Vasco Fernandes Coutinho, 1st Count of Marialva
Encyclopedia
Kingdom of Portugal
The Kingdom of Portugal was Portugal's general designation under the monarchy. The kingdom was located in the west of the Iberian Peninsula, Europe and existed from 1139 to 1910...
nobleman, the 3rd Marshal of Portugal
Marshal of Portugal
The office of Marshal of the Kingdom of Portugal was created by King Ferdinand I of Portugal in 1382, in the course of the reorganization of the higher offices of the army of the Kingdom of Portugal...
and 1st Count of Marialva
Count of Marialva
Count of Marialva was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, issued in 1440, by King Afonso V of Portugal, and granted to Vasco Fernandes Coutinho, 3rd...
(from 1440/41).
Life
Vasco Fernandes Coutinho was the son of Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho, Lord of Couto de Leomil, the 2nd Marshal of the KingdomMarshal of Portugal
The office of Marshal of the Kingdom of Portugal was created by King Ferdinand I of Portugal in 1382, in the course of the reorganization of the higher offices of the army of the Kingdom of Portugal...
. His brother was the famous Álvaro Gonçalves Coutinho, nicknamed Magriço, the semi-legendary knight of the Twelve of England.
Vasco Fernandes Coutinho inherited his father's titles and position as Marshal in 1413. He participated in the Portuguese capture of Ceuta
Battle of Ceuta
The Battle of Ceuta and the subsequent conquest of the Wattasid city of Ceuta by the Portuguese had its roots in the earliest years of the House of Aviz dynasty of Portugal...
in 1415.
Vasco Fernandes Coutinho was one of the leaders of the Portuguese expedition to capture Tangier
Battle of Tangier (1437)
The 1437 Battle of Tangier, sometimes referred to as the Siege of Tangiers, refers to the attempt by a Portuguese expeditionary force to seize the Moroccan citadel of Tangier, and their subsequent defeat by the armies of the Marinid sultanate of Morocco....
in 1437, serving directly under Prince Henry the Navigator. Although it proved a disaster, Coutinho served with distinction and was said to be the last man to leave the beach, personally covering the retreat and embarkation of the last Portuguese troops.
After the death of King Edward of Portugal in 1438, Vasco Fernandes Coutinho was one of the ringleaders of the noble party, and conspired with Afonso of Barcelos
Afonso, 1st Duke of Braganza
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.-Origins:...
to keep the dowager-queen Eleanor of Aragon as regent for the young King Afonso V of Portugal
Afonso V of Portugal
Afonso V KG , called the African , was the twelfth King of Portugal and the Algarves. His sobriquet refers to his conquests in Northern Africa.-Early life:...
, and sideline the popular candidate, the prince Peter of Coimbra. But Peter's brother, Henry the Navigator, eventually managed to detach Coutinho from Barcelos's side.
In 1441 (or 1440), hoping to win the powerful nobleman's allegiance, regent Peter of Coimbra invested Vasco Fernandes Coutinho as the first Count of Marialva
Count of Marialva
Count of Marialva was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, issued in 1440, by King Afonso V of Portugal, and granted to Vasco Fernandes Coutinho, 3rd...
. However, relations between the two remained tense. At the Battle of Alfarrobeira
Battle of Alfarrobeira
The Battle of Alfarrobeira took place on 20 May 1449. It was a confrontation between the forces commanded by King Afonso V of Portugal and his uncle Afonso, Duke of Braganza, against the army of the rebellious Pedro, Duke of Coimbra. The place was Alverca do Ribatejo, near Lisbon, at the margins...
in May 1449, Vasco Fernandes Coutinho took the field on behalf of Afonso V against Peter of Coimbra. He died a year later.
Marriage and Children
In 1412, Vasco Fernandes Coutinho married D. Maria de Sousa (d. 1472), the legitimized natural daughter of Lopo Dias de Sousa, master of the Order of ChristOrder of Christ (Portugal)
The Military Order of Christ previously the Royal Order of the Knights of Our Lord Jesus Christ was the heritage of the Knights Templar in Portugal, after the suppression of the Templars in 1312...
.. Their eldest son D. Gonçalo Coutinho succeeded as the 2nd Count of Marialva
Count of Marialva
Count of Marialva was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, issued in 1440, by King Afonso V of Portugal, and granted to Vasco Fernandes Coutinho, 3rd...
, the younger son D. Fernando Coutinho as the 4th Marshal of Portugal
Marshal of Portugal
The office of Marshal of the Kingdom of Portugal was created by King Ferdinand I of Portugal in 1382, in the course of the reorganization of the higher offices of the army of the Kingdom of Portugal...
.