Castro, Ines de

Castro, Ines de, the daughter of a Spanish nobleman, in 1340 came to Portugal in the train of her cousin, Costança, the bride of the young Infante, Dom Pedro. Her beauty captivated him, and, after Costança's death in 1345, he made her his mistress, in 1354 his wife. The secret of the marriage was revealed to his father, Alfonso IV.; and with his consent the hapless Ines was stabbed to death in January 1355. In 1360, three years after Alfonso's death, Pedro executed two of the three murderers with horrible tortures, whilst the corpse of Ines herself, clad in royal attire, was seated on a throne, and received homage as queen. So, at least, runs the tradition, immortalised by Camoens; but all that is certain is that her body was reinterred with great splendour at Alcobaça.