Ferdinand I of Portugal

Ferdinand I
King of Portugal and the Algarve
Reign	18 January 1367 – 22 October 1383
Predecessor	Peter I
Successor	John I
King of Castile (in Galicia) In opposition to Henry II
Reign	1369 – 1371
Predecessor	Peter I
Successor	Henry II
Spouse	Leonor Telles de Menezes
among others... Issue
Beatrice of Portugal
House	Portuguese House of Burgundy
Father	Peter I
Mother	Constance of Peñafiel
Born	31 October 1345 (1345-10-31) Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal
Died	22 October 1383 (1383-10-23) (aged 37) Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal
Burial	Carmo Convent, Lisbon, District of Lisbon, Portugal
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Ferdinand I (Portuguese: Fernando;31 October 1345 – 22 October 1383), sometimes called the Handsome (o Formoso or o Belo ) or occasionally the Inconstant (o Inconstante), was the King of Portugal and the Algarve from 1367 until his death.

Ferdinand was born in Lisbon, the second but eldest surviving son of Peter I and his wife, Constance of Castile. On the death of Peter of Castile in 1369, Ferdinand, as great-grandson of Sancho IV by the female line, laid claim to the vacant throne, for which the kings of Aragon and Navarre, and afterwards John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (married in 1370 to Constance, the eldest daughter of Peter), also became competitors.

The Funeral of D. Fernando from the Book of hours of D. Fernando; 1530-1534.

Meanwhile Henry II of Castile, Peter's illegitimate brother, who had defeated Peter, assumed his crown and took the field. After one or two indecisive campaigns, all parties were ready to accept the mediation of Pope Gregory XI. The conditions of the treaty, ratified in 1371, included a marriage between Ferdinand and Leonora of Castile. But before the union could take place Ferdinand had become passionately attached to Leonor Telles de Menezes, the wife of one of his own courtiers. Having procured a dissolution of her previous marriage, he lost no time in making Leonor his queen.

This strange conduct, although it raised a serious insurrection in Portugal, did not at once result in a war with Henry. However, the outward concord was soon disturbed by the intrigues of the Duke of Lancaster, who prevailed on Ferdinand to enter into a secret treaty for the expulsion of Henry from his throne. The war which followed was unsuccessful; and peace was again made in 1373. On the death of Henry in 1379, the Duke of Lancaster once more put forward his claims, and again found an ally in Portugal. According to the Continental annalists, the English proved as offensive to their allies as to their enemies in the field. So Ferdinand made a peace for himself at Badajoz in 1382. It stipulated that Beatrice, Ferdinand's daughter and heiress, would marry King John I of Castile, and thus secure the ultimate union of the two crowns.

Ferdinand left no male heir when he died at Lisbon on 22 October 1383, and the direct Burgundian line, which had been in possession of the throne since the days of Count Henry (about 1112), became extinct. The stipulations of the treaty of Badajoz were set aside, and John, Grand Master of the order of Aviz, Ferdinand's illegitimate brother, claimed the throne. This led to a period of war and political indefinition known as the 1383-1385 Crisis. John became the first king of the House of Aviz in 1385.

Marriages and descendants

Fernando married Leonor Telles (or Teles) de Menezes, formerly the wife of the late nobleman João Lourenço da Cunha, Lord of Pombeiro, and daughter of Martim Afonso Teles de Menezes. She bore him two sons, who both died young, and one daughter.

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
By Leonor Telles de Menezes (c. 1340- 27 April 1386; married in 1371)
Infanta Beatriz	1372	1408	Heiress of her father. Married King John (Juan) I of Castile.
Infante Pedro (Peter)	1370 or 1380	1370 or 1380
Infante Afonso	1371 or 1382	1371 or 1382
Illegitimate offspring
Isabel of Portugal	1364	1395	Countess of Gijón and Noreña through marriage to Alfonso, Count of Gijón and Noroña, illegitimate son of Henry II of Castile.

Bibliography

• García Oro, José (1987): Galicia en los siglos XIV y XV. Fundación "Pedro Barrie de la Maza, Conde de Fenosa", A Coruña. ISBN 84-85728-59-9. (Spanish)

External links

Ferdinand I of Portugal House of Burgundy Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty Born: 8 April 1320 Died: 18 January 1367
Regnal titles
Preceded by Peter I of Portugal	King of Portugal and the Algarve 1367–1383	Succeeded by John I of Portugal
Titles in pretence
Preceded by Peter I of Castile	King of Castile (in Galicia) In opposition to Henry II 1369–1371	Succeeded by Henry II of Castile