Philippa of Lancaster
Philippa of Lancaster | |
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Queen consort of Portugal | |
Tenure | 14 February 1387 – 19 July 1415 |
Born | 31 March 1360 Leicester Castle, Leicester, England |
Died | 19 July 1415 Sacavém, Portugal | (aged 55)
Burial | |
Spouse | John I of Portugal |
Issue among others... |
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John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster | |
Mother | Blanche of Lancaster |
Signature |
Philippa of Lancaster (
Early life and education
Born on 31 March 1360, Philippa was the eldest child of
Katherine seems to have been well liked by Philippa and her Lancastrian siblings and played an important role in Philippa's education. Katherine had close ties with Geoffrey Chaucer, since her sister, Philippa Roet, was Chaucer's wife. John of Gaunt became Chaucer's patron, and Chaucer spent much time with the family as one of Philippa's many mentors and teachers. She was remarkably well educated for a woman at the time and studied science under Friar John, poetry under Jean Froissart, and philosophy and theology under John Wycliffe.[2] She was well read in the works of Greek and Roman scholars such as Pliny and Herodotus and was diligent in her study of religion.[2]
Queen of Portugal
Philippa became
The marriage itself, as was usually the case for the nobility in the Middle Ages, was a matter of state and political alliance, and the couple did not meet until twelve days after they were legally married. Philippa was considered to be rather plain, and King João I (John I) already had a mistress, Inês Peres Esteves, by whom he had three children.
In marrying Philippa, John I established a political and personal alliance with John of Gaunt, initially because it was rumoured that John of Gaunt would claim the Kingdom of
Philippa, at the age of 27, was thought to be too old to become a bride for the first time, and the court questioned her ability to bear the King's children; however, Philippa bore nine children, six of whom survived into adulthood.[citation needed]
Influence at court
Though Philippa was seen to present a demeanour of queenly piety,
Philippa's main political contribution, however, was in her own court. Upon the end of the Portuguese involvement in several wars with Castile and the
Death
At the age of 55, Philippa fell ill with the plague. She moved from Lisbon to Sacavém and called her sons to her bedside so that she could give them her blessing.[citation needed] Philippa presented her three eldest sons with jewel-encrusted swords, which they would use in their impending knighthoods, and gave each a portion of the True Cross, "enjoining them to preserve their faith and to fulfil the duties of their rank".[12]
Though he had been reluctant to marry her, the king had grown quite fond of his wife, and it is said that he was "so grieved by [her] mortal illness… that he could neither eat nor sleep".[12] In her final hours, Philippa was said to be lucid and without pain. According to legend she was roused by a wind which blew strongly against the house and asked what wind it was, upon hearing it was the north wind, she claimed it quite beneficial for her son's and husband's voyage to Africa, which she had coordinated.[13] At her death she prayed with several priests and, "without any toil or suffering, gave her soul into the hands of Him who created her, a smile appearing on her mouth as though she disdained the life of this world".[12]
Children
Philippa was apparently a generous and loving queen, the mother of the "Illustrious Generation" (in Portuguese, Ínclita Geração) of infantes (princes) and infantas (princesses). Her children were:[14][15]
- Blanche[15] (13 July 1388 – 6 March 1389), died in infancy at the age of 7 months, in Lisbon, and was buried in Lisbon Cathedral[16]
- Afonso[15] (30 July 1390 – 22 December 1400), heir to the throne, died in childhood at the age of 10, in Braga, and was buried in Lisbon Cathedral[16]
- Edward[15] (31 October 1391 – 13 September 1438), a writer and an intellectual who succeeded his father as King of Portugal in 1433.
- Peter[15] (9 December 1392 – 20 May 1449), Duke of Coimbra, a well-travelled man who served as regent during the minority of his nephew Afonso V.
- Henry[15] (4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), called "the Navigator", first Duke of Viseu, who guided Portugal to the Age of Discovery.
- Philip III of Burgundy.
- John[15] (13 January 1400 – 18 October 1442), Constable of Portugal, Lord of Reguengos, grandfather of two 16th-century Iberian monarchs (Manuel I of Portugal and Isabella I of Castile).
