# Maria Afonso

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Afonso
> Source revision: 1355095055
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{{short description|Portuguese noblewoman and nun (died 1320)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name               = 
| image              = D. Maria (1302-1320), filha de D. Dinis - The Portuguese Genealogy (Genealogia dos Reis de Portugal) (cropped).png
| image_size         = 
| alt                = A 16th-century miniature of a nun, wearing grey robes, flipping through a book
| caption            = Maria Afonso depicted in a 16th-century miniature
| birth_name         = 
| birth_date         = {{circa|1301}}
| birth_place        = 
| death_date         = 1320
| death_place        = 
| death_cause        = Murder
| burial_date        = 
| burial_place       = [Monastery of São Dinis de Odivelas](/source/Monastery_of_S%C3%A3o_Dinis_de_Odivelas)
| native_lang1       = <!-- up to | native_lang5 = -->
| native_lang1_name1 = <!-- up to | native_lang5_name1 = -->
| house              = [Burgundy](/source/Portuguese_House_of_Burgundy)
| father             = [Denis of Portugal](/source/Denis_of_Portugal)
| religion           = [Roman Catholicism](/source/Roman_Catholicism)
| occupation         = [Nun](/source/Nun)
}}
'''Maria Afonso''' ({{circa}} 1301 – 1320) was a Portuguese noblewoman and [nun](/source/nun). The illegitimate daughter of [Denis of Portugal](/source/Denis_of_Portugal), she was a nun at the [Monastery of São Dinis de Odivelas](/source/Monastery_of_S%C3%A3o_Dinis_de_Odivelas), where she built an altar for [Andrew the Apostle](/source/Andrew_the_Apostle). She was murdered in 1320. The whereabouts of her remains have been subject to controversy. In 2022, she was portrayed in Portuguese drama series ''A Rainha e a Bastarda'', which was about her death and the subsequent investigation.

== Biography ==
Maria Afonso was the [illegitimate daughter](/source/illegitimate_daughter) of [Denis of Portugal](/source/Denis_of_Portugal).<ref name="Fernandes" />{{rp|73}} The identity of her mother has been debated upon by scholars. While some attribute Branca Lourenço de Valadares, a member of the noble [Valladares](/source/Valladares) family, as her mother, others say her mother was unknown.<ref name="Parra">{{cite report |last=da Cruz Parra |first=Ana Raquel |date=2017–2018 |title=A Paternidade na Idade Média: o caso de D. Dinis |url= |trans-title= |work= |language=pt |location= |publisher=[University of Lisbon](/source/University_of_Lisbon) |docket= |access-date=|pages=109–110}}</ref>{{rp|109}} She was brought up in [Odivelas](/source/Odivelas), and is believed to have been born in 1301, based on a document dated that year that stated Denis granted her presumed mother, Branca Lourenço, the town of [Mirandela](/source/Mirandela) in exchange for her body.<ref name="Vaz" /> Her half-siblings were the legitimate [Constance of Portugal](/source/Constance_of_Portugal) and [Afonso IV of Portugal](/source/Afonso_IV_of_Portugal), and the illegitimate [Afonso Sanches](/source/Afonso_Sanches%2C_Lord_of_Alburquerque), [Pedro Afonso](/source/Pedro_Afonso%2C_Count_of_Barcelos), João Afonso, Fernão Sanches, Maria Afonso, and another Pedro Afonso. Maria Afonso was the youngest child of Denis.<ref name="Vaz">{{cite web |last1=Máxima Vaz |first1=Maria |title=D. Dinis – dois filhos legítimos e sete naturais |url=https://capeiaarraiana.pt/2013/10/13/69219/ |publisher=Capeia Arraiana |access-date=11 May 2026 |language=pt |date=13 October 2013 |trans-title=King Dinis – two legitimate children and seven illegitimate children.}}</ref>

She became a [nun](/source/nun) at the [Monastery of São Dinis de Odivelas](/source/Monastery_of_S%C3%A3o_Dinis_de_Odivelas) at an unknown date,<ref name="Fernandes" />{{rp|73}} which her father had founded in 1295.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Carrero Santamaría |first=Eduardo |title=Mosteiro de Odivelas: documentos fundacionais, coord. científica Saul António Gomes, Odivelas, Odivelas: Cámara municipal-Mosteiro de Odivelas-Centro de Història Universidade de Lisboa, 2021 |journal=Medievalia |publisher=Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona |volume=25 |issue=1 |date=21 November 2022 |issn=2014-8410 |doi=10.5565/rev/medievalia.593 |language=pt|pages=158–160}}</ref>{{rp|159}} During her time as nun, she helped build an altar for [Andrew the Apostle](/source/Andrew_the_Apostle).<ref name="Fernandes">{{cite report |last=Varela Fernandes |first=Carla |date=December 2006 |title=Proposta de identificação de um jacente medieval. O infante D. João |url=https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/2005434/2006_infante-DJoao-libre.pdf?1390824691=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DProposta_de_identificacao_de_um_jacente.pdf&Expires=1778503169&Signature=AzAL8XKpEmd73lZbiT55roITWlUi1452nEfY1VSH~gLJfG~ELXP7pVbxD7s8XWGgBvKrTMkxHjN88Php3ApdcmChdjc~yA8nImR8M-iJeHekg2~-Tc0g8Sy~O~PAEk-mL8cmMHG8rPN3aBEXJE4mu7TgOdBTtqdJymt6kBylY8W4sxjF2iXdUx~z3ZpJ1OpRHGtIc4yLeHOVqy7iONZS1V8clw1KktlZcAl3pU8tifFJtJrPB~S3E6CCxS0B9vHBE7NGw278sbXUNMkLlNwvp7UqyCdV8xSQjAYPJti9I6r-2UbjpERXHe58d7qZvFO--epIGTNKeEiHSbEVyewasg__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA |trans-title=Proposal for identification of a medieval recumbent effigy. Prince John |work= |language=pt |location= |pages=73–87|publisher=Art History Institute - University of Lisbon |docket= |access-date=11 May 2026}}</ref>{{rp|73}}

