Johann (Infant of Portugal)

John of Portugal (Portuguese João ; * probably 1349 in Coimbra ; † 1397 in Salamanca ) was an infant of the Kingdom of Portugal . In 1360 he became lord of Porto de Moz Cea e Montelonso, in 1379 Duke of Valencia de Campos and in 1383 lord of Alba de Tormes . After the death of his half-brother Ferdinand I , he was one of the contenders for the vacant Portuguese throne since 1383; In 1385, however, Johann von Avis , another half-brother of Ferdinand, became the new king as Johann I.

Lineage and early years

Johann was a son of the future King Peter I of Portugal, born around 1349, and his third wife, the Castilian noblewoman Inês de Castro , who was still secret at the time . He had an older sister Beatrix , a younger brother Dinis and several half siblings, including the later Portuguese kings Ferdinand I and John I. In 1355 his mother Inês was murdered on the orders of King Alfonso IV , the father of Peter I. In 1360 Peter I solemnly made a public confession about his marriage to Inês de Castro and in 1361 legitimized his children from her, so that Johann was a legal infante ever since.

After Ferdinand I ascended the throne in January 1367, Johann lived at his court. He was ambitious and was considered a brave knight and capable hunter. In the Castilian War of Succession, which Ferdinand led 1369-1371 against Heinrich II of Trastámara , Johann also took part; so he tried in 1369, albeit in vain, to conquer Badajoz . However, after Ferdinand married Leonore Teles de Menezes in 1372, he and his siblings were treated condescendingly and neglected by their relatives who had risen to high positions. He endured this humiliation more patiently than his brother Dinis, who in 1373 took part in Henry II's renewed war against Portugal and then followed it to the Castilian court. Since Ferdinand had a daughter, Beatrix , from his wife , but no male offspring, Johann's chances of succeeding the throne were initially intact. But his legitimate ancestry and thus his right of succession were called into question by a party of influential families, which grew even stronger after the rise of Queen Leonore Teles' family.

Marriage to Maria Teles de Menezes and escape to Castile

Johann fell in love with the queen's rich, beautiful and virtuous sister, Maria Teles de Menezes . She was about 10 years older than Johann and widow of the nobleman Alvaro Diaz de Sousa , from whom she had a son Lopo Diaz de Sousa, who became Grand Master of the Order of Christ in 1373 . In 1376 Johann and Maria secretly married and in 1378 they had a son Ferdinand . The domineering and popularly unpopular Leonore Teles soon found out about her sister's marriage and, in view of her previously missing male descendants and the poor health of her husband, feared that after his death Johann might ascend the throne and then her sister would take her place as the new queen . She therefore sought to destroy her sister's marriage with the help of her brother João Afonso Telo de Menezes. The latter was among other things Count von Barcelos and Admiral. He claimed that Leonore would rather marry her daughter and presumptive heir to the throne Beatrix to Johann than to Duke Friedrich von Benavente, an illegitimate son of King Henry II of Castile, to whom Beatrix was already engaged at that time. By marrying Beatrix, Johann would also be the undisputed heir to the throne. Unfortunately, this is now not possible because of his marriage to Maria Teles. When the Infanta was not sufficiently irritated by the increased prospect of succession to the king, either the Queen herself or one of her schemers accused his wife of unfaithfulness. Then Johann rode quickly to Coimbra, where Maria's house was, with a few companions, made bitter reproaches to his wife, who was still in bed, which she rejected, and finally stabbed her with two stabs (June / July 1379).

John fled the vengeance of the powerful relatives of the murdered and their allies to Beira on the Castilian border and asked King Ferdinand for mercy. Leonore pretended to be extremely upset about the murder of her sister, but then tried to ensure that the Infante could return to the court. Under the protection of 150 riders authorized to him, Johann came back to Lisbon , but soon realized that he had been deceived regarding the allegations of infidelity of his wife and the promised hand of the king's daughter. He then left the farm, found himself exposed again to persecution by the relatives of his dead wife and, when he no longer felt safe in the border town of Villarmayor , went into exile in Castile , where he first visited his sister Beatrix. In Castile, after the death of Henry II, his son John I ruled since May 1379. The Infante Johann was now appointed Duke of Valencia de Campos and in 1379 he married an illegitimate daughter of Henry II, Constanze of Castile, with whom he was second had three daughters.

