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Coimbra - Portugal
view from the bridge
Coimbra (Portugal)Pedro and Inês love story
the love story of D. Pedro and Dª Inês is the most romantic episode of the portuguese history and some of it took place in Coimbra. I'll try to resume it:
Prince Pedro of Portugal was about to marry Princess Constanza of Spain.When Constanza arrived in Portugal, Inês de Castro, the daughter of a Castilian landed aristocrat accompanied her as her lady-in-waiting. Pedro fell in love with Inês very quickly and the two conducted an affair until Constanza's death in 1345. The scandal of this affair caused King Afonso(Pedro's father) to banish Inês from court, but this did not end the relationship since the two began living together in secret. This period was when Pedro began giving Inês' brothers important positions at court. This behavior alarmed King Afonso and made him believe that upon his death the Portuguese throne would fall to Castilians. This is the official motive behind Afonso's next actions: he sent three men to find Inês and murder her in 1355. Pedro's rage at the murder of his love is what supposedly sparked his desire to revolt against his father. This revolt lasted from 1355 until 1356 when Afonso defeated his son. One year later, in 1357, Afonso died and Pedro succeeded the throne.
The three men who killed Inês had escaped to Castile, but Pedro arranged for them to be exchanged with Castilian fugitives residing in Portugal. One man escaped, but the other two were brought to justice, and is said that Pedro ripped their hearts out with his own bare hands.
Legend holds that Pedro later had Inês' body exhumed and placed on a throne, dressed in rich robes and jewels, and required all of his vassals to kiss the hand of the deceased "queen". This has never been proven, but what is known is that Pedro did have Inês' body exhumed from her resting place in Coimbra and taken to Alcobaça where her body was laid to rest in the monastery. Pedro had two tombs commissioned for the monastery, one for each of them. The tombs still exist today; they are images of Pedro and Inês facing each other, and inscribed on the marble is "Até o fim do mundo..." or "Until the end of the world..."
So romantic....
D. Pedro and Dª Inês used to get together in the "quinta das lágrimas" garden and it was there that the three men killed Dª Inês. where they used to meet is now the "Fonte dos amores" (Love funtain) and where she was killed is now the "Fonte das lágrimas" (tears fountain). It reaaly deserves a visit.
