Battle of Cerneja 1139
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1139 | Wikidata P585 (point in time); 2 differing years recorded, earliest shown |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | Portugal | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | history of Portugal (1112–1279) | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 41.6948, -8.7894 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Cerneja took place at Cernesa (Cerneja), an unidentified site in Galicia, in 1139/40, between the County of Portugal and the Kingdom of León.
In the aftermath of the Portuguese victory at the Battle of São Mamede (1128), the Portuguese count, Afonso Henriques, began a concerted effort to establish his independence, growing increasingly uncomfortable sharing power with his mother, Countess Theresa, who was supported by the Galician nobility and her lover, Fernando Pérez de Traba. The Chronica Adefonsi imperatoris notes that "prior to this, the Portuguese monarch had come to Galicia several times, but always he had been driven back by Fernando Pérez and Rodrigo Vélaz and other Galician leaders. Often he was forced to return to Portugal dishonored." Between 1137, when he signed the Treaty of Tui, recognising Alfonso VII of León as his suzerain, and 1139 Afonso declared himself King of Portugal.
In that year, or more probably the next (1140), Afonso gathered an army and marched into Galicia, camping near Limia. Fernando Pérez, who controlled western Galicia, and his ally Rodrigo Vélaz, who controlled the east, summoned the other Galician nobles, described as loyal men of Alfonso VII, to oppose the Portuguese advance. In the subsequent battle they were routed.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Cerneja (revision 1370436664), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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