Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
• The first chapel on the right is the...
Founders' Chapel (Capela do Fundador):
Center-stage is the double sarcophagus
(that's English style) of King John I and his English queen, Philippa. The tomb statues lie
together on their backs, holding hands for eternity. This husband-and-wife team ushered
in Portugal's two centuries of greatness.
John I (born 1357, ruled 1385-1433), the bastard son of Dom Pedro I (King Peter I,
power by confiscating enemies' land to reward his friends, gave Lisbon's craftsmen a
voice in government, and launched Portugal's expansion overseas. His five-decade reign
greatly benefited Portugal. John's motto,
“Por bem”
(“For good”), is carved on his tomb.
He established the House of Avis (see the coat of arms carved in the tomb) that would
rule Portugal through the Golden Age (and eventually challenge the House of Hertz in
the car-rental business). John's descendants (through both the Avis and Bragança lines)
would rule Portugal until the last king, in 1910.
John, indebted to English soldiers for their help in the battle, signed the friendship
Treaty of Windsor with England (1386). To seal the deal, he was requested to marry Phil-
ippa of Lancaster, the granddaughter of England's king. You can see their respective coats
of arms carved at the head of the tomb.
Philippa (c. 1360-1415)—intelligent, educated, and moral—had already been rejected
in marriage by two kings. John was also reluctant, reminding the English of his vow of
celibacy as Grand Master of the Order of the Cross. He retreated to a monastery (with
his mistress) before finally agreeing to marry Philippa (1387). Exceeding expectations,
Philippa won John's admiration by overseeing domestic policy, boosting trade with Eng-
land, reconciling Christians and Jews, and spearheading the invasion of Ceuta (1415) that
launched the Age of Discovery.
At home, she used her wide knowledge (she was trained personally by Geoffrey Chau-
cer and John Wycliffe) to inspire her children to greatness. She banished John's mistress
to a distant convent, but raised his bastard children almost as her own, thus sparking the
rise of the Bragança line that would compete for the throne.
John and Philippa produced a slew of talented sons, some of whom rest in tombs
nearby. These are the golden youth of the Age of Discovery that the Portuguese poet Luís
de Camões dubbed “The Marvelous Generation”
(Ínclita Geração).
Henrique (wearing a church for a hat and marked by a metal wreath on the floor in
was on her deathbed with the plague, she summoned her son Henry to her side and
made him swear he would dedicate his life to finding the legendary kingdom of Prester
John—sending Henry on his own journey to explore the unknown.
