Battle of São Mamede

The Battle of São Mamede () took place on 24 June 1128 near Guimarães and is considered a seminal event on the process that led to the foundation of Portugal as an indepentent kingdom and country.

Portuguese forces led by Afonso Henriques defeated forces led by his mother Teresa of Portugal and her lover Fernão Peres de Trava. Though he took control of the county of Portugal, he was still officially a vassal of King Alfonso VII of León, who was nominally considered the overlord of the territory.

Following São Mamede, Afonso Henriques styled himself "Prince of Portugal". He would later claim the title of "King of Portugal" in 1139, which was recognized by Alfonso VII in 1143.

History

After the Battle of Sagrajas and following an appeal by king Alfonso VI of León, Henry of Portugal, a brother of the Duke of Burgundy, travelled to Iberia to support take part in the Reconquista. He fought in the service of León and in honour of this the King granted him the County of Portugal in 1096. This came with a reinstated title; because of attempts by the previous holder some years earlier to assert independence, it had been suppressed. Henry thus became count of Portugal and married Theresa, one of Alfonso's daughters.

From the early years of his rule, Henry became influenced by the desire of the lords of the county for greater autonomy.

Henry died in 1112, and his wife Theresa became the regent of Portugal. Her sister Urraca became Queen of León after the death of her father, Alfonso VI of Leon. Like her husband, Theresa was ambitious and also wished for independence from Leon, and particularly from her sister. In an attempt to increase her autonomy and power, at different times she allied herself to her sister's enemies or with her sister, whichever was most propitious at the time. After the siege of Coimbra in 1117, Teresa began signing as "queen". This was meant to reinforce her own position and counter the authority of her sister Urraca. Though the validity of her claim was never definitively established, it was also never definitively refuted either. She became a close associate of Fernando Peres de Trava, who became influential in Portugal and by 1123 on equal standing as Teresa. Afonsos supporters initially included the Archbishop of Braga Paio Mendes, one of Teresas most implacable opponents; Soeiro Mendes de Sousa, Paio Soares da Maia, Fernando Mendes II de Bragança, the influential brothers Ermígio, Egas and Mendo Moniz of Ribadouro.

Afonsos initiation into public life began when he was taken by his tutor and guardian Egas Moniz to Zamora, to be armed a knight by his cousin and overlord Alfonso VII, at the cathedral of the city. This happened at the feast of Pentecost in 1125. Other individuals joined his side following his arming cerimony, namely Nuno Pais de Azevedo and Paio Vasques de Bravães. He was supported by the majority of the Galician aristocracy. Heavy fighting followed during the campaign and during the siege of Guimarães, Egas Moniz obtained the withdrawal of Alfonso VII through able negotiation, accepting to serve as surety for the loyalty of Afonso Henriques, his pupil. Shortly before the battle, they appeared in the district of Braga at the head of an army. Alfonso VII could not see São Mamede with indifference, and his choices were to either reinstate Teresa by force of arms or force Afonso to acknowledge his authority. The state of constant civil strife within León or against the Crown of Aragon seems to have compelled him to the second option. An army entered Portugal on orders of Alfonso VII, but its troops were in no mood for military action and withdrew after making sure that Afonsos coup did not infringe on the sovereignty of the Emperor, who was still nominally the overlord of the territory.

Teresa lived only for another two years after the battle and died in Galicia. Fernando Peres entered the service of Alfonso VII as his general and would fight against Afonso in the future. Unlike his mother, Afonso established constructive relations with senior local members of the Catholic Church, namely the Archbishop of Braga, and repudiated the Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, with whom his mother had associated with.

Reliant as Afonso had been on the support of the powerful noble houses of Entre-Douro-e-Minho, these had grown accostumed to the autonomy and local predominance that the distance from the Court of León afforded them, and presented a significant obstacle to Afonsos authority. These were borderlands subject to persistant yearly attacks by Muslim raiding parties, and settled by experienced and independent-minded frontiersmen, whose lack of social status was made up with by ambition and resolve. The dangers of frontier life kept their skills honed and they increasingly began to fill the ranks in Afonsos army. He probably desired the territorial expansion of his fief, based on promises or claims, more or less ficticious or falacious, dating from the reign of Urraca. In 1179, the Holy See acknowledged him as king, de jure.

Notable participants

Nobles who participated in the battle alongside Afonso Henriques:

Afonso Nunes de Barbosa
Paio Mendes da Maia
Egas Moniz de Cresconhe
Egas Moniz de Ribadouro
Ermígio Moniz de Ribadouro
Fernão Captivo
Garcia Soares
Godinho Fafes de Lanhoso
Gonçalo Mendes da Maia
Gonçalo Mendes de Sousa
Nuno Soares Velho
Paio Ramires Ramirão
Sancho Nunes de Barbosa
Soeiro Mendes de Sousa

Notes

References

External links

Portugal Chronology World History Database
History of Portugal: Primary documents

Battle of São Mamede

History

Notable participants

See also

Further reading

Historiography

Notes

References

External links