Teresa of Portugal, Queen of León

Teresa (aka Tarasia or Tareja) was born on 4 October 1178 in Coimbra, Portugal. She was the oldest daughter of King Sancho I of Portugal and his wife, Dulce of Aragon.

Teresa became Queen of León after her marriage to Alfonso IX of León. They would have three children: Infanta Dulce, Infanta Sancha and Infante Ferdinand. Ferdinand was, at the time, the heir apparent to the throne and remained so until his death, in 1214. However, this marriage was declared invalid because Teresa and Alfonso were first cousins. She returned to Portugal, where she lived at the monastery of Lorvão. This monastery was formerly under Benedictine rule, but Teresa converted it into a Cistercian convent with over 300 nuns.

When her father died, Teresa should have received the Castle of Montemor-o-Velho and all the income there produced, as stated in Sancho I's testament. However, her brother (and new king) Afonso II wanted to centralise power and prevented his sister from receiving what was rightfully hers. This problem was only solved after Afonso II's death! His son, Sancho II, returned to Teresa and her sisters what their father had left them in testament, so long as they renounced the titles of Queen. They did and peace was established in 1223.

In 1230, Teresa's ex-husband died after having several children with his second wife, Berengaria of Castile. This marriage was also annulled because Berengaria was Alfonso's cousin once removed (seeing a pattern here...). With two invalidated marriages, there was a dispute among the children as to who would inherit the throne. Teresa decided to step in and allowed Ferdinand III of Castile (Berengaria's son) to take the throne. After settling the dispute, Teresa returned to Lorvão and finally took her convent vows after several years of living as a nun.

Teresa of Portugal died, aged 71, on 18 June 1250, of natural causes. On 13 December 1705, Pope Clement XI beatified both Teresa and her sister, Sancha.

Possible medieval representation of

Teresa of Portugal

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