Pedro Afonso, Count of Barcelos

Pedro Afonso
Count of Barcelos
Pedro Afonso, Count of Barcelos, in Antonio de Hollanda's Genealogy of the Royal Houses of Spain and Portugal (1530–1534)
Died	May 1350
House	Portuguese House of Burgundy
Father	Denis of Portugal
Mother	Grácia Frois
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Pedro Afonso, Count of Barcelos (before 1289 - May 1350), was an illegitimate son of King Denis of Portugal and Grácia Frois. He was made the 3rd Count of Barcelos on 1 May 1314.

Much like the other illegitimate children of King Denis, Pedro Afonso was raised by Queen Elizabeth of Portugal along with his half-brothers and -sisters at court. The children were sent at an early age to live there as a political, not charitable necessity, as they were seen as a method of cementing alliances and creating a network of influence within the courts of Europe. King Denis in his October 1298 will stated that the Queen would specifically administer and instruct his illegitimate children, and provided that they would be disinherited if they were to dishonour or disobey the authority of Infante Afonso.

The Count always counted on the protection and support of his father, receiving dominion over lands in Lisbon, Estremoz, Evoramonte, Sintra and Tavira, among others. He soon became an important manager, from 1306, of the inheritances that the king bestowed.

In 1307, he became the steward to Beatrice of Castile.

With the conflicts that developed between Denis and the crown prince Afonso, the King invested his illegitimate son with the title of Count of Barcelos (in 1317), at the time, a non-hereditary title in the kingdom.Pedro Afonso remained on the King's side during the initial phases of the civil war, between 1319 and 1324. At the same time he continued to stay close to the Crown Prince. After disagreements with his brothers João Afonso and Afonso Sanchez, principal opponents of Afonso, he was seen as doing a disservice to the King and exiled to Castile, where he remained between 1317 and 1322.

On returning from exile in 1322, he looked to reconcile with his father, in order to recuperate his lost titles and properties. At the same time, he attempted to fill the role of conciliator between Denis and the Infante Afonso, alongside his stepmother, Queen Elizabeth.

After the death of Denis in 1325, and the accession to the throne of the Infante Afonso as Afonso IV of Portugal, Count Pedro Afonso began to occupy his time in the parish of Lalim, near Lamego, limiting himself to interventions with his brother Afonso against the Crown of Castile. In this role he was seen as "the strong arm, and strong blow, that drowned the resistance in their own blood".