guimarães

Guimarães

Guimarães Municipality is located in northwestern Portugal in the province of Minho and in the Braga District. It contains the city of Guimarães.The present Mayor is António Magalhães Silva, elected by the Socialist Party.-Parishes:-Economy:...

, at the Battle of São Mamede (1128) he overcame the troops under his mother's lover and ally Count Fernando Peres de Trava of Galicia, making her his prisoner and exiling her forever to a monastery in León

León, Spain

León is the capital of the province of León in the autonomous community of Castile and León, situated in the northwest of Spain. Its city population of 136,985 makes it the largest municipality in the province, accounting for more than one quarter of the province's population...

. Thus the possibility of incorporating Portugal into a Kingdom of Galicia was eliminated and Afonso become sole ruler (Duke of Portugal) after demands for independence from the county's people, church and nobles. He also vanquished Alfonso VII of León and Castile, another of his mother's allies, and thus freed the county from political dependence on the crown of León. On April 6, 1129, Afonso Henriques dictated the writ in which he proclaimed himself Prince of Portugal.

Afonso then turned his arms against the persistent problem of the Moors in the south. His campaigns were successful and, on July 25, 1139, he obtained an overwhelming victory in the Battle of Ourique

Battle of Ourique

The Battle of Ourique saw the forces of Portuguese Prince Afonso Henriques defeat the Almoravid Moors led by Ali ibn Yusuf.-Background:...

, and straight after was unanimously proclaimed King of Portugal by his soldiers. This meant that Portugal was no longer a vassal county of León, but an independent kingdom in its own right. That he then convened the first assembly of the estates-general at Lamego

Lamego

Lamego is a municipality in northern Portugal, with a population of 27,054 inhabitants Lamego is a municipality in northern Portugal, with a population of 27,054 inhabitants Lamego is a municipality in northern Portugal, with a population of 27,054 inhabitants (the catchment of the city of...

(wherein he would have been given the crown from the Archbishop of Braga, to confirm the independence) is likely to be a 17th century embellishment of Portuguese history.

Independence, however, was not a thing a land could choose on its own. Portugal still had to be acknowledged by the neighbouring lands and, most importantly, by the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

and the Pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

. Afonso wed Mafalda of Savoy

Maud of Savoy

Maud of Savoy was the first Queen of Portugal. She was Queen consort through her marriage, in 1146, to King Afonso I, the first ruler of Portugal as an independent kingdom....

, daughter of Count Amadeo III of Savoy, and sent Ambassadors to Rome to negotiate with the Pope. In Portugal, he built several monasteries and convents and bestowed important privileges to religious order

Religious order

A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...

s. In 1143, he wrote to Pope Innocent II

Pope Innocent II

Pope Innocent II , born Gregorio Papareschi, was pope from 1130 to 1143, and was probably one of the clergy in personal attendance on the antipope Clement III .-Early years:...

to declare himself and the kingdom servants of the Church, swearing to pursue driving the Moors out of the Iberian Peninsula

Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...

. Bypassing any king of Castile or León, Afonso declared himself the direct liegeman of the Papacy. Thus, Afonso continued to distinguish himself by his exploits against the Moors, from whom he wrested 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....

and 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...

in 1147 (see Siege of Lisbon

Siege of Lisbon

The Siege of Lisbon, from July 1 to October 25, 1147, was the military action that brought the city of Lisbon under definitive Portuguese control and expelled its Moorish overlords. The Siege of Lisbon was one of the few Christian victories of the Second Crusade—it was "the only success of the...

). He also conquered an important part of the land south of the Tagus

Tagus

The Tagus is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula. It is long, in Spain, along the border between Portugal and Spain and in Portugal, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Lisbon. It drains an area of . The Tagus is highly utilized for most of its course...

River, although this was lost again to the Moors in the following years.

Meanwhile, King Alfonso VII of León (Afonso's cousin) regarded the independent ruler of Portugal as nothing but a rebel. Conflict between the two was constant and bitter in the following years. Afonso became involved in a war, taking the side of the Aragon

Aragon

ese king, an enemy of Alfonso VII. To ensure the alliance, his son Sancho

Sancho I of Portugal

Sancho I , nicknamed the Populator , second monarch of Portugal, was born on 11 November 1154 in Coimbra and died on 26 March 1212 in the same city. He was the second but only surviving legitimate son and fourth child of Afonso I of Portugal by his wife, Maud of Savoy. Sancho succeeded his father...

was engaged to Dulce, sister of the Count of Barcelona, and princess of Aragon. Finally, in 1143, the Treaty of Zamora

Treaty of Zamora

The Treaty of Zamora recognized Portuguese independence from the Kingdom of León. Based on the terms of the accord, King Alfonso VII of León and Castille recognized the Kingdom of Portugal in the presence of King Afonso I of Portugal, witnessed by the papal representative, Cardinal Guido de Vico,...

established peace between the cousins and the recognition by the Kingdom of León that Portugal was an independent kingdom.

