Afonso II of Portugal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Afonso II | |
| King of Portugal | |
 17th century painting of Afonso II. |
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| Reign | March 26, 1212—March 25, 1223 |
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| Full name | Afonso Sanches of Portugal |
| Titles | Infante of Portugal (1185–1212) |
| Born | April 23, 1185 |
| Birthplace | Coimbra, Kingdom of Portugal |
| Died | March 25, 1223 |
| Place of death | Coimbra, Kingdom of Portugal |
| Buried | Santa Cruz Monastery, Coimbra, District of Coimbra, Portugal |
| Predecessor | Sancho I of Portugal |
| Heirs | Infante Sancho (future Sancho II) (1212–1223) |
| Successor | Sancho II of Portugal |
| Consort | Infanta Urraca of Castile |
| Issue | Infante Sancho (future Sancho II) (1207–1248) Infante Afonso (1210–1279) Infanta Leonor, Queen of Denmark (1211–1231) Infante Fernando, Lord of Serpa (a. 1217–c. 1243) Infante Vicente (1219) |
| Royal House | Capetian House of Burgundy |
| Dynasty | Affonsine Dynasty |
| Father | Sancho I of Portugal |
| Mother | Dulce Berenguer of Barcelona, Infanta of Aragon |
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| Afonso Henriques (Afonso I) |
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| Sancho I |
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| Afonso II |
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| Sancho II |
| Afonso III |
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| Denis |
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| Afonso IV |
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| Peter I |
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| Ferdinand I |
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| Beatrice (disputed queen) |
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Afonso II (Portuguese pronounced [ɐˈfõsu]; English Alphonzo), or Affonso (Archaic Portuguese), Alfonso or Alphonso (Portuguese-Galician) or Alphonsus (Latin version), nicknamed "the Fat" (Portuguese o Gordo), third king of Portugal, was born in Coimbra on April 23, 1185 and died on March 25, 1223 in the same city. He was the second but eldest surviving son of Sancho I of Portugal by his wife, Dulce Berenguer of Barcelona, Infanta of Aragon. Afonso succeeded his father in 1212.
As a king, Afonso II set a different approach of government. Hitherto, his father Sancho I and his grandfather Afonso I, were mostly concerned with military issues either against the neighbouring Kingdom of Castile or against the Moorish lands in the south. Afonso did not pursue territory enlargement policies and managed to insure peace with Castile during his reign. Despite this, some towns, like Alcácer do Sal in 1217, were conquered from the Moors by the private initiative of noblemen. This does not mean that he was a weak or somehow cowardly man. The first years of his reign were marked instead by internal disturbances between Afonso and his brothers and sisters. The king managed to keep security within Portuguese borders only by outlawing and exiling his kin.
Since military issues were not a government priority, Afonso established the state's administration and centralized power on himself. He designed the first set of Portuguese written laws. These were mainly concerned with private property, civil justice, and minting. Afonso also sent ambassadors to European kingdoms outside the Iberian Peninsula and began amiable commercial relations with most of them.
Other reforms included the always delicate matters with the pope. In order to get the independence of Portugal recognized by Rome, his grandfather, Afonso I, had to legislate an enormous amount of privileges to the Church. These eventually created a state within the state. With Portugal's position as a country firmly established, Afonso II endeavoured to weaken the power of the clergy and to apply a portion of the enormous revenues of the Roman Catholic church to purposes of national utility. These actions led to a serious diplomatic conflict between the pope and Portugal. After being excommunicated for his audacities by Pope Honorius III, Afonso II promised to make amends to the church, but he died in 1223 before making any serious attempts to do so.
[edit] Marriage and descendants
Afonso married Infanta Urraca of Castile, daughter of Alfonso VIII, King of Castile, and Leonora of Aquitaine, in 1208.
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
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| By Urraca of Castile (1186-1220; married in 1208) | |||
| Infante Sancho | September 8, 1207 | January 4, 1248 | Succeeded him as Sancho II, 4th King of Portugal. |
| Infante Afonso | May 5, 1210 | February 16, 1279 | Succeeded his brother Sancho as Afonso III, 5th King of Portugal. |
| Infanta Leonor (Eleanor) | 1211 | 1231 | Married Prince Valdemar, son of Valdemar II of Denmark and Margaret of Bohemia, daughter of Ottokar I of Bohemia. |
| Infante Fernando | a. 1217 | c. 1243 | Lord of Serpa. |
| Vicente | 1219 | 1219 | |
| Natural offspring | |||
| João Afonso | ? | 1234 | Natural son. |
| Pedro Afonso | c. 1210 | ? | Natural son. |
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
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Afonso II of Portugal
Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty
Born: 23 April 1185 Died: 25 March 1223 |
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| Regnal titles | ||
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| Preceded by Sancho I |
King of Portugal 1211 – 1223 |
Succeeded by Sancho II |
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