were consequently of
bastard birth. Educated at the semi-Oriental provincial court of Juan
Manuel, duke of Penafiel, Inez grew up side by side with Costanca, the
duke's daughter by a scion of the royal house of Aragon, and her own
cousin. After refusing several crowned heads in marriage, Costanca was
at last persuaded to accept the hand of the infante Dom Pedro, son of
Alphonso the Proud, king of Portugal. In 1341 the two girls left
Penafiel; Costanca's marriage was celebrated in the same year, and the
young infanta and her cousin went to reside at Lisbon, or at Coimbra,
where Dom Pedro conceived that luckless and furious passion for Inez
which has immortalized them.

The morality of the age was lax, and more especially so in Spain and
Portugal, where the looseness of the marriage tie and the example of the
Moors encouraged polygamy. Pedro's connexion _par amours_ with Inez
would of itself have aroused no opposition. He might even have married
her, after the death of his wife in childbirth in 1345. According to his
own assurance he did marry her in 1354. But by that time the rising
power of the Castro family had created the most brutal hatred among
their rivals, both in Spain and Portugal. Alvaro Gonzales, Pedro Coelho,
and Diogo Lopes Pacheco persuaded the king, Alphonso, that his throne
was in danger from an alliance between his son and the Castros, and with
all the brutality of the age they urged the king to remove the danger by
murdering the poor woman. The old king listened, refused, wavered and
ended by yielding. He went in secret to the palace at Coimbra, where
Inez and the infante resided, accompanied by his three familiars, and by
others who agreed with them. The beauty and tears of Inez disarmed his
resolution, and he turned to leave her; but the gentlemen about him had
gone too far to recede. Inez was stabbed to death and was buried
immediately in the church of Santa Clara.

The infante raised at once the flag of revolt against his father, and
was only appeased by the concession of a large share in the government.
The three murderers of Inez were sent out of the kingdom by Alphonso,
who knew his son too well not to be aware that the vengeance would be
tremendous as the crime. They took refuge in Castile. In 1357, however,
Alphonso died, and the infante was crowned king of Portugal. Peter the
Cruel, his nephew, reigned over Castile; and the murderers were given up
as soon as required. Diogo Lopes escaped thr