Love and hate of Portuguese rulers (8 photos)

To contemporaries, the Middle Ages seem to be a romantic and beautiful era. But in reality, cruelty was in abundance at that time. However, like love. And the story of this king serves as clear proof of this.





In 1340, a delegation arrived at the court of the Portuguese king Afonso IV, delivering the bride to his son, the Castilian princess Constance Manuel. The girl took over everything - both in appearance and in mind. But the attention of the 20-year-old heir to the throne, Pedro, was attracted by a maid of honor from the bride’s retinue, Ines de Castro. Inesh, as the Portuguese called her in their own way, was dazzlingly beautiful and attracted the attention of not only the prince.



The sparkle in the betrothed’s eyes could not be hidden from the bride’s gaze. But the king, knowing the ardent disposition of his son, consoled Constance: they say that the son will go crazy when he gets what he deserves, and family life will flow calmly and quietly.



Fountain of Tears

But Afonso IV was wrong in his predictions. The cold beauty ignored the confessions of her ardent lover. But in the end, after a few years, she gave up. When Constance died in childbirth, Pedro married his beloved. But the king did not recognize his son’s marriage: an ordinary maid of honor was no equal to the heir to the throne. Even the birth of his grandchildren did not melt the heart of the old king.

Pedro ordered a separate castle to be built for his wife to protect the woman from political squabbles. Inesh spent long hours at the small fountain in the garden, waiting for her husband, who was busy with government affairs. And she cried. The servants, and then the residents of the surrounding area, called the place the Fountain of Tears...

Anger and betrayal



Karl Bryullov. Death of Inessa de Castro, 1834

The news of the birth of another son, who could interfere with the succession to the throne of the legitimate child from the late Constance, completely unsettled the king. In the absence of his son, he came to his daughter-in-law. The woman was delighted, deciding that her father-in-law had changed his anger to mercy. But the king demanded that she and her children leave Portugal immediately. Inesh refused. And she paid for her refusal with her life.

The news of the death of his beloved turned Pedro's life into existence. He retired from business and returned to Coimbra to the court only after the news that the old king was dying. The son only silently crossed the dying man and left the palace. He found the two courtiers who committed the murder and took cruel revenge - he cut out their hearts from their chests. The third had already left the Iberian Peninsula by that time.

Creepy ceremony



Posthumous honors to Ines de Castro. Pierre-Charles Comte, 1849

On June 25, 1360, the newly-crowned king ordered the courtiers to gather at St. Mary's Cathedral. And he announced that Ines de Castro was his legal wife. Therefore, everyone should pay royal honors to the deceased.

In the cathedral, a dead queen sat on a throne. Half-decayed, since the body was removed from the crypt 6 years after death. Each courtier had to swear allegiance to the deceased by kneeling and kissing her hand. No one dared to refuse.



Tomb of Inesh

According to historians, the king organized the action in order to legally bury his wife in the royal tomb. By order of Pedro I, a luxurious sarcophagus was built for Inesh. Next to which there is another one, for Pedro himself. After 10 years, the ruler rested in it, believing that on the day of the Last Judgment he would see his beloved again.



Scene from the play about the dead queen

Due to the passage of time, it is difficult to separate truth from fiction in this sad and touching story. But it inspired the creation of works by such masters as Luis de Camões, Voltaire, Victor Hugo and Stendhal. In 2009, the film “The Dead Queen” was released, starring Gaelle Bona and Thomas Jouanne.



Still from the film "The Dead Queen" 2009