Madragana

Madragana Ben Aloandro, later Maior Afonso - (Portugal, Algarve, Faro, c. 1230 - ?) was a famous algarvian mistress to king Afonso III of Portugal, in the 13th century, when he ended the Reconquista in Portugal by taking Faro in 1249. Faro was at that time the last part of the Kingdom of the Algarve still in Muslim hands, and there her father was the Alcaide.

Christening

She was christened in time [Most probably because she had been previously christened according to the Mozarabic Rite, the re-christening being done in the Roman Rite.] , receiving her new Christian name as "Maior Afonso", or "Mor Afonso", Mor being short for Maior, a common female name in medieval Portuguese. Afonso was given her in baptism as her new patronymic, meaning "the daughter of" Afonso - and that suggests that her elderly royal lover was also her godfather, that she took his spiritual fatherhood when christening. Her father's name was Aloandro Ben Bekar (also known in Portuguese as "Aloandro" or "Aldroando Gil" after his christening).

Aloandro is said now by some authors to had been son of Bakr Ben Yahia and grandson of Yahia Ben Bakr, of Sephardi Jewish origin. "Madragana" was also called in ancient Portuguese chronicles "Mouroana" [Sometimes spelled "Mourana" (also in the variety "Mourana Gil"). Notice that the origin of the name "Mourana" is not the Portuguese for Moor, "Mouro", but the Portuguese traditional name "Ouroana", or "Aureana".] , "Mouroana Gil" and "Madraganil" - all of which are Christian names.

Ethnicity

There is, however, some controversy regarding her ethnicity. A single author, Duarte Nunes de Leão, a Portuguese royal chronicler of the 16th century, tells us that Madragana was a Moor [Duarte Nunes de Leão, "Crónica d'El Rei Dom Afonso III", 1600; modern edition: Duarte Nunes de Leão, "Crónica dos Reis de Portugal", Porto, Lello & Irmão, 1975. ] . That was strongly denied in the 18th century by António Caetano de Sousa [António Caetano de Sousa, "História Genealógica da Casa Real Portuguesa", Coimbra, Atlântida-Livraria Editora, 1946 (modern edition).] , in which he is followed by most modern authors. [Anselmo Braamcamp Freire, "Brasões da Sala de Sintra", 3 vols., Lisbon, Imprensa Nacional-Casa de Moeda, 1973; Felgueiras Gayo & Carvalhos de Basto, "Nobiliário das Famílias de Portugal", Braga, 1989; José Augusto de Sotto Mayor Pizarro, "Linhagens Medievais Portuguesas", 3 vols., Porto, Universidade Moderna, 1999; Manuel Abranches de Soveral, "Origem dos Souza ditos do Prado", in "Machado de Vila Pouca de Aguiar. Ascendências e parentescos da Casa do Couto d'Além em Soutelo de Aguiar", Porto, 2000.]

When passion with the King waned, she was married to "Fernão Rei", and they had at least one daughter, "Sancha Fernandes". Note that "Rei" means King, in Portuguese, and so "Fernão Rei" is supposed to have been originally a servant of the king ("Fernão do Rei" - Ferdinand of the King).

Madragana bore two royal children:
*Dom "Martim Afonso Chichorro" (circa 1250 - after 1313), married to Dona Inês Lourenço de Sousa (or Dona Inês Lourenço de Valadares) (circa 1250 - ?).
*Dona "Urraca Afonso" (circa 1260 - ?), married twice: 1st in 1265 to Pedro Anes Gago de Riba Vizela (circa 1240 - 1286); 2nd circa 1275 to Dom João Mendes de Briteiros (circa 1250 - ?).

Present notoriety

Madragana's present notoriety is due to the fact that, through Margarida de Castro e Sousa, she is the ancestor, amongst many other, of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (daughter of Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen), queen consort of George III of the United Kingdom (and grandmother of Queen Victoria, and the great-great-great-great grandmother of the current Queen of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II).

Proposed Madragana's Jewish genealogy

Notes

External links

* [http://www.davidicdynasty.org/ Dedicated to uniting the Jewish descendants of King David]
* [http://www.geneall.net/P/per_page.php?id=65678 Madragana's genealogy in a Portuguese Genealogical site]
* [http://www.heymannfamily.com/web/HeymannGed4Web/f_1297.html Genealogy of Yahia Ben Rabbi]
* [http://www.angelfire.com/ego/et_deo/davidicdynasty.wps.htm Genealogy of the Davidic Dynasty] or mirror site [http://www.members.aol.com/rdavidh218/davidicdynasty.html Genealogy of the Davidic Dynasty]