City · Kingdom of Portugal · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Viseu

The bishop's city of the upper Beira, on the road from Coimbra to Guarda and the Leonese frontier, re-chartered by Sancho I in 1187.

Who holds it

Name
Sancho I (the crown); the alcaide on 1 January 1200 is not pinned
Title
Royal town under the king's alcaide or tenente
Confidence
medium

Lord in 1200

The crown; the tenente on 1 January 1200 is not pinned (Lourenço Soares de Ribadouro holds it under Afonso II).

Overlord

Sancho I of Portugal

What the town holds

  • The city and its termo

How things stand that morning

Royal city.

Wealth

Farmland and pasture of the Dão and Pavia valleys.

Military

Walls. No figures.

Fuero

Foral of Countess Teresa, 1123; foral of Sancho I, 1187.

Council

A royal concelho and a bishop's city.

Communities

Christians; others not pinned.

Militia

Cavaleiros-vilãos and foot. No figures.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Foral dates from pt.wikipedia's list of Sancho I's forais.

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. Sancho I de Portugal (pt.wikipedia)
  2. Lourenço Soares de Ribadouro (pt.wikipedia)

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