Batalha and Fatima

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The Lisbon to Porto transfer was by motorcoach. We would board our Viking river vessel, Viking Torgil, in Porto. The standard transfer is via Coimbra with a stop to see the university. However, Susan and I opted for the transfer with stops at Fatima and the monastery at Batalha. This choice proved to be a fascinating journey into Portuguese history.

The courier and guide who accompanied our coach group introduced himself as a professor of travel and tourism at a private Lisbon university. He was very knowledgeable bout Portuguese history and narrated most of our journey. His first topic concerned the forests we were traversing. I had taken note of the fact that they highway to Batalha was though a heavily forested landscape, not what I had expected to see. (I had expected farmland, or arid territory like the Extremadura region of Spain across the border.) The guide explained that the forests were native Umbrella Pine, Mediterranean pines, cork oak and imported Eucalyptus. Not to overlook the groves of olive trees. The eucalyptus had been imported to supply an expanding pulpwood industry. However, eucalyptus trees burn easily and contributed to the recent wildfires in Portugal. We drove through areas of forest that were still burned.

Attention now tuned to Batalha and its place in Portuguese history. The Battle of Aljubarrota on 13 August 1385 saw Portugal defeat a much larger invading army of Castille and its allies. The outcome secured the throne of Portugal for John I (João I). Portugal had the assistance of English forces under John of Gaunt during the battle. Portugal and England signed the Treaty of Windsor the following year, a mutual defense treaty still in effect. Aa a result of the alliance, John I married Philippa of Lancaster, a daughter of John of Gaunt. (The history of Medieval Portuguese-English relations was new to me.) The coach drove by the battlefield, largely built over today. Near Aljubarrota is Batalha.

João I ordered the construction of Batalha Monastery (Mosteiro de Santa Maria da Vitória) in thanksgiving for the victory. Work began in 1386, but it was not completed until 1517. We stopped here for a tour. The plans for the monastery and its church were an Anglo-Portuguese affair, with a Portuguese (Afonso Domingues) and an English or Irish (Master Huguet) master builder team initially on site. The church, the Founder's Chapel and the Royal Cloisters were built first.

An equestrian statue of Nuno Álvares Pereira stands in the plaza by the monastery and dominates the approach to it. He was the leader of the Portuguese forces at the Battle of Aljubarrota and became a monk later in life. The entrance to the monastery is through the church. The Gothic nave is very brightly illuminated by natural light. Immediately to the right is the Founder's Chapel (Capella do Fundador). It is the royal burial place of João I, Philippa, his queen, and four of their children, including Prince Henry the Navigator. (In the early 20th century, the remains of Afonso V, João II and Dom Afonso, grandson, great-grandson and great-great-grandson of João I and Philippa, were placed in the mortuary chapel.) Above the chapel is a bright octagonal dome.

The Royal Cloister (Claustro Real) opens from the north transept of the church. This cloister was built in an elaborate Gothic style, exceeding that of the exterior of the church. The Chapter House (Sala do Capitulo) located here has been used as the Portuguese Tomb of the Unknown Soldier since 1921. The adjacent Cloistes of Afonso V (Claustro de Dom Affonso Quinto) were added during his reign in the later 15th century. Tastes had changed and the Gothic style is much more subdued.

The Unfinished or Imperfect Chapels (Capellas imperfeitas) are attached to the apse of the church, but have a separate entrance. Duarte (or Edward, 1391-1438) the son and heir of João I, decided he wanted to build his own set of mortuary chapels at Batalha. Work on them began in 1434 under Master Huguet, But Duarte died in 1438 before the addition was completed. Master builder Mateus Fernandes took up the work again after 1490 during the reign of Manuel I. The chapel design therefore now incorporated the Manueline style. A roof was never placed over the chapel. Our guide suggested that this may have have been intentional, owing to the drainage system in the floor. Perhaps the sky was to be the dome. Duarte and his queen, Eleanor Aragon (1402-1445) were placed in their Capella in the 1940s. João, infant son of Afonso V, is also buried here.

João I, Philippa of Lancaster and their children, including Edward and Henry the Navigator, are known collectively as the Ínclita Geração, the Ilustrious Generation that established the Portuguese state and launched the Age of Discovery. Baltalha is their resting place. The Monastery of Batalha is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was an impressive place to visit and I'm glad we had the opportunity to stop here.

