Infante João of Portugal
Encyclopedia
The Infante João, 1st Lord of Reguengos de Monsaraz, Colares and Belas (ʒuˈɐ̃w̃; John) (Santarém
, January 13, 1400 – October 18, 1442, Alcácer do Sal
) was a Portuguese
infante (prince) of the House of Aviz
, Constable of Portugal
and master of the Portuguese Order of St. James (Santiago).
and his wife Philippa of Lancaster
. John and his brothers Edward, Peter, Henry and Ferdinand, sister Isabella and half-brother Afonso
, constitute what Portuguese historians have traditionally labelled the 'illustrious generation
' (Ínclita Geração)
With his brothers, Infante John participated in the Battle of Ceuta
(1415) and was knight
ed by his father in the aftermath. He was invested as the 1st Lord of Reguengos de Monsaraz
, Colares
and Belas shortly after. In October 1418, at the king's request, Pope Martin V
approved the appointment of Infante John as the 10th Master of the Order of St. James, bringing the old military order into the hands of the royal family. That same year (1418), John and his brother Henry led a relief fleet to Ceuta, and helped lift the Moroccan-Granadan siege.
In 1424, John married his half-niece Isabella of Braganza
, daughter of his half-brother Afonso of Barcelos
.
After the death of Nuno Álvares Pereira
in 1431, Infante John was appointed the 3rd Constable of Portugal
. As a result, John is frequently characterized by the appellation O Infante Condestável ("The Constable Prince").
After King John I's death in 1433, John's eldest brother ascended as king Edward of Portugal. In 1437, Infante John joined another brother Peter, Duke of Coimbra in arguing against a projected Portuguese expedition to seize Tangiers. The campaign ended in disaster. After the Tangiers fiasco, John urged the ratification of the treaty with Marinid
Morocco, delivering Ceuta
in exchange for his captive brother Ferdinand, the Saint Prince. The Cortes refused, leaving Ferdinand to die in captivity.
King Edward died in September 1438, leaving a young son to ascend as king Afonso V of Portugal
, under the regency of his widow Eleanor of Aragon. This was an unpopular arrangement among the common people of the country, who feared Eleanor would be a puppet of the high nobility, who were itching to claw back the losses they incurred since the revolution of the 1380s
. The prospect of civil war raised its head. To forestall a rebellion, Infante John quickly seized control of Lisbon
, and oversaw the assembly of a burgher-packed Cortes to elect his brother Peter of Coimbra as regent for his nephew Alfonso V. The high nobility, led by half-brother Afonso of Barcelos
, urged Eleanor to hold fast, and a tense power-sharing regency arrangement was agreed upon between Peter and Eleanor.
Peter of Coimbra relied on his close alliance with Infante John to secure the lion's share of power during the first few years of the regency. Infante John's sudden death in October 1442 was a terrible blow to Peter, who thereafter found it increasingly difficult to fend off the aspirations of half-brother Afonso of Barcelos.
Regent Peter appointed John's son Diogo of Portugal
to succeed his father as Master of the Order of Santiago and Constable of Portugal.
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....
, January 13, 1400 – October 18, 1442, Alcácer do Sal
Alcácer do Sal
Alcácer do Sal is a municipality in Portugal, located in Setúbal District. It has a total area of and a total population of 13,624 inhabitants.-History :-Earliest settlement:...
) was a Portuguese
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...
infante (prince) of the House of Aviz
House of Aviz
The House of Aviz is a dynasty of kings of Portugal. In 1385, the Interregnum of the 1383-1385 crisis ended with the acclamation of the Master of the Order of Aviz, John, natural son of king Peter I and Dona Teresa Lourenço as king...
, Constable of Portugal
Constable of Portugal
Constable of Portugal or Constable of the Kingdom was a title created by the King of Portugal Ferdinand I in 1382, to substitute the title Alferes Mór do Reino. The constable was the second most powerful person in the kingdom, after the King of Portugal...
and master of the Portuguese Order of St. James (Santiago).
Life
Infante John was the son of King John I of PortugalJohn 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...
. John and his brothers Edward, Peter, Henry and Ferdinand, sister Isabella and half-brother Afonso
Afonso, 1st Duke of Braganza
Dom Afonso I, the 1st Duke of Braganza was the eighth Count of Barcelos, the 2nd Count of Neiva, 2nd Lord of Faria and the first Duke of Braganza.-Origins:...
, constitute what Portuguese historians have traditionally labelled the 'illustrious generation
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...
' (Ínclita Geração)
With his brothers, Infante John participated in the Battle of Ceuta
Battle of Ceuta
The Battle of Ceuta and the subsequent conquest of the Wattasid city of Ceuta by the Portuguese had its roots in the earliest years of the House of Aviz dynasty of Portugal...
(1415) and was 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....
ed by his father in the aftermath. He was invested as the 1st Lord of Reguengos de Monsaraz
Reguengos de Monsaraz
Reguengos de Monsaraz is Portuguese municipality in with a total area of 464 km² and a total population of 11,355. The City of Reguengos de Monsaraz proper has a population of 7,308....
