Afonso I, also called Afonso Henriques, nicknamed the Conqueror and the Founder by the Portuguese, was the first king of Portugal. He achieved the independence of the County of Portugal, establishing a new kingdom and doubling its area with the Reconquista, an objective that he pursued until his death.
John of Portugal, occasionally surnamed Castro, was the eldest surviving son of King Peter I of Portugal by his mistress Inês de Castro. He was a potential but unsuccessful contender for the Portuguese throne during the 1383–85 crisis of succession.
Álvaro Vaz de Almada, 1st Count of Avranches was an illustrious Portuguese knight and nobleman, with a long and illustrious career abroad in England. He was invested by the English king, Henry VI as the 1st Count of Avranches and made a Knight of the Garter.
The Camões family were descendants of the 14th-century Portuguese nobleman Vasco Pires de Camões.
Isabella of Portugal (1364–1395) was the natural daughter of King Ferdinand I of Portugal, from an unknown mother.
José Maria de Sousa Horta e Costa, CavA, OA, OSE, also known as José Maria de Sousa Horta e Costa (de) Almeida e Vasconcelos, was a Portuguese soldier, politician, and diplomat. He was colonial Governor of Macau and India.
Miguel António de Sousa Horta Almeida e Vasconcelos, 2nd Baron of Santa Comba Dão was a Portuguese nobleman.
António Maria de Sousa Horta e Costa was a Portuguese jurist, magistrate, and politician.
António Osório Sarmento de Figueiredo Jr. was a Portuguese nobleman, jurist, politician and magistrate.
The high office of Admiral of the Kingdom of Portugal as the head of the Portuguese navy was created by King Denis of Portugal in 1317 for the Genoese nobleman and naval officer Manuel Pessanha. Although there is evidence that such a title existed before, it seems to have been of only a temporary character, for fleets assembled in times of war. The exception was perhaps Nuno Fernandes Cogominho who seems to have been appointed admiral by King Denis in 1307, and still had that title at his death in 1316, although the conditions are unclear. Nonetheless, Manuel Pessanha was the first person known to hold the title of Almirante-mor as a permanent office for a permanent fleet. All the king's galleys were under his jurisdiction. The conditions of the Pessanha's title stipulated that he must maintain a corps of at least 20 Genoese naval officers at all times and was obliged to serve the king in military service on land as well as sea.
The Twelve of England is a Portuguese chivalric legend of 15th-century origin, famously related by the poet Luís de Camões in his 1572 Os Lusíadas. It tells the story of twelve Portuguese knights who travelled to England at the request of twelve English ladies to avenge their insult by a group of English knights.
The Maia family was an old and powerful Portuguese noble family with its origins dating back to the 10th century.
Martim Afonso Telo de Meneses, was a Portuguese nobleman, member of the Téllez de Meneses lineage, and the father of Leonor Teles, queen consort of Portugal.
Gil Vázquez de Soverosa was a member of the nobility of the Kingdom of Portugal, of the Soverosa lineage which had its origins in Galicia. He appears frequently as a member of the curia regis confirming royal charters of Kings Sancho I, Afonso II, and Afonso III of Portugal.
Afonso Sanches, Lord of Albuquerque, also known as Alfonso Sanches, was a Portuguese nobleman, Lord of Cerva and Alburquerque.
João Afonso Telo de Menezes was a Portuguese nobleman, 1st Count of Ourém and 4th Count of Barcelos.
Lopo Fernandes Pacheco, was the first of his lineage to accede to the highest ranks of the nobility, that of a rico-homem, in the Kingdom of Portugal. He lived during the reign of King Afonso IV of Portugal of whom he was his favorite and loyal vassal. His parents were João Fernandes Pacheco and his wife Estevaínha Lopes de Paiva, daughter of Lope Rodrigues de Paiva and Teresa Martins Xira. His family owned properties in different parts of the kingdom although its area of influence was mainly Beira in the northern part of the country.
João Afonso Telo,, mayor of Lisbon in 1372, admiral of Portugal from 1375 – 1376, and sixth Count of Barcelos, was a member of the highest ranks of the nobility, member of the Téllez de Meneses lineage as a descendant of Tello Pérez de Meneses.
Dom Martinho de Ataíde, 2nd Count of Atouguia, was a 15th-century Portuguese nobleman and diplomat. In 1455, he was granted the lordship of the Canary Islands, by donation from King Henry IV of Castile, which he later sold to the Count of Viana.
Filipa de Eça was a 16th-century Portuguese nun. She was a great-great-granddaughter of king Pedro I of Portugal and Inês de Castro. Elected as Abbess of the Monastery of Lorvão in 1538, she was later expelled by king João III. She appealed the expulsion to the Pope, who nearly 15 years later confirmed her right to be restored to her dignity as Abbess of Lorvão.
