Jorge de Lencastre, 2nd Duke of Coimbra - Later Years

Later Years

Manuel died in late 1521, and was succeeded by his son, John III of Portugal. But the conflict with Dom Jorge de Lencastre continued, the opposition standard taken up with more energy by Jorge's son, Dom João de Lencastre, Marquis of Torres Novas. The sons of the old rivals butted heads politically and, increasingly, in the scandal sheets. In the late 1520s, Dom João led the opposition to the marriage of John III's brother, Infante Ferdinand, to Dona Guiomar Coutinho, a prominent noble heiress to the great feudal estates of Marialva and Loulé, on the grounds that he had already secretly married her. John III responded by locking up João de Lencastre in the Castle of São Jorge for some years (an episode later dramatized by Camilo Castelo Branco in his play O Marquez de Torres-Novas).

Dom Jorge himself produced a notable scandal late in life when, at the age of 67, he pursued (and married) a 16-year-old girl, Dona Filipa de Melo (daughter of Dom Fernando de Lima). John III gave great publicity to the scandal, while, behind Jorge's back, securing an annulment from the pope.

When Dom Jorge de Lencastre finally died in late July 1550, John III moved quickly to seize control of the military orders. From Pope Julius III, he received a bull in August 1550 appointing him personally as the master of both the Order of Santiago and the Order of Aviz. This was followed up by a second bull, issued under great diplomatic pressure in December 1551, appointing the Kings of Portugal as masters in perpetuity of both military orders, thus bringing an end to the independence of the orders Dom Jorge de Lencastre had fought so hard to retain.

At Dom Jorge's death, the title of 'Duke of Coimbra' was extinguished by John III. The official explanation was that as Coimbra was a royal town, the existence of a feudal title bearing the town's name was inappropriate. The real reason was probably that the king was eager to erase a title that had been borne by two notable challengers of royal power, a name that might still have a magical pull on the imagination of the next bearer. The lands associated with the Duke of Coimbra were passed over to the Duke of Aveiro, a new title created by John III shortly before (c. 1535) for Dom Jorge's son and heir, Dom João de Lencastre. The line of Lencastre would continue through the Dukes of Aveiro.