The young Afonso Henriques in Zamora – shortly before the birth of Portugal
Alexandre Herculano has the following to say about Portugal's first king, then still very young: “It was in 1125 that the young lord performed his first historic deed, which was to knight himself at Zamora. In the cathedral there, on the holy day of Pentecost, he took the knight’s arms from the altar of São Salvador and, beside it, donned his hauberk and fastened his military belt, following the custom of kings”.
Herculano goes on: “The elevation of Afonso Henriques to the noblest rank in the life of arms, was notably coincidental in that on the same day the previous year, Alfonso VII [of Leon and Castile] had performed the same ceremony in the cathedral of Compostela and taken the sword from the altar of Santiago [de Compostela]”.
When citing the medieval chronicle of this episode, José Mattoso has the following to say: “The text goes on to praise the personality of the man who would become Portugal’s first king, emphasising his military prowess and his commitment to fighting for Christendom. Immediately afterwards, it recounts the Battle of São Mamede [1128], as if there were an intimate connection between the two events”.
Now at the head of the County of Portugal, Afonso Henriques’ exploits would continue, most notably with the Battle of Ourique in 1139. And it was this sequence of events that brought Afonso Henriques back to Zamora in 1143, as he came to confer with Alfonso VII about the County, entering as a count and departing as a king. The two cousins agreed on the independence of what, from that moment, became the Kingdom of Portugal, formally acknowledged by the Pope in 1179.
These deeds are among many that endure in the collective Portuguese memory to this day, contributing to the romanticised image of the great Afonso I, exalted by a great many poets and writers. One example is The Lusiads, Canto III, Stanza 84:
“But ring so loud o'er Earth's extremest bourne the fame and exploits of our great lost chief, that evermore shall echo for his reign
‘Afonso! Afonso!’ cry, and cry in vain.”
And so here we are today, wholeheartedly honouring that very first act, Portugal's first moment, and celebrating the 900th anniversary of that chivalric episode at Zamora.
José Ribeiro e Castro
President of the Board
Historical Society of the Independence of Portugal
