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 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 ...

. The dramatic circumstances of her relationship with Peter (at the time Prince of Portugal), which was forbidden by his father King Afonso IV, her murder at the orders of Afonso, Peter's bloody revenge on her killers, and the legend of the coronation of her exhumed corpse by Peter, have made Inês de Castro a frequent subject of art, music, and drama through the ages.

Biography

Inês was the natural daughter of

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 ...

, Lord of Lemos and Sarria, and his noble Portuguese mistress Aldonça Lourenço de Valadares. Her family descended both from the Galician and Portuguese nobilities. She was also well connected to the Castilian royal family, by illegitimate descent. Her stepmother was Infanta Beatrix of Portugal, the youngest daughter of

Afonso of Portugal, Lord of Portalegre Infante Afonso of Portugal (8 February 1263, in Lisbon – 2 November 1312, in Lisbon; ; or ''Alphonse'') was a Portuguese ''infante'' (prince), son of King Afonso III of Portugal and his second wife Beatrice of Castile. He was titled Lord of ...

and

Violante Manuel Violante Manuel of Castile (c. 1265 – Lisbon, 1314) was a Castilian noble, daughter of Manuel of Castile and his first wife Constance of Aragon. She was Lady of Elche, Elda, Novelda, Medellín and half of Peñafiel in her own right. Tom ...

. Her grandmother was

Violante Sánchez of Castile Violante Sánchez of Castile (before 1281 — after January 1330), was a Castilian noblewoman and by marriage Lady of Lemos, Sarria, Cabrera and Ribera. In her own right, she was Lady of Ucero, Oímbra and Vilamartín de Valdeorras, among other ...

, Lady of Uzero, the illegitimate daughter of

Sancho IV of Castile Sancho IV of Castile (12 May 1258 – 25 April 1295) called the Brave (''el Bravo''), was the king of Castile, León and Galicia from 1284 to his death. Following his brother Ferdinand's death, he gained the support of nobles that ...

. Her great-great grandfather was Rodrigo Alfonso de León, Lord of Aliger, the illegitimate son of

Alfonso IX of León Alfonso IX (15 August 117123 or 24 September 1230) was King of León and Galicia from the death of his father Ferdinand II in 1188 until his own death. He took steps towards modernizing and democratizing his dominion and founded the University ...

. She was also legitimately descended from Infanta Sancha Henriques of Portugal, the daughter of

Henry, Count of Portugal Henry (Portuguese: ''Henrique'', French: ''Henri''; c. 10661112), Count of Portugal, was the first member of the Capetian House of Burgundy to rule Portugal and the father of the country's first king, Afonso Henriques. Biographical sketch Fam ...

. Inês came to Portugal in 1340 as a lady-in-waiting of

Constance of Castile Constance of Castile (1136 or 1140 – 4 October 1160) was Queen of France as the second wife of Louis VII, who married her following the annulment of his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine. She was a daughter of Alfonso VII of León and Berengari ...

, recently married to

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 ...

, the heir apparent to the Portuguese throne. The prince fell in love with her and started to neglect his lawful wife, endangering the already feeble relations with Castile. Moreover, Peter's love for Inês brought the exiled Castilian nobility very close to power, with Inês's brothers becoming the prince's friends and trusted advisors. 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 ...

, Peter's father, disliked Inês's influence on his son and waited for their mutual infatuation to wear off, but it did not. Constance of Castile died in 1345. Afonso IV tried several times to arrange for his son to be remarried, but Pedro refused to take a wife other than Inês, who was not deemed eligible to be queen. Peter's legitimate son, future 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 ...

, was a frail child, whereas Peter and Inês's illegitimate children were thriving; this created even more discomfort among the Portuguese nobles, who feared the increasing Castilian influence over Peter. Afonso IV banished Inês from the court after Constance's death, but Peter remained with her declaring her as his true love. After several attempts to keep the lovers apart, Afonso IV ordered Inês's death. Pêro Coelho, Álvaro Gonçalves, and Diogo Lopes Pacheco went to the

Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha The ruins of the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha (Old St. Clare) are located in the city of Coimbra, in Portugal. The monastery was built in the 14th century on the left bank of the Mondego River, but had to be abandoned in the 17th century due t ...

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto, and Bra ...

