Peter I of Portugal - King of Portugal

King of Portugal

Fernão Lopes labels Peter as "the Just" and said that Peter loved justice—especially the dispensing of it, which he enjoyed doing for himself. Inês' assassins received his harshest punishment: the three had escaped to Castile, but Peter arranged for them to be exchanged for Castilian fugitives residing in Portugal with his nephew, Peter of Castile. One man escaped, but the other two were brought to justice, and Lopes says that Pedro ripped their hearts out with his own hands. It is possible that Peter I of Portugal has been confused with Peter of Castile: both have the same name, both lived at the same time, the two were closely related, and both are credited with committing violent acts towards their subjects. Despite his gruesome legacy, Peter I of Portugal did have a peaceful reign and managed to install a system of justice which was relatively fair for the times. He attempted this with his Beneplácito Régio in 1361, which forbade any Papal Bulls to be published without his prior consent. This was a result of the number of fake papal documents that had been entering the country. He also began the "nationalization" of the military orders by placing his youngest son João (an illegitimate child born after Inês' death) as the Master of the Order of Avis. He claimed that he and Inês had been married and thus that their four children were legitimate, but nothing ever came of this. Peter and Inês' children went to live in Castile.

Legend holds that Peter later had Inês' body exhumed and placed upon a throne, dressed in rich robes and jewels, requiring all of his vassals to kiss the hand of the deceased "queen". This has never been proven, but what is known is that Peter did have Inês' body removed from her resting place in Coimbra and taken to Alcobaça where her body was laid to rest in the monastery. Peter had two tombs constructed in the monastery, one for each of them. These still exist today; they contain images of Peter and Inês facing each other, with the words "Até o fim do mundo..." ("Until the end of the world...") inscribed on the marble.

Peter was also the father of Ferdinand I of Portugal and John I of Portugal. John was the Master of the military order of Avis, and he would become the founder of the Avis dynasty in 1385, after defeating an attempt by Beatrice of Portugal and John I of Castile to ascend the Portuguese throne.