Afonso was occupied in almost incessant border fighting against his Christian or Moorish neighbours. Twelve years of campaigning on the Galician frontier were concluded in 1143 by the Treaty of Zamora, in which Afonso was recognized as independent of any other Iberian sovereign, although he promised to be a faithful vassal of the Pope and to pay him a yearly tribute of four ounces of gold. In 1167, however, the war was renewed. Afonso succeeded in conquering part of Galicia, but in attempting to capture the frontier fortress of 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....

he was wounded and forced to surrender to Ferdinand II of León

Ferdinand II of Leon

Ferdinand II was King of León and Galicia from 1157 to his death.-Life:Born in Toledo, Castile, he was the son of King Alfonso VII of León and Castile and of Berenguela, of the House of Barcelona. At his father's death, he received León and Galicia, while his brother Sancho received Castile and...

(1169). Ferdinand was his son-in-law, and was probably disposed to leniency by the imminence of a Moorish invasion in which Portugal could render useful assistance. Afonso was therefore released under promise to abandon all his conquests in Galicia.

In 1179 the privileges and favours given to the Roman Catholic Church were compensated. In the papal bull

Papal bull

A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....

Manifestis Probatum
Manifestis Probatum
Manifestis Probatum was an papal bull dated May 23, 1179 in which Pope Alexander III officially recognised Afonso Henriques as the first King of Portugal.-Text:...

, Pope Alexander III

Pope Alexander III

Pope Alexander III , born Rolando of Siena, was Pope from 1159 to 1181. He is noted in history for laying the foundation stone for the Notre Dame de Paris.-Church career:...

acknowledged Afonso as King and Portugal as an independent land with the right to conquer lands from the Moors. With this papal blessing, Portugal was at last secured as a country and safe from any Leonese attempts at annexation.

In 1184, in spite of his great age, King Afonso of Portugal still had sufficient energy to relieve his son Sancho, who was besieged in Santarém by the Moors. He died shortly after, on December 6, 1185.

Reconquista in Portugal

Afonso had already won many victories over the Moors. At the beginning of his reign the religious fervor which had sustained the Almoravide dynasty was rapidly subsiding; in Portugal independent Moorish chiefs ruled over cities and petty taifa

Taifa

In the history of the Iberian Peninsula, a taifa was an independent Muslim-ruled principality, usually an emirate or petty kingdom, though there was one oligarchy, of which a number formed in the Al-Andalus after the final collapse of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba in 1031.-Rise:The origins of...

states, ignoring the central government; in Africa the Almohades were destroying the remnants of the Almoravide power. Afonso took advantage of these dissentions to invade Alentejo, reinforced by the Templars

Knights Templar

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...

and the Hospitallers

Knights Hospitaller

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...

, whose respective headquarters were at 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...

and Soure.

On July 25, 1139 he defeated the combined forces of the Moors on the plains of Ourique, in Alentejo. Legend has magnified the victory into the rout of 200,000 Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

s under five kings; but so far was the battle from being decisive that in 1140 the Moors were able to seize the fortress of Leiria, built by Afonso in 1135 as an outpost for the defence of 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...

, his capital. In 114? they defeated the Templars at Soure. But on March 15, 1147 Afonso stormed the fortress of Santarém, and about the same time a band of crusaders on their way to Palestine landed at Oporto and volunteered for the impending siege of Lisbon

Siege of Lisbon

. Among them were many Englishmen, Germans and Flemings, who were afterwards induced to settle in Portugal. Aided by these powerful allies, Afonso captured Lisbon on October 25, 1147.

This was the greatest military achievement of his reign. The Moorish garrisons of Palmela, Sintra and Almada soon capitulated, and in 1158 Alcácer do Sal, one of the chief centres of Moorish commerce, was taken by storm. At this time, however, the Almohads had triumphed in Africa and invaded the Peninsula, where they were able to check the Portuguese reconquest, although isolated bands of crusading adventurers succeeded in establishing themselves in various cities of Alentejo. The most famous of these free-lancers was Geraldo Sem Pavor ("Gerald the Fearless"), who captured Évora in 1166.