Portuguese heir to the throne and final years

In 1380, John I of Castile sought to unite his empire with Portugal by marrying his eldest, only one-year-old son, Heinrich, with the Portuguese heir to the throne, Beatrix, which Ferdinand I initially responded to. In 1381, however, the Portuguese king broke off his connection with John I and instead waged war against him with English support. In this military conflict, the Infant Johann took part on the side of the Castilian king. After the peace agreement in August 1382, Beatrix's hand was first promised to Ferdinand , the second son of John I of Castile, but in May 1383 the Castilian king himself married Beatrix. When Ferdinand I died soon afterwards on October 22, 1383, John I of Castile feared that it would not be his wife Beatrix but rather the Infante John who would be recognized by the Portuguese as the new ruler and therefore had the Infante imprisoned in the Alcazar of Toledo .

Many Portuguese did not want to submit to the impending Castilian takeover. Johann von Avis, illegitimate half-brother of the late King Ferdinand and Grand Master of the Avis Order, led an uprising in December 1383 against the queen widow Leonore Teles, who was proclaimed regent. When John I of Castile invaded Portugal, John von Avis was proclaimed "Regent and Defender of the Fatherland" on December 16, 1383, but wisely only appeared as a defender of the rights of the imprisoned Infante John, whom he like many others recognized other Portuguese as legitimate heirs to the throne. He had a portrait of the Infante, which depicted him languishing in dungeon, pinned to his standards, indicating that he intended to retain the Portuguese throne for his half-brother. The imprisoned Infant learned of these events from one of his servants and believed that the Avis Order Grand Master wanted to defend his claims.

In September 1384 the Castilian king had to lift the siege of Lisbon and withdraw with his army. In March 1385 the Portuguese Cortes were summoned to Coimbra to discuss Ferdinand's successor. In addition to Beatrix, the Infante Johann, his brother Dinis and Johann von Avis were available. The law scholar and Grand Chancellor João das Regras, who was trained at the University of Bologna , among others, stood up for the claims of the latter . This eloquent lawyer declared Beatrix's claims to the throne forfeited, among other things, because it was uncertain whether she actually had Ferdinand as her father. The lawyer also sought to deny Infante Johann and his brother Dinis the right to succession to the throne, in particular by questioning the legality of the marriage of Peter I and Inês de Castro, which was only later attested to. He helped his allegations with possibly forged documents, according to which the Pope should not have given the couple the necessary dispensation because of their close relatives. The legitimate descent of the sons of Inês de Castro now appeared questionable. On April 6, 1385, the Cortes elected Johann von Avis as the new monarch of Portugal, largely under the impression of João das Regras' art of argumentation. After the devastating Castilian defeat in the Battle of Aljubarrota (August 14, 1385), the rule of John of Avis was secured and the prospects of the Infante John on the Portuguese throne had finally vanished, even if he was now released by the Castilian king and made an ally .

Little is known about the last years of the Infante Johann. He still experienced the reign of Henry III. of Castile and died in Salamanca around 1397. There he was buried in the Church of San Esteban . Soon after his death, his younger brother, the Infante Dinis, marched into Portugal with a small force from Castile to usurp power in his home empire, but had to quickly give up his attempt at invasion.

progeny

The Infante Johann had numerous children. His first marriage to Maria Teles de Menezes had a son:

• Ferdinand, Lord of Eça (* 1378)

Johann had three daughters with his second wife, Constanze von Kastilien:

• Maria Brites, mistress of Valencia de Campos (* 1381), wife of Martin Vasquez da Cunha, Count of Valencia de Campos
• Isabella Brites (* 1382), wife of Pedro Nunho, Count of Cigales and Buelna
• Joana (* 1384), wife of Lope Vaz da Cunha, lord of Buendía

Johann also had several illegitimate children:

• Afonso, Lord of Cascais and Lourinhã (* around 1370, † August 1442), married Branca da Cunha das Reglas, mistress of Cascais and Lourinhã in 1388, and Maria de Vasconcelos, mistress of Soalhães
• Pedro da Guerra (* around 1380), husband of Teresa Andeiro since around 1410
• Fernando da Guerra, Lord of Bragança (* around 1385, † after December 30, 1410), husband of Leonor Coutinho since around 1410

literature

• P. Feige: Johann 14) . In: Lexikon des Mittelalters , Vol. 5 (1991), Col. 504 f.

Remarks

1. ^ According to P. Feige ( Lexikon des Mittelalters , Vol. 5, Col. 504) Johann was born around 1352.
2. ^ Portugal, Medieval Lands