Mary of Portugal (1313-1357)

Maria of Portugal (* 1313 ; † January 18, 1357 in Évora ) was a Queen of Castile (1328-1350).

Life

Maria was the daughter of King Alfonso IV of Portugal and Beatrix of Castile , the daughter of Sanchos IV. In March 1328 Maria went to Alfayates (Portugal) after papal dispensation to marry her nephew, King Alfonso XI. of Castile , a. The marriage had two sons: Ferdinand (* 1332, † 1333), who died as an infant, and Peter I, the Cruel (* 1334, † 1369), who received the royal crown of Castile in 1350 .

When Maria's husband entered into an affair with Leonor de Guzman , this liaison not only destroyed their marriage, but also caused Maria to be kept cold in all political matters. After the death of Alfonso XI. Maria took revenge on her rival by persuading her son Peter I to arrest and execute Leonor in 1351. At first she and her favorites dominated the government of their young son. She helped the Portuguese nobleman Juan Alfonso de Albuquerque in his policy of bringing Castile closer to France. In June 1353, the marriage between Peter I and the French princess Blanche of Bourbon , led by Maria, took place, but she was soon cast out by her husband so that he could return to his former lover María de Padilla . So there was enmity between mother and son. Finally, in Toro in 1354, Maria took part in a rebellion led by the sons of Leonor de Guzman against Peter I, but it failed. She was deposed and had to retreat into exile in Portugal. After her death at the age of 44, she was buried in the monastery of San Clemente de Sevilla .

literature

• M. Rábade Obradó: Maria 8) . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages . Vol. 6, Col. 277f.

• Maria of Portugal . In: Women in World History . Vol. 6 (2000), p. 655.