Nuno Álvares Pereira
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Categories: 1360 births | 1431 deaths | Portuguese soldiers | Saints | Portuguese nobility
1360-1431
Blessed Nuno Álvares Pereira (1360-1431), also spelled Nun'Álvares Pereira, was a Portuguese General of great success with an decisive role in the 1383-1385 Crisis that assured Portugal's independence of Castile. Later on, he became a mystic.
He was born in July 24 1360 in Quinta do Bonjardim, parish of Cernache de Bonjardim, near Sertã, central Portugal. His father was Álvaro Gonçalves Pereira (Nuno had at least 20 siblings) and Iria Gonçalves do Carvalhal. His grand father was Gonçalo Pereira, Bishop of Braga. He belongued to old Portuguese and Galician nobility.
At age 17, he married Leonor de Alvim in Vila Nova da Rainha, near Azambuja.
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Military life
Nuno started a military career very early. He was in the army when he was only 13, in 1373, and helped stopping a Castilian invasion. However, according to his own words, his first military campaigns were no more than skirmishes on the borders of Portugal. He was an impetuous and brave young man who soon showed himself to be an excellent leader.
Later on, when king Fernando I of Portugal died in 1383, with no heir besides Beatrice married to king Juan I of Castile, the Portuguese independence was again very fragile. Nuno was one of the first nobles to support the claim of king Fernando's brother John, Master of Aviz to the throne. True that John was a bastard son of Peter I of Portugal, but, like many others, it was a better option than the loss of independence. After his the first victory over the Castilians, in the Battle of Atoleiros (April 1384), João of Aviz names Nuno Álvares Pereira protector and Constable of Portugal (Condestável do Reino), in practice supreme commander of Portugal’s armies and Count of Ourém. He was only 23 years old.
In April 1385, João of Aviz is recognized and accepted as king by the kingdom assembly (the Cortes) as John I. This strong Portuguese position for independence triggers an invasion of the country by Juan I of Castile, willing to defend his wife's rights to the throne. Nuno Álvares Pereira engages in a pursuit against the cities loyal to the Castilians, namely in the North of the country. In August, he was the mastermind of the Portuguese victory in the Battle of Aljubarrota, after which the threat of annexation was over. After the 1383-1385 Crisis, Álvares Pereira received from John I of Portugal the titles of Count of Arraiolos and Count of Barcelos.
Not wanting to give the enemy room to manoeuvre, John I and his supreme general raided several Castilian towns and continued to watch out for Juan I of Castile, until his death in 1390. The final peace and the recognition from Castile came only later on 30 October 1411, with the signature of the Treaty of Ayton-Segovia.
Nuno Álvares Pereira sired only one daughter, Beatriz Pereira de Alvim, which was to become the wife of Afonso, Count of Barcelos (natural son of John I of Portugal) and first Duke of Bragança. Therefore, Nuno Álvares Pereira was, through the female line, the ancestor of the Bragança House which became the Portuguese Royal House in the 17th century, ruling Portugal from 1640 to 1910 and the Empire of Brazil from 1822 to 1889.
Religious life
After the death of his wife, he became a Carmelite (he joined the Order in 1423) at the Convent of Carmo (Lisbon) which he had founded in fulfilment of a vow, and took the name of Friar Nuno of St. Mary. There he lived until his death on April 1 1431, Easter Sunday. He was noted for his prayer, his practise of penance and his filial devotion to the Mother of God.
During the last year of his life, King John I went to visit and embrace him for the last time. He wept, for he considered Nuno Álvares Pereira his closest friend, the one who had put him on the throne and saved his country independence.
Nuno Álvares Pereira's tomb was lost in the famous 1755 Lisbon earthquake. His epitaph was as follows: "Here lies that famous Nuno, the Constable, founder of the House of Bragança, excellent general, blessed monk, who during his life on earth so ardently desired the Kingdom of Heaven that after his death, he merited the eternal company of the Saints. His worldly honors were countless, but he turned his back on them. He was a great Prince, but he made himself a humble monk. He founded, built and endowed this church in which his body rests."
Beatification. Canonization procedure
Nuno was beatified on 23 January 1918 by Pope Benedict XV. His memorial is on 1 April.
He was on the point of being canonized by decree in 1940 by Pope Pius XII. Apparently his canonisation was postponed for diplomatic reasons (the Portuguese government itself raised some difficulties) and the canonisation did not materialise. However the procedure for his canonisation is still open and active.
Prayer
- Lord God,
you called Blessed Nuno Álvares Pereira
to put aside his sword and follow Christ
under the Patronage of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Through his prayers may we too deny ourselves,
and devote ourselves to you with all our hearts.
We ask this through Christ, Our Lord.