The Honour of Molelos was a major lordship in Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

. It was founded c.1455 by João Esteves da Veiga de Nápoles

João Esteves da Veiga de Nápoles

João Esteves da Veiga de Nápoles was a Portuguese nobleman and Minister-Counselor, the eldest son of Leonardo Esteves de Nápoles and his wife Margarida Anes Afonso...

, heir to a Portuguese branch of the Capetian House of Anjou

Capetian House of Anjou

The Capetian House of Anjou, also known as the House of Anjou-Sicily and House of Anjou-Naples, was a royal house and cadet branch of the direct House of Capet. Founded by Charles I of Sicily, a son of Louis VIII of France, the Capetian king first ruled the Kingdom of Sicily during the 13th century...

, the Nápoles

Nápoles

Nápoles is the name of a Portuguese family whose roots lie in the Kingdom of Naples. A claimed secondary branch of the royal Capetian House of Anjou, of the kings of Naples, the Nápoles descend from Stephen of Durazzo who moved to Portugal...

 family, in the name of his eldest son, Henrique Esteves da Veiga de Nápoles. It would survive until the extinction of the Portuguese lordships after the Liberal

Liberalism

Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...

 triumph of 1848. The Lords of Molelos were created Viscounts of Molelos by king John IV of Portugal

John IV of Portugal

|-|John IV was the King of Portugal and the Algarves from 1640 to his death. He was the grandson of Catherine, Duchess of Braganza, who had in 1580 claimed the Portuguese crown and sparked the struggle for the throne of Portugal. John was nicknamed John the Restorer...

 in 1826 and later Counts of Molelos by Miguel I. Their historical seat has been the Palace (Paço) of Molelos, near Tondela

Tondela

Tondela is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 371.2 km² and a total population of 31,026 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 26 parishes and is located in Viseu District....

.