Afonso I of Portugal

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Afonso I
King of the Portuguese
Reign	1139 – 6 December 1185
Coronation	26 July 1139
Successor	Sancho I
Consort	Maud of Savoy
among others ... Issue
Urraca, Queen of León Sancho I of Portugal Theresa, Countess of Flanders
House	House of Borgonha
Father	Henry, Count of Portugal
Mother	Theresa, Countess of Portugal
Born	25 June 1109(1109-06-25) Guimarães (traditionally) and Viseu (documented), County of Portugal
Died	6 December 1185(1185-12-06) (aged 76) Coimbra, Kingdom of Portugal
Burial	Santa Cruz Monastery, Coimbra, District of Coimbra, Portugal
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Afonso I^[1] (c. 1109, Guimarães or Viseu – 6 December 1185, Coimbra), more commonly known as Afonso Henriques (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐˈfõsu ẽˈʁikɨʃ]), nicknamed "the Conqueror" (Portuguese: o Conquistador), "the Founder" (o Fundador) or "the Great" (o Grande) by the Portuguese, and El-Bortukali ("the Portuguese") and Ibn-Arrik ("son of Henry", "Henriques") by the Moors whom he fought, was the first King of Portugal. He achieved the independence of the southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia, the County of Portugal, from Galicia's overlord, the King of León, in 1139, establishing a new kingdom and doubling its area with the Reconquista, an objective that he pursued until his death, in 1185, after forty-six years of wars against the Moors.

Life

Afonso I was the son of Henry of Burgundy and Theresa of León, the natural daughter of King Alfonso VI of León. The pair reigned jointly as Count and Countess of Portugal until Henry's death, after which Theresa reigned alone.

Tomb of Afonso Henriques in the Santa Cruz Monastery in Coimbra.

Afonso, born in 1109, took the title of Prince after taking the throne of his mother, supported by the generality of the Portuguese nobility who disliked the alliance between Galicia and Portugal Countess Theresa had come to, marrying a second time the most powerful Galician count. In 1120, the young prince took the side of Paio Mendes da Maia, the Archbishop of Braga, a political foe of Theresa, and both were exiled by her orders. In 1122 Afonso became fourteen, the adult age in the 12th century. He made himself a knight on his own account in the Cathedral of Zamora, raised an army, and proceeded to take control of his mother's lands. Near Guimarães, at the Battle of São Mamede (1128) he overcame the troops under his mother's second husband and ally Count Fernando Peres de Trava of Galicia, exiling her forever to a monastery in Galicia. Thus the possibility of re-incorporating Portugal (up to then Southern Galicia) into a Kingdom of Portugal and Galicia as before was eliminated and Afonso became sole ruler (Duke of Portugal) after demands for independence from the county's church and nobles. He also vanquished Alfonso VII of León, came to the rescue of his mother, whose nephew he was, and thus freed the kingdom from political dependence on the crown of his cousin of León. On 6 April 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 25 July 1139, he obtained an overwhelming victory in the Battle of Ourique, and straight after was unanimously proclaimed King of the Portuguese by his soldiers, establishing his equality in rank to the other realms of the Peninsula. The first assembly of the estates-general convened at Lamego (wherein he would have been given the crown from the Archbishop of Braga, to confirm his independence) is a 17th century embellishment of Portuguese history.

Independence from Alfonso VII of León's suzerainty, however, was not a thing he just could achieve militarily. The County of Portugal still had to be acknowledged diplomatically by the neighboring lands as a kingdom and, most importantly, by the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope. Afonso wed Maud of Savoy, daughter of Amadeus III, Count of Savoy, and sent ambassadors to Rome to negotiate with the Pope. He succeeded to relinquish suzerainty of his cousin Alfonso VII of León, becoming instead a subject of the papacy, as the kingdoms of Sicily and Aragon had done before him. In 1179 the bull Manifestis Probatum accepted the new king as vassal to the Pope exclusively.

King Afonso I at the Siege of Lisbon.

