Jorge de Lencastre, Duke of Coimbra

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Jorge de Lencastre
House of Avis
FatherJohn II of Portugal
MotherAna de Mendonça

Jorge de Lencastre (

Order of Aviz
from 1492 to 1550.

Early life

Jorge de Lencastre was born in

Joanna of Portugal, in the Convent of Jesus in Aveiro.[2] On Joan's death in 1490, Jorge was brought to the royal court, and was soon placed under the tutorship of monteiro-mor Diogo Fernandes de Almeida (the son of John II's late ally, Lopo de Almeida, Count of Abrantes).[3]

Succession Campaign

After the death of the royal heir

Order of Christ
since 1484.

This was a disturbing prospect for John II, who trusted neither Manuel nor the powerful Order of Christ. During the purges of the high nobility in 1483–84, John II had ordered the execution of Manuel's own brother Diogo, Duke of Viseu and brother-in-law Fernando II, Duke of Braganza.[4] Manuel himself only escaped a similar fate largely because John II regarded him as a harmless fool. Now that 'fool' stood to succeed him, and in John II's estimation, would likely undo all the king's hard-won centralizing reforms and deliver the kingdom back to the nobles.

John II consequently launched a campaign to make his natural son, Jorge de Lencastre, his heir. From

Order of Aviz, in April 1492. Only a few days later, Jorge's tutor, Diogo Fernandes de Almeida, was appointed Prior of Crato (head of the Portuguese branch of the knights of St. John Hospitaller
).

Meanwhile, Queen

Order of Christ, to prevent Jorge's advancement and protect the position of Manuel (her brother) as heir.[5]

In 1494, John II dispatched an embassy to Rome, headed by two members of the Almeida clan, to petition Pope Alexander VI to legitimize Jorge de Lencastre.[6] The petition was rejected, bringing the campaign to a disappointing end.

John II, however, had no intention of just handing the kingdom over to Manuel's minions. In the will laid out just before his death in 1495, John II requested that Manuel appoint Jorge de Lencastre as

Peter of Coimbra
(a comparison suggested by John II himself).

Mindful of avoiding a civil war, Manuel agreed to many of the items in John II's will, but rejected others — notably, Manuel insisted on retaining the Order of Christ for himself. Manuel was not in a hurry to fulfill the rest of the terms. The title of Duke of Coimbra was conferred on Jorge de Lencastre only in May 1500, and confirmation was delayed until May 1509, nearly fifteen years after his father's death.

John II had also requested that young Jorge de Lencastre would be married to a royal princess, having Manuel promise his own first daughter, when they came of age. Manuel only partly fulfilled this in 1500 by betrothing Jorge to Beatriz de Vilhena, the daughter of

infanta
but nonetheless a princess of royal blood.

During Manuel's Reign

Arms of D. Jorge de Lencastre, 2nd Duke of Coimbra, from Jean du Cro's Livro do Armeiro-Mor, 1509.

Most of the details of Jorge's subsequent life and career are marred by

Order of Santiago
seem to have regarded Jorge de Lencastre as a particularly diligent leader and administrator.

The Duke continued as an important figure in Portuguese politics, particularly in the first decade or so of Manuel's reign. The

New Christians", to have personally given them his protection and to have fought against the introduction of the Holy Inquisition
into Portugal.

Jorge's party played a rather important role in the early India expeditions. They formed the 'pragmatic' party, insisting, like John II had, that the India expeditions were a commercial venture, a means for the enrichment of the treasury, a 'Renaissance' focus on wealth and power. Manuel's party had a more 'messianic' outlook, seeing the overseas expeditions through the Medieval goggles of Holy War and religious mission, coming up with schemes for two-pronged invasions of Egypt, marches on Mecca and the reconquest of Jerusalem. In this respect, Jorge (if not himself personally, certainly the party he led) played a vital role in keeping the India expeditions on a sane and viable track. Early India armada captains were drawn more from his party, than from Manuel's.

In the early years, Jorge's power was partly reliant on the hope that he might yet succeed Manuel, but that prospect diminished quickly as Manuel's new queen, Maria of Aragon, produced a succession of sons. As time went on, his early fierce partisans began to slowly distance themselves and look for compromise and advancement with Manuel. For some, that meant leaving Jorge's Orders of Santiago and Aviz and passing over to Manuel's Order of Christ. Among those who made the switch were Francisco de Almeida and Vasco da Gama.

