| Denis | |
|---|---|
.png) King Denis in the Castilian manuscript Compendium of Chronicles of Kings (...) (c. 1312–1325) | |
| King of Portugal | |
| Reign | 16 February 1279 – 7 January 1325 |
| Predecessor | Afonso III |
| Successor | Afonso IV |
| Born | 9 October 1261 Lisbon, Portugal |
| Died | 7 January 1325 (aged 63) Santarém, Portugal |
| Burial | St. Denis Convent, Odivelas, Portugal |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | |
| House | Burgundy |
| Father | Afonso III of Portugal |
| Mother | Beatrice of Castile |
| Signature |  |
Denis (Latin: Dionysius, Portuguese: Dinis or Diniz, IPA: [diˈniʃ]; 9 October 1261 – 7 January 1325), called the Farmer King (Rei Lavrador)[1] and the Poet King (Rei Poeta), was King of Portugal. The eldest son of Afonso III of Portugal by his second wife, Beatrice of Castile, and grandson of Afonso II of Portugal, Denis succeeded his father in 1279. He was married to Elizabeth of Aragon, who was later canonised as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church.[2]
Denis ruled Portugal for over 46 years. He worked to reorganise his country's economy and gave an impetus to Portuguese agriculture. He ordered the planting of a large pine forest (that still exists today) near Leiria to prevent the soil degradation that threatened the region and to serve as a source of raw materials for the construction of the royal ships.[3] He was also known for his poetry,[4] which constitutes an important contribution to the development of Portuguese as a literary language.[5]
- ^ Britannica Educational Publishing (1 June 2013). Portugal and Spain. Britanncia Educational Publishing. p. 53. ISBN 978-1-61530-993-1.
- ^ History of Two Queens 1. Catharine D'Aragon, 2. Anne Boleyn By William Hepworth Dixon. B. Tauchnitz. 1873. p. 49.
- ^ H. V. Livermore (2004). Portugal: A Traveller's History. Boydell Press. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-84383-063-4.
- ^ Rip Cohen (1 January 1987). Thirty-two Cantigas D'amigo of Dom Dinis: Typology of a Portuguese Renunciation. Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-942260-55-7.
- ^ Portuguese Studies Newsletter. International Conference Group on Modern Portugal. 1988. p. 42.
In his fusion of Provençal influences with the native Galician-Portuguese lyric spread southward from Santiago de Campostela, Dinis went beyond the role of translator and patron to become an important poet in his own right.