Teresa Lourenço (

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 ...

, 1330 – ?), was the lover 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 ...

and mother of King

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 ...

Life

According to Fernão Lopes, a 15th-century Portuguese chronicler, she was a noble called Dona Tareija Lourenço from the

Kingdom of Galicia The Kingdom of Galicia was a political entity located in southwestern Europe, which at its territorial zenith occupied the entire northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. In the early 10th century, the Kingdom of Galicia was formed following the div ...

, but later it was established, first in the eighteenth century by António Caetano de Sousa who found a document in the

Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo Arquivo may refer to: *Portuguese and Spanish word for archive *''Arquivo (album)'', an album by Os Paralamas do Sucesso *An album by Yahoo (band), Yahoo {{Dab ...

, that she was a common woman from Lisbon. Her parents were Lourenço and Sancha Martins, who were merchants. She had a love affair with King

after the assassination of Inês de Castro. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son

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 ...

. King Peter confided the boy to Teresa's father Lourenço, to give the boy a good education and raise him to be a knight. In 1364, John was created Grand Master of the

Order of Aviz The Military Order of Aviz (), known previously to 1910 as the Royal Military Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz (), and before 1789 as the Knights of Saint Benedict of Aviz () or ''Friars of Santa Maria of Évora'', is one of the four former ancien ...

. He even became King of Portugal (r. 1385–1433), after the 1383–1385 Crisis. After the birth of John, nothing further is known about Teresa. Through John, Teresa is the ancestor of an impressive list of royals, who include

Charles the Bold Charles Martin (10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), called the Bold, was the last duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois-Burgundy, ruling from 1467 to 1477. He was the only surviving legitimate son of Philip the Good and his third wife, ...

Isabella I of Castile Isabella I (; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''Isabel la Católica''), was Queen of Castile and List of Leonese monarchs, León from 1474 until her death in 1504. She was also Queen of Aragon ...

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death in 1519. He was never crowned by the Pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed hi ...

Henry the Navigator Princy Henry of Portugal, Duke of Viseu ( Portuguese: ''Infante Dom Henrique''; 4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator (), was a Portuguese prince and a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese ...

and

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) ...

References

14th-century Portuguese people 14th-century Portuguese women People from Lisbon Mistresses of Portuguese royalty Year of death unknown Date of death unknown 1330 births Mothers of Portuguese monarchs Peter I of Portugal {{Portugal-bio-stub