Editing Afonso II of Portugal

{{short description|King of Portugal from 1211 to 1223}}
{{redirect|Afonso II|the ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo|Afonso II of Kongo}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name            = Afonso II
| title           =
| image           = D. Afonso II - Compendio de crónicas de reyes (Biblioteca Nacional de España).png
| caption         = King Afonso in the Castilian manuscript ''Compendium of Chronicles of Kings'', c.&nbsp;1312-1325
| succession      = [[King of Portugal]]
| reign           = 26 March 1211{{Sfn|Carvalho Correia|2008|p=187}}{{Sfn|Caetano de Souza|1735|p=132}}{{snd}}25 March 1223
| predecessor     = [[Sancho I of Portugal|Sancho I]]
| successor       = [[Sancho II of Portugal|Sancho II]]
| spouse          = {{marriage|[[Urraca of Castile, Queen of Portugal|Urraca of Castile]]|1206|1220|end=died}}
| issue           = {{plainlist|
* [[Sancho II, King of Portugal]]
* [[Afonso III, King of Portugal]]
* [[Leonor of Portugal, Queen of Denmark|Leonor, Queen of Denmark]]
* [[Fernando, Lord of Serpa]]}}
| issue-link      = #Marriage and descendants
| issue-pipe      = among others...
| house           = [[Portuguese House of Burgundy|Burgundy]]
| father          = [[Sancho I of Portugal]]
| mother          = [[Dulce of Aragon]]
| birth_name      = Afonso Sanches
| birth_date      = 23 April 1185
| birth_place     = [[Coimbra]], [[Kingdom of Portugal]]
| death_date      = {{death date and age|1223|3|25|1185|4|23|df=y}}
| death_place     = Coimbra, Kingdom of Portugal
| burial_place    = [[Alcobaça Monastery]]{{Sfn|Caetano de Souza|1735|p=134}}
}}
'''Afonso II'''<ref>{{IPA|pt|ɐˈfõsu|IPA}}</ref> ({{lang|pt|Afonso Sanches|italic = no}}; 23 April 1185{{Sfn|Caetano de Souza|1735|p=131}}{{snd}}25 March 1223), also called '''Afonso the Fat''' ({{lang|pt|Afonso o Gordo}}) and '''Afonso the Leper''' ({{lang|pt|Afonso o Gafo}}), was [[List of Portuguese monarchs|King of Portugal]] from 1211 until 1223. Afonso was the third monarch of Portugal.

Afonso was the second but eldest surviving son of [[Sancho I of Portugal]] and [[Dulce of Aragon]]. Afonso succeeded his father on 27 March 1211.{{Sfn|Caetano de Souza|1735|p=132}}{{Sfn|Carvalho Correia|2008|p=187}}

==Reign==
[[File:Afonso II, 23-4-1185 - 25-3-1223, retrato anónimo (siglo XIII).jpg|thumb|left|Afonso II as depicted in a 13th-century manuscript.]]
As a king, Afonso II set a different approach of government. Hitherto, his father Sancho I and his grandfather [[Afonso I of Portugal|Afonso I]] were mostly concerned with military issues either against the neighbouring [[Kingdom of Castile]] or against the [[Moors|Moorish]] lands in the south. Afonso did not pursue territory enlargement policies and managed to ensure peace with Castile during his reign. Despite this, some towns were conquered from the Moors by the private initiative of noblemen and clergy, as when Bishop [[Soeiro Viegas]] initiated the [[Siege of Alcácer do Sal|conquest of Alcácer do Sal]]. 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 property]], civil justice, and [[Mint (coin)|minting]]. Afonso also sent ambassadors to European kingdoms outside the [[Iberian Peninsula]] and began amicable commercial relations with most of them.

In 1220, Afonso instituted [[inquirições]] to investigate the nature of holdings and to recover whatever had been illegally taken from the crown.<ref name="Jensen">{{cite book | last=Jensen | first=Kurt Villads | title=Crusading at the Edges of Europe | publisher=Taylor & Francis | date=2016-10-14 | isbn=978-1-317-15670-3 | page=290}}</ref> This issue was in response to the church's rein over Portuguese land as they supported Afonso's fight in the civil war with [[Sancho II of Portugal|Sancho II]]. These included examination of local noble titles and rights, including investigation of properties, lands and incomes against royal charters that had been issued.<ref name="Jensen"/>

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 number 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 clergy and to apply a portion of the enormous revenues of the [[Catholic Church]] 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 III]], Afonso II promised to make amends to the church, but he died in Coimbra on 25 March 1223{{Sfn|Caetano de Souza|1735|p=134}} before making any serious attempts to do so.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Alphonso|display=Alphonso s.v. Alphonso II.|first=David|last=Hannay|author-link=David Hannay (historian)|volume=1|page=733}}</ref>

