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| Afonso III | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Effigy on a contemporary coin | |
| King of Portugal | |
| Reign | 4 January 1248 – 16 February 1279 |
| Predecessor | Sancho II |
| Successor | Denis |
| Count of Boulogne | |
| Reign | 1238–1248 |
| Predecessor | Matilda II |
| Successor | Matilda II |
| Co-count | Matilda II |
| Born | 5 May 1210 Coimbra,Kingdom of Portugal |
| Died | 16 February 1279 (aged 68) Alcobaça,Kingdom of Portugal |
| Burial | Monastery of Alcobaça,Alcobaça, Portugal |
| Spouses | |
| Issue | |
| House | Burgundy |
| Father | Afonso II of Portugal |
| Mother | Urraca of Castile |
Afonso III[1][a] (Afonso Afonso; 5 May 1210 – 16 February 1279), calledthe Boulonnais (Port.o Bolonhês), wasKing of Portugal and the first to use the titleKing of Portugal and theAlgarve, from 1249. He was the second son of KingAfonso II of Portugal and his wife,Urraca of Castile; he succeeded his brother, KingSancho II of Portugal, who died on 4 January 1248.[2]
Afonso was born inCoimbra. As the second son of KingAfonso II of Portugal, he was not expected to inherit the throne, which was destined to go to his elder brotherSancho.[3]
He lived mostly in France, where he married CountessMatilda II of Boulogne in 1238, thereby becomingcount of Boulogne,Mortain,Aumale andDammartin-en-Goëlejure uxoris.[4]
In 1245,[5] conflicts between his brother, the king, and the church became unbearable.Pope Innocent IV ordered Sancho II to be removed from the throne and to be replaced by the Count of Boulogne. Afonso did not refuse the papal order and consequently marched to Portugal. Since Sancho was not a popular king the order was not hard to enforce, and he fled into exile to Toledo, Castile, where he died on 4 January 1248. Until his brother's death and his own eventual coronation, Afonso retained and used the title ofVisitador, Curador e Defensor do Reino (Overseer, Curator and Defender of the Kingdom).[6]
In order to ascend the throne Afonso abdicated his rights to the county of Boulogne in 1248. In 1253, he divorced Matilda in order to marryBeatrice of Castile, illegitimate daughter ofAlfonso X, King of Castile, andMayor Guillén de Guzmán.[7]
Determined not to make 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 ofLeiria, he held the first session of theCortes, a general assembly comprising the nobility, the middle class and representatives of allmunicipalities. He also made laws intended to restrain the upper classes from abusing the least favored 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.[8]
Afonso showed extraordinary vision for the time. Progressive measures taken during his kingship include: representatives of the commons, besides the nobility and clergy, were involved in governance; the end of preventive arrests such that henceforward all arrests had to be first presented to a judge to determine the detention measure; and fiscal innovation, such as negotiating extraordinary taxes with the mercantile classes and direct taxation of the Church, rather than debasement of the coinage. These may have led to his excommunication by the Holy See and possibly precipitated his death, and his sonDenis's premature rise to the throne at only 18 years old.[9]
Secure on the throne, Afonso III then proceeded to make war withthe Muslim communities that still thrived in the south. In his reign theAlgarve became part of the kingdom, following the capture ofFaro.[10]
Following his success against the Moors, Afonso III had to deal with a political situation concerning the country's borders with Castile. The neighbouring kingdom considered that the newly acquired lands of the Algarve should be Castilian, not Portuguese, which led to a series of wars between the two kingdoms. Finally, in 1267, theTreaty of Badajoz was signed inBadajoz, determining that the southern border between Castile and Portugal should be the RiverGuadiana, as it is today.[11]
Afonso died inAlcobaça,Coimbra orLisbon, aged 68.
Afonso's first wife wasMatilda II, Countess of Boulogne, daughter ofRenaud, Count of Dammartin, andIda, Countess of Boulogne. They had no surviving children. He divorced Matilda in 1253 and, in the same year, marriedBeatrice of Castile, illegitimate daughter ofAlfonso X, King of Castile, andMayor Guillén de Guzmán.
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ByMatilda II of Boulogne (c. 1202–1262; married in 1238) | |||
| ByBeatrice of Castile (1242–1303; married in 1253) | |||
| Blanche | 25 February 1259 | 17 April 1321 | Lady ofLas Huelgas |
| Denis | 9 October 1261 | 7 January 1325 | Succeeded him as Denis, 6thKing of Portugal. Married InfantaElizabeth of Aragon. |
| Afonso | 8 February 1263 | 2 November 1312 | Lord ofPortalegre. Married InfantaViolante Manuel (daughter ofManuel of Castile). |
| Sancha | 2 February 1264 | c. 1284[12] | |
| Maria | 1265[13] | c. 1266[13] | |
| Vicente | 1268[13] | 1268[13] | |
| Fernando | 1269[13] | 1269[13] | |
| ByMadragana (Mor Afonso) (c. 1230-?) | |||
| Martim Afonso Chichorro | c. 1250 | a. 1313 | Natural son; Married to Inês Lourenço de Valadares. |
| Urraca Afonso | c. 1260 | ? | Natural daughter. Married twice: 1st to Pedro Anes de Riba Vizela, 2nd to João Mendes de Briteiros. |
| ByMaria Peres de Enxara (?-?) | |||
| Afonso Dinis | c. 1260 | a. 1310 | Natural son; Married to D. Maria Pais Ribeira, Lady of the House of Sousa. |
| ByElvira Esteves (?-?) | |||
| Leonor Afonso (nun)[14] | ? | 1259 | Natural daughter; Nun in the Monastery of Santa Clara ofSantarém. |
| Other natural offspring | |||
| Fernando Afonso | ? | ? | Natural son; Knight of the Order of the hospital. |
| Gil Afonso | 1250 | 31 December 1346 | Natural son; Knight of the Order of the hospital. |
| Rodrigo Afonso | 1258 | about 12 May 1272 | Natural son; Prior of the city ofSantarém. |
| 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). |
| Urraca Afonso (nun) | 1250 | 4 November 1281 | Natural daughter; Nun in the Monastery ofLorvão. |
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Afonso III of Portugal Cadet branch of theCapetian dynasty Born: 5 May 1210 Died: 16 February 1279 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | King of Portugal 1248–1279 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded byas sole ruler | Count of Boulogne 1238–1248 | Succeeded byas sole ruler |
| House of Burgundy (1139–1383) | _-_Lesser.png) | |
|---|---|---|
| House of Aviz (1385–1580) | ||
| House of Habsburg (1581–1640) | ||
| House of Braganza (1640–1910) | ||
Debatable or disputed rulers are initalics. | ||
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