- Ferdinand[15] (29 September 1402 – 5 June 1443), called "the Saint Prince", a warrior who was captured during the Disaster of Tangier in 1437 and died a prisoner of the Moors.
Legacy
Philippa and King John's union was praised for establishing purity and virtue in a court that was regarded as particularly corrupt.
Philippa's influence was documented in literary works. The medieval French poet Eustache Deschamps dedicated one of his ballads to "Phelippe en Lancastre," as a partisan of the Order of the Flower.[18] It has also been speculated that Geoffrey Chaucer may have alluded to Philippa in his poem, "The Legend of Good Women," through the character Alceste.[19]
Ancestry
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References
- ^ Bouza Serrano 2009, p. 15.
- ^ a b c d "European Voyages of Exploration: Philippa of Lancaster." Archived 19 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine Home | Welcome to the University of Calgary. University of Calgary. 30 March 2009
- ^ Beazley 1923, p. 9
- ^ a b Armitage-Smith 1905, p. 318
- ^ Marques 1971, p. 167
- ^ Major 1967, p. 8
- ^ a b Sanceau 1945, p. 9
- ^ (Philippa of Lancaster 2)
- ^ de Oliveira 1955
- ^ Birmingham 2003, p. 24
- ^ a b c d e Russell 2000, p. 23
- ^ a b c Prestage 1966, p. 22
- ^ Lee, Sidney, ed. (1896). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 45. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 167.
- ^ Stephens 1903, p. 139
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Oliveira 2010, pp. 406–409
- ^ a b von Barghahn 2013, p. 141.
- ^ Major 1967, p. 11
- ^ Jambeck 1996, pp. 235–236
- ^ Marques 1971, p. 536
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Armitage-Smith 1905, p. 21
- ^ a b von Redlich 1941, p. 64
- ^ Mosley 1999, pp. 227–228
Bibliography
- Armitage-Smith, Sydney (1905). John of Gaunt: King of Castile and Leon, Duke of Aquitaine and Lancaster, Earl of Derby, Lincoln, and Leicester, Seneschal of England. Charles Scribner's Sons. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- von Barghahn, Barbara (2013). Jan Van Eyck and Portugal's 'Illustrious Generation'. Vol. I: Text. Pindar Press.
- Beazley, Raymond C. (1923). Prince Henry the Navigator. New York: G.P Putnam's Sons.
- Birmingham, David (2003). A Concise History of Portugal (Second ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Bouza Serrano, Joana (2009). As Avis: As Grandes Rainhas que Partilharam o Trono de Portugal na Segunda Dinastia (in Portuguese). Lisbon: A Esfera dos Livros.
- Major, Richard H. (1967). The Life of Prince Henry the Navigator. London: Frank Cass & Co.
- Marques, Oliveira (1971). Daily Life in Portugal in the Late Middle Ages. Madison: University of Wisconsin.
- Jambeck, Karen K. (1996). "Patterns of Women's Literary Patronage: England, 1200 - ca. 1475". In McCash, June H. (ed.). The Cultural Patronage of Medieval Women. Athens: University of Georgia.
- Mosley, Charles, ed. (1999). Burke's Peerage and Baronetage. Vol. I (106th ed.). Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd.
- de Oliveira, A. Coreira (1955). Dom João I. e o Condes Tável: Livro de Leitura da 3a Classe. Lisboa: Ministro da Educação Nacional.
- Oliveira, Ana Rodrigues (2010). Rainhas Medievais de Portugal. A Esfera dos Livros.
- Prestage, Edgar (1966). The Portuguese pioneers. London: Adam & Charles Black.
- von Redlich, Marcellus Donald R. (1941). Pedigrees of Some of the Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants. Vol. I.
- Russell, Peter E. (2000). Prince Henry "the Navigator": a life. New Haven: Yale University Press.
- Sanceau, Elaine (1945). Henry the Navigator; the story of a great prince and his times. New York: Hytchinson & Co.
- Stephens, Henry Morse (1903). The story of Portugal. G.P. Putnam's Sons. p. 139. ISBN 9780722224731. Retrieved 11 July 2018.