Therese de León

The princess Therese (1080 - November 11th 1130) was girl of the king Alphonse VI of Castille and León. In 1093, at the thirteen years age, it marries Henri of Burgundy, and received of his/her father the county of Portugal in dowry. With Henri, regent of the County during the minority of his wife, it has several children but only Alphonse Henriques, future Alphonse Ier of Portugal, survives and reaches the old adult between the males resulting from this first marriage.

After the death of Henri, in 1112, it only reigns, according to the same policy of autonomy of her husband vis-a-vis Rome and in Leon. It is combined for that with the Galicians, claiming the kingdom of Galicia like its share of paternal heritage to her sister the queen Urraque of Leon, their only male brother having died young. The crowns were still personal strongholds divided between the male children at that time, or then divided between the girls in the absence of males, which was the case. To support its claims in the succession of her father, she remaria with Transtamare, the Galician count de Trava, the pluis powerful lord of Galicia, and entrusted to him the military defense of the county of Coîmbre, the south of Portugal, meanacè by the Moslems. His/her older sister, Urraque of Leon and Castille, remaria briefly, for the same reason, with king d' Aragon: because it was disputed like successor by his son Alphonse VII of Leon and Castille, raised in Galicia or he reigned since his old bottom.

In front of the Galician influence in Portugal, and also of antagonism between the archbishop of Braga, primacy of the old kingdom suève, and the new eclesiastic competition of the archbishop of Compostelle Diego Gelmirez, which at the same time spreads the rumor of the " trouvaille" relics of Jacques Saint at his place, enriching by this way that some say without scruple, brutally, its diocese, by creating the pilgrimage and its ways, and refusing to obey the cathedral of Braga, the Portuguese nobility rises and chooses like its chief the son of the Queen, who had been entrusted to them for her education of knight, according to the use of the time among the nobility and the royalty Portugueses.

The second (some speak even about third) marriage of the queen of Portugal posed a political problem to him, since her new husband, divorced or widowed at that time, was the brother of his lover or her husband antérieu (according to the sources). This same brother of the count de Trava rejected by the queen will be compensated by the marriage with one of the infantes girls of the first marriage of the queen, therefore with a sister whole share of future king Alphonse Ier Henriques has. This brother there having lived like husband and woman with the queen, become his beautiful-mêre, one could not regard as legitimate the remarriage of this one with a Trava brother-in-law who, from the spiritual point of view, was held as his/her brother has whole share, with inceste in the event of sexual relations, by the Roman church.

The case was however current still at that time, between the people and the nobility, which kept the right to repudiate, having for legitimate the children resulting from these posterior marriages. One thinks sometimes, even, that this was the case of the birth of Therese, it which always declared child legitimate, and who however, like the girls of its second marriage, will be later known as " batardes". Because Therese of Portugal precisely lived at the time of transition social and canonical or the church of Rome seeks has to impose the church wedding carried out in the presence of a priest, and either only by the wishes presentiels of the fiancès like up to that point. The capacity then claimed by Rome on the dissolution of the marriages, and the dispensations of relationship between promised in marriage so that the marriages can be recognized by the new Canonical Right, will be consequently a new weapon the pope will have to affirm his authority on the courses European, and to choose, even, the most suitable parties has its eyes to succeed in the various strongholds and kingdoms, or she sought especially since Alexandre III has to impose the eclesiastic supremacy of the capacity on the temporal power of the emperor and other sovereigns.

In front of the revolt of the barons portucalais opposite with Galician alliance, very quickly, the mother and the son enters in open war. Therese is beaten with the battle of São Mamede in 1128 and exiles herself in Galicie with its second husband and the infantes her daughters, resulting from the second marriage. There, it will found a convent where it dies in 1130. Contrary to the legend, the family relations between the new king, the queen her mother, the count her husband and the infantes his half-sisters are remained good, like proved it recently the historian Doctor Jose Mattoso (1).

This princess, often called name of one of the various kingdoms of her father, whose main thing at that time was the Leon, must however more correctly be known name of the stronghold who belonged to him into clean, and on which it reigned: Therese of Portugal. Luís of Mello Vaz de São Payo established the descendence followed by the queen of Portugal and its father Alphonse VI of Leon and Castille of the former sovereign counts of Portugal, like little girl of Elvira Mendes of Portugal, queen of Leon by his marriage. Ansi, the Portuguese Royal family is downward former comtale Family of Portucale, from the kings of Leon. Because has Alphonse VI of Leon, Galicia, Portugal and Castille is failed three of the four crowns of each one of his/her four royal grandparent: the Leon, the Galicia (which had the dignity of kingdom), Castille (which had the dignity of county), Portugal, and Navarre, also a kingdom. To note however that Alphonse had divided these crowns comtales and royal with his brothers, kings Garcia Ier of Galicia (who conquered Portugal has his last count-sovereign Nuno Mendes in 1078 (battles of Pedroso) and was called after king de Galice and of Portugal), and Sanche II, king de Castille. To adapt the crowns of his brothers, it had to fight against them, killing one, and making captive life the other has, that some say be to have died poisoned.

The division of the crowns, like personal strongholds, will be current practice with the kingdoms of Leon and Castille (but not in Portugal) until XIVe century. The infants juniors by Portugal will continue to officially carry the title of king and queens of Portugal, according to the use of the Germanic right of the suèves and the Visigoths, to Alphonse II. The infantes-queens, just like their brothers the infants-kings, were called has to sign and confirm royal papers official, like heiresses of the Portuguese Crown in the event of death of these brothers. They could marry only after the established male succession good, because they always kept their right to succeed monarchy resulting from their back-large Therese mother of Portugal.

1. Mattoso, Jose, " D. Afonso Henriques" , Círculo de Leitores E Central of Estudos back Povos E Culturas de Expressão Portuguesa, 1e ED., Lisbon, 2006 2. São Payo, Luís of Mello Vaz of, " In Herança Genética of D. Afonso Henriques" , Central of Estudos de Família da Universidade Moderna C Oporto, 2002.

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