== Death and burial ==
She died in 1320, and was buried at the Monastery she worked at.<ref name="Fernandes" />{{rp|73}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Reis, Rainhas e Presidentes de Portugal - D. Dinis |url=https://www.arqnet.pt/portal/portugal/temashistoria/dinis.html |publisher=O Portal da História |access-date=11 May 2026 |language=pt |trans-title=Kings, Queens, and Presidents of Portugal - King Dinis}}</ref> She is believed to have been murdered in the Monastery, at around 20 years old.<ref name="Parra" />{{rp|110}}

A [reliquary](/source/reliquary) in the Epistle chapel of the Monastery was believed to have contained the remains of Afonso. However, the reliquary was not decorated with items that would be typical of a woman like Afonso, such as religious elements or veils.<ref name="Rossi" />{{rp|438–439}} Historian [Carla Varela Fernandes](/source/Carla_Varela_Fernandes) proposed that it actually held the remains of a son of [Afonso IV of Portugal](/source/Afonso_IV_of_Portugal) and his wife [Beatrice of Castile](/source/Beatrice_of_Castile_(1293%E2%80%931359)), named John.<ref name="Rossi">{{cite book |last1=Rossi Vairo |first1=Guilia |title=Família, Espaço e Património |publisher=CITCEM |isbn=9789898351142|pages=433–448  |language=pt |chapter=O Mosteiro De S. Dinis E S. Bernardo De Odivelas, Panteão Régio (1318-1322) |chapter-url=https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/37489770/Rossi_Vairo_CITCEM-libre.pdf?1430670252=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DO_Mosteiro_de_S_Dinis_de_Odivelas_pantea.pdf&Expires=1778501779&Signature=ELjNgMlyFUHjG5VgtiEEXd~ami3kHIquB7tTDZg9YpP~aRNU5R~A1p6uOnuyKTiuPcDJ2ps1CGO7zOU9dspgN5DhcC1PTewhgJ1JrXhMd9Yf6zq52jodm2uoz9KiQgSHvkSqg0nOfjr3CIeQUAPhJMnv0NTv6~~aH~XcND64N6LWD~XNV~4TqBrUwC7SKFeJn5RXaQXnKNEqSX2CZeOU91fc9b5GSrPmmwt1Xzjqw6-i179-HyNm4Ir-ov~XUQKp1ozZpNMVnQPKDJZ8AO5ngxRM90E~t~GuYWQrNPMVHcsvOVyQxSQF-fph7oPqgI-CuyRPGLRDVKbNLxK5SbmNmw__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA|trans-title=Family, Space and Heritage}}</ref>{{rp|439}} He was Maria's nephew.<ref name="Fernandes" />{{rp|76}}

From a report from [Borges de Figueiredo](/source/Borges_de_Figueiredo) from when he opened the reliquary, it contained the remains of a child that was no older than a year of age and a child's coat. Varela Fernandes noted that the child's description matched that of John.<ref name="Fernandes" />{{rp|83}}

== Legacy ==
In 2022, Afonso was portrayed in the Portuguese drama series ''{{ill|A Rainha e a Bastarda|pt}}'', which centers around the investigation into her murder.<ref name="RTP">{{cite web |title=A Rainha e a Bastarda |url=https://media.rtp.pt/extra/estreias/a-rainha-e-a-bastarda/ |publisher=[Rádio e Televisão de Portugal](/source/R%C3%A1dio_e_Televis%C3%A3o_de_Portugal) |access-date=11 May 2026 |language=pt |date=16 February 2022 |trans-title=The Queen and the Bastard}}</ref><ref name="Joana">{{cite news |last1=Amaral Cardoso |first1=Joana |title=A Rainha e a Bastarda é a senhora que se segue nas séries da RTP1 |url=https://www.publico.pt/2022/02/22/culturaipsilon/noticia/rainha-bastarda-senhora-segue-series-rtp1-1996350 |access-date=11 May 2026 |work=[Público](/source/P%C3%BAblico_(Portugal)) |date=22 February 2022 |language=pt |trans-title=The Queen and the Bastard is the next series on RTP1.}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{House of Burgundy-Portugal}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Afonso, Maria}}
Category:1300s births
Category:1320 deaths
Category:14th-century Portuguese nobility
Category:14th-century Portuguese nuns
Category:Daughters of kings
Category:Female murder victims
Category:Portuguese House of Burgundy
Category:Illegitimate children of Portuguese monarchs
Category:People from Odivelas
Category:People murdered in Portugal
Category:Portuguese murder victims

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Maria Afonso](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Afonso) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Afonso?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.