intended to settle the confl ict between the two countries.
The marriage contract laid down that Portugal would
be ruled by the fi rst heir born to Beatriz, and until the
child reached fourteen, Queen Leonor would govern
the country as regent. This marriage gave Juan I the
possibility of one day sitting on the Portuguese throne.
However, Queen Leonor, in collusion with her lover,
João Fernandes Andeiro, kept an oligarchic rule that
excluded the merchants from the privy council. These,
fearing the regency by the queen, persuaded João to
kill Andeiro in order to force an accommodation with
her. But, following the death of Andeiro and the rising
of the people against her, the queen appealed to Juan I,
who invaded Portugal.
João immediately organized the defense of Lisbon,
relying on the military support of Nuno’ Alvares Pereira
(Nun’ Alvares), a knight who proved to be a supreme
strategist. The peasants, artisans, and merchants rallied
to Dom João’s cause, and the younger sons of noble
families with no land of their own joined his forces.
While João held Lisbon against the Castilian army,
Nun’ Alvares fought in the south and eventually neared
Almada, close to Lisbon, wreaking havoc upon the Cas-
tilians. On 3 September 1384, Juan I, fearing the plague
that had smitten his camp, lifted the siege of the city,
which had lasted four months, and withdrew to Castile.
Cortes (parliament) were convened at Coimbra to solve
the problem of succession. And while João besieged
the castles loyal to Beatriz, Nun’ Alvares harassed the
Castilian loyalists.
João and Nun’ Alvares arrived in Coimbra on 3
March 1385. At the cartes, the lawyer João Afonso
das Regras argued João’s case, showing that the other
pretenders, the sons of Pedro I and Inês de Castro, were
illegitimate in view of the irregular relationship between
their parents. As for Juan I, his invasion of Portugal had
disqualifi ed him, because it was a breach of the treaty.
Having disposed of the argument of rights by birth, João
das Regras claimed that since João was the one who
had taken up arms to defend the realm from the Castil-
ian invader, he deserved to be king. By acclamation he
became João I on 6 April 1385.
Yet the war with Castile was not over. Following
Fernando’s previous policy of getting military support
from England, João I gained some assistance from
the duke of Lancaster. An English contingent fought
alongside the Portuguese in the battle of Aljubarrota
(14 August 1385), which was a decisive victory for
the Portuguese. Portugal’s ties with England were
strengthened by the Treaty of Windsor (9 May 1386),
a military alliance between the two countries. This was
followed by the marriage of João I to Philippa of Lan-
caster (1359–1415), daughter of John of Gaunt, duke
of Lancaster, on 2 February 1387. From this marriage
were born Duarte (1391), Pedro (1392), Henrique (1394,
known as Prince Henry the Navigator), João (1400), and
Fernando (1402). In 1415, four years after the peace
treaty with Castile had been signed, João I, encouraged
by his minister of the treasury, complied with the wishes
of his sons and led an expedition to Ceuta in Morocco,
taking the city. This initiated the period of Portuguese
expansion in which all the princes were deeply involved.
Between 1418 and 1427, Prince Henrique promoted the
discovery of the islands of Madeira and the Azores.
João I was a popular king who listened to his sub-
jects and tried to satisfy their demands. The dynastic
crisis of 1383–1385 gave Portugal its independence
and enabled the productive classes—traders, merchants,
and artisans—to take a leading role in the development
of the country. By relieving the people of Lisbon and
Oporto from the payment of tithes and seigniorial rights,
João I paved the way for a new age. He was a cultivated
man and wrote a remarkable treatise on hunting (Livro
da montaria) that refl ects his views on court life and a
pre-Renaissance awareness of the value of the human
body.Further Reading
Bernardino, T. A revolução portuguesa de 1383–1385. Lisbon,
1984.
Eannes de Zurara, G. Crónica da tomada de Ceuta por el rei dom
João I. Lisbon, 1915.
Lopes, F. Crónica de dom Pedro. Rome, 1966.
——. Crónica del rei dom Johan I. 2 vols. Lisbon, 1968–73.
——. Crónica de dom Fernando. Lisbon, 1975. Peres, D. Dom
João I. Oporto, 1983.
Suárez Fernández, L. Historia del reinado de Juan I de Castilla.
2 vols. Madrid, 1977.
Luis RebeloJOHANN VON WÜRZBURG (fl. ca. 1300)
As in most cases of medieval German literature, hardly
anything is known about the author, except for some
self-references in his courtly romance, Wilhelm von
Österreich. He mentions that he was born in Würzburg
and worked as a scribe, perhaps for the counts of Ho-
henberg and Haigerloch, especially Count Albrecht von
Haigerloch (d. 1298). He also expresses his thanks to
a citizen of Esslingen, Dieprecht, for helping him with
his work. Wilhelm von Österreich was completed in
May of 1314 and was dedicated to the Dukes Leopold
and Frederick of Austria. It appears to have been rather
popular, since it has come down to us in a large number
of manuscripts (in Giefl en, Gotha, The Hague, Heidel-
berg, etc.). In total, there are ten complete manuscripts
and ten fragments extant.
Wilhelm von Österreich is a biographical romance
combining chivalrous with amorous adventutes pro-JOÃO I, KING OF PORTUGAL