In 1171 Afonso concluded a seven years truce with the Moors; weakened by his wound and by old age, he could no longer take the field, and when the war broke out afresh he delegated the chief command to his son Sancho. Between 1179 and 1184 the Moors retrieved many of their losses in Alentejo, but were unable to retake Santarém and Lisbon. In 1179, by the papal bull Manifestis Probatum
Manifestis Probatum
Manifestis Probatum was an papal bull dated May 23, 1179 in which Pope Alexander III officially recognised Afonso Henriques as the first King of Portugal.-Text:...

, Pope Alexander III acknowledged Portugal as an independent nation and Afonso and his heirs and as her rightful kings. Afonso died on December 6, 1185. He had secured for Portugal both the status and the name of an independent kingdom, and had extended its frontier southwards from the Mondego to the Tagus. He had laid the foundation of its navy and had strengthened, if he did not inaugurate, that system of co-operation between the Crown and the military orders which afterwards proved of incalculable service in the maritime and colonial development of the nation.

Sancho I

Sancho I of Portugal

continued the war against the Moors with varying fortune. In 1189 he won Silves, then the capital of Algarve; in 1192 he lost not only Algarve but the greater part of Alentejo, including Alcácer do Sal, to the Almohads. A peace was then arranged.

For the next eight years Sancho was engaged in hostilities against Alfonso IX of León. The motives and course of this indecisive struggle are obscure. It ended in 1201, and the last decade of Sancho's reign was a period of peaceful reform which earned for the king his popular name of o Povoador, the "maker of towns."

He granted fresh charters to many cities, legalizing the system of self-government which the Romans had bequeathed to the Visigoths and the Moors had retained or improved. Lisbon had already (1179) received a charter from Afonso I. Sancho also endeavoured to foster immigration and agriculture, by granting estates to the military orders and municipalities on condition that the occupiers should cultivate or colonize their lands. Towards the close of his reign he became embroiled in a dispute with Pope Innocent III

Pope Innocent III

Pope Innocent III was Pope from 8 January 1198 until his death. His birth name was Lotario dei Conti di Segni, sometimes anglicised to Lothar of Segni....

. He had insisted that priests should accompany their flocks in battle, had made them amenable to secular jurisdiction, had withheld the tribute due to Rome and had even claimed the right of disposing of ecclesiastical domains. Finally he had quarreled with Martinho Rodrigues, the unpopular bishop of Oporto, who was besieged for five months in his palace and then forced to seek redress in Rome (1209). As Sancho was in weak health and had no means of resisting Papal pressure, he made full submission (1210); and after bestowing large estates on his sons and daughters, he retired into the monastery of Alcobaça

Monastery of Alcobaça

The Alcobaça Monastery is a Mediaeval Roman Catholic Monastery located in the town of Alcobaça, in central Portugal. It was founded by the first Portuguese King, Afonso Henriques, in 1153, and maintained a close association with the Kings of Portugal throughout its history.The church and monastery...

, where he died in 1211.

Afonso II

The reign of Afonso II

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...

("the Fat") is noteworthy for the first meeting of the Portuguese cortes, to which the upper hierarchy of the Church and the nobles (fidalgos and ricos homens) were summoned by royal writ. The king (1211–1223), was no warrior, but in 1212 a Portuguese contingent aided the Castilians to defeat the Moors at Las Navas de Tolosa, and in 1217 the ministers, bishops and captains of the realm, reinforced by foreign crusaders, retook Alcácer do Sal.

Afonso II repudiated the will of his father, refused to surrender the estates left to his brothers, who went into exile, and only gave up the property bequeathed to his sisters after a prolonged civil war in which Alfonso IX of León

Alfonso VIII of Castile

Alfonso VIII , called the Noble or el de las Navas, was the King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. He is most remembered for his part in the Reconquista and the downfall of the Almohad Caliphate...

took part against them. Even then he compelled the heiresses to take the veil. His attempts to strengthen the monarchy and fill the treasury at the expense of the Church resulted in his excommunication by Pope Honorius III

Pope Honorius III

Pope Honorius III , previously known as Cencio Savelli, was Pope from 1216 to 1227.-Early work:He was born in Rome as son of Aimerico...

, and Portugal remained under interdict until Afonso II died in 1223.

