Afonso II ' onMouseout='HidePop("76681")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/English_language">English
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
Alphonzo), or
Affonso (Archaic Portuguese),
Alfonso or
Alphonso (Portuguese-Galician) or
Alphonsus (
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
version), nicknamed "the Fat" (
PortuguesePortuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and northern Portugal. It is derived from the Latin spoken by the romanized Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago...
o Gordo), third
king of Portugal, was born in
CoimbraCoimbra is a city in Coimbra Municipality in Portugal. It served as the country's capital during the First Dynasty and remains home to the University of Coimbra, the oldest academic institution in the Portuguese-speaking world and one of the oldest in Europe.According to the INE's census of 2001,...
on 23 April 1185 and died on 25 March 1223 in the same city.
Afonso II ' onMouseout='HidePop("76681")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/English_language">English
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
Alphonzo), or
Affonso (Archaic Portuguese),
Alfonso or
Alphonso (Portuguese-Galician) or
Alphonsus (
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
version), nicknamed "the Fat" (
PortuguesePortuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and northern Portugal. It is derived from the Latin spoken by the romanized Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago...
o Gordo), third
king of Portugal, was born in
CoimbraCoimbra is a city in Coimbra Municipality in Portugal. It served as the country's capital during the First Dynasty and remains home to the University of Coimbra, the oldest academic institution in the Portuguese-speaking world and one of the oldest in Europe.According to the INE's census of 2001,...
on 23 April 1185 and died on 25 March 1223 in the same city. He was the second but eldest surviving son of
Sancho I of PortugalSancho I , nicknamed the Populator , second monarch of Portugal, was born on 11 November 1154 in Coimbra and died on 26 March 1212 in the same city. He was the second but only surviving legitimate son and fourth child of Afonso I Henriques of Portugal by his wife, Maud of Savoy. Sancho succeeded...
by his wife,
Dulce Berenguer of BarcelonaDulce Berenguer of Barcelona was the wife of King Sancho I of Portugal. She was the eldest daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona and his wife, Queen Petronila of Aragon.-Queen of Portugal:...
, Infanta of
AragonAragon is an autonomous community of Spain. Located in northeastern Spain, the region comprises three provinces from north to south: Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza .Aragon's northern province of Huesca borders France and is positioned in the middle of the Pyrenees...
. 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 IAfonso I or Alfonso I , or also Affonso or Alphonso or Alphonsus , sometimes rendered in English as Alphonzo or Alphonse, depending on the Spanish or French influence, more commonly known as Afonso Henriques , nicknamed the...
, were mostly concerned with military issues either against the neighbouring
Kingdom of CastileKingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...
or against the
MoorishThe description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of Muslim people of Berber, Black African and Arab descent from North Africa, some of whom came to conquer and occupy the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. The North Africans termed it Al Andalus, comprising most...
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 SalAlcácer do Sal is a municipality in Portugal, located in the district of Setúbal. It has a total area of and a total population of 13,624 inhabitants.It is one of the largest Portuguese municipalities in area....
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 propertyPrivate property is the tangible and intangible things owned by individuals or firms over which their owners have exclusive and absolute legal rights, and can only be transferred with the owner's consent. Private property can take the form of real estate, homes, factories, automobiles, capital,...
, civil
justiceJustice is the concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, fairness, or equity.-Concept of justice:Justice... concerns the proper ordering of things and persons within a society. As a concept it has been subject to philosophical, legal, and theological reflection and...
, and
mintingA mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins for currency.The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. One difference is that the history of the mint is normally related in a fashion that more closely ties to the political situation of an era...
. Afonso also sent ambassadors to
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
an kingdoms outside the
Iberian PeninsulaThe Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes modern-day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar and a very small area of France. It is the westernmost of the three major southern European peninsulas—the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan peninsulas...
and began amiable
commercialTrade is the voluntary exchange of goods, services, or both. Trade is also called commerce or transaction. A mechanism that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and services. Later one side of the barter were the metals, precious...
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
clergyClergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. The term ultimately comes from the Greek κλῆρος - klēros, "a lot", "that which is assigned by lot" or metaphorically, "inheritence"....
and to apply a portion of the enormous revenues of the
Roman Catholic churchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
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 IIIPope Honorius III , born with the name Cencio, was Pope from 1216 to 1227.-Early work:He was born in Rome as son of Aimerico...
, Afonso II promised to make amends to the church, but he died in 1223 before making any serious attempts to do so.
Marriage and descendants
Afonso married
Infanta Urraca of CastileUrraca of Castile was a daughter of Alfonso VIII of Castile and Leonora of England. Her maternal grandparents were Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine...
, daughter of
Alfonso VIIIAlfonso VIII , called the Noble or el de las Navas, was the King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. He is most remembered for his part in the Reconquista and the downfall of the Almohad Caliphate...
, King of Castile, and Leonora of Aquitaine, in 1206.
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|
| By Urraca of Castile Urraca of Castile was a daughter of Alfonso VIII of Castile and Leonora of England. Her maternal grandparents were Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine...
(1186-1220; married in 1206) |
Infante SanchoSancho II , nicknamed "the Pious" and "the Caped" or "the Capuched" , , fourth King of Portugal, was the eldest son of Afonso II of Portugal by his wife, Infanta Urraca of Castile...
|
8 September 1207 |
4 January 1248 |
Succeeded him as Sancho II, 4th King of Portugal. |
Infante AfonsoAfonso III , or Affonso , Alfonso or Alphonso or Alphonsus , the Bolognian Afonso III , or Affonso (Archaic Portuguese), Alfonso or Alphonso (Portuguese-Galician) or Alphonsus (Latin), the Bolognian Afonso III ' onMouseout='HidePop("63935")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Leonor_of_Portugal,_Queen_of_Denmark">Infanta Leonor Eleanor of Portugal was a Portuguese infanta , the only daughter of King Afonso II of Portugal and his wife Urraca, princess of Castile. She was Queen consort of Denmark by marriage to Danish King Valdemar, son of Valdemar II, in 1229. During the same year he abdicated.Eleanor is known to have...
(Eleanor) |
1211 |
1231 |
Married Prince Valdemar, son of Valdemar II of DenmarkValdemar II , called Valdemar the Conqueror or Valdemar the Victorious , was the King of Denmark from November 12, 1202 until his death in 1241...
and Margaret of Bohemia, daughter of Ottokar I of BohemiaOttokar I , king of Bohemia , was a younger son of King Vladislav II and a member of the Přemyslid dynasty.-Early years:...
. |
| Infante Fernando Infante Fernando of Portugal , or Ferdinand in English, was a Portuguese infante , son of King Afonso II of Portugal and his wife Urraca, princess of Castile, daughter of Alfonso VIII of Castile....
|
a. 1217 |
c. 1243 |
Lord of SerpaSerpa is a municipality in Portugal, in Alentejo region, with a total area of 1104.0 km² and a total population of 16,178 inhabitants. The Guadiana River flows close to the town of Serpa....
. |
| Vicente |
1219 |
1219 |
|
| Natural offspring |
| João Afonso |
? |
1234 |
Natural son. |
| Pedro Afonso |
c. 1210 |
? |
Natural son. |