Individual

Go to List of Family Names Go to List of People    < Previous Next >

Birth:          3 Jan 1290 of Lisboa, Portugal
Death:          18 Nov 1313 Santarben, Portugal
Burial:         23 Nov 1313 

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constance_of_Portugal
Infanta Constance of Portugal (pt: Constança; 3 January 1290 – Sahagún, 18 
November 1313; Portuguese pronunciation: [kõ?'t?~s?]; English: Constance), was a 
Portuguese infanta (princess) by birth and Queen consort of Castile by marriage.

She was the eldest child and only daughter of King Denis of Portugal and his wife 
Elizabeth of Aragon, later Saint.
Life[edit]

Queen consort of Castile and Leon (1302-1312)[edit]

The treaty signed between King Sancho IV of Castile and Denis of Portugal in 
September 1291, established the betrothal between the eldest son and heir of Sancho 
IV, Ferdinand (aged 5), with the daughter of the Portuguese King, Constance (aged 20 
months).

Finished with the Valladolid Courts of 1295, María de Molina, Dowager Queen and 
Regent of the Kingdom of Castile, in the name of her son Ferdinand IV and Henry of 
Castile the Senator, co-regent of the Kingdom, had a meeting with King Denis of 
Portugal in Ciudad Rodrigo, where the Queen-Regent surrounded several strongholds 
in order to end the hostilities between both Kingdoms; in addition, the betrothal 
between Ferdinand IV and Constance was confirmed, and also the future marriage 
between Ferdinand IV's sister Beatrice with Constance's brother and heir of the 
Portuguese throne, Afonso was arranged. Later, in the Treaty of Alcañices (1297), the 
betrothal between Constance and Ferdinand IV was again ratified.

On 23 January 1302 at Valladolid, Constance finally married King Ferdinand IV of 
Castile.[1] Four years later (1307), shortly after the birth of their first-born child, a 
daughter called Eleanor (future Queen consort of Aragon), the Castilian King, who was 
besieging the city of Tordehumos which housed the rebellious magnate Juan Núñez II 
de Lara, chief of the House of Lara, sent his wife and newborn daughter to solicited a 
loan from her father, King Denis.[2] During the Valladolid Courts of 1307, where 
Constance didn't participate, Ferdinand IV tried to end the abuses of the nobility, 
corrected the administration of justice and softened the tax pressure over the 
Castilians. The next year (1308), the Queen gave birth to a second daughter, named 
Constance after her, who died in 1310, aged 2 and was buried in the disappeared 
convent of Santo Domingo el Real.[a]

In April 1311, while in Palencia, Ferdinand IV became gravelly ill and was transported 
to Valladolid, despite the protests of Constance, who wished his transport to Carrión 
de los Condes, with the purpose to control him with the help of her ally, Juan Núñez II 
de Lara. During the King's illness, disputes erupted between Juan Núñez II de Lara, 
Ferdinand IV's brothers and Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena. While the King was in 
Toro, the Queen gave birth in Salamanca on 13 August 1311 a son, the future Alfonso 
XI of Castile. The newborn heir to the Castilian throne was baptized in the Old 
Cathedral of Salamanca, and, against the King's wishes (who wanted to trust his son 
to his mother María de Molina), the will of Constance prevailed, who (with the support 
of Juan Núñez II de Lara and Lope Díaz de Haro) wanted to give the custody of the 
prince to Peter, Lord of Cameros and brother of Ferdinand IV.

In the autumn of 1311, surged a conspiracy of who wanted to depose Ferdinand IV 
and place the Lord of Cameros in the throne. The conspiracy included John of Castile, 
Lord of Valencia de Campos, Juan Núñez II de Lara and Lope Díaz de Haro; however, 
the project failed because of the staunch refusal of the Dowager Queen María de 
Molina.

In the Valladolid Courts of 1312, the last of the reign of Ferdinand IV, where reunited 
funds for the keeping of the army who would fight in the next campaign against the 
Kingdom of Granada, was reorganized the administration of justice, the territorial and 
local administration, showing with this the King his wishes of a deep reform in all the 
ambits of administration, at the time that wanted to reinforce the Crown's authority in 
detriment of the nobility. The Courts approved the concession of five services and one 
forera coin, destined to the payment of the King's vassals, with the exception of Juan 
Núñez II de Lara, who became in the vassal of King Denis of Portugal.

On 7 September 1312 at the city of Jaén, Ferdinand IV died aged 26. Because of the 
high temperature during the month of his death, Peter, Lord of Cameros and brother of 
the late King and the now Dowager-Queen Constance decided that his remains would 
be buried in the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba. The Crónica de Alfonso XI confirmed 
the high temperature as the cause who motivated the burial of Ferdinand IV in 
Córdoba.[4]

The funeral cortege who accompanied the remains of Ferdinand IV to the city of 
Córdoba was presided by Constance. The body of the King was deposited in the Major 
Chapel of the Cathedral by disposition of his wife, and was also decided that six 
chaplains could pray every night before the tombstone during the month of September 
in the anniversary of his death, in perpetuity.

