Dom Afonso Henriques

Eric Pratt

English 403: Dr. Raymond

I-Search

October 29, 2012

Dom Afonso Henriques

            The grey statue of Portugal’s founder stood atop a column of stone in the middle of the citadel known as Castle Saint George in Lisbon. I did not know the name of this noble looking figure, so I came closer to see the inscription on the magnificent plaque at its base, “The Founder of Portugal, Dom Afonso Henriques, 1109 – 1184”. Each person who looked up at the old armored king with a magnificent mustache gave the statue a nod, as if in gratitude or respect. I came to understand that this man, was not only Portugal’s founder, but he had done something to earn the respect of over 900 years worth of Portuguese subjects. In his quest for kingship and sovereignty, Afonso had fought family, defied the more powerful Christian kings of the Spanish peninsula, and reclaimed the Old Portuguese lands to the south in crusade against the Moors. I wanted to know when I started this project, what made Afonso different from other crusader kings in Iberia, why he had chosen this path instead of the one chosen by his family, and if this character was worthy of my potential talents as a novelist.

            The research for this project actually started about seven years ago, when I was a missionary in Portugal. In the city of Évora, I had learned that an outlaw by the name of Geraldo the Fearless was so inspired by this Afonso that he gave up his life of crime, and with his band of outlaws, he took the city in one night using tactics similar to U.S. Special Forces. Every city that I lived in, or visited from then on claimed some sort of connection to Afonso. The difficult part of the research began with the interviews of tour guides, and old men who were patient enough to listen to my bad Portuguese. So entranced they still were, that I heard legends of a man so strong that ten men were needed to carry his sword, and so religious that he saw visions of angels and divinity prior to decisive battles. The first part of my research was thus dedicated to separating the man from the myth. Wikipedia gave me an overview of Afonso Henriques’ life, calling particular attention to his family, and gave me a basic understanding of the events surrounding his life. I found a book and several other sources cited on Wikipedia which lead to other much more detailed accounts of Afonso’s life. As most of the sources are only available in Portuguese, I could not have hoped to deduce the value of the resources had I not spoken the language. NAU’s library sources online were helpful in finding primary sources from medieval chroniclers, and other scholarly articles. At last, I was able to find a five-part documentary on YouTube about Afonso Henriques that was made on the date of his 900^th birthday. As a result of this research, I began to wonder why Afonso’s family, and particularly his mother, would ever wish anything else besides what Afonso himself had chosen for Portugal. I would like to thank and recognize the good people of Portugal for first teaching me to speak Portuguese so I could understand the books that tell his story, and for capturing my imagination as they retold his story through legend.

            Born in 1109 to Count Henry of Burgundy and Countess Theresa of León, Afonso was the last of one brother and three sisters. Two of his sisters had already died shortly after their births, and his older brother, Henriques, was a sickly child who had died at the age of three shortly after Afonso was born. His parents finally had the heir they needed, to become the next Count of Portugal. They trusted none other to tutor and raise their son, than a trusted Portuguese noble by the name of Egas Moniz. Moniz taught Afonso everything from a knight’s chivalry, the doctrine of crusades and pilgrimages, fighting, and all about politics. Following the death of his father, Afonso dedicated himself to his studies in a way that surpassed even his mother Theresa.

            Following her husband’s death, Countess Theresa promised to rule in her son’s stead until he reached the age of manhood. Theresa ruled, and eventually fell under the influence of the Northern Galician Traba family. After taking Fernand de Traba as her lover, Portugal slowly lost its independence to Galicia. Portugal had one benefit though, Afonso. After seeing the influence that Moniz and other Portuguese nobility and clergy were having over Afonso, Theresa with Fernand banished the then eleven year old boy to Zamora in the west with the Portuguese nobles who spoke out against the rule of the Trabas and Theresa. At age sixteen, Afonso knighted himself and within three years Afonso had gained enough support to offer some resistance against his mother.

            On the field of São Mamede, battle was fought between the mother and son. Afonso’s victory was decisive, and he expelled the unwanted Galicians back to their lands and banished his mother to a convent for her sins and unlawful rule. Afonso at the age of nineteen became the sole ruler, or Duke of Portugal, and set in place a plan to gain Portugal’s independence from León, and become its king.

            This being just a quarter of his life, Afonso would go on to win greater victories and eventually achieve his dreams of a Portuguese Kingdom. Upon his death, Afonso had tripled the lands of Portugal and left his son Sancho, one of the richest kingdoms in Christendom. It is no wonder that every city bears a street with his name, every Portuguese man, woman, and child knows and reveres his name, and that his history is as rich in legend as George Washington’s or even King Arthur’s. Dom Afonso Henriques is a character worthy of multiple novels, but I wonder if I am to someday be that worthy novelist.

Bibliography

Amaral, Diogo Freitas Do. D. Afonso Henriques: Biografia. Lisboa: Bertrand Editora, 2000. Print.

Anderson, James Maxwell. The History of Portugal. Westport, Conn: Greenwood, 2000. Print.

"Cronica Dos Godos (A Chronicle of the Goths)." O Portal Da Historia. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. .

"Gerald the Fearless." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Dec. 2012. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. .

"Manifestis Probatum." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Oct. 2012. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. .

MCXLIIIPortugal. "Dom Afonso Henriques - 1º Rei De Portugal - Parte 1-5." YouTube. YouTube, 23 Mar. 2010. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. .

"Medieval Sourcebook: Osbernus: De Expugnatione Lyxbonensi, 1147[The Capture of Lisbon]." Internet History Sourcebooks Project. Ed. Wiliam Stubbs. Paul Halsall, Dec. 1997. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. .

Newitt, M. D. D. Portugal in European and World History. London: Reaktion, 2009. Print. 

Power Point of Dom Afonso that may or may not be viewable.

Slide Show of Dom Afonso that may or may not be viewable.