Ferdinand I of Portugal facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ferdinand I
Miniature during the Fernandine Wars, in Jean de Wavrin's Chronique d'Angleterre
King of Portugal
Reign	18 January 1367 – 22 October 1383
Predecessor	Peter I
Successor	Beatrice (disputed) or John I
Born	31 October 1345 (1345-10-31) Coimbra, Portugal
Died	22 October 1383 (1383-10-23) (aged 37) Lisbon, Portugal
Burial	Carmo Convent, Lisbon
Spouse	Leonor Teles ​ (m. 1372)​
Issue among others...	Beatrice, Queen of Portugal and Castile (ill.) Isabel, 2nd Lady of Viseu
House	Burgundy
Father	Peter I of Portugal
Mother	Constanza Manuel
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Ferdinand I (born October 31, 1345 – died October 22, 1383) was the King of Portugal from 1367 until his death. People sometimes called him the Handsome (o Formoso) or the Inconstant (o Inconstante). When he died, it led to a difficult time in Portugal known as the 1383–85 Crisis, or the Portuguese interregnum, which means a period without a clear ruler.

Life of Ferdinand I

Ferdinand was born in Coimbra, Portugal. He was the second son of Peter I of Portugal and his wife, Constanza Manuel, but he was the oldest son who survived.

Claiming the Throne

In 1369, Peter of Castile died. Ferdinand believed he had a right to become the new king of Castile. This was because his grandmother, Beatrice, was the great-granddaughter of Sancho IV of Castile.

Other powerful people also wanted the Castilian throne. These included the kings of Aragon and Navarre. Later, John of Gaunt, a powerful English duke, also claimed the throne because he had married Peter of Castile's oldest daughter.

The throne was held by Henry II of Castile, who was Peter of Castile's half-brother. Henry had won the Castilian Civil War in 1366 and taken the crown.

Peace and Marriage

After some battles that didn't really decide anything, everyone agreed to let Pope Gregory XI help them make peace. A treaty was signed in 1371. Part of this agreement was that Ferdinand would marry Leonora of Castile.

However, before this marriage could happen, Ferdinand fell deeply in love with Leonor Telles de Meneses. She was already married to one of his own courtiers. Ferdinand arranged for her first marriage to be ended, and then he quickly married Leonor, making her his queen.

The Funeral of D. Fernando from the Chronique d' Angleterre; Jean de Wavrin, late 14th century.

This decision caused a big uprising in Portugal. But it didn't immediately lead to another war with Henry of Castile.

Wars and Alliances

Still, the peace didn't last long. Ferdinand secretly made a deal with John of Gaunt. They planned to work together to remove Henry from the Castilian throne. The war that followed was not successful for Ferdinand. Peace was made again in 1373.

When Henry of Castile died in 1379, John of Gaunt again pushed his claim to the throne. Once more, he found an ally in Portugal. However, some historical writers said that the English soldiers were as annoying to their allies as they were to their enemies.

So, Ferdinand decided to make peace on his own at Badajoz in 1382. This new treaty said that Beatrice, Ferdinand's daughter and the person who would inherit his throne, would marry King John I of Castile. This marriage was meant to eventually unite the crowns of Portugal and Castile.

End of His Reign

Ferdinand died in Lisbon on October 22, 1383. He did not have any sons to inherit his throne. This meant that the direct line of the Portuguese House of Burgundy, which had ruled Portugal since about 1112, came to an end.

The agreements of the treaty of Badajoz were ignored. John, who was Ferdinand's half-brother and the Grand Master of the order of Aviz, claimed the throne. This led to a period of war and political uncertainty known as the 1383-1385 Crisis. In 1385, John became the first king of the House of Aviz.

Ferdinand's impressive tomb can be seen at the Carmo Archaeological Museum in Lisbon. Sadly, his body was destroyed during the Invasions of Portugal and was never found.

Marriages and Descendants

King Ferdinand married Leonor Teles de Meneses. She had been married before to a nobleman named João Lourenço da Cunha. Leonor was the daughter of Martim Afonso Telo de Meneses.

See also

In Spanish: Fernando I de Portugal para niños