{"id":60642,"date":"2025-08-30T18:31:45","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T16:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/?p=60642"},"modified":"2025-09-01T18:25:52","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T16:25:52","slug":"ines-a-beautiful-song-about-a-galician-woman-who-became-queen-of-portugal-after-her-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2025\/08\/30\/ines-a-beautiful-song-about-a-galician-woman-who-became-queen-of-portugal-after-her-death\/","title":{"rendered":"'In\u00e9s', a beautiful song about a Galician woman who became Queen of Portugal after her death"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Middle Ages is a part of the past in which history often blends with legend, sometimes with a very sinister air.<\/p>\n

'Quena f\u00e9sta e o d\u00eda', a song from medieval Spain with a great beginning<\/a><\/rel>
\nThe little-known military march that led some Galicians in their fight for Spain in 1808<\/a><\/rel><\/p>\n

This story takes us to the Iberian Peninsula in the first half of the 14th century, specifically in the year of our Lord 1325. The then King of Castile, Alfonso XI, married by proxy the Castilian noblewoman Constanza Manuel de Villena<\/strong>, who was then only nine years old. Due to the young age of the maiden, the marriage was never consummated, but Constanza was considered Queen consort of Castile for two years, until Alfonso repudiated her<\/strong> in 1327, after falling in love with his cousin the Infanta Maria (then fourteen years old), eldest daughter of King Alfonso IV of Portugal and Beatriz of Castile.<\/p>\n

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Painting \"Murder of Dona In\u00e9ss de Castro\" by the Portuguese painter Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro (1857\u20131929).<\/div>\n

That was not the end of the unfortunate Constance. Stripped of her title of Queen consort, the Castilian noblewoman was betrothed in 1335 to Prince Peter, the future King Peter I of Portugal<\/strong>. The marriage by proxy took place the following year, with prior papal dispensation, as the bride and groom were cousins. However, a war then broke out between Portugal and Castile that lasted until 1339, so Constance was unable to reach Portugal until 1340.<\/strong> When the Castilian noblewoman arrived in her new kingdom, she brought with her an entourage that included her cousin In\u00e9s de Castro, a Galician noblewoman<\/strong>. It is said that Prince Peter fell in love with In\u00e9s as soon as he saw her. Constance died in 1349 after giving birth, but by then Pedro and In\u00e9s were already lovers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The Fountain of Tears, in Coimbra (Photo: Carlos Luis M C da Cruz<\/a>).<\/div>\n

After Constanza's death, the relationship between Pedro and Agnes became more evident. In 1354, the two married in secret, after having had several children.<\/strong> The relationship between Pedro and Agnes upset the Portuguese court. King Afonso IV and several of his nobles plotted to get rid of her. Agnes was murdered at the Quinta das L\u00e1grimas, in Coimbra, on January 7, 1355<\/strong>, taking advantage of the fact that Prince Pedro was away hunting. Legend has it that the tears shed by Agnes in the Mondego River, in Coimbra, gave rise to the Fountain of Tears<\/strong>, which still stands on the banks of that river today. In\u00e9s's murder angered her husband: Infante Pedro took up arms against his father, with the support of the House of Castro<\/strong>, and a civil war broke out in Portugal that ravaged the country for two years.<\/p>\n

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Painting \"The Coronation of In\u00e9s de Castro in 1361\" by the French painter Pierre Charles Comte (1823\u20131895).<\/div>\n

On May 28, 1357, King Afonso IV of Portugal died in Lisbon. Once crowned King, Pedro unleashed his revenge<\/strong>, which gave rise to a truly macabre tale. Legend has it that the new King of Portugal ordered Agnes's body to be exhumed and placed on the throne<\/strong>, forcing the court \u2014which had so cursed the love between the two\u2014 to honor the deceased, which is why it is often said that Agnes de Castro was Queen after her death<\/strong>. Pedro began a persecution of the instigators of Agnes's murder, capturing two of them and ordering their hearts to be torn out. The Galician noblewoman was buried in a beautiful sarcophagus that is preserved in the Monastery of Alcobaza.<\/strong> Pedro I of Portugal was buried in the same place upon his death in 1367.<\/p>\n

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The tomb of In\u00e9s de Castro in the Monastery of Alcobaza, Portugal (Photo: Waugsberg<\/a>).<\/div>\n

In 2008, the Galician traditional music group Milladoiro<\/a> (my favorite band) released an excellent album titled \"A quinta das l\u00e1grimas\"<\/strong>. The third track on this album is in Portuguese, titled \"In\u00e9s,\" and is dedicated to In\u00e9s de Castro. You can listen to it here:<\/p>\n