In Portugal he built several monasteries and convents and bestowed important privileges to religious orders. He is notably the builder of Alcobaça Monastery, to which he called the Cistercian Order of his uncle Bernard of Clairvaux of Burgundy. In 1143, he wrote to Pope Innocent II to declare himself and the kingdom servants of the Church, swearing to pursue driving the Moors out of the Iberian Peninsula. Bypassing any king of 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 (see Conquest of Santarém) and Lisbon in 1147 (see Siege of Lisbon). He also conquered an important part of the land south of the Tagus 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 Aragonese king, an enemy of Castile. To ensure the alliance, his son Sancho was engaged to Dulce, sister of the Count of Barcelona and Infanta of Aragon. Finally, in 1143, the Treaty of Zamora established peace between the cousins and the recognition by the Kingdom of León that Portugal was a sovereign kingdom.

In 1169 the now old Dom Afonso was disabled in an engagement near Badajoz by a fall from his horse, and made prisoner by the soldiers of the king of León, his son-in-law. Portugal was obliged to surrender as his ransom almost all the conquests Afonso had made in Galicia (north of the Minho) in the previous years.

Afonso at the Battle of Ourique.

In 1179 the privileges and favours given to the Roman Catholic Church were compensated. In the papal bull Manifestis Probatum, Pope Alexander III acknowledged Afonso as King and Portugal as an independent crown with the right to conquer lands from the Moors. With this papal blessing, Portugal was at last secured as a kingdom.

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

The Portuguese revere him as a hero, both on account of his personal character and as the mythical founder of their nation. There are stories that it would take 10 men to carry his sword, and that Afonso would want to engage other monarchs in personal combat, but no one would dare accept his challenge.

Scientific research

In July 2006, the tomb of the king (which is located in the Santa Cruz Monastery in Coimbra) was to be opened for scientific purposes by researchers from the University of Coimbra (Portugal), and the University of Granada (Spain). The opening of the tomb provoked considerable concern among some sectors of Portuguese society and IPPAR – Instituto Português do Património Arquitectónico (Portuguese State Agency for Architectural Patrimony). The government halted the opening, requesting more protocols from the scientific team because of the importance of the king in the nation's formation.^[2][3]

Ancestors

These are the known ancestors of Afonso Henriques, going back five generations.^[4]

Descendants

Afonso married in 1146 Mafalda or Maud of Savoy (1125–1158), daughter of Amadeo III, Count of Savoy, and Mahaut of Albon.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Afonso Henriques

• Portugal
• Gallaecia
• Galicia
• History of Portugal
• Timeline of Portuguese history

v t e Monarchs of Portugal Portuguese House of Burgundy Afonso I Sancho I Afonso II Sancho II Afonso III Dinis I Afonso IV Pedro I Fernando I House of Aviz João I Duarte I Afonso V João II House of Aviz-Beja Manuel I João III Sebastião I Henrique I Portuguese House of Habsburg Filipe I Filipe II Filipe III House of Braganza João IV Afonso VI Pedro II João V José I Maria I with Pedro III João VI Pedro IV Maria II Miguel I Maria II with Fernando II House of Braganza-Coburg Pedro V Luís I Carlos I Manuel II