King Afonso was buried originally at the [[Monastery of Santa Cruz (Coimbra)|Monastery of Santa Cruz]] in Coimbra where his body remained for nearly ten years. His remains were transferred subsequently to [[Alcobaça Monastery]],{{Sfn|Caetano de Souza|1735|pp=134–135}} as he had stipulated in his will. He and his wife, Queen Urraca, were buried at its Royal Pantheon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mosteiroalcobaca.pt/pt/index.php?s=white&pid=232&identificador=at321_pt.doc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310172933/http://www.mosteiroalcobaca.pt/pt/index.php?s=white&pid=232&identificador=at321_pt.doc |archive-date=2016-03-10 |title=D. Afonso II |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=Mosteiro de Alcobaça |access-date=5 February 2017 |language=pt}}</ref>

==Marriage and descendants==
In 1206, he married [[Urraca of Castile, Queen of Portugal|Urraca]], daughter of [[Alfonso VIII of Castile]] and [[Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile|Eleanor of England]]. The couple were both descendants of King [[Alfonso VI of León]].{{Sfn|Rodrigues Oliveira|2010|pp=99 and 101}} The offspring of this marriage were:
* [[Sancho II of Portugal|Sancho II]] (8 September 1207{{snd}}4 January 1248), king of Portugal;{{Sfn|Rodrigues Oliveira|2010|p=102}}{{Sfn|Sotto Mayor Pizarro|1997|p=167}}
* [[Afonso III of Portugal|Afonso III]] (5 May 1210{{snd}}16 February 1279), king of Portugal;{{Sfn|Rodrigues Oliveira|2010|p=102}}{{Sfn|Sotto Mayor Pizarro|1997|p=167-168}}
* [[Leonor of Portugal, Queen of Denmark|Eleanor]] (1211–1231), queen of Denmark{{Sfn|Rodrigues Oliveira|2010|pp=102 and 210}}{{Sfn|Sotto Mayor Pizarro|1997|p=167}}
* [[Fernando, Lord of Serpa|Ferdinand]] (1218–1246),{{Sfn|Rodrigues Oliveira|2010|pp=102 and 110}} lord of [[Serpa]]{{Sfn|Sotto Mayor Pizarro|1997|p=167}}

Out of wedlock, he had two illegitimate sons:
* João Afonso (d. 9 October 1234), buried in the Alcobaça monastery;{{Sfn|Sotto Mayor Pizarro|1997|p=168}}
* Pedro Afonso (d. after 1249), who accompanied his brother King Afonso in the conquest of [[Faro, Portugal|Faro]] in 1249. He had an illegitimate daughter named Constança Peres.{{Sfn|Sotto Mayor Pizarro|1997|p=168}}

==See also==
* [[Timeline of Portuguese history (First Dynasty)]]
* [[Portugal in the Middle Ages]]
** [[Portugal in the Reconquista]]
** [[Siege of Alcácer do Sal]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book|last= Caetano de Souza|first=Antonio|title=Historia Genealógica de la Real Casa Portuguesa|volume = I|year= 1735|publisher= Lisboa Occidental, na oficina de Joseph Antonio da Sylva |isbn= 978-84-8109-908-9|location=Lisbon|language = pt|url = http://purl.pt/776/4/hg-2593-v/hg-2593-v_item4/hg-2593-v_PDF/hg-2593-v_PDF_24-C-R0150/hg-2593-v_0000_1-800_t24-C-R0150.pdf}}
* {{cite book | last =Carvalho Correia| first = Francisco | publisher = Universidade de Santiago de Compostela: Servizo de Publicacións e Intercambio Científico |title = O Mosteiro de Santo Tirso de 978 a 1588: a silhueta de uma entidade projectada no chao de uma história milenária | url =http://dspace.usc.es/handle/10347/2416 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20131004215714/http://dspace.usc.es/handle/10347/2416 | url-status =dead | archive-date =4 October 2013 | year= 2008| location = Santiago de Compostela | isbn = 978-84-9887-038-1| language =pt}}
* {{cite book|last=Rodrigues Oliveira|first= Ana|title= Rainhas medievais de Portugal. Dezassete mulheres, duas dinastias, quatro séculos de História|language= PT |publisher= A esfera dos livros |location = Lisbon| year= 2010|isbn= 978-989-626-261-7}}
* {{Cite book| last = Sotto Mayor Pizarro| first = José Augusto|title = Linhagens Medievais Portuguesas: Genealogias e Estratégias (1279–1325)|location =Oporto|publisher=Doctorate thesis, author's edition|year= 1997| hdl = 10216/18023|language = pt}}
{{refend}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Portuguese House of Burgundy|House of Burgundy]]|23 April|1185|25 March|1223|[[Capetian dynasty]]}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Sancho I of Portugal|Sancho I]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Portuguese monarchs|King of Portugal]]|years=1211–1223}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Sancho II of Portugal|Sancho II]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Monarchs of Portugal}}
{{Portuguese infantes}}
{{House of Burgundy-Portugal}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Afonso 02 of Portugal}}
[[Category:Portuguese infantes]]
[[Category:House of Burgundy-Portugal]]
[[Category:People excommunicated by the Catholic Church]]
[[Category:1185 births]]
[[Category:1223 deaths]]
[[Category:People of the Reconquista]]
[[Category:People from Coimbra]]
[[Category:12th-century Portuguese people]]
[[Category:13th-century Portuguese monarchs]]