148 - King João's children and their dates of birth

Summary

Returning to Portugal to speak of King João, who remained in Lisbon, we have nothing to say for the present, owing to the truce the kings made, which you have already heard about in its due place. However, on learning of the death of his adversary and seeing that the Castilian prince had not yet reached the age of eleven, the king was advised to invade the country while the kingdom was at sixes and sevens and so would be able to seize a large part of it. But the king said he would not do so, however much he knew he would gain. Rather, he intended to maintain with the son the truce that he had made with the father, and was not inclined to act to the contrary.

While the truce lasts, and all affairs remain peaceful, we have nothing to tell here, so we shall speak of the children King João had, both while Master of Avis and later when he reigned and was married. Their births were spread out over a long period of time but the dates are not stated; thus, we shall name all of them here in the cause of accuracy, treating them as one does kings, where we recount at the beginning of their reigns the virtues that each practised in his lifetime. We shall briefly say something of the qualities with which they were adorned.

When he was Master, as we have said, he had sexual relations with a lady named Dona Inês, who later held the benefice of Santos, a convent of nuns near Lisbon. He had a son and a daughter by her. The son, Dom Afonso, was made Count of Barcelos and later Duke of Bragança, as we shall relate in the appropriate place. The daughter, Dona Beatriz, married in England and became Countess of Arundel, as you shall hear when we speak of this.

But after the king's marriage, he had issue by his noble queen [Philippa], as follows:

Princess Branca, born in Lisbon on 13 July 1388, but who lived for just over eight months; she lies in the cathedral of that city in a stone tomb at the feet of King Afonso, her great-grandfather.