Dionysius (Portugal)
Dinis (I.) or Diniz , often also Dionysius , called the arable farmer , farmer or the peasant king ( Dom Dinis , o Lavrador or O Rei-Agricultor ), (* October 9, 1261 in Lisbon ; † January 7, 1325 in Santarém ) was from 1279 the sixth King of Portugal from the House of Burgundy , who was also famous as a poet.
Life
He was the son of King Alfonso III. and Beatrix of Castile , daughter of Alfonso X , King of Castile and Roman-German King ( antagonist ).
Conflict with brother
Right at the beginning of his rule, Dionysius had to deal with the claims to power of his younger brother Alfons (1263-1312). Already since 1282 the neighboring Castile was in the civil war after an aristocratic assembly declared Alfonso X of Castile to be no longer able to govern and thus de facto deposed him. The king's second eldest son, Sancho IV, the brave, was appointed imperial administrator . In response, Alfonso X disinherited him. The Portuguese Alfonso (the younger brother of Dionysius) then allied with Alfonso X of Castile, which forced Dionysius to form an alliance with his opponent, Sancho IV.
The peace between Sancho IV and Dionysius did not last long. Sancho invaded Portugal, after his death (1295) Dionysius invaded Castile for it. In 1297 the Treaty of Alcañices was finally signed between Dionysius and the new Castilian king Ferdinand IV , with which the border between Castile and Portugal was finally established - it essentially corresponds to the border between Spain and Portugal that is still valid today. The new peace was further strengthened by marriage and Dionysius married two of his children: his daughter Constanze with the Castilian king himself; his son Alfonso IV with Beatrix of Castile , a sister of the Castilian king.
Conflict with the church
Dionysius also succeeded in finding a solution to the second big question that determined Portuguese politics, the relationship to the Catholic Church and the papacy . After Portugal had been under the church punishment of the interdict since 1277 , Dionysius had inherited the conflict from his father's reign. In 1289 the papacy, the Portuguese clergy and the royal family found a compromise formula that allowed Pope Nicholas IV to repeal the interdict. According to the agreed Concordat , the ecclesiastical land, King Alfons III. should be returned to the Church. The king promised to respect ecclesiastical privileges and immunities; the right of the church to free election of bishops was guaranteed. Even if, according to the provisions of the Concordat, the kingship of the Church had to make major concessions, one cannot speak of a victory for the Church. The next few years saw a weakening of the papacy, so that the Portuguese clergy became more and more dependent on the king.
In 1319 Dionysus transferred the Portuguese parts of the Knights Templar to the Order of Christ .
Development of the country
Dionysius was one of the great Portuguese kings. With the Treaty of Alcañices he had secured the borders of his empire, with the Concordat of 1289 he defused the conflict with the Church. He used the times of relative calm that were now breaking to rebuild his country. He built 50 forts to guard the borders and founded the University of Coimbra as the first Portuguese university. A trade treaty was signed with England in 1294 - the first in a long series of pacts and assistance treaties between the two countries. The king encouraged the trade and development of the national language Portuguese over Latin and had the first Portuguese fleet built. Portugal had almost a million inhabitants at the time of his government. In order to be able to feed the increased number of inhabitants, he devoted himself particularly to promoting agriculture, which explains his nickname “the arable farmer” or “the peasant king” (o lavrador).
In Sintra , Dionysius began to convert the castle built by the Moors into a summer residence, today's Palácio Nacional de Sintra (also called Paço Real).
However, the end of King Dionysius' reign was overshadowed by succession battles. His heir, Alfonso IV , feared being ousted from the throne by his father in favor of his illegitimate sons and therefore took up the fight against his father. Dionysius died highly revered by his people. He was buried in the Odivelas monastery .
family
Dionysius was married to Saint Elizabeth of Portugal (D. Isabel de Aragón, called "Rainha Santa Isabel"), a saint who is popular in Portugal to this day. He had two children with her:
- Constança (born January 3, 1290 , † November 18, 1313 ), she married King Ferdinand IV of Castile in 1302 .
- Alfonso IV ( February 8, 1291 - May 28, 1357 ).
He also had a number of illegitimate children:
From his relationship with D. Grácia Froes:
From his relationship with D. Aldonça Rodrigues Talha:
- Afonso Sanches , Count of Albuquerque and Lord of Vila do Conde (* before 1289 , † 1329 ), rival of his half-brother Alfonso IV, ∞ D. Teresa Martíns de Menezes , fifth mistress of Albuquerque
From his relationship with Marinha Gomes:
- Maria Afonso (1290–1340), ∞ D. João Afonso de Lacerda , Lord of Gibraleon
- Maria Afonso (1301–1320), nun in the monastery of Odivelas
From further relationships:
- João Afonso, Lord of Lousã (* 1280 - † April 4, 1325 ).
- Fernão Sanches (* 1280 ).
- Pedro Afonso (* around 1280 ).
See also
Web links
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Alfons III |
King of Portugal 1279-1325 |
Alfons IV |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Dionysius |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Dinis lavrador |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | King of Portugal |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 9, 1261 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Lisbon |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 7, 1325 |
| Place of death | Santarém (Portugal) |