House of Burgundy

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This article is about the ducal house which ruled Portugal, for the comital house which ruled in Castile and León, see Anscarids.
Portuguese Royalty
House of Burgundy
Afonso Henriques (Afonso I)
Children include
Sancho I
Children include
Afonso II
Children include
Sancho II
Afonso III
Children include
Denis
Children include
Afonso IV
Children include
Peter I
Children include
Ferdinand I
Children include
Beatrice (disputed queen)
Children include
  • Infante Miguel of Castile and Portugal

The House of Burgundy (Portuguese: Casa de Borgonha, pron. IPA: [buɾ.'ɣo.ɲɐ]) was a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty, descending from Robert, Duke of Burgundy, a younger son of Robert II of France.

The House ruled the Duchy of Burgundy from 1032-1361. The main line of the dynasty ended with the death in 1361 of Philip I, Duke of Burgundy. His duchy was inherited by John II of France, whose mother had been a member of the House of Burgundy.

Notable members of the main line of the House of Burgundy include:

[edit] The Portuguese Branch

Called the Afonsine Dynasty (Dinastia Afonsina, pron. IPA: [ɐ.fõ.'si.nɐ]), the Portuguese branch of the House of Burgundy was a cadet branch, descending from Henry, Count of Portugal. Henry was a younger son of Henry of Burgundy, the son and heir of Robert I of Burgundy who died before he could inherit the Duchy.

The younger Henry, having little chance of inheriting any land or titles, had joined the reconquista in the Iberian Peninsula in the late 12th century. After conquering Galicia and northern Portugal on behalf of Alfonso VI of Castile, he was married to Alfonso's illegitimate daughter, Teresa, and given the County of Portugal as a fief under Leon. His son, Afonso Henriques, became King of Portugal after defeating his mother in the Battle of São Mamede in 1128. It was only in 1179 that Pope Alexander III recognized Portugal as an independent state, recognition, at the time, needed for total acceptance of the kingdom in the Christian world.

The kings that succeeded Afonso I continued the process of Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula, controlled by Moors. Afonso III conquered Algarve and adopted the title of king of Portugal and the Algarves.

The borders of Portugal were defined in the Treaty of Alcanizes (1297) when king Denis, son of Afonso III, started a process of development of the kingdom's land. In 1383 Beatrice, princess of Portugal and heir to the throne married John I of Castile. When Ferdinand I (her father) died during the same year the kingdom entered a period of anarchy called the 1383-1385 Crisis, threatened with a possible annexation by Castile. This period ended in 1385 with the victory of the Portuguese in the Battle of Aljubarrota and a new dynasty began with John I, Master of Aviz (illegitimate son of Peter I), thus called the House of Aviz.

[edit] Kings of the House of Burgundy

[edit] See also

House of Burgundy
Cadet branch of the House of Capet
Preceded by
House of Capet		 Ruling House of the Duchy of Burgundy
1032 – 1361		 Succeeded by
House of Valois
New title
Founding of Kingdom
 Ruling House of the Kingdom of Portugal
1139 – 1383		 Succeeded by
Portuguese Interregnum
Eventually House of Aviz