Ferdinand I of Portugal

Ferdinand I
King of Portugal and the Algarve Claimant King of Castile, León, Toledo, Galicia, Seville, Córdoba, Murcia, Jaén, Algeciras and Lord of Molina
17th century painting of Ferdinand I
Reign	18 January 1367— 22 October 1383
Predecessor	Peter I
Successor	Beatrice (disputed)
Spouse	Leonor Telles de Menezes
among others... Issue
Beatrice of Portugal
Father	Peter I of Portugal
Mother	Constance of Peñafiel
Born	31 October 1345 (1345-10-31) Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal
Died	22 October 1383 (1383-10-23) (aged 37) Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal
Burial	Carmo Convent, Lisbon, District of Lisbon, Portugal

Portuguese Royalty
House of Burgundy

Afonso Henriques (Afonso I)
Children include Infanta Mafalda Infanta Urraca, Queen of Léon Infante Sancho (future Sancho I) Infanta Teresa, Countess of Flanders and Duchess of Burgundy
Sancho I
Children include Infanta Teresa, Queen of Castile Infanta Sancha, Lady of Alenquer Infanta Constança Infante Afonso (future Afonso II) Infante Pedro, Count of Urgell Infante Fernando, Count of Flanders Infanta Branca, Lady of Guadalajara Infanta Berengária, Queen of Denmark Infanta Mafalda, Queen of Castile
Afonso II
Children include Infante Sancho (future Sancho II) Infante Afonso, Count of Boulogne (future Afonso III) Infanta Leonor, Queen of Denmark Infante Fernando, Lord of Serpa
Sancho II
Afonso III
Children include Infanta Branca, Viscountess of Huelgas Infante Dinis (future Denis I) Infante Afonso, Lord of Portalegre Infanta Maria Infanta Sancha
Denis
Children include Infanta Constança, Queen of Castile Infante Afonso (future Afonso IV)
Afonso IV
Children include Infanta Maria, Queen of Castile Infante Pedro (future Peter I) Infanta Leonor, Queen of Aragon
Peter I
Children include Infanta Maria, Marchioness of Tortosa Infante Fernando (future Ferdinand I) Infanta Beatriz, Countess of Alburquerque Infante João, Duke of Valencia de Campos Infante Dinis, Lord of Villar-Dompardo John, Grand Master of the Order of Aviz (future John I) (natural son)
Ferdinand I
Children include Infanta Beatrice, Queen of Castile and Leon (future Beatrice I of Portugal)
Beatrice (disputed queen)
Children include Infante Miguel of Castile and Portugal

Ferdinand I' (Fernando, Portuguese pronunciation: [fɨɾˈnɐ̃du]; Lisbon, 31 October 1345 – 22 October 1383 in Lisbon), sometimes referred to as the Handsome (Portuguese: o Formoso) or rarely as the Inconstant (Portuguese: o Inconstante), was the ninth King of Portugal and the Algarve, the second (but eldest surviving) son of Peter I and his wife, Constance of Castile. He succeeded his father in 1367.

On the death of Peter of Castile in 1369, Ferdinand, as great-grandson of Sancho IV by the female line, laid claim to the vacant throne, for which the kings of Aragon and Navarre, and afterwards John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster (married in 1370 to Constance, the eldest daughter of Peter), also became competitors.

Meanwhile Henry II of Castile, Peter's illegitimate brother, who had defeated Peter, assumed his crown and took the field. After one or two indecisive campaigns, all parties were ready to accept the mediation of Pope Gregory XI. The conditions of the treaty, ratified in 1371, included a marriage between Ferdinand and Leonora of Castile. But before the union could take place Ferdinand had become passionately attached to Leonor Telles de Menezes, the wife of one of his own courtiers. Having procured a dissolution of her previous marriage, he lost no time in making Leonor his queen.

This strange conduct, although it raised a serious insurrection in Portugal, did not at once result in a war with Henry. However, the outward concord was soon disturbed by the intrigues of the duke of Lancaster, who prevailed on Ferdinand to enter into a secret treaty for the expulsion of Henry from his throne. The war which followed was unsuccessful; and peace was again made in 1373. On the death of Henry in 1379, the duke of Lancaster once more put forward his claims, and again found an ally in Portugal. According to the Continental annalists, the English proved as offensive to their allies as to their enemies in the field. So Ferdinand made a peace for himself at Badajoz in 1382. It stipulated that Beatrice, Ferdinand's daughter and heiress, would marry King John I of Castile, and thus secure the ultimate union of the two crowns.

Ferdinand left no male heir when he died on 22 October 1383, and the direct Burgundian line, which had been in possession of the throne since the days of Count Henry (about 1112), became extinct. The stipulations of the treaty of Badajoz were set aside, and John, Grand Master of the order of Aviz, Ferdinand's illegitimate brother, claimed the throne. This led to a period of war and political indefinition known as the 1383-1385 Crisis. John became the first king of the House of Aviz in 1385.

Marriages and descendants

Fernando married Leonor Telles (or Teles) de Menezes, formerly the wife of the late nobleman João Lourenço da Cunha, Lord of Pombeiro, and daughter of Martin Alfonso Telles de Menezes (Martim Afonso Teles de Menezes). She gave him two sons who both died young, and one daughter.

Ancestry

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.