Brotherly love and filial obedience: the commemorative programme of the Avis princes at Santa Maria da Vitória, Batalha Begoña Farré Torras Dissertação de Mestrado em História da Arte Medieval Março 2014 Dissertação apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em História da Arte Medieval, realizada sob a orientação científica da Prof. Doutora Joana Ramôa Melo To Rogério And to every person who, knowingly or not, ever taught me anything ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In the process of researching for and writing this dissertation, I have been fortunate to count on the support and practical help of a great many people, of which I would like to explicitly acknowledge at least a few. I am indebted to Professor Joana Ramôa Melo, my dissertation supervisor, for her thorough scholarly guidance within a much valued atmosphere of academic freedom, as well as for her encouragement, understanding and friendship. She has been assisted in her role by Professor José Custódio Vieira da Silva, dissertation co- supervisor, to whom I am particularly thankful for his intuitive suggestion, very early on in my research, of a potential patron for the object under study, which turned out to be the cornerstone of all the work presented here. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Pedro Redol and his team at the Monastery of Santa Maria da Vitória, Batalha, for their warm and professional welcome to the monument, granting me unlimited access to its facilities and archives, coupled with enthusiasm and support for my research project. A particular debt of gratitude is owed to Professor Miguel Metelo de Seixas, who most generously offered his time and precious knowledge on heraldry to enlighten me on this fascinating subject. Equally valuable was the contribution of Professor Laurent Hablot, who kindly sent me a preview of his doctoral thesis on badges to be published soon. Without this, my analysis of the use of badges on the princes’ monument, an absolutely essential element of the royal pantheon, would simply not have been possible. However little I know about heraldry and badges today, it is entirely thanks to the disinterested help of these two specialist scholars. A note of gratitude too for Catarina Tibúrcio, a fellow MA student who helpfully went about tracing for my benefit the formal parallels between illuminated manuscripts and plant motifs on the princes’ tombs at Batalha. And last, but in so many ways first and foremost, a massive thanks to Rogério for his heart-warmingly patient listening and unconditional support throughout. BROTHERLY LOVE AND FILIAL OBEDIENCE: THE COMMEMORATIVE PROGRAMME OF THE AVIS PRINCES AT SANTA MARIA DA VITÓRIA, BATALHA BEGOÑA FARRÉ TORRAS ABSTRACT KEYWORDS: Avis princes, Monument, Batalha Monastery, Family Memory, Image, king João I This dissertation focuses on a rare 15th century commemorative programme that has thus far received little scholarly attention: the collective monument erected in the Founder’s Chapel, at the Monastery of Santa Maria da Vitória, Batalha, to house the remains of four Avis princes, members of what would become known as ‘the Illustrious Generation’. A patron is proposed for the commission of this erudite monument - the princes’ eldest brother, king Duarte I - arguing its integration into a broader propaganda programme to glorify the memory of the Avis dynasty founder, king João I. The dissertation then proceeds to discuss various highly innovative features of the monument, such as its pseudo-architectural character, its use of sophisticated heraldry and personal badges, the apparent absence of religious iconography on the tombs and, importantly, the collective nature of the programme, key to its interpretation. Using a semiotic approach, a discussion is also offered on the way the various formal, iconographic and conceptual novelties of the princes’ monument impacted on the 15th century monumental landscape in Portugal. Finally, the monument and the chapel housing it are looked at through the prism of the various readings that successive generations of viewers have projected onto it, from the time of its creation to the turn of the 20th century, in order to offer a more comprehensive understanding of the object as it stands today. AMOR FRATERNO E OBEDIÊNCIA FILIAL: O PROGRAMA COMMEMORATIVO DOS INFANTES DE AVIS EM SANTA MARIA DA VITÓRIA, BATALHA BEGOÑA FARRÉ TORRAS RESUMO PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Infantes de Avis, Monumento, Mosteiro da Batalha, Memória de Família, Imagem, D. João I A presente dissertação tem por objecto de estudo um singular programa comemorativo do século XV merecedor até à data de escassa atenção académica: o monumento colectivo erigido na Capela do Fundador, no Mosteiro de Santa Maria da Vitória, Batalha, que acolhe os restos de quatro infantes de Avis, membros do que viria a ser conhecido pela Ínclita Geração. Propõe-se para o mesmo um encomendante – o irmão mais velho dos príncipes, o rei D. Duarte – e argumenta-se a integração deste monumento erudito num programa de propaganda mais alargado que visava glorificar a memória do fundador da dinastia de Avis, D. João I. Procede-se, a seguir, a explorar as diversas características que dão a este monumento um valor altamente inovador, tais como a sua dimensão pseudo-arquitectónica, o uso de um sofisticado código de heráldica e divisas, a aparente ausência de iconografia religiosa nos túmulos, e a natureza colectiva do programa, chave, esta última, da interpretação aqui apresentada. Através de uma abordagem semiótica, oferece-se igualmente uma análise do impacto que as diversas novidades formais, iconográficas e conceituais do monumento dos infantes tiveram no panorama comemorativo quatrocentista português. Por ultimo, propõe-se um olhar sobre o monumento e a capela que o acolhe, através do prisma das variadas leituras que gerações sucessivas de observadores projectaram sobre os mesmos, desde o momento da sua criação até à viragem do século XX, com o propósito de oferecer uma visão mais exaustiva do objecto tal como nos é apresentado na actualidade. CONTENTS Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 Object of study .......................................................................................................................... 1 Historiographical overview ....................................................................................................... 2 Dissertation structure ............................................................................................................... 4 1 – The commission ...................................................................................................................... 8 King João I – the documented patron ....................................................................................... 8 King Duarte – the likely patron ............................................................................................... 11 The monument and its intended meaning .............................................................................. 17 Supporting evidence – a question of dates and agents .......................................................... 19 2 – The monument in the 15th century ...................................................................................... 26 a) Architectural monumentalisation ....................................................................................... 27 b) Personal badges – a whole new code of individual representation ................................... 30 - The development of badges in Europe ............................................................................. 30 - The adoption of badges in Portugal .................................................................................. 33 - Badges on the princes’ monument ................................................................................... 36 - Emblematics as a form of aniconic portrait ...................................................................... 44 c) Absence of religious iconography: a secular monument? .................................................. 50 d) The collective nature of the monument: dynasty v. family ................................................ 56 3 - The reception of the Avis princes’ monument in 15th century Portugal ............................. 62 Lineage .................................................................................................................................... 63 Role in society ......................................................................................................................... 64 Social standing ......................................................................................................................... 67 Individual identity ................................................................................................................... 70 Piety ......................................................................................................................................... 72 Kinship ..................................................................................................................................... 74 Summary of findings ............................................................................................................... 75 4 – From royal pantheon to national monument: the chapel through the ages ..................... 78 On the relevance of reception history ...................................................................................