Denis, Lord of Cifuentes

Denis of Portugal
Lord of Villar-Dompardo Lord of Cifuentes, Escalona y Alvar de Tormes
Born	1353 Coimbra, Kingdom of Portugal
Died	c. 1403 Crown of Castile
Buried	Santa María de Guadalupe Monastery
Family	Portuguese House of Burgundy
Spouse	Joan of Castile, Lady of Cifuentes
Issue see...
Father	Peter I
Mother	Inês de Castro

Denis of Portugal (Portuguese: 'Dinis' or 'Diniz' [diˈniʃ]), occasionally surnamed Castro (1353 – c. 1403), was an infante of Portugal. He was the son of Portuguese King Peter I and a Galician noblewoman named Inês de Castro who had arrived in Portugal as a maid of princess Constance of Castile, recently married to Pedro I (Heir Prince at the time). Peter and Inês were not married at the time of Denis birth but Peter had him and his siblings legitimized once he became king.

History

Considering Denis an Infante of Portugal is a debatable subject. Some historians consider him a natural son of Peter I, so the title Infante of Portugal could never be attributed to him. Other opinions refer that after the death of Inês de Castro, ordered by Pedro's father King Afonso IV of Portugal, the Prince after inheriting the throne admitted that he had married Inês secretly, and because of that she was a lawful Queen of Portugal.

After the death of his mother Denis left Portugal to Castile with his brother but during the 1383–85 Crisis he was one of the claimants to the throne along with Beatrice of Portugal (his niece), John, Master of Aviz (his half-brother) and John (his brother). Although he managed to be acclaimed King in the city of Santarém his connections with Castile eventually lost him the throne and at the time of the Battle of Aljubarrota he was already out of the country like his brother John.

Family

He married in 1372 Joan of Castile, 2nd? Lady of Cifuentes, born c. 1360, illegitimate daughter of Henry II of Castile by Juana, 1st? Lady of Cifuentes, born c. 1340, by whom he had:

• Pedro de Portugal, called «de Colmenarejo», married to María de Toledo, daughter of Fernando Álvarez de Toledo el Viejo, 1st Lord of Higares and Teresa Vázquez de Ayala, 3rd Lady of Pinto;
• Beatriz de Portugal (died 1470), unmarried and without issue.

Illegitimate children:

• Fernando de Portugal, Comendador of Oreja, married to María de Torres, daughter of Fernán Ruiz de Torres and Inés de Solier;
• Juan de Portugal;
• Beatriz de Portugal, nun;
• Inés de Portugal, nun.

He died in about 1403.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Denis, Lord of Cifuentes
8. Denis I of Portugal 4. Afonso IV of Portugal 9. Elizabeth of Aragon 2. Peter I of Portugal 10. Sancho IV of Castile 5. Beatrice of Castile 11. María de Molina 1. Denis, Infante of Portugal 12. Fernando Rodríguez de Castro 6. Pedro Fernández de Castro 13. Violante Sánchez de Castilla 3. Inês de Castro 14. Lourenço Soares de Valadares 7. Aldonça Lourenço de Valadares 15. Sancha Nunes de Chacim

References

• Fernandes, Fátima Regina (2006). "Estratégias de Legitimação Linhagística em Portugal nos Séculos XIV e XV" (PDF). Revista da Faculdade de Letras: História. III (in Portuguese). Vol. 7. University of Porto. pp. 263–284. ISSN 0871-164X. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 January 2014.
• Olivera Serrano, César (2005). Beatriz de Portugal: La pugna dinástica Avís-Trastámara (PDF) (in Spanish). ISBN 978-84-00-08343-4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2011.
• Rodrigues Oliveira, Ana (2010). Rainhas medievais de Portugal. Dezassete mulheres, duas dinastias, quatro séculos de História (in Portuguese). Lisbon: A esfera dos livros. ISBN 978-989-626-261-7.
• Caviró Martínez, Balbina (2018). Las "magníficas señoras" y los linajes toledanos (in Spanish). Madrid: Ediciones Hidalguía. ISBN 978-84-947842-6-2.
• Molina Martínez, Miguel (1983). Andalucía y América en el siglo XVI: Actas de las II Jornadas de Andalucía y América (volume II) (in Spanish). Seville: Escuela de estudios hispano-americanos. ISBN 84-00-05666-3.