{{Short description, Defunct office created by King Ferdinand I of Portugal Constable of Portugal ( pt, Condestável de Portugal) was an office created by King Ferdinand I of Portugal in 1382, to substitute the High Standard-bearer ('' Alferes-Mor'') as the head of the

Portuguese Military The Portuguese Armed Forces ( pt, Forças Armadas) are the military of Portugal. They include the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the other unified bodies and the three service branches: Portuguese Navy, Portuguese Army and Portuguese Air ...

. It was also referred as the Constable of the Kingdom (''Condestável do Reino''). The Constable was the second most powerful person in the

Kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

, after the King of Portugal. The Constable's responsibility was to command the military in the absence of the King and to maintain discipline in the army; he was present at all

military tribunals Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bo ...

. After the reign of

John IV of Portugal John IV ( pt, João, ; 19 March 1604 – 6 November 1656), nicknamed John the Restorer ( pt, João, o Restaurador), was the King of Portugal whose reign, lasting from 1640 until his death, began the Portuguese restoration of independence from H ...

(1640—1656), the title ceased to have military or administrative responsibilities, becoming an honorific title.

List of Constables of Portugal

Álvaro Pires de Castro Álvaro Pires de Castro (c. 1310 – 11 June 1384 in Lisbon) was a powerful Galician- Portuguese nobleman, stem of the Portuguese branch of the House of Castro. He was the first Count of Viana (da Foz do Lima), the first Count of Arraiolos and ...

, 1st

Count of Arraiolos Count of Arraiolos (in Portuguese ''Conde de Arraiolos'') is a Portuguese title granted, in 1377 by King Fernando I of Portugal, to ''Dom'' Álvaro Pires de Castro, a Galician noble, brother of Inês de Castro (King Pedro I of Portugal 2nd wife ...

and 1st Count of Viana (da Foz do Lima) (brother of

Inês de Castro Inês de Castro (; in Castilian: Inés; 1325 – 7 January 1355) was a Galician noblewoman and courtier, best known as lover and posthumously-recognized wife of King Peter I of Portugal. The dramatic circumstances of her relationship with Peter ...

) (1310-1384) #

Nuno Álvares Pereira D. Nuno Álvares Pereira, O. Carm. (; 24 June 1360 – 1 November 1431) was a Portuguese general of great success who had a decisive role in the 1383-1385 Crisis that assured Portugal's independence from Castile. He later became a mystic ...

, the ''Saint Constable'', 38th Lord Chamberlain (''Mordomo-Mor'') of Portugal (to King John I), 2nd

, 3rd

Count of Ourém Count of Ourém (in Portuguese ''Conde de Ourém'') is a Portuguese title granted in 1370 by King Fernando I of Portugal, to ''Dom'' João Afonso Telo, uncle of Queen Leonor Teles. Later he also became the fourth Count of Barcelos. The title ...

and 7th

Count of Barcelos Count of Barcelos (in Portuguese ''Conde de Barcelos'') is a title of nobility, the first to be granted in Portugal. It was created in 1298 by king Denis I and initially it was a non hereditary title, although most of the holders belonged to the ...

(1360-1431) # João of Portugal, Infante of Portugal and Lord of Reguengos, Colares and Belas (1400-1442) #

Diogo of Portugal Diogo of Portugal (1425–1443) was a Portuguese royal prince, who briefly served as Constable of Portugal and Master of the Order of Santiago. Diogo was the eldest son of John, Lord of Reguengos de Monsaraz, Infante of Portugal, and of his wife ...

, son of the former, Infante of Portugal (1425-1443) # Pedro of Portugal,

King of Aragon This is a list of the kings and queens of Aragon. The Kingdom of Aragon was created sometime between 950 and 1035 when the County of Aragon, which had been acquired by the Kingdom of Navarre in the tenth century, was separated from Navarre ...

and Count of Barcelona, Grand Master of the Order of Aviz (1429-1466) # Fernando, 2nd Duke of Viseu, Infante of Portugal (1433-1470) # John, Marquis of Montemor-o-Novo, son of

Fernando I, Duke of Braganza Dom Fernando I of Braganza (; 1403 – 1 April 1478) was the 2nd Duke of Braganza and the 1st Marquis of Vila Viçosa, among other titles. He took part in the Portuguese conquests in North Africa and served as governor of different territories t ...

(n.1430) #

Afonso of Viseu Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

, grandson of Fernando, Duke of Viseu (1480-1504) # Luís, 5th Duke of Beja, Infante of Portugal (1506-1555) #

Duarte II, 5th Duke of Guimarães Duarte may refer to: * Duarte (surname), person's surname (or composed surname) and given name * Duarte, California, United States * Duarte Province, Dominican Republic * Pico Duarte, mountain in the Dominican Republic See also

* * {{disambigu ...

, grandson of King

Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portuga ...

(1541-1576) # John, 6th Duke of Braganza (1543-1583) #

Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba (29 October 150711 December 1582), known as the Grand Duke of Alba (, pt, Grão Duque de Alba) in Spain and Portugal and as the Iron Duke ( or shortly 'Alva') in the Netherlands, was a S ...

(1581-1582) # Teodósio II, 7th Duke of Braganza (1582-1630) # João IV, King of Portugal (1604-1656) #

Francisco de Melo Dom Francisco de Melo (1597 – 18 December 1651) was a Portuguese nobleman who served as a Spanish general during the Thirty Years' War. Biography Francisco was born in Estremoz, Portugal. From 1632 to 1636 he had been Spanish ambassador to th ...

, 5th

Marquis of Ferreira A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman w ...

, 4th

Count of Tentúgal Count of Tentúgal (in Portuguese ''Conde de Tentúgal'') was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, dated from 1 January 1504, by King Manuel I of Portugal, and granted to ''Dom'' Rodrigo de Melo, son of Álvaro of Braganza ...

(1588-1645) # Pedro of Braganza, Duke of Beja (later King of Portugal) (1648-1706) # Nuno Álvares Pereira de Melo, 1st

Duke of Cadaval The Dukes of Cadaval have their origins in ''Dom'' Álvaro of Braganza, Lord of Tentúgal, Póvoa, Buarcos and Cadaval, 4th male son of ''Dom'' Ferdinand I, 2nd Duke of Braganza. ''Dom'' Álvaro married ''Dona'' Filipa de Melo, the rich daught ...

, 4th

, 5th

(1638-1727) # Francisco, 7th Duke of Beja, Infante of Portugal (1691-1742) # João VI, King of Portugal (1767-1826) # Miguel, King of Portugal (1802-1866) # Nuno Caetano Álvares Pereira de Melo, 6th

, 8th

, 9th

(1799-1837) #

António de Vasconcelos e Sousa Câmara Caminha Faro e Veiga Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...

, 8th Count of Calheta, 4th Marquis of Castelo Melhor (1816-1858) # Luís I, King of Portugal (1838-1889) # João, 8th Duke of Beja, Infante of Portugal (1842-1861) #

Afonso, Duke of Porto Infante D. Afonso of Braganza, Duke of Porto (; 31 July 1865 in Palace of Ajuda, Lisbon – 21 February 1920 in Naples, Italy) was a Portuguese Infante of the House of Braganza,"While remaining patrilineal dynasts of the duchy of Saxe-Cob ...

, Infante of Portugal (1865-1920)

External links

Constables of Portugal in a Portuguese genealogical site
Military ranks 1382 establishments in Europe 14th-century establishments in Portugal Officials of the Kingdom of Portugal