One Medieval King Ripped The Hearts Of His Wife’s Killers Out Of Their Chests
The things you do for love
A young prince in love with a beautiful maiden, an old king determined to keep them apart by all means: sounds like a fairytale straight out of a children’s book.
But King Pedro I of Portugal and Dona Inês de Castro’s love story doesn’t have a happy ending: it’s a tale of star-crossed lovers, murder, and bloody revenge.
An Arranged Marriage
In 1336 King Afonso IV of Portugal arranged the marriage of his only male heir, Infante Pedro (later Pedro I of Portugal), to Constanza Manuel, the daughter of a very powerful Castilian aristocrat, Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena. Juan Manuel was King Afonso’s cousin.
The marriage was meant to solidify an alliance between King Afonso IV and Juan Manuel — and to mess with Alfonso XI, King of Castile… who was also their cousin. Everyone is everyone’s cousin in this story.
Alfonso XI had been married to Constanza before but soon had the marriage annulled so he could be free to marry Maria of Portugal — King Afonso IV’s daughter, Prince Pedro’s sister, and…