Sancho II

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...

succeeded at the age of thirteen. To secure the removal of the interdict the leading statesmen who were identified with the policy of his father Gonçalo Mendes the chancellor, Pedro Annes, the lord chamberlain , and Vicente, dean of Lisbon, resigned their offices. Estêvão Soares, archbishop of Braga, placed himself at the head of the nobles and churchmen who threatened to usurp the royal power during Sancho II's minority, and negotiated an alliance with Alfonso IX, by which it was arranged that the Portuguese should attack Elvas, the Castilians Badajoz

Badajoz

.

Elvas was taken from the Moors in 1226, and in 1227 Sancho assumed control of the kingdom. He reinstated Pedro Annes, made Vicente chancellor, and appointed Martim Annes chief standard-bearer (alferes mor), i.e., the chief military official. He continued the crusade against the Moors, who were driven from their last strongholds in Alentejo, and in 1239-1244, after a dispute with Rome which was once more ended by the imposition of an interdict and the submission of the Portuguese ruler, he won many successes in the Algarve. But his career of conquest was cut short by a revolution (1245), for which his marriage to a Castilian lady, Mecia Lopez de Haro, furnished a pretext.

The legitimacy of the union has been questioned, on grounds which appear insufficient; but of its unpopularity there can be no doubt. The bishops, resenting the favour shown by Sancho to his father's anti-clerical ministers, took advantage of this unpopularity to organize the rebellion. They found a leader in Sancho's brother Afonso, count of Boulogne, who owed his title to a marriage with Matilda, countess of Boulogne. The pope issued a bull of deposition in favour of Afonso, who reached Lisbon in 1246; and after a civil war lasting two years Sancho II retired to Toledo, where he died in January 1248.

Afonso III

One of the first acts of the usurper, and one of the most important, was to abandon the semi-ecclesiastical titles of visitor or defender of the realm, and to proclaim himself king . Hitherto the position of the monarchy had been precarious; as in Aragon the nobles and the church had exercised a large measure of control over their nominal head, and though it would be pedantry to over-emphasize the importance of the royal title, its assumption by Afonso III

Afonso III of Portugal

Afonso III , or Affonso , Alfonso or Alphonso or Alphonsus , the Bolognian , the fifth King of Portugal and the first to use the title King of Portugal and the Algarve, from 1249...

does mark a definite stage in the evolution of a national monarchy and a centralized government.

A second stage was reached shortly afterwards by the conquest of Algarve, the last remaining stronghold of the Moors. This drew down upon Portugal the anger of Alfonso X 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...

, surnamed the Wise, who claimed suzerainty over Algarve. The war which followed was ended by Afonso III consenting to wed Beatriz de Guzmán, illegitimate daughter of Alfonso X, and to hold Algarve as a fief of Castile. The celebration of this marriage, while Matilda, countess of Boulogne and first wife of Afonso III, was still alive, entailed the imposition of an interdict upon the kingdom. In 1254 Afonso III summoned cortes to 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 which the chief cities were represented, as well as the nobles and clergy.

Fortified by their support the king refused to submit to Rome. At the cortes of Coimbra (1261), he further strengthened his position by conciliating the representatives of the cities, who denounced the issue of a debased coinage, and by recognizing that taxation could not be imposed without consent of the cortes. The clergy suffered more than the laity under a prolonged interdict, and in 1262 Pope Urban IV

Pope Urban IV

Pope Urban IV , born Jacques Pantaléon, was Pope, from 1261 to 1264. He was not a cardinal, and there have been several Popes since him who have not been Cardinals, including Urban V and Urban VI.-Biography:...

legalized the disputed marriage and legitimized Dinis (future king Dinis

Denis of Portugal

Dinis , called the Farmer King , was the sixth King of Portugal and the Algarve. The eldest son of Afonso III of Portugal by his second wife, Beatrice of Castile and grandson of king Alfonso X of Castile , Dinis succeeded his father in 1279.-Biography:As heir to the throne, Infante Dinis was...

), the king's eldest son. Thus ended the contest for supremacy between Church and Crown.

The monarchy owed its triumph to its championship of national interests, to the support of the municipalities and military orders, and to the prestige gained by the royal armies in the Moorish and Castilian wars. In 1263 Alfonso X renounced his claim to suzerainty over Algarve, and thus the kingdom of Portugal simultaneously reached its present European limits and attained its complete independence. Lisbon was henceforth recognized as the capital. Afonso III continued to reign until his death in 1279, but the peace of his later years was broken by the rebellion (1277–1279) of Dinis.

Background

Reconquista in Portugal

Afonso II

Sancho II

Afonso III

See also