Fátima was a short distance from Batalha. At Fátima we walked around the plaza. Overlooking the plaza is the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima. The Chapel of the Apparitions is an open-air chapel built over the location of the first Marian apparition to the three children in 1916. A recital of the Rosary was in progress at the chapel. A fountain is in the center of the plaza. Visitors may bring their own containers to fill from it. Behind the Chapel of the Apparitions (Capelinha das Aparições) is o braseiro - the brazier. Here, pilgrims or regular visitors may bring wax effigies of ailing parts of the body (a hand, a foot, etc.) and toss them or long candles into the fire. Adjacent to the brazier is a place to light regular votive candles. Several individuals were making the pilgrimage on their knees. A line is marked in the pavement for them to follow. We enjoyed seeing and experiencing the Fátima shrine, the center of spirituality in Portugal. Lunch was at the Hotel Santa Maria in Fátima. After lunch, we resumed the drive north to Porto.

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Photos

Pereira Nuno Alvares
Equestrian statue of Pereira Nuno Alvares 1360-1431) at Batalha Monastery. He led the Portuguese at the battle of Aljubarrota in 1385. Installed in 1966.
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Batalha Monastery
Mosteiro da Batalha - Batalha Monastery.
"The Mosteiro de Santa Maria da Victoria, generally known as Batalha, was founded by King John I on the spot where the great battle that secured the independence of Portugal began. The date of its building is generally reckoned from 1388, when the king gave the Dominicans the deed of gift in the camp before Melgaço. The original plan was probably limited to the church, the royal burial-chapel, and the first cloisters (Claustro Real). ... The building-plan and the masons were also obtained through Philippa of Lancaster, probably from England. The original master-builders were Affonso Domingues (d. before 1402), a Portuguese, and Houguet or Huet (Hacket?), an Irishman".--Baedeker 1913
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Batalha Monastery - Porto Principal
"The richly articulated W. or Main Portal has been partly restored. It is adorned with figures of Moses and the Prophets, saints and angels (the latter in the soffits of the arch). In the pediment over the door are God the Father surrounded by the Evangelists, and the Coronation of the Virgin".--Baedeker 1913
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Batalha Monastery - Tympanum
Batalha Monastery - Porto Principal, Tympanum. The tympanum has a representation of Christ in Majesty, flanked by the apostles in bas relief.
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Batalha Monastert - Nave
"The Interior is 263 ft. long and 106 ft. wide. The nave is divided from each of the aisles by eight plain piers. The transepts are narrow. The pentagonal apse is adjoined on each side by two tri-apsidal chapels".--Baedeker 1913
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Tomb of João I and Philippa
Tomb of João I (1357-1433) and Philippa of Lancaster (1360-1415). Founder's Chapel.
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Founder's Chapel - Ceiling
"... the Founder's Chapel (Capella do Fundador), a chamber 65 ft. square, with a light and elegant octagon in its centre, borne by eight pillars".--Baedeker 1913
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Tomb of Henry the Navigator
Tomb of Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460). He was the fifth child of João I and Philippa of Lancaster. Founder's Chapel.
"Next comes the tomb of the Infante Henry (d. 1460), whom history has honoured with the title of the 'Navigator' on account of his zealous encouragement of the ocean-expeditions of the Portuguese, though he himself never took part in a voyage of discovery; his motto is 'talant de bien fere'".--Baedeker 1913
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Batalaha Monastery - Apse
Mosteiro da Batalha - Batalha Monastery. Apse.
"The pentagonal apse is adjoined on each side by two tri-apsidal chapels. Lofty coloured windows, many of them unsatisfactorily restored, admit an unusual amount of light."--Baedeker 1913.
Monastery of Batalha UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Claustro Real
Mosteiro da Batalha - Batalha Monastery. Claustro Real - Cloister of João I. Begun in 1386 in Gothic and finished in 1515 in the Manueline style by Mateus Fernandes.
"The first or Royal Cloisters (Clauslro Real; entr. from the church or on the E. side) are very picturesque. To the S. and S.E. the church and tower rise above the arcades enclosing the garden-like court, and to the E. is the chapter-house; in the N.W. angle is a well-house. Th Gothic style of Portugal is here seen in all its phases, from the simplest forms to the most extravagantly fantastic. Each walk of the cloisters is 182 ft long and opens on the court in seven arches, each subdivided by 3-5 slender columns. The upper part of the arches is filled with tracery of well-nigh Oriental intricacy".--Baedeker 1913.
