Álvaro Pires de Castro (c. 1310 – 11 June 1384 in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

) was a powerful Galician-

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

nobleman, stem of the Portuguese branch of the

House of Castro The House of Castro is an Iberian Nobility, noble lineage present in the since the Middle Ages in the kingdoms of Kingdom of Castile, Castile, Kingdom of Galicia, Galicia, and Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal. Though its exact origins are disputed, t ...

. He was the first Count of Viana (da Foz do Lima), the first

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 the first

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'' ...

Background

Álvaro Pires de Castro (sometimes written as "Peres de Castro" or "Pérez de Castro") was the illegitimate son of the powerful Galician nobleman

Pedro Fernández de Castro Pedro Fernández de Castro (Algeciras, 1342), nicknamed ''el de la Guerra'' ('of the War'), was a powerful Galician noble and military figure of the House of Castro, descended by illegitimate lines from the kings of Castile-Leon- Galicia. Pedr ...

and his mistress Aldonza Lorenzo de Valladares. As a result, he was the half-brother of the powerful Galician nobleman

Fernando Ruiz de Castro Fernando Ruiz de Castro (d. Bayonne, 1377), was a Galician nobleman of the House of Castro and prominent military figure. He was the third Count of Lemos, Trastámara and Sarria. He is often referred to by the appellation "''Toda la lealtad d ...

, the Castilian queen

Juana de Castro Juana de Castro (died 21 August 1374) was queen of Castile, as wife of King Peter of Castile and sister of Inês de Castro. She was the daughter of Pedro Fernández de Castro and Isabel Ponce de Leon. She married King Peter in 1354. Her tomb ...

(wife of King

Peter of Castile Peter ( es, Pedro; 30 August 133423 March 1369), called the Cruel () or the Just (), was King of Castile and León from 1350 to 1369. Peter was the last ruler of the main branch of the House of Ivrea. He was excommunicated by Pope Urban V for ...

) and a full brother of the controversial

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 ...

, mistress and consort of King

Peter 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 Portug ...

. The Galician

Castro Castro is a Romance language word that originally derived from Latin ''castrum'', a pre-Roman military camp or fortification (cf: Greek: ''kastron''; Proto-Celtic:''*Kassrik;'' br, kaer, *kastro). The English-language equivalent is '' chester''. ...

family had strong connections to the

Kingdom of Portugal The Kingdom of Portugal ( la, Regnum Portugalliae, pt, Reino de Portugal) was a monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also kno ...

, to which they were intermittently exiled.

came to Portugal in 1340, in the capacity of a maid to

Constanza Manuel Constanza Manuel of Villena (ca. 1316 – 13 January 1349), was a Castilian noblewoman who by her two marriages was Queen consort of Castile and Infanta of Portugal. Early years and first marriage: Queen of Castile Born in Castillo de Garcimu ...

. But Constanza's husband, Infante Peter, fell in love with the young Inês, and carried on openly with her, much to the scandal of the Portuguese court. Peter'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 ...

had tried to banish her, but to no avail. Inês brother, Álvaro Pires de Castro, came to Portugal sometime in the 1340s, and ingratiated himself in the company of Infante Peter. The influence of Álvaro and other exiled Galician-Castilian nobles upon Infante Peter alarmed Afonso IV, who feared they might drag Portugal into the internal quarrels of neighboring Castile, part of which were orchestrated by their half-brother Fernando Ruiz de Castro. At length, when it became clear that the Castros were pushing Infante Peter to declare himself pretender to the throne of Castile-León, Afonso IV authorized the assassination of Inês de Castro in 1355. This setback to the Castros was quickly reversed in 1357, when Afonso IV died and Infante Peter ascended to the throne as King

. Álvaro Pires de Castro was once again in the saddle, and quickly became one of the most influential men in Peter I's court and one of the most powerful men in the kingdom. At Peter I death in 1367, his son (from Constance) ascended as King

Ferdinand I of Portugal Ferdinand I ( pt, Fernando; 31 October 1345 – 22 October 1383), sometimes called the Handsome () or occasionally the Inconstant (), was the King of Portugal from 1367 until his death in 1383. His death led to the 1383–85 crisis, also k ...

, but the succession was contested by other parties. With the resolution of 1371, Álvaro Pires de Castro was settled by Ferdinand I in Portugal with the title of Count of Viana (da Foz do Lima). His power only grew from there. Álvaro Pires de Castro, his grown son Pedro de Castro and his nephews (Inês's surviving sons)

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

and Denis, formed a powerful clique in Ferdinand's kingdom, at first in alliance with the powerful queen

Leonor Telles de Menezes Leonor Teles (or Teles de Meneses; ) was queen consort of Portugal by marriage to King Ferdinand I, and one of the protagonists, along with her brothers and her daughter Beatrice, of the events that led to the succession crisis of 1383–1385 ...

, but gradually distanced himself from her. Ferdinand I went on to appoint Álvaro Pires de Castro as the first Count of Arraiolos in 1377. During the 1381-82 Portuguese-Castilian war, Álvaro Pires de Castro was chief commander of the king's army. In 1382, Ferdinand I created the position of

(leader of the Portuguese nobility) and named Álvaro Pires de Castro as its first holder. He was also ''alcaide-mor'' of

for a spell and held the lordships of

Cadaval Cadaval () is a municipality in the Oeste region and Lisbon District of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 14,228,1383–1385 Crisis broke out with the death of Ferdinand in 1383, Álvaro Pires de Castro broke openly with the queen-regent

and tried to secure the succession of his nephews. His relationship with John, Master of Aviz was ambivalent. He originally supported the revolt against the queen, but distanced himself when John proved too indulgent with the towns and unlikely to support the succession of the Castro nephews. Nonetheless, his children Afonso de Castro and Brites de Castro and his daughter-in-law Leonor de Menezes (wife of Pedro de Castro) appear in contemporary records as members of John of Aviz's household, and his grandsons would emerge as significant figures during his reign as

John I of Portugal John I ( pt, João �uˈɐ̃w̃ 11 April 1357 – 14 August 1433), also called John of Aviz, was King of Portugal from 1385 until his death in 1433. He is recognized chiefly for his role in Portugal's victory in a succession war with Casti ...

. Álvaro Pires de Castro died in July, 1384, and he was buried in a tomb alongside his wife in the monastery of São Domingos of

. After his death, the regent John of Aviz nominated his own lieutenant

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 ...

as the second

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 Count of Arraiolos.

Descendants

Álvaro Pires de Castro married Maria Ponce de León (daughter of Pedro Ponce de León, Lord of Marchena) around 1340. They had the following children: *

Pedro de Castro, Lord of Cadaval Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...

, married to Leonor de Meneses, daughter of

João Afonso Telo, 4th Count of Barcelos João Afonso Telo de Menezes (died 1381){{Sfn, Braamcamp Freire, 1921, p=118 was a Portuguese nobleman, 1st Count of Ourém, 1st Count of Viana do Alentejo,{{Sfn, Braamcamp Freire, 1921, p=120 and 4th Count of Barcelos. Life João Afonso Telo ...

Isabel of Castro Isabel is a female name of Spanish origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of '' Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew '' Elisheva''), Arising in the 12th century, it became popu ...

, wife of Pedro Enriquez of Castile, Count of Trastámara * Afonso de Castro, Lord of Castro Verde * * Brites de Castro, wife of Pedro Nuñez de Lara, Count of Mayorga

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pires de Castro, Alvaro Portuguese nobility People from Lisbon Constables of Portugal 1310 births 1384 deaths 14th-century Portuguese people House of Castro