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Birth:          5 May 1210 of Coimbra, Portugal
Death:          16 Feb 1279 Lisboa, Portugal
Burial:         Mosteria Santa Maria, Alcobaca, Leiria, Portugal

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afonso_III_of_Portugal
Afonso III (Portuguese pronunciation: [?'fõsu]; rare English alternatives: Alphonzo or 
Alphonse), or Affonso (Archaic Portuguese), Alfonso or Alphonso (Portuguese-
Galician) or Alphonsus (Latin), the Bolognian (Port. o Bolonhês), King of Portugal (5 
May 1210 – 16 February 1279) was the first to use the title King of Portugal and the 
Algarve, from 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, who died on 
4 January 1248.
Early life[edit]

Afonso was born in Coimbra. As the second son of King Afonso II of Portugal, he 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, Mortain, Aumale and Dammartin-en-Goële jure 
uxoris.
Reign[edit]
In 1246, conflicts between his brother, the king, and the church became unbearable. 
In 1247, Pope Innocent IV ordered Sancho II to be removed from the throne and to be 
replaced by the Count of Boulogne. Afonso, of course, did not refuse the papal order 
and consequently marched to Portugal. Since Sancho was not a popular king and the 
order was not hard to enforce, he fled in 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 of Visitador, Curador e Defensor do Reino (Overseer, 
Curator and Defender of the Kingdom).

In order to ascend the throne Afonso abdicated his rights to the county of Boulogne in 
1248. In 1253, he divorced Matilde in order to marry Beatrice of Castile, illegitimate 
daughter of Alfonso X, King of Castile, and Mayor Guillén de Guzmán.

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 of Leiria, he held the first session of the Cortes, a general 
assembly comprising the nobility, the middle class and representatives of all 
municipalities. 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.

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 son Denis's premature rise to the throne at only 18 years old.

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.

Final years and death[edit]

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, 
the Treaty of Badajoz (1267) was signed in Badajoz, determining that the southern 
border between Castile and Portugal should be the River Guadiana, as it is today.

Afonso died in Alcobaça, Coimbra or Lisbon, aged 68.

Marriages and descendants[edit]

Afonso's first wife was Matilda II, Countess of Boulogne, daughter of Renaud, Count 
of Dammartin, and Ida, Countess of Boulogne. They had no surviving children. He 
divorced Matilda in 1253 and, in the same year, married Beatrice of Castile, illegitimate 
daughter of Alfonso X, King of Castile, and Mayor Guillén de Guzmán.

Name

Birth

Death

Notes

By Matilda II of Boulogne (c.?1202–1262; married in 1239) 
By Beatrice of Castile (1242–1303; married in 1253) 
Blanche 25 February 1259 17 April 1321 Lady of Las Huelgas 
Fernando (Ferdinand) 1260 1262   
Dinis (Denis) 9 October 1261 7 January 1325 Succeeded him as Denis, 6th King of 
Portugal. Married Infanta Isabel of Aragon. 
Afonso 8 February 1263 2 November 1312 Lord of Portalegre. Married to Violante 
Manuel of Castile (daughter of Manuel of Castile). 
Sancha 2 February 1264 c.?1302   
Maria 21 November 1264 6 June 1304 Nun in the Convent of Saint John in Coimbra. 
Constança (Constance) 1266 1271   
Vicente (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 31 December 1346 Natural son; Knight of the Order of the Hospital. 
Fernando Afonso ? ? Natural son; Knight of the Order of the Hospital. 
Rodrigo Afonso 1258 about 12 May 1272 Natural son; Prior of the city of Santarém. 
Leonor Afonso (nun) ? 1259 Natural daughter; Nun in the Monastery of Santa Clara of 
Santarém. 
Urraca Afonso 1250 4 November 1281 Natural daughter; Nun in the Monastery of 
Lorvão. 
Henrique Afonso ? ? Natural son; Married to Inês (last name unknown). 

Parents
____ Affonso II "the Fat" (23 Apr 1185 - 25 Mar 1223)
DE CASTILE Urraca (ABT 1185 - 3 Nov 1220)

Siblings
____ Alfonso III "the Restorer" (5 May 1210 - 16 Feb 1279)

Marriage To ____ Beatrix (1242 - 27 Oct 1303)
    m. 1253 

Notes

Parents
____ Alfonso X "El Sabio" (23 Nov 1221 - 4 Apr 1284)
GUZMAN-VILLENA Maria Mayor Guillen (1205 - 1262)

Children by ____ Beatrix 1242 - 27 Oct 1303
____ Diniz (Denis) "the Just" (9 Oct 1261 - 7 Jan 1325)

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