Alfonso IV (Portugal)

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Alfonso IV called the Bold ( Dom Afonso IV or o Bravo ) (born February 8, 1291 in Coimbra , † May 28, 1357 in Lisbon ) was the seventh king of Portugal from the House of Burgundy .

King Alfonso IV of Portugal

Life

Alfons was born to King Dionysius and Saint Elizabeth of Portugal . After the death of his father, he ascended the Portuguese throne in 1325.

At the beginning of his reign, Alfonso IV had to deal with the claims to the throne of his half-brothers, the illegitimate children of his father. After his accession to the throne, he banished them from Portugal, which led to an armed conflict, which was however settled through the mediation of Saint Elizabeth. Otherwise he completely neglected his duties as ruler and instead indulged in a passion for hunting. Only after serious accusations from the Cortes, which even threatened his removal and the election of a new king, did he take his office seriously.

There were disagreements with Castile . Alfons IV had on the one hand his daughter Maria with the Castilian king Alfons XI. married and on the other hand his son Peter, who later became Peter I , was already five years old and married to Branca, a Castilian princess. But now he accused his son-in-law of treating his daughter unworthily, while at the same time his own son neglected his wife in favor of his lover Inês de Castro , another Castilian noblewoman. This led to resentment on the Castilian side and a war was only prevented by Elizabeth's renewed intervention. After the reconciliation, Alfonso IV took an active part on the side of Castile in the Reconquista against the Moors ( Battle of the Salado 1340). With this battle, Moorish attempts to regain a foothold in Portugal were finally thwarted.

The final years of his reign were overshadowed by the conflict with his son Peter. Alfons' continued connection with Inês de Castro, with whom he had fathered several children, was still a thorn in the side of Alfons. In 1355, when his son was on a hunting trip, he used the opportunity to have Inês de Castro sentenced to death for high treason and executed . When Peter found out about this, a war broke out between the two, which only ended with the death of Alfons in 1357.

family

Alfonso IV was married to Beatrix of Castile , a daughter of King Sancho IV of Castile. He had the following children with her:

  • Maria (* 1313; † 1357), ⚭ 1328 King Alfonso XI. of Castile
  • Afonso (* 1315; died as a child)
  • Diniz (12 January 1317 - 1318)
  • Peter I (April 8, 1320 - January 18, 1367)
  • Isabel (December 21, 1324 - July 11, 1326)
  • João (23 September 1326 - 21 July 1327)
  • Leonor (* 1328 - † October 1348), ⚭ 1347 King Peter IV of Aragon

From his relationship with an unknown lady:

  • Maria Afonso

literature

See also

predecessor Office successor
Dionysius King of Portugal
1325-1357
Peter I.