ALPHONSO I. or DON ALONSO ENRIQUEZ, the first king of Portugal, was born in the year 1109. 1k was the son of Henry Count of Burgundy, and of Theresa, daughter of Alphonso VI., king of Leon and Castile. His father had received, as a dowry with his wife, the greater part of Portugal, which he held, with the title of Count, of the king of Castile, his father-in-law. Af ter his death in 1112, Theresa, with the assistance of Ferdinand Perez, Count of Frastemara, continued to govern Portugal till the year 1128. At this period, the nobles, having become jealous of the power of Perez, or having been offended by the reports of his intima cy with the queen, advised Alphonso, who was now in his eighteenth year, to assume the sovereign authority. His mother and her party had recourse to arms ; but the young prince, by the advice of his nobility, gave them battle, and gained a complete viotory. He took Theresa prisoner, and held her in confinement till her death, which took place about two years after this event. After defeating the Moors, who had made an inroad into his territories, he turned his arms against the kingdom of Gallicia, under the pretence of pursuing Ferdinand Perez, who had retired thither ; but, in reality, with a view to recover some places, which his mother had possessed in that country. This attack drew upon him the vengeance of his cousin Alphonso VII., king of Leon and Castile, who entered Portugal with a numerous army, and ravaged the country to a great extent. He concluded a peace with that prince in 1137, on the conditions, that all places and prisoners, taken on both sides, should be restored ; and as the Pope's legate had used his influence to procure such favourable terms, the Count Alphonso voluntarily ac knowledged himself tributary to the Roman see, and engaged to pay annually four ounces of gold. In 1159 he completely routed a numerous army of the Moors in the plains of Ourique ; and, immediately after the victory, was proclaimed by his soldiers king of Por tugal. Having made some farther conquests from the Moors, he assembled the states of his kingdom in 1145; and, with their unanimous consent, was crowned by the archbishop of Braga. They declared him independent of the king of Leon and Castile, and of every other prince ; vowed to support him in his sovereignty ; and, drawing their swords, exclaimed with enthusiasm, " We are free, our king is free, and we owe our liberty to our courage ; and if he shall ever submit to do ho mage, he deserves death, and shall neither reign over us, nor remain among us." After his coronation he mar
ried Matilda, daughter of Amadeus, Count of Maurienne and Savoy ; and spent some time in visiting the several provinces of his kingdom. In 1117, by the assistance of a band of adventurers, who were on their way to the Holy Land, he recovered Lisbon horn the Moors, and added many other places to his dominions. ap plied himself to preserve and in.prove the territories which he had acquired ; and in all his plans he found an able and active assistant in his queen Matilda. 1 le repaired the cities which had fidlen into decay, and en couraged strangers to settle among his subjects. Ile restored the Episcopal see of Lisbon ; and appointed as bishop an English divine named Gilbert, who had been among the crusaders by hum he was assisted in cap turing the place. In his old age, he was engaged in frequent disputes with his son-in-law, Ferdinand, king of Leon, who required him to do homage for his dominions. In the latter part of his reign, he was greatly assisted by his son Don Sancho, who commanded his troops on several occasions ; and who gained a memorable victory over the Moors at Santaren in 1183. This decisive de feat procured a season of repose, for the aged king, who had retired to Coimbra, where he was attended by his nobility, to conceit measures for the future security of his territories ; and where he died in 1185, in the 76th year of his age, and 57th of his reign. Ile was greatly regretted by his subjects, and buried with much solemnity. He is said to have been a person of ex traordinary strength, about seven feet in height, and possessed of great military courage. He is more de serving, however, of admiration, for the free constitution and excellent laws which he established at his corona tion ; and for the anxiety which he showed to have these benefits secured to his subjects. See Mod. Un. Hitt. vol. xxii. p. (7)