Maria of Portugal, Duchess of Viseu (18 June 1521 – 10 October 1577; ) was an Infanta of Portugal, the only daughter of King

Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was list of Portuguese monarchs, King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Duke of Viseu, Viseu prior to su ...

and

Eleanor of Austria Eleanor of Austria (15 November 1498 – 25 February 1558), also called Eleanor of Castile, was born an Archduchess of Austria and Infanta of Castile from the House of Habsburg, and subsequently became Queen consort of Portugal (1518–1 ...

. A noted patron of the arts and buildings, Maria's personal wealth rivaled that of her half-brother, King

John III of Portugal John III ( pt, João III ; 7 June 1502 – 11 June 1557), nicknamed The Pious ( Portuguese: ''o Piedoso''), was the King of Portugal and the Algarves from 1521 until his death in 1557. He was the son of King Manuel I and Maria of Aragon, the ...

, making her the richest woman in Portugal and one of the wealthiest princesses in Europe.

Youth

Maria de Avíz was born on 18 June 1521, in Lisbon,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

. She was the only daughter of King

and Archduchess

. Six months after her birth, her father died of the plague and was succeeded by her half-brother,

. Shortly afterwards, her mother returned to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

with Maria until 1530, when Eleanor married King

Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin onc ...

and moved to France. Maria would not see her mother for nearly 28 years and was sent to live in Portugal at her half-brother's court. In 1525 her maternal aunt, Catherine of Austria, married John III of Portugal. The Queen took care of the upbringing and education of Maria, who was loved like one of her own daughters. Maria's education was astounding for a woman of her time since her teachers included female scholars, such as humanists Joana Vaz and

Públia Hortênsia de Castro Públia Hortênsia de Castro (1548–1595) was a scholar and humanist in the court of Catherine of Austria, Queen of Portugal. Born in 1548 in Vila Viçosa, Portugal, she was named for Hortensia, the famous Roman orator and daughter of Quint ...

. Lessons included

finances Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fi ...

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to inclu ...

, and several languages. One of the most educated of the Portuguese infantas, Maria became a famed humanist and protector of the arts. Her household was made into a sort of female university, where the greatest minds would converge. It was rumored that she fell in love with Portugal's greatest poet,

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 Shakespe ...

. Although she did not lack suitors and had several marriage proposals, Maria never married. Her engagement with Dauphin Francis was negotiated with the support of her mother Eleanor, but the prince died in 1536. In 1537, Maria and her cousin Christina, Dowager Duchess of Milan, were briefly considered as possible brides for

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...

. However, England soon dropped any pursuit. Maria was considered as a second wife for her cousin and half-nephew, the future

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal fro ...

, son of her uncle,

Emperor Charles V Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fr ...

, and her half-sister Isabella. The matter was taken under serious consideration from 1549 onward, when her mother settled in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, but these plans were discontinued when Mary Tudor succeeded to the English throne in 1553 and Charles V decided to marry his son Philip to a monarch.Julia Cartwright: Christina of Denmark. Duchess of Milan and Lorraine. 1522–1590, New York, 1913 Other candidates for her hand were Archduke Maximilian of Austria; his father

Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I ( es, Fernando I; 10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek: Cetin, grad izbornog sa ...

;

James V of Scotland James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV and Margaret Tudor, and dur ...

; and the

Duke of Savoy The titles of count, then of duke of Savoy are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the county was held by the House of Savoy. The County of Savoy was elevated to a duchy at th ...

Duchess of Viseu

Eventually, King John III gave Maria her own household and the

Duchy of Viseu Duke of Viseu (in Portuguese ''Duque de Viseu'') was a Portuguese Royal Dukedom created in 1415 by King John I of Portugal for his third male child, Henry the Navigator, following the conquest of Ceuta. When Henry the Navigator died without ...

, which their father owned before he became king. Under her rule, the city continued and prospered its several industries of

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and po ...

embroidery Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen ...

and

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish ...

. Her personal wealth eventually rivaled that of the king, making her the richest woman in Portugal and one of the wealthiest princesses in Europe. Receiving such

income Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. F ...

s, Maria sponsored several building projects, particularly in

Carnide Carnide () is a '' freguesia'' (civil parish) and district of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Located in northern Lisbon, Carnide is north of São Domingos de Benfica and Benfica, east of Lumiar, and directly south of Lisbon's border with Odi ...

and the Lisbon countryside. She financed and supervised the construction of the Church of Nossa Senhora da Luz and the Hospital of Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres, which currently houses the

Colégio Militar ''Colégio Militar'' ( Portuguese for "Military College") is a military secondary school in Lisbon, Portugal. It was founded by Marechal António Teixeira Rebello in 1803. History Its initial location was S. Julião da Barra Fort, in Oeiras. I ...

, both of which still boast large reliefs of her personal coat of arms. In Lisbon, she sponsored the construction of the

Church of Santa Engrácia The Church of Santa Engrácia ( pt, Igreja de Santa Engrácia, ) is a 17th-century monument in Lisbon, Portugal. Originally a church it was converted into the National Pantheon (''Panteão Nacional'', ), in which important Portuguese personalit ...

, in São Vicente. The original structure she ordered to be built would be completely destroyed in 1681, which would lead to the construction of the new current church, which now serves as the National Pantheon of Portugal.

Later life

After her half-brother John's death in 1558, Maria went to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

to meet her widowed mother for the first time in 28 years. Eleanor asked her unwed daughter to come and live with her and her aunt Mary, but Maria refused the request and only remained there for three weeks before returning to Lisbon. Eleanor died very shortly afterwards on her return journey to Jarandilla de la Vera from

Badajoz Badajoz (; formerly written ''Badajos'' in English) is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana. The populatio ...

. During the tumultuous period of the minority of young

King Sebastian Sebastian ( pt, Sebastião I ; 20 January 1554 – 4 August 1578) was King of Portugal from 11 June 1557 to 4 August 1578 and the penultimate Portuguese monarch of the House of Aviz. He was the son of João Manuel, Prince of Portugal, and hi ...

, a faction of the Portuguese nobility wanted the Duchess of Viseu to replace Queen Dowager Catherine as

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

, but these plans came to nothing. Maria died in Lisbon on October 10, 1577, at the age of 56. She was buried in the Church of Nossa Senhora da Luz.

Ancestry

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Maria, Infanta Of Portugal 1521 births 1577 deaths House of Aviz People from Lisbon 16th-century Portuguese people 16th-century Portuguese women Daughters of kings

Youth

Duchess of Viseu

Later life

Ancestry

See also

References