Magnates and their honours · Kingdom of Portugal · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Baião (Afonso Hermiges)

The Baião are an old Douro kindred whose honras lie in the Terra de Baião on the north bank of the Douro.

On 1 January 1200 their head is Afonso Hermiges; his sons only reach court in 1202 and 1205, and the royal tenência of Baião itself was in Fernão Fernandes de Bragança's hands in 1197. A second-rank house on the eve of its rise: Ponço and Lopo become great tenentes under Afonso II and Sancho II.

Who he is

Name
Afonso Hermiges de Baião
Title
Rico-homem, head of the Baião kin
Since
not pinned
Born
not pinned
Family
Father of Ponço Afonso (at court from 1202; died about 1235), Lopo Afonso (at court from 1205) and Berengária Afonso, first wife of João Fernandes de Lima.
Confidence
low

Known chiefly through his children; his own offices and dates are not given in the sources checked.

Overlord

Sancho I of Portugal

What it holds

  • Family honras in the Terra de Baião (not bounded)
  • Not theirs in 1197: the royal tenência of Baião

How it was acquired

Inherited honras.

Allies and rivals

Allied by marriage with the Lima (João Fernandes); later with the Riba de Vizela.

How things stand that morning

Holds family honras; no royal office pinned.

Wealth

Douro farmland and vineyards.

Military

Household knights. No figures.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Inferred from the careers of his sons and son-in-law.

On the map: A token disc at Baião.

Primary sources for Portugal

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

5 more in the sources library for France and Iberia.

Sources and studies

  1. Ponço Afonso de Baião (pt.wikipedia)
  2. João Fernandes de Lima (pt.wikipedia)
  3. Inés Calderón Medina, 'Beyond the Border: the aristocratic mobility between the kingdoms of Portugal and León (1157-1230)', e-Journal of Portuguese History

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.