Denis of Portugal (
Portuguese: 'Dinis' or 'Diniz' ), occasionally surnamed Castro (1353 – ), was an
infante 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 ...
. He was the son of Portuguese King
Peter I Peter I may refer to:
Religious hierarchs
* Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus
* Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint
* Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholico ...
and a
Galician noblewoman named
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 ...
who had arrived in Portugal as a maid of princess
Constance of Castile, recently married to
Pedro I (Heir Prince at the time).
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
Afonso IVEnglish: ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', or ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese), ''Alfonso'' or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin). (; 8 February 129128 May 1357), called the Brave ( pt, o Bravo, links=no), was King ...
, 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
The Battle of Aljubarrota (; see Aljubarrota) was fought between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Crown of Castile on 14 August 1385. Forces commanded by King John I of Portugal and his general Nuno Álvares Pereira, with the support of English ...
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, from whom he had two sons and a daughter:
* Fernando de Portugal, 3rd? Lord of Cifuentes and ''Comendador'' of Oreja (born c. 1380), married firstly to María de Torres, 5th Lady of Villardompardo (1400 –
Jaén), and had issue now extinct in male line, and married secondly to Aldara Osorio (born c. 1390), and had issue now extinct in male line
* Pedro de Portugal, 1st Lord of Colmenarejo (born c. 1385), married to Isabel Enríquez (born c. 1390), and had issue now extinct in male line
* Beatriz de Portugal (died 1470), unmarried and without issue
He died in about 1403.
Ancestry
Citations
References
*
*
*
1354 births
1397 deaths
Burials in Extremadura
Portuguese infantes
House of Burgundy-Portugal
People from Coimbra
People of the 1383–1385 Portuguese interregnum
14th-century Portuguese people
Sons of kings
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