Dona Beatriz de Menezes (1400 – c.1460) (sometimes written as 'Brites de Meneses') was a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

noblewoman. She was the 2nd Countess of Vila Real from 1437, a title she shared with her consort,

Fernando de Noronha Fernando de Noronha () is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the State of Pernambuco, Brazil, and located off the Brazilian coast. It consists of 21 islands and islets, extending over an area of . Only the eponymous main island is in ...

. Brites de Meneses was the eldest legitimate daughter of D.

Pedro de Menezes, 1st Count of Vila Real Pedro de Menezes Portocarrero, (1370 – Ceuta, September 22, 1437) was a 15th-century Portuguese nobleman and military figure. Pedro de Menezes (sometimes modernized as 'de Meneses') was the 2nd Count of Viana do Alentejo, 1st. Count of Vila ...

and Margarida de Miranda. On October 30, 1430, Brites married the Castilian-Portuguese nobleman

, the son of two bastard lines of the royal houses of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and Castile (i.e. Fernando de Noronha was a grandson of

Henry II of Castile Henry II (13 January 1334 – 29 May 1379), called Henry of Trastámara or the Fratricidal (''el Fratricida''), was the first King of Castile and León from the House of Trastámara. He became king in 1369 by defeating his half-brother Peter th ...

and Ferdinand I of Portugal). Brites de Meneses competed with her half-brother

Duarte de Menezes Dom Duarte de Menezes (before 1488 – after 1539), was a 16th-century Portuguese nobleman and colonial officer, governor of Tangier from 1508 to 1521 and 1536 to 1539, and governor of Portuguese India from 1522 to 1524. Background D. Duart ...

(born illegitimate, but legitimized by royal letter) to secure the inheritance of her father's titles for herself and her husband. Upon her father Pedro de Meneses' death in 1437, the titles were distributed - the crown-granted title of

Count of Vila Real Count of Vila Real (in Portuguese ''Conde de Vila Real'') was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, in 1424, by King John I of Portugal, and granted to ''Dom'' Pedro de Menezes, also known as Peter I of Menezes, 1st Count o ...

went to Brites and Fernando, while the older family title of

Count of Viana do Alentejo {{about, , the Counts of Viana (modern), Count of Viana, the Counts of Viana (da Foz do Lima), Count of Viana (da Foz do Lima) Count of Viana (do Alentejo) was a Portuguese title of nobility granted to D. João Afonso Telo, 4th Count of Barc ...

went to Duarte. Brites de Menezes had two legitimate sons from her marriage to Fernando de Noronha: * Pedro de Menezes, 3rd Count (1st Marquis) of Vila Real (from which stems the Portuguese noble house of

) * João de Noronha, Lord of Sortelha (from which stems the Portuguese noble house of Count of Monsanto)

External links

* http://www.geneall.net/P/per_page.php?id=1430 {{DEFAULTSORT:Menezes, Brites

Vila Real Vila Real () is the capital and largest city of the Vila Real District, in the North region. It is also the seat of the Douro intermunicipal community and of the Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro historical province. The Vila Real municipality cover ...

1400 births 1460s deaths 15th-century Portuguese people 15th-century Portuguese women