Infante ''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to t ...

Diogo of Viseu (1450–1484) was the second son of

Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu and Beja (or ''Fernando,'' , 17 November 1433 – 18 September 1470) was the third son of Edward, King of Portugal and his wife Eleanor of Aragon. Biography Ferdinand was born in Almeirim on 17 November 1 ...

, and his wife

Beatriz, Duchess of Viseu Infanta Beatriz of Portugal (13 June 1430 – 30 September 1506) was a Portuguese infanta, daughter of John, Constable of Portugal (fourth son of King John I of Portugal and his wife Philippa of Lancaster) and Isabella of Barcelos a daughter of Af ...

History

In 1472, when his older brother John, Duke of Viseu, died without issue, Diogo inherited his titles and estates as

Duke of Viseu Duke of Viseu (in Portuguese ''Duque de Viseu'') was a Portuguese Royal Dukedom created in 1415 by King John I of Portugal for his third male child, Henry the Navigator, following the conquest of Ceuta. When Henry the Navigator died withou ...

and

Duke of Beja Duke of Beja ( pt, Duque de Beja) was an aristocratic Portuguese title and royal dukedom, associated with the Portuguese Royal House. List of the Dukes of Beja # Infante Fernando, 2nd Duke of Viseu (1433–1470), King Duarte I's third son (sec ...

. Diogo was a popular personality at the court of his cousin King

John II John II may refer to: People * John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499) * John II Casimir Vasa of Poland (1609–1672) * John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1302) * John II Doukas of Thessaly (1303–1318) * John II Komnenos (1087–1 ...

, and together with Duke Fernando II of Braganza, he was the main target of King John's centralization policies. John II sought to limit the power of the upper nobility, which had increased greatly during the reign of John's father

Afonso V of Portugal Afonso V () (15 January 1432 – 28 August 1481), known by the sobriquet the African (), was King of Portugal from 1438 until his death in 1481, with a brief interruption in 1477. His sobriquet refers to his military conquests in Northern Africa. ...

. Duke Fernando II of Braganza, husband of

Isabella of Viseu Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...

, the sister-in-law of King John II of Portugal and Diogo's sister, was the first victim of John's efforts against the Portuguese nobility. He was imprisoned, tried and executed in

Évora Évora ( , ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of 1307.08 km2. It is the historic capital of the Alentejo and serves as the seat of the Évora District. Due to its well-preserved old to ...

. Once his sister

Eleanor of Viseu Eleanor of Viseu (2 May 1458 – 17 November 1525; pt, Leonor de Viseu ) was a Portuguese ''infanta'' (princess) and later queen consort of Portugal. She is considered one of her country's most notable queens consort and one of the only two ...

was married to the king, Diogo thought he was protected from the king's anger. On two occasions, the king's life was in danger and as Diogo of Viseu remained the leader of the upper nobility against the King's policies, John II accused him of high treason and personally killed him. After the execution, King John II called the duke's younger brother,

Manuel of Viseu, and showed him his brother's body. He promised Manuel that he would consider him his own son. At that moment, Manuel inherited his brother Diogo's titles and estates. Duke Diogo never married, but when he was quite young he visited the

Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accessi ...

, where he had a love affair with ''Doña'' Leonor de Sotomaior y Portugal (great-granddaughter of King

Pedro I of Portugal Peter I (Portuguese: ''Pedro I'', ; 8 April 1320 – 18 January 1367), called the Just (''o Justiceiro'') or the Cruel (''o Cruel''), was King of Portugal from 1357 until his death. He was the third but only surviving son of Afonso IV of Portuga ...

). With her he had a natural son, Afonso de Portugal. King Manuel I of Portugal granted this nephew, Afonso de Portugal, the position of 8th

Constable of Portugal {{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'' ...

. Afonso's daughter and heir, Beatrice of Lara, married the 3rd

Marquis of Vila Real Marquis of Vila Real (in Portuguese ''Marquês de Vila Real'') was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, dated from 1 March 1489, by King John II of Portugal, and granted to ''Dom'' Pedro de Menezes, also known as Peter II ...

Ancestry

Bibliography

*”Nobreza de Portugal e do Brasil” – Vol. III, pages 544 and 545. Published by Zairol Lda., Lisbon 1989.

External links

Genealogy of Diogo, 4th Duke of Viseu, in Portuguese
House of Aviz Portuguese infantes Dukes of Beja Dukes of Viseu Medieval Portuguese nobility 1450 births 1484 deaths 15th-century Portuguese people Donatários of the Azores {{Portugal-bio-stub

History

Ancestry

See also

Bibliography

External links