Afonso I de Bragança - Lisboa, Portugal
Posted by: 
manchanegra
N 38° 41.766 W 009° 12.360
29S E 482086 N 4283073
Dom Afonso I, the 1st Duke of Braganza was the eighth Count of Barcelos, the 2nd Count of Neiva, 2nd Lord of Faria and the first Duke of Braganza. He was a very important man during the beginning of the age of Discoveries.
Waymark Code: WMDXTM
Location: Portugal
Date Posted: 03/08/2012
Views: 9
The Braganza coat of arms is composed by a two red strips forming a red X with the escutcheons and bezants (Escudos e Quinas).
The escutcheons and bezants on the coat of arms of the House of Braganza derive from the same ones found on the royal coat of arms of Portugal.
The coat of arms is placed in a magestic fountain in Belem (Fonte Luminosa)in front of Jerónimos Monastery together with 49 other coat of arms of important personalities from the time of Portuguese Discoveries. The fountain was designed by Cottinelli Telmo and built in 1940 for the Portuguese World Exhibition. There´s very little information about the fountain and the Coat of Arms and most available information refers to a total of 32 Coat of arms of Portuguese inland and Overseas provinces wich is wrong. These coat of arms can be seen in the gardens around the fountain designed with flowers and bushes.
Dom Afonso I, the 1st Duke of Braganza (Fronteira, Cabeço de Vide, 10 August 1377 - Chaves, 15 December 1461) was the eighth Count of Barcelos, the 2nd Count of Neiva, 2nd Lord of Faria and the first Duke of Braganza.
Dom Afonso, count of Barcelos, was an illegitimate son of King D. João I of Portugal - founder of the House of Aviz, the second Portuguese royal house - and Inês Pires. He married Beatriz Pereira de Alvim, daughter of Nuno Álvares Pereira, a general of the kingdom, and heir of the most opulent house of the kingdom. In 1442, Afonso's nephew, King D. Afonso V created the Duchy of Braganza, a royal dukedom, for his uncle. The Duchy included the important town of Braganza in northeastern Portugal, which gave the house its name. It is the third-oldest dukedom in Portugal, after Viseu and Coimbra.
Count D. Afonso, an expert intriguer, won the favor of his father King D. João I, his brother King D. Duarte I, and his nephew King Dom Afonso V. In 1442, King D. Afonso gave him the dukedom, and in 1445, when the King came of age, Duke Afonso was the wealthiest and most powerful man in the kingdom.
A traveled and cultivated man, Afonso was present in 1415 when the Portuguese conquered Ceuta. When his half-brother King Edward I of Portugal died in 1438, his son Afonso V (Afonso's nephew) was an infant and the choice for the regency was the Queen Mother Eleonor of Aragon (Afonso's sister-in-law). This choice for the regency was not popular because Eleonor was Aragonese, so in a meeting of the Portuguese Cortes summoned by Afonso's half-brother John, Lord of Reguengos de Monsaraz, the regency was awarded to the Infante Peter, Duke of Coimbra, another half-brother of Afonso and an uncle of the young king. This choice pleased both the people and the fast-growing bourgeoisie.
Within the Portuguese aristocracy, however, especially those in the circle around Afonso, Eleonor of Aragon was preferred, and there were doubts about Peter's political abilities. A contest for the young king's affection began, and within a few years, Afonso managed to become Afonso V's favourite uncle.
In 1443, in a gesture of reconciliation, Peter made Afonso the first Duke of Braganza and the relations between both seemed to return to normality. But, in 1445, Afonso took offence because Isabella of Coimbra, Peter's daughter, became the choice for Afonso V's wife, and not one of his granddaughters. Indifferent to the intrigues, Peter continued his regency and the country prospered under his rule. It was during this period that the first subsidies for the exploration of the Atlantic Ocean were appropriated under the supervision of Henry the Navigator (another of Afonso's half-brothers).
On 9 June 1448, King Afonso V came of age, and Peter turned over control of the country to the king. Influenced by Afonso, the young king nullified all of Peter's edicts.
The following year, under accusations that years later would prove false, Afonso V declared his uncle Peter a rebel. The situation became unsustainable and a civil war begun. It was short, because on 20 May 1449, during the Battle of Alfarrobeira, near Alverca, Peter died. The exact conditions of his death are debatable: some say it was in combat, other say he was assassinated by one of his own men.
After the Battle of Alfarrobeira, Afonso V gave new powers to his uncle Afonso and nine years later when he departed to Africa, the regency was delegated to him.
He was the first of the House of Braganza where Dom Duarte, today´s pretender of the Portuguese throne bellongs.
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Bearer of Coat of Arms: Noble (aristocratic) family
Full name of the bearer: Afonso I de Bragança
Where is Coat of Arms installed (short description) ?:
Fonte Luminosa @ Praça do Império (Fountain)
Material / Design: Stone
Blazon (heraldic description):
See above
Address:
Fonte Luminosa
Web page about the structure where is Coat of Arms installed (if exists): [Web Link]
Web page about the bearer of Coat of Arms (if exists): [Web Link]
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