Monastery of Batalha UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Túmulo do Soldado Desconhecido
Túmulo do Soldado Desconhecido - Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Sala do Capitulo, Batalha Monastery. There are two Portuguese soldiers, one from the battlefields of Flanders, and one from the African theatre, who were buried there on 6 April 1921.
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Túmulo do Soldado Desconhecido
Túmulo do Soldado Desconhecido - Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Sala do Capitulo, Batalha Monastery. There are two Portuguese soldiers, one from the battlefields of Flanders, and one from the African theatre, who were buried there on 6 April 1921.
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Claustro Real and Tower
Mosteiro da Batalha - Batalha Monastery. Claustro Real - Cloister of João I. Begun in 1386 and finished in 1515 in the Manueline style by Mateus Fernandes.
"The first or Royal Cloisters (Clauslro Real; entr. from the church or on the E. side) are very picturesque. To the S. and S.E. the church and tower rise above the arcades enclosing the garden-like court, and to the E. is the chapter-house; in the N.W. angle is a well-house. Th Gothic style of Portugal is here seen in all its phases, from the simplest forms to the most extravagantly fantastic. Each walk of the cloisters is 182 ft long and opens on the court in seven arches, each subdivided by 3-5 slender columns. The upper part of the arches is filled with tracery of well-nigh Oriental intricacy".--Baedeker 1913.
Monastery of Batalha UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Well House
Mosteiro da Batalha - Batalha Monastery. Well House.
"The Well House (Pavilhao) resembles a chapel, connected with the N. and W. walks of the cloister by a larger and a smaller arch and presenting two lofty arched windows on the sides facing the garth. The tracery with the lotus is repeated in the lower part of the arches. The five water-basins in the middle are of fantastic form. The views from the arcades and the well-house are singularly fascinating, especially by bright sunshine".--Baedeker 1913.
Monastery of Batalha UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Claustro de Dom Affonso V.
Claustro de Dom Afonso V - Cloisters of Afonso V. Aded in the mid-15th century is a muted Gothic style.
"From the N.W. angle of the Royal Cloisters we enter the Cloisters of Affonso V (Claustro de Dom Affonso Quinto), erected in the middle of the 15th cent, in the simple Gothic style of the period. Each walk is 146 ft. in length".--Baedeker 1913
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Capellas Imperfeitas
Capellas Imperfeitas - Unfinished Chapels
"It was not till the reign of Emmanuel the Fortunate (1495-1521) that the completion of the Capellas Imperfeitas was determined on - it is said at the instigation of Queen Leonora. The work, however, progressed but slowly, as the king soon transferred his interest to the new convent of Belem and selected its church as his mausoleum. Matthew Fernandes the Elder (from 1480; d. 1515) and M. Fernandes the Younger (d. 1528) are named as the master builders. To the design of the former are probably due the vestibule of the new mausoleum, with its celebrated portal, and the massive piers of the upper octagon. ... The CapelIas Imperfeitas (entr. on the E. side of the convent) adjoin the E. end of the church but have no organic connection with it. According to the original design, which would probably have exhibited the 'Manuelino' style in its most brilliant development the central octagon, with a diameter of about 65 ft., was surrounded by seven large chapels, each 28 ft. deep and having a triapsidal termination and three tall windows. The intervening spaces were occupied by six lower pentagonal chapels. The star-vaulting of the upper octagon was probably meant to be surmounted by a flat roof of stone".--Baedeker 1913
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Unfinished Chapels
Batalha Monastery. Unfinished Chapels. View from the entrance portal to the vaulted mortuary chapels.

Unfinished Chapels - Vaults
Batalha Monastery. Unfinished Chapels. Vaults over the mortuary chapels.
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Tracery in the Unfinihsed Chapels
Tracery in the Unfinished Chapels. Thistles may refer to the origins of architect Master Huguet, possibly he British Isles.
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Unfinished Chapels - Portal
Unfinished Chapels - Entrance Portal. Considered one of the earliest manifestations of the Manueline style.
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Tomb of Dom Duarte and Leonor
Tomb of Dom Duarte (Edward, 1391-1438) and Queen Leonor (Eleanor of Aragon, 1402-1445). He was the eldest son of João I and Philippa. They were not placed in the Unfinished Chapels until the 1940s.
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