Jorge picked a particularly unfortunate fight with Vasco da Gama, once a loyal partisan. After da Gama's glorious return from India in 1499, Manuel deftly promised the town of

Sines
as a reward to the admiral. But Sines was the property of the Order of Santiago. Instinctively, Jorge was disposed to allow it, as a reward to one of his own; but since it was on the king's order, he feared it was the thin end of the wedge to more royal appropriations of Order properties. So he decided to make a stand on principle and stepped in personally to prevent it. He went so far as to secure the banishment of da Gama from Sines in 1507. This prompted da Gama to make his final break with Jorge, leave his beloved Order of Santiago and switch to the rival Order of Christ.

Jorge de Lencastre dedicated himself to defending his two knightly orders,

Order of Christ. In May 1505, Jorge managed to secure a royal order prohibiting knights from leaving his orders without his express permission. But Manuel soon obtained from Pope Alexander VI two bulls to undermine him — one from July 1505, giving the King of Portugal the right to dispose of the property of all three Orders; another in January 1506, authorizing knights to move freely from other Orders to the Order of Christ. However, Jorge continued to resist, and made a point of punishing knights who left without permission (for example, seizing the Sesimbra commenda of João de Menezes, Count of Tarouca, for having taken up the position of Prior of Crato
without his consent).

In 1509, Jorge introduced a new set of rules for the Order of Santiago, overhauling its administration in a centralized fashion, bringing it closer in line with the rules of their Spanish brethren.

But with so many defections, Jorge found it hard to maintain his political footing, and his star was quickly waning. In 1516, the humiliation was complete when Manuel secured from Pope Leo X the authority to appoint Jorge's successors as grand masters of the orders of Santiago and Aviz.

Later years

King Manuel died in late 1521, and was succeeded by his son,

Castle of São Jorge for some years (an episode later dramatized by Camilo Castelo Branco
in his play O Marquez de Torres-Novas).

Jorge himself produced a notable scandal late in life when, at the age of 67, he pursued (and married) a 16-year-old girl, Maria Manuela (daughter of Dom Fernando de Lima).[7] King John III gave great publicity to the scandal, while, behind Jorge's back, securing an annulment from the pope.[8]

When Jorge de Lencastre finally died in late July 1550, John III moved quickly to seize control of the military orders. From

Kings of Portugal
as masters in perpetuity of both military orders, thus bringing an end to the independence of the orders Jorge had fought so hard to retain.

At Jorge's death, John III took back the title of 'Duke of Coimbra' for the Crown. The official explanation was that

João de Lencastre
. The line of Lencastre would continue through the Dukes of Aveiro.

Marriage

In 1500, Jorge married Beatriz de Vilhena, daughter of

Ferdinand II, Duke of Braganza.[9][10] Beatriz died in 1535.[1]

Jorge had several children from his marriage with Beatriz de Vilhena:

He also had several illegitimate children.

Jorge died in the castle of Palmela on 22 July 1550.

Ancestry

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b c Braamcamp Freire 1921, p. 357.
  2. ^ Pimenta 2015, p. 12.
  3. ^ Pimenta 2015, pp. 13–14.
  4. ^ Sanceau 1970, pp. 4–5.
  5. ^ Sanceau 1970, p. 1.
  6. ^ Ramalho 1990, pp. 19–20.
  7. ^ Braamcamp Freire 1921, pp. 357–358.
  8. ^ Braamcamp Freire 1921, p. 358.
  9. ^ Ramalho 1990, p. 15.
  10. ^ Pimenta 2015, p. 15.

Sources

  • Braamcamp Freire, Anselmo (1921). Brasões da Sala de Sintra (in Portuguese). Vol. III . Coimbra: University of Coimbra Press. pp. 357–359. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  • Pimenta, Maria Cristina (2015). "D. Jorge (1481-1550)". População e Sociedade (in Portuguese). 24: 11–19.
  • Ramalho, Américo da Costa (1990). "Cataldo, a Infanta D. Joana e a educação de D. Jorge" (PDF). Humanitas (in Portuguese). 41–42. Coimbra: University of Coimbra: 3–22.
  • Sanceau, Elaine (1970). Reign of the Fortunate King, 1495–1521: Manuel I of Portugal. Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books.
    ISBN 0-2080096-8-X
    .
  • Subrahmanyam, S. (1997). The Career and Legend of Vasco da Gama. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
    ISBN 0-521-47072-2
    .
  • Zúquete, A. (1989). Nobreza de Portugal e do Brasil. Vol. I. Lisbon: Zairol. pp. 342, 347.

External links
Portuguese nobility
Preceded by
Peter, 1st Duke of Coimbra
Duke of Coimbra
1495–1550 		Succeeded by
Augustus, 3rd Duke of Coimbra
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