, where Inês was detained, and killed her, decapitating her in front of her small child. When Peter heard of this he sought out the killers and managed to capture two of them in 1361. He executed them publicly by ripping their hearts out, claiming they didn't have one after having pulverized his own heart. Peter became king of Portugal in 1357 (

). He then stated that he had secretly married Inês, who was consequently the lawful queen, although his word was, and still is, the only proof of the marriage. During the 1383–85 Crisis of royal succession in Portugal,

João das Regras João das Regras (??? - 3 May 1404), in English, literally John of the Rules, was a Portuguese jurist of the second half of the 14th century. In the context of the 1383—1385 Crisis, in Portugal, he stood out for his masterly representation for ...

produced evidence that allegedly established that

Pope Innocent VI Pope Innocent VI ( la, Innocentius VI; 1282 or 1295 – 12 September 1362), born Étienne Aubert, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 December 1352 to his death in September 1362. He was the fifth Avignon pope a ...

had refused Peter's request to recognize his marriage to Inês and legitimize his children by her, the elder of whom,

John, Duke of Valencia de Campos John of Portugal ( pt, João ), occasionally surnamed Castro (1352), was the eldest surviving son of King Peter I of Portugal by his mistress Inês de Castro. He was a potential but unsuccessful contender for the Portuguese throne during the 138 ...

would have a strong potential claim to the throne of Portugal. By negating these children's claimed legitimacy, João das Regras strengthened the claim of another illegitimate child of Peter I of Portugal: John, Master of Aviz, who ultimately took the throne and ruled 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 ...

. Some sources say that after Peter became king of Portugal, he had Inês' body exhumed from her grave and forced the entire court to swear allegiance to their new queen: "The king etercaused the body of his beloved Inês to be disinterred, and placed on a throne, adorned with the diadem and royal robes. and required all the nobility of the kingdom to approach and kiss the hem of her garment, rendering her when dead that homage which she had not received in her life..." Some modern sources characterize the story of the Inês' post-mortem coronation is a "legend." and it is most likely a myth, since the story only appeared in 1577 in Jerónimo Bermúdez' play ''Nise Laureada.'' She was later buried at the

Monastery of Alcobaça A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

where her coffin can still be seen, opposite Peter's so that, according to the legend, at the

Last Judgment The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

Peter and Inês can look at each other as they rise from their graves. Both marble coffins are exquisitely sculpted with scenes from their lives and a promise by Peter that they would be together ''até ao fim do mundo'' (until the end of the world). Inês de Castro and Peter I had the following children, who were legitimized by Peter I on 19 March 1361: *Afonso, died shortly after birth. *

, claimant to the throne during the 1383–85 Crisis. * Denis, Lord of Cifuentes, claimant to the throne during the 1383–1385 Crisis. * Beatrice, married

Sancho Alfonso, 1st Count of Alburquerque The name Sancho is an Iberian name of Basque origin (Santxo, Santzo, Santso, Antzo, Sans). Sancho stems from the Latin name Sanctius.Eichler, Ernst; Hilty, Gerold; Löffler, Heinrich; Steger, Hugo; Zgusta, Ladislav: ''Namenforschung/Name Studies/ ...

and was thereby the great-grandmother of

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia from ...

. And thereby an ancestor of all spanish monarchs.

Inês de Castro in literature and music

Inês de Castro's story is immortalized in several plays and poems in Portuguese, such as '' The Lusíadas'' by

Luís de Camões Luís Vaz de Camões (; sometimes rendered in English as Camoens or Camoëns, ; c. 1524 or 1525 – 10 June 1580) is considered Portugal's and the Portuguese language's greatest poet. His mastery of verse has been compared to that of Shakespear ...

(canto iii, stanzas 118-135), and Spanish, such as ''Nise lastimosa'' and ''Nise laureada'' (1577) by

Jerónimo Bermúdez Jerónimo Bermúdez de Castro (1530–1599) was a playwright of the Spanish Golden Age. Biography He belonged to the order of St. Dominic, and was professor of theology at Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of ...

, ''Reinar despues de morir'' by

Luís Vélez de Guevara Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archai ...

