Background
Faro was at that time the last part of the Kingdom of the Algarve still in Muslim hands, and there her father was the Qadi.
Faro was at that time the last part of the Kingdom of the Algarve still in Muslim hands, and there her father was the Qadi.
She was christened in time, receiving her new name as Maior Afonso, or Mor Afonso, Mor being short for Maior, a common female name in medieval Portuguese. Her father"s name was Aloandro Ben Bekar (also known in Portuguese as Aloandro or Aldroando Gil after his christening). In ancient Portuguese chronicles, Madragana was also referred to as Mouroana, Mouroana Gil, and Madraganil - all of which are Christian names.
There some controversy regarding her ethnicity.
Duarte Nunes de Leão, a Portuguese royal chronicler of the 16th century, said that Madragana was a Moor. That was denied in the 18th century by António Caetano de Sousa, in which he is followed by many modern authors
Madragana bore two known children of royal illegitimate descent:
Dom Martim Afonso Chichorro (ca 1250-after 1313), married to Dona Inês Lourenço de Sousa (or Dona Inês Lourenço de Valadares) (born ca 1250).
Dona Urraca Afonso (born ca 1260), married twice: 1st in 1265 to Pedro Anes Gago de Riba Vizela (ca 1240-1286). 2nd ca. 1275 to Dom João Mendes de Briteiros (born ca 1250).
When passion with the King waned, Afonso was married to Fernão Rei.
They had at least one daughter, Sancha Fernandes. Note that Rei means King, in Portuguese, and so Fernão Rei is believed to have been originally a servant of the king (Fernão do Rei - Ferdinand of the King).
