Infante Diogo of Viseu (1450–1484) was the second son of
Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, and his wife
Beatriz, Duchess of Viseu.
History
In 1472, when his older brother
John, Duke of Viseu, died without issue, Diogo inherited his titles and estates as
Duke of Viseu and
Duke of Beja.
Diogo was a popular personality at the court of his cousin King
John II, 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 Afri ...
.
Duke Fernando II of Braganza, husband of
Isabella of Viseu, 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 ...
. 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 t ...
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,
Infante 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. 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
See also
*
Duke of Beja
*
Duke of Viseu
*
List of Portuguese Dukedoms
The highest hereditary title in the Portuguese monarchy. By tradition, there are a total of five royal and seven non-royal dukes in Portugal, out of 28 dukedoms that have ever been created. In the majority of cases, the title of duke was attribute ...
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
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