, Colares
Colares (Sintra)
Colares is a civil parish along the coast of the municipality of Sintra. In 2001, it had a resident population of 7472 inhabitants dispersed in an area of 33.37 km².-History:...
and Belas shortly after. In October 1418, at the king's request, Pope Martin V
Pope Martin V
Pope Martin V , born Odo Colonna, was Pope from 1417 to 1431. His election effectively ended the Western Schism .-Biography:...
approved the appointment of Infante John as the 10th Master of the Order of St. James, bringing the old military order into the hands of the royal family. That same year (1418), John and his brother Henry led a relief fleet to Ceuta, and helped lift the Moroccan-Granadan siege.
In 1424, John married his half-niece Isabella of Braganza
Isabella of Braganza
Isabella of Braganza , also known as Isabella of Barcelos...
, daughter of his half-brother Afonso of Barcelos
Afonso, 1st Duke of Braganza
Dom Afonso I, the 1st Duke of Braganza was the eighth Count of Barcelos, the 2nd Count of Neiva, 2nd Lord of Faria and the first Duke of Braganza.-Origins:...
.
After the death of Nuno Álvares Pereira
Nuno Álvares Pereira
Dom Nuno Álvares Pereira, O. Carm. , also spelled Nun'Álvares Pereira, was a Portuguese general of great success who had a decisive role in the 1383-1385 Crisis that assured Portugal's independence from Castile...
in 1431, Infante John was appointed the 3rd Constable of Portugal
Constable of Portugal
Constable of Portugal or Constable of the Kingdom was a title created by the King of Portugal Ferdinand I in 1382, to substitute the title Alferes Mór do Reino. The constable was the second most powerful person in the kingdom, after the King of Portugal...
. As a result, John is frequently characterized by the appellation O Infante Condestável ("The Constable Prince").
After King John I's death in 1433, John's eldest brother ascended as king Edward of Portugal. In 1437, Infante John joined another brother Peter, Duke of Coimbra in arguing against a projected Portuguese expedition to seize Tangiers. The campaign ended in disaster. After the Tangiers fiasco, John urged the ratification of the treaty with 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...
Morocco, delivering Ceuta
Ceuta
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 exchange for his captive brother Ferdinand, the Saint Prince. The Cortes refused, leaving Ferdinand to die in captivity.
King Edward died in September 1438, leaving a young son to ascend as king Afonso V of Portugal
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:...
, under the regency of his widow Eleanor of Aragon. This was an unpopular arrangement among the common people of the country, who feared Eleanor would be a puppet of the high nobility, who were itching to claw back the losses they incurred since the revolution of the 1380s
1383–1385 Crisis
The 1383–1385 Crisis was a period of civil war in Portuguese history that began with the death of King Ferdinand I of Portugal, who left no male heirs, and ended with the accession to the throne of King John I in 1385, in the wake of the Battle of Aljubarrota.In Portugal, this period is also known...
. The prospect of civil war raised its head. To forestall a rebellion, Infante John quickly seized control of 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 oversaw the assembly of a burgher-packed Cortes to elect his brother Peter of Coimbra as regent for his nephew Alfonso V. The high nobility, led by half-brother Afonso of Barcelos
Afonso, 1st Duke of Braganza
Dom Afonso I, the 1st Duke of Braganza was the eighth Count of Barcelos, the 2nd Count of Neiva, 2nd Lord of Faria and the first Duke of Braganza.-Origins:...
, urged Eleanor to hold fast, and a tense power-sharing regency arrangement was agreed upon between Peter and Eleanor.
Peter of Coimbra relied on his close alliance with Infante John to secure the lion's share of power during the first few years of the regency. Infante John's sudden death in October 1442 was a terrible blow to Peter, who thereafter found it increasingly difficult to fend off the aspirations of half-brother Afonso of Barcelos.
Regent Peter appointed John's son Diogo of Portugal
Diogo of Portugal
Diogo of Portugal was a Portuguese infante, son of John, Lord of Reguengos de Monsaraz, infante of Portugal, and of his wife Isabella of Braganza...
to succeed his father as Master of the Order of Santiago and Constable of Portugal.
Issue
- Diogo of PortugalDiogo of PortugalDiogo of Portugal was a Portuguese infante, son of John, Lord of Reguengos de Monsaraz, infante of Portugal, and of his wife Isabella of Braganza...
, Constable of Portugal (1423–1443) - Isabella of Portugal (1428–1496), married to John II of CastileJohn II of CastileJohn II was King of Castile from 1406 to 1454.He was the son of Henry III of Castile and his wife Catherine of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster by Constance of Castile, daughter of King Peter of Castile.-Regency:He succeeded his father on 25 December 1406, at the age of...
and mother of Isabella I of CastileIsabella I of CastileIsabella I was Queen of Castile and León. She and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon brought stability to both kingdoms that became the basis for the unification of Spain. Later the two laid the foundations for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor...
and Alfonso, Prince of Asturias - Beatrice of Portugal (1430–1506), married to Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu
- Philippa of Portugal (1432 – c. 1450), Lady of Almada