, as well as by the comtesse de Genlis (Inès de Castro, 1826), and in a play by French playwright

Henry de Montherlant Henry Marie Joseph Frédéric Expedite Millon de Montherlant (; 20 April 1895 – 21 September 1972) was a French essayist, novelist, and dramatist. He was elected to the Académie française in 1960. Biography Born in Paris, a descendant o ...

called ''La Reine morte'' (''The Dead Queen''). ''Inês de Castro'' is a novel by Maria Pilar Queralt del Hierro ( es) in Spanish and Portuguese. Works written in English include

Aphra Behn Aphra Behn (; bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator from the Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writing, she broke cultural barrie ...

's novel '' Agnes de Castro, or, the Force of Generous Love'' (1688); and

Catharine Trotter Cockburn Catharine Trotter Cockburn (16 August 1679 – 11 May 1749) was an English novelist, dramatist, and philosopher. She wrote on moral philosophy, theological tracts, and had a voluminous correspondence. Trotter's work addresses a range of issues ...

's play '' Agnes de Castro'' (1695).

Mary Russell Mitford Mary Russell Mitford (16 December 1787 – 10 January 1855) was an English author and dramatist. She was born at New Alresford, Alresford in Hampshire. She is best known for ''Our Village'', a series of sketches of village scenes and vividly dr ...

also wrote a drama from the story entitled ''Inez de Castro. The Undiscovered Island,'' a novel in English by Darrell Kastin, features a descendant's version of the events in the tragedy of Inês de Castro and Dom Pedro. It was published in 2009 by Tagus Press, University of Mass, Dartmouth.

Felicia Hemans Felicia Dorothea Hemans (25 September 1793 – 16 May 1835) was an English poet (who identified as Welsh by adoption). Two of her opening lines, "The boy stood on the burning deck" and "The stately homes of England", have acquired classic statu ...

' poem ''The Coronation of Inez de Castro'' first appeared in

The New Monthly Magazine ''The New Monthly Magazine'' was a British monthly magazine published from 1814 to 1884. It was founded by Henry Colburn and published by him through to 1845. History Colburn and Frederic Shoberl established ''The New Monthly Magazine and Univer ...

in 1828. She is a recurring figure in Ezra Pound's ''

The Cantos ''The Cantos'' by Ezra Pound is a long, incomplete poem in 120 sections, each of which is a ''canto''. Most of it was written between 1915 and 1962, although much of the early work was abandoned and the early cantos, as finally published, date ...

''. She appears first at the end of Canto III, in the lines ''Ignez da Castro murdered, and a wall/Here stripped, here made to stand''. There have been over 20 operas and ballets created about Inês de Castro. Operas from the 18th and 19th centuries include: *''Ines di Castro'' by Bernhard Anselm Weber (1790,

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

) *''Ines di Castro'' by

Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli (; 4 April 1752 – 5 May 1837) was an Italian composer, chiefly of opera. Life Early career Zingarelli was born in Naples, where he studied (from the age of 7) at the Santa Maria di Loreto Conservatory under Fena ...

(1798) *''Ines de Castro'' by

Walter Savage Landor Walter Savage Landor (30 January 177517 September 1864) was an English writer, poet, and activist. His best known works were the prose ''Imaginary Conversations,'' and the poem "Rose Aylmer," but the critical acclaim he received from contempora ...

(1831) *''Ines de Castro'' by

Giuseppe Persiani Giuseppe Persiani (11 September 1799 – 13 August 1869) was an Italian opera composer. Persiani was born in Recanati. He wrote his first opera - one of 11 - in 1826 but, after his marriage to the soprano Fanny Tacchinardi Persiani, who w ...

to a libretto by

Salvadore Cammarano Salvadore Cammarano (also Salvatore) (born Naples, 19 March 1801 – died Naples 17 July 1852) was a prolific Italian librettist and playwright perhaps best known for writing the text of ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' (1835) for Gaetano Donizetti. For D ...

(1835) *''Ines di Castro'' by Pietro Antonio Coppola (1842, Lisbon) In modern times, Inês de Castro has continued to inspire operatic works, including: *''Ines de Castro'' by Scottish composer

James MacMillan Sir James Loy MacMillan, (born 16 July 1959) is a Scottish classical composer and conductor. Early life MacMillan was born at Kilwinning, in North Ayrshire, but lived in the East Ayrshire town of Cumnock until 1977. His father is James MacMi ...

. This work was first performed at the 1996

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially classical music) and the performing arts are i ...