Minority of King Alfonso XI of Castile (1312-1313)[edit]

When John of Castile, Lord of Valencia de Campos and Juan Núñez II de Lara had 
knowledge of the death of King Ferdinand IV, they asked Queen María de Molina 
(who was in Valladolid) to take the regency on behalf of her one-year-old grandson 
Alfonso XI, in order to avoid that Peter, Lord of Cameros take it. However, the Queen 
refused to take the regency and she asked both that talk of if with her son Peter.

Juan Núñez II de Lara then tried to kidnap the infant King, who was in the city of 
Ávila. However, the local authorities stopped him, prevented by María de Molina. 
Shortly after arrived to Ávila Peter, Lord of Cameros and they refused his entrance to 
the city. In the meanwhile, John, Lord of Valencia de Campos and Juan Núñez II de 
Lara, who are in Burgos, called the ricoshombres and others main authorities of the 
kingdom to be reunited in Sahagún, at the time that Peter, Lord of Cameros obtained 
the consent of María de Molina to be the guardian of his nephew Alfonso XI during his 
minority. When John, Lord of Valencia de Campos (who was at Sahagún with the 
authorities of the kingdom) knew about the closeness of Peter, Lord of Cameros, he 
ofended him in front of various witnesses, causing that the Lord of Cameros marched 
against them. The Lord of Valencia de Campos and his collaborators send them to 
Philip of Castile, Lord of Cabrera and Ribera, brother of Peter, to talk to him; however, 
the Lord of Cameros reprimanded his brother to be at the side of the Lord of Valencia 
de Campos. The Lord of Cabrera and Ribera presented to his mother María de Molina 
the propositions of the Lord of Valencia de Campos, who consisted in a Triumvirate 
between María de Molina and the Lords of Cameros and Valencia de Campos. The 
Queen agreed with this idea.

The Palencia Courts of 1313[edit]

Pedro, Lord of Cameros went to the Cortes of Palencia of 1313 accompanied by an 
army of 12,000 men, after having recruited in Asturias and Cantabria, and had gone to 
the Cortes without desire for a fight, but ready to do it if the other side wished. On the 
side of the Lord of Cameros militated his uncle Alfonso Téllez de Molina (brother of 
María de Molina), his son Tello Alfonso de Meneses, Rodrigo Álvarez de Asturias and 
Fernán Ruiz de Saldaña, among others ricoshombres. The main supporters of the Lord 
of Valencia de Campos was Philip, Lord of Cabrera and Ribera, Fernando de la Cerda 
and Juan Núñez II de Lara.

Once assembled the attendees in the city of Palencia, it was agreed that each of the 
two sides kept only 1,300 men in the vicinity of the city, although the agreement was 
broken by the Lord of Valencia de Campos, who kept next to him 4,000 men, who 
caused that the Lord of Cameros kept 5,000 of his men at his side. During the Cortes, 
the Dowager Queen Constance stopped to give her support to the Lord of Cameros 
and began to support the Lord of Valencia de Campos, proceeding Juan Manuel, 
Prince of Villena (grandson of Ferdinand III of Castile) in the same way. Fearing that 
disputes arise, at the initiative of Queen María de Molina, the Lords of Cameros and 
Valencia de Campos and his companions left the city and stayed in the villages, Peter 
staying in Amusco, John in Becerril de Campos, Queen Constance in Grijota, and 
María de Molina in Monzón de Campos. At the same time, the prelates and procurators 
supporters of the Lord of Cameros and María de Molina agreed to meet in the church 
of San Francisco at Palencia, of the Order of the Franciscans, while the supporters of 
the Lord of Valencia de Campos reunited in the convent of San Pablo of Palencia, of 
the Order of the Dominicans, linked to the House of Lara. Despite the wishes of Peter 
and his mother, the supporters of the Lord of Valencia de Campos didn't agree to any 
compromise and appointed him guardian of the King, while the other side appointed 
guardians the Lord of Cameros and Queen María de Molina.

The double Cortes of Palencia of 1313 gave origin to two different orders: one of them 
granted by the Infante Juan, as tutor of Alfonso XI, to the councils of Castile, León, 
Extremadura, Galicia and Asturias —territories in which they predominated their own 
supporters—; and the other promulgated by Queen María de Molina and her son, the 
Infante Pedro, as joint tutors of Alfonso XI, and was delivered at the request of the 
councils of Castilla, Leon, Toledo, Extremadura, Galicia, Asturias and Andalusia. In 
both charters of the Cortes are noted the presence of the clergy, the nobility and the 
notorious men of the towns, and it was deduced from them that the Infante Juan had a 
certain advantage in the number and quality of his allies, as well as the Infante Peter 
and Queen María de Molina in prelates, masters of the Military Orders and 
representatives of the councils. The charter given by Queen María de Molina carries 
the seals of Alfonso XI and those of both tutors, and the one given by Infante Juan 
only his own seal; this could conclude that the Royal Chancellery was in the hands of 
the firsts.[5] Finished the Cortes, each of the two sides began to use the royal seal to 
issue orders and privileges.

