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

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

) was a powerful Galician- Portuguese nobleman, stem of the Portuguese branch of the House of Castro. 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 wif ...

and the first

Constable of Portugal Constable of Portugal ({{langx, pt, Condestável de Portugal) was an office created by King Ferdinand I of Portugal in 1382, to replace the High Standard-bearer ('' Alferes-Mor'') as the head of the Portuguese Military. It was also referred as the ...

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 and his mistress Aldonza Lorenzo de Valladares. As a result, he was the half-brother of the powerful Galician nobleman Fernando Ruiz de Castro, the Castilian queen Juana de Castro (wife of King

Peter of Castile Peter (; 30 August 133423 March 1369), called Peter 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 h ...

) and a full brother of the controversial Inês de Castro, mistress and consort of King

Peter I of Portugal Peter I (; 8 April 1320 – 18 January 1367), known as Peter the Just () or Peter the Cruel (), was King of Portugal from 1357 until his death in 1367. Early life Born on 8 April 1320 in Coimbra, Peter was the fifth child of Afonso of Portuga ...

. The Galician Castro family had strong connections to the

Kingdom of Portugal The Kingdom of Portugal was a Portuguese monarchy, 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 known as the Kingdom of Portugal a ...

, to which they were intermittently exiled. Inês de Castro came to Portugal in 1340, in the capacity of a maid to Constanza Manuel. 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 (), was King of Portugal from 1325 ...

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 (; 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. He was also briefly made King of Galicia, in 1369 (a claim whi ...

, 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 * Second E ...

and Denis, formed a powerful clique in Ferdinand's kingdom, at first in alliance with the powerful queen Leonor Telles de Menezes, 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 intermunicipal community 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 Leonor Telles de Menezes 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 ( WP:IPA for Portuguese, �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 1383–85 crisi ...

. 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 '' Dom'' Nuno Álvares Pereira, OCarm (; 24 June 1360 – 1 November 1431) was a very successful Portuguese general who had a decisive role in the 1383–1385 Crisis that assured Portugal's independence from Castile. He later became a my ...

as the second

constable of Portugal Constable of Portugal ({{langx, pt, Condestável de Portugal) was an office created by King Ferdinand I of Portugal in 1382, to replace the High Standard-bearer ('' Alferes-Mor'') as the head of the Portuguese Military. It was also referred as the ...

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, married to Leonor de Meneses, daughter of João Afonso Telo, 4th Count of Barcelos * Brites de Castro, wife of Pedro Nuñez de Lara, Count of Mayorga * Isabel of Castro, wife of Pedro Enriquez of Castile, Count of Trastámara * Afonso de Castro, Lord of Castro Verde

References

Bibliography

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