*' (''Rage'') in German by

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

composer

Andrea Lorenzo Scartazzini Andrea Lorenzo Scartazzini (born 1971) is a Swiss composer whose operas have been performed at leading European opera houses. Career Born in Basel, he studied there German studies and Italian studies. He changed to studying composition with Rud ...

. The world premiere of this work was given at the

Theater Erfurt The Theater Erfurt is a German municipal theatre located in Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia. The main stage is in a building in the Brühlervorstadt, completed in 2003. The theatre offers musical theatre and concerts, played by the Philharmonisc ...

, Germany, on 9 September 2006. *''Ines de Castro'' by American composer

Thomas Pasatieri Thomas Pasatieri (born October 20, 1945) is an American opera composer. Life and career Pasatieri was born in New York City, United States. He began composing at age 10 and, as a teenager, studied with Nadia Boulanger. He entered the Juilliard S ...

. This work premiered in 1976 with the

Baltimore Opera Company The Baltimore Opera Company (BOC) was an opera company in Baltimore, Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, U.S.A., based at the Baltimore Lyric Opera House. On 12 March 2009, the 58-year-old opera company announced plans to pursue Chapte ...

. *''Ines'' by Canadian composer

James Rolfe James D. Rolfe (born July 10, 1980) is an American YouTuber, online personality, filmmaker, and actor. He is best known for creating and starring in the comedic retrogaming web series '' The Angry Video Game Nerd'' (2004–present). His spin-of ...

. Premiered in 2009 by the Queen of Puddings Music Theatre Company in Toronto. In addition, Portuguese composer

Pedro Camacho Pedro Macedo Camacho is a Portuguese composer of classical music as well as film and video game scores. He is known for his Requiem to Inês de Castro, his score for ''Star Citizen'' and for his contribution to World of Warcraft: Shadowlands. Bi ...

(born 1979) composed the Requiem to Inês de Castro, first performed on March 28, 2012 in

New Cathedral of Coimbra The New Cathedral of Coimbra (Portuguese: Sé Nova de Coimbra) or the Cathedral of the Holy name of Jesus is the current bishopric seat of the city of Coimbra, in Portugal. The Cathedral is located near the historical University of Coimbra in the ...

on the occasion of 650 years of the transportation of Ines de Castro's body from

Alcobaça Monastery The Alcobaça Monastery ( pt, Mosteiro de Alcobaça, ''Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça'') is a Catholic monastic complex located in the town of Alcobaça, Portugal, Alcobaça, in central Portugal, some 120 km north of Lisbon. The monaste ...

. Christopher Bochman, with the Lisbon Youth Orchestra, has produced an opera "Corpo E Alma" (Body and Soul) focusing on Pedro's transition from a sensual to a spiritual love following her death, drawing on various aspects of the tale.(a live recording was made with the assistance of the Portuguese Ministry of Culture and others).

Popular culture

The 2005 TV series '' Pedro e Inês'' recounts the love story. The 2018 film ''Pedro e Inês'' (released as ''The Dead Queen'' internationally), based on the novel by

Rosa Lobato de Faria Rosa Lobato de Faria (, Rosa Maria de Bettencourt Rodrigues Lobato de Faria; 20 April 1932, Lisbon, Portugal – 2 February 2010, Lisbon) was a Portuguese actress and writer whose career encompassed a variety of media including acting, scriptwrit ...

retells the story of Inês de Castro (played by

Joana de Verona Joana de Verona (born 8 December 1989) is a Brazilian-Portuguese actress. She has appeared in more than forty films and series since 2001. She graduated with an MFA in Theater from the Lisbon Theatre and Film School. She has worked with theater ...

) and King

(

Diogo Amaral Diogo Maria Mendes Leal Pereira do Amaral (born 26 November 1981) is a Portuguese actor and model who voices foreign media in the European Portuguese language.http://pt.hukol.net/themenreihe.p?c=Dubladores%20por%20nacionalidade Voice roles ...

). The film was met with some acclaim, winning 5 awards including Best Ensemble - National Competition at the CinEuphoria Awards 2019. Director António Ferreira received best director at Prémios Fantastic (2019) and Premios Aquila (2020).

Notes

References

* ''Diccionario histórico, genealógico y heráldico de las familias ilustres de la Monarquia Espanola'', Ed. Luis Vilar y Pascual, Juan José Vilar Psayla, Imprenta de D.F. Sanchez A Cargo de Augustin Espinosa, 1859. *

External links