v t e Portuguese House of Burgundy   Henry, Count of Portugal Spouse(s) Theresa of León Children Afonso Henriques Urraca Henriques, Countess of Trastámara Sancha Henriques, Lady of Braganza de Langroiva and Noman Teresa Henriques Henrique Henriques Grandchildren Infante Henrique Infanta Mafalda Urraca, Queen of Léon Infanta Sancha Sancho I Infante João Theresa, Countess of Flanders and Duchess of Burgundy   Afonso I of Portugal Spouse(s) Maud of Savoy Children Infante Henrique Infanta Mafalda Urraca, Queen of Léon Infanta Sancha Sancho I Infante João Theresa, Countess of Flanders and Duchess of Burgundy Grandchildren Theresa, Queen of León Infanta Sancha, Lady of Alenquer Infante Raimundo Infante Constance Afonso II of Portugal Peter I, Count of Urgell Ferdinand, Count of Flanders Infante Henrique Infanta Branca, Lady of Guadalajara Berengaria, Queen of Denmark Mafalda, Queen of Portugal   Sancho I of Portugal Spouse(s) Dulce of Aragon Children Theresa, Queen of León Infanta Sancha, Lady of Alenquer Infante Raimundo Infante Constance Afonso II of Portugal Peter I, Count of Urgell Ferdinand, Count of Flanders Infante Henrique Infanta Branca, Lady of Guadalajara Berengaria, Queen of Denmark Mafalda, Queen of Portugal Grandchildren Sancho II Afonso III Eleanor, junior Queen of Denmark Infante Fernando, Lord of Serpa Infante Vicente Infanta Maria   Afonso II of Portugal Spouse(s) Urraca of Castile Children Sancho II Afonso III Eleanor, junior Queen of Denmark Infante Fernando, Lord of Serpa Infante Vicente Grandchildren Infante Roberto Infanta Branca, Viscountess of Huelgas Infante Fernando Denis I of Portugal Infante Afonso, Lord of Portalegre Infanta Sancha Infanta Maria Infanta Constança Infante Vicente Eleanor, Princess of Dacia   Sancho II of Portugal Spouse(s) Mécia Lopes de Haro Notes Sancho had no children; he was deposed in 1247 and died the following year.   Afonso III of Portugal Spouse(s) Matilda II of Boulogne Beatrice of Castile Children Infante Roberto Infanta Branca, Viscountess of Huelgas Infante Fernando Denis I of Portugal Infante Afonso, Lord of Portalegre Infanta Sancha Infanta Maria Infanta Constança Infante Vicente Grandchildren Constance, Queen of Castile Afonso IV Infante Afonso, Lord of Leiria Infanta Maria, Lady of Menezes and Orduña Infanta Isabel, Lady of Penela Infanta Constança Infanta Beatriz, Lady of Lemos   Denis of Portugal Spouse(s) Saint Elizabeth of Aragon Children Constance, Queen of Castile Afonso IV Grandchildren Maria, Queen of Castile Infante Afonso Infante Denis Peter I Infanta Isabel Infante João Eleanor, Queen of Aragon   Afonso IV of Portugal Spouse(s) Beatrice of Castile Children Maria, Queen of Castile Infante Afonso Infante Denis Peter I Infanta Isabel Infante João Eleanor, Queen of Aragon Grandchildren Infante Luís Infanta Maria, Marchioness of Tortosa Ferdinand I Infante Afonso Infanta Beatrice, Countess of Alburquerque Infante John, Duke of Valencia de Campos Infante Denis, Lord of Cifuentes   Peter I of Portugal Spouse(s) Blanche of Castile Constance of Peñafiel Inês de Castro Children Infante Luís Infanta Maria, Marchioness of Tortosa Ferdinand I Infante Afonso1 Infanta Beatrice, Countess of Alburquerque1 Infante John, Duke of Valencia de Campos1 Infante Denis, Lord of Cifuentes1 Illegitimate children included John, Grand Master of the Order of Aviz (future John I) Grandchildren Beatrice, titular Queen of Portugal Infante Pedro Infante Afonso Infante Fernando, Lord of Eça1 Infanta Maria Brites, Countess of Valencia de Campos1 Infanta Isabel Brites, Countess of Cigales and Buelna1 Infanta Joana, Lady of Buendía1 Infante Fernando, Lord of Cifuentes1 Infante Pedro, Lord of Colmenarejo1 Infanta Beatrice1   Ferdinand I of Portugal Spouse(s) Leonor Telles de Menezes Children Beatrice, titular Queen of Portugal Infante Pedro Infante Afonso Grandchildren Miguel, Crown Prince of Portugal2 Notes 1 the descendants of King Peter I and Ines de Castro's children were recognized as legitimate and were Infantes and Infantas 2 also an Infante of Castile

Bibliography

• Diogo Freitas do Amaral, D. Afonso Henriques. Lisboa: Bertrand, 2000. ISBN 972-25-1157-2.

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.