Finished the Cortes of Palencia of 1313, Alfonso of Valencia and his father John of 
Castile "el de Tarifa" occupied the city of León, while the Infante Peter seized of the 
city of Palencia, directing itself later to Ávila with his mother, where Alfonso XI was. In 
the meanwhile both sides tried to reach a definitive agreement on who should be the 
guardian of the infant King, intervening in the negotiations the Masters of the Orders 
of Santiago and Calatrava, as well as Don Juan Manuel, supporter of John of Castile. 
The Infante Peter departed for Granada to help Nasr, Sultan of Granada, against 
whom the son of arráez of Málaga had revolted. However, at the end of 1313 the 
Infante Peter was aware of the defeat of the Granadian sultan and, during his return 
to Castile, besieged for three days and took the castle of Rute, located in Córdoba.[6] 
At the end of 1313, the Infante John summoned the procurators of the Kingdom in 
Sahagún.

Death and burial[edit]

On 18 November 1313, one day after she had dictated her testament, in which she 
appointed executors to her parents, the Kings of Portugal,[7] Queen Constance of 
Portugal died in Sahagún at the age of 23, which caused that Infante Juan and his 
partisans decided to agree with Queen María de Molina, offering her to be the 
guardian of the King in the territories in which they had declared tutors to her and to 
her son the Infante Peter, while the Infante John of Castile "el de Tarifa" would act as 
guardian of the King in the territories that supported him, accepting Queen María de 
Molina the proposal.

After her death, the remains of Queen Constance were buried in the Royal Monastery 
of San Benito in Sahagún, where King Alfonso VI of León and Castile and several of 
his wives had been buried.[7] The remains deposited in a sepulcher, which was 
placed on the cruiser of the monastery church, next to the graves containing the 
mortal remains of the wives of Alfonso VI. Her grave had to be destroyed either during 
the fire that the monastery suffered in 1810, during the Napoleonic invasion of the 
War of Spanish Independence or during the exclaustration and confiscation of the 
Royal Monastery of San Benito, carried out in 1835.

Although the remains of King Alfonso VI and those of his wives are currently deposited 
in two tombs in the Monastery of the Benedictine Mothers of Sahagún, the remains of 
Queen Constanzce of Portugal have disappeared. In the church of San Juan de 
Sahagún is conserved a tombstone of modern marble, carved in the 19th century, and 
placed in the rung that leads to the high altar of the church, next to a similar 
gravestone in which reference is made to the Infanter Sancho Alfónsez, pnly son of 
King Alfonso VI, in which the following epitaph was sculpted:[8]

H. R. CONSTANCIA. R. FERDINANDI. IV UXOR CUIUS. VITAE FINIS DIE XXIII NOV. 
Aº MCCCXIII

The epitaph, roughly translated say: "Here lies Queen Constance, wife of King 
Ferdinand IV. She died on November 23, 1313". The tombstone was carved after the 
Spanish War of Independence, when, after the destruction caused in the monastery 
by the looting carried out by the French troops, and by the fire of 1810, was 
proceeded to rebuild the Benedictine monastery. However, due to the confiscation of 
1835, the works were paralyzed. The purpose of the tombstone, which measures 1.39 
meters long by 0.46 meters wide, was to mark the place occupied by the tomb in 
which the remains of Queen Constance, who had disappeared, had been resting in the 
Royal Monastery of San Benito. Nevertheless, the tombstone was later placed in the 
church of San Juan of Sahagún.

Parents
____ Diniz (Denis) "the Just" (9 Oct 1261 - 7 Jan 1325)
____ Elizabeth (Isabel) (4 Jan 1271 - 4 Jul 1336)

Siblings
DINISEZ Constanca (3 Jan 1290 - 18 Nov 1313)
DINISEZ Affonso IV "the Brave" (8 Feb 1291 - 28 May 1357)

Marriage To SANCHEZ Fernando IV (6 Dec 1285 - 7 Sep 1312)
    m. 23 Jan 1302 

Notes

Parents
ALFONSEZ Sancho IV "the Brave" (12 May 1258 - 25 Apr 1295)
ALFONSO DE MOLINA MESA Maria (Majora) (1246 - 1 Jul 1321)

Children by SANCHEZ Fernando IV 6 Dec 1285 - 7 Sep 1312
FERNANDEZ Alfonso XI (13 Aug 1311 - 26 Mar 1350)

Produced by Fzip 1.7 6/20/2017