Lopo de Almeida (1416–1486) was the first

Count of Abrantes Count of Abrantes (in Portuguese ''Conde de Abrantes'') was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, dated from June 13, 1476, by King Afonso V of Portugal, and granted to his 4th cousin, Lopo de Almeida. ''Dom'' Lopo was close ...

bestowed with the title on June 13, 1476 by

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 ...

D. Afonso V of Portugal.

Biography

Fidalgo ''Fidalgo'' (, ), from Galician and Portuguese —equivalent to nobleman, but sometimes literally translated into English as "son of somebody" or "son of some (important family)"—is a traditional title of Portuguese nobility that refers to a ...

of the Portuguese court during the reigns of kings D. Afonso V and D. João II, he was a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

, diplomat,

Finance Minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

, businessman and benefactor, beyond Mayor of

Abrantes Abrantes () is a municipality in the central Médio Tejo subregion of Portugal. The population was 39,325, in an area of . The municipality includes several parishes divided by the Tagus River, which runs through the middle of the municipalit ...

, Punhete, Amêndoa, the

castle of Torres Novas The Castle of Torres Novas ( pt, Castelo de Torres Novas) is a medieval castle in the civil parish of Torres Novas (São Pedro), Lapas e Ribeira Branca, municipality of Torres Novas, Portuguese district of Santarém. It is classified as a Na ...

, lord of

Sardoal Sardoal () is a municipality in the district of Santarém in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 3,939, in an area of 92.15 km². The present Mayor is Miguel Borges, elected by the Social Democratic Party. The municipal holiday is September ...

and

Mação Mação () is a municipality in the Santarém District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 7,338, in an area of 399.98 km². The present Mayor is Vasco António Mendonça Sequeira Estrela, elected by the Social Democratic Party Th ...

and member of the Royal Counsil, governor of the lands of the Queen and other high roles on the Portuguese Court. Lopo de Almeida was a grandson of Fernão Álvares de Almeida, knight of Avis and a son of Diogo Fernandes de Almeida, both very important fidalgos of the Portuguese Court. During his lifetime, D. Lopo provided several services to Country and Crown. In

1451 Year 1451 ( MCDLI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * January 7 – Pope Nicholas V issues a Papal Bull to establish The University of ...

he accompanied

infanta ''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 ...

D. Leonor, older sister of king D. Afonso V, to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where she married Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor. In this trip he wrote a series of letters to the king, which he sent one every month, describing the journey, the people and the landscape, which were edited for the first time in 1739.

Wedding and posterity

D. Lopo married Brites da Silva in 1442, lady of queen D. Leonor of Aragon's court. She was daughter of Pedro Gonçalves Malafaia, finance minister of king D. João I and his ambassador to Castile. They had twelve children: # D. João de Almeida (1443-1512), second Count of Abrantes. # D. Pedro de Almeida (d.1512), commander of the Order of Avis. # D. Fernando de Almeida ( Lisbon

1467 Year 1467 ( MCDLXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * June 15 – Philip the Good is succeeded as Duke of Burgundy, by Charles the Bo ...

?- 1500),

bishop of Ceuta The Catholic diocese of Ceuta, first Portuguese and afterwards Spanish, existed from 1417 to 1879. It was a suffragan of the Patriarchate of Lisbon until 1675, with the end of the Iberian Union, when Ceuta chose to remain linked to the king of Sp ...

apostolic nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international ...

Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

, he was one of the three deputies that in Valois cancelled the marriage of Louis XII of France and Joanne of Valois so the king could marry

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

duchess of Brittany This is a list of rulers of the Duchy of Brittany. In different epochs the sovereigns of Brittany were kings, princes, and dukes. The Breton ruler was sometimes elected, sometimes attained the position by conquest or intrigue, or by hereditary r ...

. He might have been poisoned by Cesare Borgia. # D. Diogo Fernandes de Almeida (died 1508), was the sixth

prior of Crato The Prior of Crato (''Prior do Crato''), was the traditional title given to the head of the Order of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem (Hospitaller) in Portugal. It is a reference to the domains of the order around Crato, Portugal. The Port ...

, of King D. João II and

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Torres Novas. # D. Jorge de Almeida (1458–1543), Bishop of Coimbra, second Count of Arganil. He baptized infante D. Henrique, future king of Portugal, and had many votes to be Pope. First

Grand Inquisitor Grand Inquisitor ( la, Inquisitor Generalis, literally ''Inquisitor General'' or ''General Inquisitor'') was the lead official of the Inquisition. The title usually refers to the chief inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition, even after the reuni ...

of the

Portuguese Inquisition The Portuguese Inquisition ( Portuguese: ''Inquisição Portuguesa''), officially known as the General Council of the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Portugal, was formally established in Portugal in 1536 at the request of its king, John III. ...

. # D.

Francisco de Almeida Dom Francisco de Almeida (), also known as the Great Dom Francisco (c. 1450 – 1 March 1510), was a Portuguese nobleman, soldier and explorer. He distinguished himself as a counsellor to King John II of Portugal and later in the wars against ...

, first

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. # D. Afonso de Almeida. # D. Duarte de Almeida. # D. Isabel da Silva, first countess of Penela. # D. Catarina da Silva, subprioress at the Jesus Monastery of Aveiro. # D. Branca Gil de Almeida # D. Briolanja de Almeida (1430–1480).

External links

Lopo de Almeida - Memórias do 1.º Conde de Abrantes
(in Portuguese) {{Authority control 16th-century Portuguese people 16th-century Portuguese military personnel 1416 births 1486 deaths

Biography

Wedding and posterity

Further reading

External links