King Ferdinand

King Ferdinand (1367-1383) was the ninth king of Portugal and the last of the first dynasty. 

He was involved in wars with the kingdom of Castile and it was during his rule that the first treaty of friendship was signed between the kingdoms of Portugal and England (1373) – the oldest alliance in the world. 

During the second war with Castile, the city of Lisbon was besieged. Therefore, the king ordered the construction of a new wall to defend it – the Fernandine Wall. Built between 1373 and 1375, the wall stretched 4700 metres and had 76 towers and more than 30 gateways and wicket gates. 

Starting out from the citadel, the new northwest and northeast sections of the new wall were built to defend the eastern and western outskirts of the city.

In 1382, English soldiers were in Lisbon, including the Count of Cambridge, son of the King of England, who was received at the Palace by King Ferdinand.

Without a male heir, the kingdom experienced a period of great instability upon his death that culminated in the Dynastic Crisis of 1383-1385.

Did you know that…

The chronicler Fernão Lopes tells us that D. Fernando was well-built and good-looking? That’s how he got the nickname of “The Handsome” or “The Beautiful”.