Afonso III of Portugal
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Afonso III of Portugal (Portuguese pron. IPA /Template:IPA/; English Alphonzo), or Affonso (Archaic Portuguese), Alfonso or Alphonso (Portuguese-Galician) or Alphonsus (Latin), the Bolognian (Port. o Bolonhês) or the Brave (Port. o Bravo), the fifth king of Portugal (May 5 1210 in Coimbra – February 16 1279 in Alcobaça, Coimbra or Lisbon) and the first to use the title King of Portugal and Algarve, since 1249. He was the second son of King Afonso II of Portugal and his wife, Urraca of Castile; he succeeded his brother, King Sancho II of Portugal in 1247.
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As the second son of King Afonso II of Portugal, Afonso was not expected to inherit the throne, which was destined to go to his brother Sancho. He lived mostly in France, were he married Matilda, the heiress of Boulogne, in 1238, thereby becoming Count of Boulogne. In 1246, conflicts between his brother, the king, and the church became unbearable. Pope Innocent IV then ordered Sancho II to be removed from the throne and be replaced by the Count of Boulogne. Afonso, of course, did not refuse the papal order and marched to Portugal. Since Sancho was not a popular king, the order was not hard to enforce; he was exiled to Castile and Afonso III became king in 1247. To ascend the throne, he abdicated from the county of Boulogne and later (1253) divorced Matilda. In 1253 he married Brites (Beatrix), an illegitimate daughter of King Alfonso X of Castile. Determined not to commit the same mistakes as his brother, Afonso III paid special attention to what the middle class composed of merchants and small land owners had to say. In 1254, in the city of Leiria, he held the first session of the Cortes, a general assembly, comprised of the nobility, the middle class and representatives of all municipalities. He also made laws intended to restrain the upper classes from abusing the least favoured part of the population. Remembered as a notable administrator, Afonso III founded several towns, granted the title of city to many others and reorganized public administration.
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Secure on the throne, Afonso III then proceeded to make war with the Muslim communities that still thrived in the south. In his reign the Algarve became part of the kingdom following the capture of Faro—Portugal thus becoming the first Iberian kingdom to complete its Reconquista. Following his success against the Moors, Afonso III had to deal with a political situation arising from the borders with Castile. The neighbouring kingdom considered that the newly acquired lands of Algarve should be Castilian, not Portuguese, which led to a series of wars between the countries. Finally, in 1267, a treaty was signed in Badajoz, determining that the southern border between Castile and Portugal should be the River Guadiana, as it is today.
Afonso's marriages and descendants
Afonso's first wife was Matilda II of Boulogne, daughter of Renaud, Count of Dammartin, and Ida of Boulogne. She had two sons but both died young (Roberto and an unnamed one). He divorced Matilda in 1253 and in the same year married Beatrix of Castile, illegitimate daughter of Alfonso X, King of Castile, and Maria de Guzman.
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| By Matilda II of Boulogne (c. 1202-1262; married in 1216) | |||
| Robert | 1239 | 1239 | |
| By Beatrix of Castile (1242-1303; married in 1253) | |||
| Branca | February 25 1259 | April 17 1321 | Abbess of the Convent of Huelgas |
| Ferdinand | 1260 | 1262 | |
| Denis | October 9 1261 | January 7 1325 | Succeeded him as 6th King of Portugal; Married Princess Isabel of Aragon |
| Afonso | February 8 1263 | November 2 1312 | Lord of Portalegre. Married to Princess Violante Manoel of Castile (daughter of Juan Manuel of Castile) |
| Sancha | February 2 1264 | c. 1302 | |
| Maria | November 21 1264 | June 6 1304 | Nun at the Convent of Saint John in Coimbra |
| Constance | 1266 | 1271 | |
| Vincent | 1268 | 1271 | |
| By Madragana (Mor Afonso) (c. 1230-?) | |||
| Martim Afonso Chichorro | c. 1250 | a. 1313 | Natural son; Married Inês Lourenço de Valadres. |
| Urraca Afonso | c. 1260 | ? | Natural daughter; Married twice: 1st to D. Pedro Anes de Riba Vizela, 2nd to João Mendes de Briteiros |
| By Maria Peres de Enxara (?-?) | |||
| Afonso Dinis | c. 1260 | a. 1310 | Natural son; Married to D. Maria Pais Ribeira, Lady of the House of Sousa. |
| Other natural offspring | |||
| Leonor Afonso | c. 1250 | 1291 | Natural daughter. Married twice: 1st to D. Estevão Anes de Sousa (without issue), 2nd to D. Gonçalo Garcia de Sousa, Count of Neiva (without issue). |
| Gil Afonso | 1250 | December 31 1346 | Natural son; Gentleman of the Order do Hospital. |
| Fernando Afonso | ? | ? | Natural son; Gentleman of the Order do Hospital. |
| Rodrigo Afonso | 1258 | about May 12 1272 | Natural son; Prior of the city of Santarem. |
| Leonor Afonso (nun) | ? | 1259 | Natural daughter; Nun in the Monastery of Santa Clara of Santarem. |
| Urraca Afonso | 1250 | November 4 1281 | Natural daughter; Nun in the Monastery of Lorvao. |
| Henrique Afonso | ? | ? | Natural son; Married to Inês (last name unknown). |
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References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition{{#if:{{{article|}}}| article {{#if:{{{url|}}}|[{{{url|}}}}} "{{{article}}}"{{#if:{{{url|}}}|]}}{{#if:{{{author|}}}| by {{{author}}}}}}}, a publication now in the public domain.ca:Alfons III de Portugal
de:Alfons III. (Portugal) es:Alfonso III de Portugal fr:Alphonse III de Portugal pl:Alfons III (król Portugalii) pt:Afonso III de Portugal ru:Афонсу III zh:阿方索三世 (葡萄牙)