Afonso III of Portugal

Afonso III of Portugal (Portuguese pron. IPA //; English Alphonzo), or Affonso (Archaic Portuguese), Alfonso or Alphonso (Portuguese-Galician) or Alphonsus (Latin), the Bolognian (Port. o Bolonhês) or the Brave (Port. o Bravo), the fifth King of Portugal (May 5 1210 in Coimbra – February 16 1279 in Alcobaça, Coimbra or Lisbon) and the first to use the title King of Portugal and Algarve, since 1249. He was the second son of King Afonso II of Portugal and his wife, Urraca of Castile; he succeeded his brother, King Sancho II of Portugal in 1247.

As the second son of King Afonso II of Portugal, Afonso was not expected to inherit the throne, which was destined to go to his elder brother Sancho. He lived mostly in France, where he married Matilda, the heiress of Boulogne, in 1238, thereby becoming Count of Boulogne. In 1246, conflicts between his brother, the king, and the church became unbearable. Pope Innocent IV then ordered Sancho II to be removed from the throne and be replaced by the Count of Boulogne. Afonso, of course, did not refuse the papal order and marched to Portugal. Since Sancho was not a popular king, the order was not hard to enforce; he was exiled to Castile and Afonso III became king in 1247. To ascend the throne, he abdicated from the county of Boulogne and later (1253) divorced Matilda.

Determined not to commit the same mistakes as his brother, Afonso III paid special attention to what the middle class, composed of merchants and small land owners, had to say. In 1254, in the city of Leiria, he held the first session of the Cortes, a general assembly, comprised of the nobility, the middle class and representatives of all municipalities. He also made laws intended to restrain the upper classes from abusing the least favoured part of the population. Remembered as a notable administrator, Afonso III founded several towns, granted the title of city to many others and reorganized public administration.

Secure on the throne, Afonso III then proceeded to make war with the Muslim communities that still thrived in the south. In his reign the Algarve became part of the kingdom, following the capture of Faro—Portugal thus becoming the first Iberian kingdom to complete its Reconquista.

Following his success against the Moors, Afonso III had to deal with a political situation arising from the borders with Castile. The neighbouring kingdom considered that the newly acquired lands of Algarve should be Castilian, not Portuguese, which led to a series of wars between the two kingdoms. Finally, in 1267, a treaty was signed in Badajoz, determining that the southern border between Castile and Portugal should be the River Guadiana, as it is today.

Ancestors

**Afonso's ancestors in three generations**
Afonso III of Portugal	Father: Afonso II of Portugal	Father's father: Sancho I of Portugal	Father's father's father: Afonso I of Portugal
			Father's father's mother: Maud of Savoy
		Father's mother: Dulce Berenguer of Aragon	Father's mother's father: Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona
			Father's mother's mother: Petronila of Aragon
	Mother: Urraca of Castile	Mother's father: Alfonso VIII of Castile	Mother's father's father: Sancho III of Castile
			Mother's father's mother: Blanca of Navarre
		Mother's mother: Leonora of England	Mother's mother's father: Henry II of England
			Mother's mother's mother: Eleanor of Aquitaine

Marriages and descendants

Afonso's first wife was Matilda II of Boulogne, daughter of Renaud, Count of Dammartin, and Ida of Boulogne. She had two sons (Roberto and an unnamed one), but both died young. He divorced Matilda in 1253 and, in the same year, married Beatrix of Castile, illegitimate daughter of Alfonso X, King of Castile, and Maria de Guzman.

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
By Matilda II of Boulogne (c. 1202-1262; married in 1216)
Robert	1239	1239
By Beatrix of Castile (1242-1303; married in 1253)
Branca	February 25 1259	April 17 1321	Abbess of the Convent of Huelgas
Ferdinand	1260	1262
Dinis	October 9 1261	January 7 1325	Succeeded him as 6th King of Portugal; Married Princess Isabel of Aragon
Afonso	February 8 1263	November 2 1312	Lord of Portalegre. Married to Princess Violante Manuel of Castile (daughter of Juan Manuel of Castile)
Sancha	February 2 1264	c. 1302
Maria	November 21 1264	June 6 1304	Nun in the Convent of Saint John in Coimbra
Constance	1266	1271
Vincent	1268	1271
By Madragana (Mor Afonso) (c. 1230-?)
Martim Afonso Chichorro	c. 1250	a. 1313	Natural son; Married Inês Lourenço de Valadres.
Urraca Afonso	c. 1260	?	Natural daughter; Married twice: 1st to D. Pedro Anes de Riba Vizela, 2nd to João Mendes de Briteiros
By Maria Peres de Enxara (?-?)
Afonso Dinis	c. 1260	a. 1310	Natural son; Married to D. Maria Pais Ribeira, Lady of the House of Sousa.
Other natural offspring
Leonor Afonso	c. 1250	1291	Natural daughter. Married twice: 1st to D. Estevão Anes de Sousa (without issue), 2nd to D. Gonçalo Garcia de Sousa, Count of Neiva (without issue).
Gil Afonso	1250	December 31 1346	Natural son; Gentleman of the Order do Hospital.
Fernando Afonso	?	?	Natural son; Gentleman of the Order do Hospital.
Rodrigo Afonso	1258	about May 12 1272	Natural son; Prior of the city of Santarem.
Leonor Afonso (nun)	?	1259	Natural daughter; Nun in the Monastery of Santa Clara of Santarem.
Urraca Afonso	1250	November 4 1281	Natural daughter; Nun in the Monastery of Lorvao.
Henrique Afonso	?	?	Natural son; Married to Inês (last name unknown).

References

1210 births | 1279 deaths | Portuguese monarchs

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Afonso III of Portugal

Ancestors

Marriages and descendants

References