Infante John, Constable of Portugal ( pt, João, ; 13 January 1400 – 18 October 1442) was a Portuguese ''
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 th ...
'' (prince) of the
House of Aviz,
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'' ...
and master of the Portuguese
Order of St. James (Santiago). In Portugal, he is commonly referred to as the ''O Infante Condestável'' ("the Constable Prince").
Early life
Infante John was the son of
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
John I of Portugal and his wife
Philippa of Lancaster
Philippa of Lancaster ( pt, Filipa ; 31 March 1360 – 19 July 1415) was Queen of Portugal from 1387 until 1415 by marriage to King John I. Born into the royal family of England, her marriage secured the Treaty of Windsor and produced severa ...
. John and his brothers
Edward,
Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
,
Henry
Henry may refer to:
People
*Henry (given name)
* Henry (surname)
* Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry
Royalty
* Portuguese royalty
** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal
** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...
and
Ferdinand
Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...
, sister
Isabella
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
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United States
* Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...
and half-brother
Afonso, constitute what Portuguese historians have traditionally labelled the '
illustrious generation' (''Ínclita Geração'')
Royal career
He was invested as the 1st Lord of
Reguengos de Monsaraz
Reguengos de Monsaraz () is a municipality in Évora District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 10,828, in an area of 464.00 km2. The City of Reguengos de Monsaraz proper has a population of 7,308.
The present Mayor is José Calixto, el ...
,
Colares and Belas shortly after. In October 1418, at the king's request,
Pope Martin V approved the appointment of Infante John as the 10th Master of the
Order of St. James of the Sword
The Military Order of Saint James of the Sword ( pt, Ordem Militar de Sant'Iago da Espada) is a Portuguese order of chivalry. Its full name is the Ancient, Most Noble and Enlightened Military Order of Saint James of the Sword, of the Scientifi ...
, bringing the old military order into the hands of the royal family.
[Bull of Pope Martin V appointing John master of Santiago can be found in ''Monumenta Henricina'', vol. 2]
p.301
/ref> That same year (1418), John and his brother Henry the Navigator led a relief fleet to Ceuta and helped lift the Siege of Ceuta.
After the death of 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 ...
in 1431, Infante John was appointed the 3rd 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'' ...
. As a result, John is frequently characterised by the appellation ''O Infante Condestável'' ("The Constable Prince").
After King John I's death in 1433, John's eldest brother ascended the throne as king Edward of Portugal
Edward ( pt, Duarte (; 31 October 1391 – 9 September 1438), also called Edward the King Philosopher (''Duarte o Rei-Filósofo'') or the Eloquent (''o Eloquente''), was the King of Portugal from 1433 until his death. He was born in Viseu, the so ...
. In 1437, Infante John joined another brother Peter, Duke of Coimbra
Infante D. Pedro, Duke of Coimbra KG (; en, Peter), (9 December 1392 – 20 May 1449) was a Portuguese ''infante'' (prince) of the House of Aviz, son of King John I of Portugal and his wife Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt ...
, in arguing against a projected Portuguese expedition to seize Tangier that led to the Battle of Tangier. The campaign ended in disaster. After the Tangier fiasco, John urged the ratification of a treaty with Marinid
The Marinid Sultanate was a Berber Muslim empire from the mid-13th to the 15th century which controlled present-day Morocco and, intermittently, other parts of North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) and of the southern Iberian Peninsula (Spain) ar ...
Morocco that called for the relinquishment of Ceuta
Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa.
Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...
in exchange for his captive brother Ferdinand the Holy Prince
Ferdinand the Holy Prince (; pt, Fernando o Infante Santo; 29 September 1402 – 5 June 1443), sometimes called the "Saint Prince" or the "Constant Prince", was an ''infante'' of the Kingdom of Portugal. He was the youngest of the " Illustrious G ...
. The Cortes refused, and Ferdinand was left to die in captivity.
Duke of Coimbra Rebellion
King Edward died in September 1438, leaving a young son to ascend the throne as king 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 Afri ...
under the regency of his widow Eleanor of Aragon. This was an unpopular arrangement among the common people of the country, who feared Eleanor would be a puppet of the high nobility who sought to recover the political privileges they lost during the revolution of the 1380s. The prospect of civil war raised its head. To forestall a rebellion, Infante John quickly seized control of Lisbon and oversaw the assembly of a burgher-packed Cortes
Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to:
People
* Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name
** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador
Places
* Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of ...
to elect his brother Peter of Coimbra as regent for his nephew Afonso V. The high nobility, led by his half-brother Afonso of Barcelos
Dom Afonso I of Braganza (; 10 August 1377 – 15 December 1461) was the first duke of Braganza and the eighth count of Barcelos. He founded the House of Braganza, the most powerful and wealthy dynasty in Portugal. His descendants became high-ra ...
, urged Eleanor to hold fast, and a tense power-sharing regency arrangement was agreed upon between Peter and Eleanor.
Peter of Coimbra relied on his close alliance with Infante John to secure the lion's share of power during the first few years of the regency. Infante John's sudden death in October 1442 was a terrible blow to Peter, who thereafter found it increasingly difficult to fend off the aspirations of his half-brother Afonso of Barcelos.
Regent Peter appointed John's son 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 ...
to succeed his father as Master of the Order of Santiago and Constable of Portugal.
Marriage and Issue
In 1424, John married his half-niece Isabella of Barcelos
Isabel of Barcelos (October 1402 – 26 October 1466), also known as Isabel of Braganza, was a lady of the Portuguese nobility during the Late Middle Ages. She was the daughter of Afonso I, Duke of Braganza and Beatriz Pereira de Alvim, and she ...
, daughter of his half-brother Afonso of Barcelos
Dom Afonso I of Braganza (; 10 August 1377 – 15 December 1461) was the first duke of Braganza and the eighth count of Barcelos. He founded the House of Braganza, the most powerful and wealthy dynasty in Portugal. His descendants became high-ra ...
. The couple had four children:
*Infante 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 ...
(1425–1443) – 4th 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'' ...
and 11th Master of the Order of St. James; without issue.
*Infanta Isabella of Portugal (1428–1496), married John II of Castile
John II of Castile ( es, link=no, Juan; 6 March 1405 – 20 July 1454) was King of Castile and León from 1406 to 1454. He succeeded his older sister, Maria of Castile, Queen of Aragon, as Prince of Asturias in 1405.
Regency
John was the ...
, mother of Isabella I of Castile.
*Infanta Beatrice of Portugal
Beatrice ( pt, Beatriz, ; 7–13 February 1373 – ) was the only surviving legitimate child of King Ferdinand I of Portugal and his wife, Leonor Teles. She became Queen consort of Castile by marriage to King John I of Castile. Following her fat ...
(1430–1506), married Infante 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, Queen of Portugal, Eleanor of Aragon.
Biography
Ferdinand w ...
, mother of 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 ...
.
*Infanta Phillipa of Portugal (1432–1444), Lady of Almada
Almada () is a city and a municipality in Portugal, located on the southern margin of the Tagus River, on the opposite side of the river from Lisbon. The two cities are connected by the 25 de Abril Bridge. The population in 2011 was 174,030, in a ...
.
Ancestry
References
"Nobreza de Portugal e do Brasil" – Vol. I, pages 296–297. Published by Zairol Lda., Lisbon 1989.
{{DEFAULTSORT:John, Constable of Portugal
Portuguese infantes
House of Aviz
1400 births
1442 deaths
People from Santarém, Portugal
15th-century Portuguese people
Constables of Portugal
Sons of kings