Exhibition “O INFANTE D. HENRIQUE talant de bien faire”

John I, King of Portugal (1357-1433)
c. 1435
Lisboa, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga
Inv. 2006 Pint.
© Francisco Matias 1990, Direção-Geral do Património
Cultural / Arquivo de Documentação Fotográfica
(DGPC/ADF
JOHN OGBOURNE (?-1713)
[17th – 18th Centuries]
Paris, Musée du Louvre
SIMON BENING (1483-1561)
Genealogy of the Kings of Portugal
1530-1540
Londres, Bristish Library
John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (1340-1399)
Philippa of Lancaster, Queen of Portugal (1359-1415)
© The Print Collector / Alamy / Atlantico Press
Henry IV, King of England (1399-1413)
JOHN LYDGATE (c. 1370-1451), (attributed to)
Verses on the Kings of England
15th Century
London, Bristish Library
Inv. Ms. Cotton Julius E. IV, fol. 8v
Inv. Ms. Add. 12532, no. 10
© akg-images/ Bristish Library/ Atlantico Press
© akg-images/ Bristish Library/Atlantico Press
Henry was born in Porto on 4 March 1394. He was the fourth son of King John I and
Philippa of Lancaster. His maternal grandfather was John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster,
and he was a great-grandson of the English king Edward III. He was also nephew of Henry
IV of England, and his aunt, Catherine of Lancaster, was Queen of Castile. Through the
Plantagenets, Henry was closely related to the royal house of the united kingdoms of
Norway, Sweden and Denmark, and to that of Scotland.
In Portugal, he was half-brother to Afonso, the 1st Duke of Bragança, and uncle to his
descendants, and was the uncle of the first generation of Noronhas, which included the
Archbishop of Lisbon, the second wife of the Duke of Bragança and the Counts of Vila Real
and Odemira.
On the death of his older brother Afonso, he became third in line to the throne, but
differently from his brothers Duarte, who became king, and Pedro, who became regent,
he was never called on to take the throne. He was very close to the Crown, and was
prominent among the secondary figures, and he understood how to use his discrete
power to get his own way and to reap titles and privileges.
Henry the Navigator is an influential historical figure. He was a powerful man, an ambitious
dreamer, a Christian and a businessman, a dogmatic manipulator, a humanist warrior,
and a daring pragmatist. His complex personality will never entirely be understood and his
intentions are at times inscrutable.He was Duke of Viseu and Master of Covilhã, Governor
of Ceuta and of the Order of Christ, Master of the archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores
and protector of the University. He owned the monopoly over the soap-makers and tuna
fisheries, and was Master of Western Algarve and the Berlengas, and also held exclusive
trading rights south of Cape Bojador. He was the most powerful baron in the Portuguese
kingdom and a highly influential politician who was always able to manipulate the
Crown's decisions. He was the driving force behind the Portuguese Age of Discoveries. A
fervent believer in the holy war, he conquered Ceuta, and was constantly at the ready to
fight the Moors from the kingdoms of Granada and Fez; he refused to accept
Christendom’s geographical limitations and did not succumb to fear of the high seas.
Always curious, ambitious for greater wealth and a wider Christendom, and to find peoples
who wanted to be his allies in the war against the Moors, he managed to convince his subjects
to face the unknown and to conquer Cape Bojador, then considered to be the end of the world.
His dogged determination was successful and Portuguese ships began to sail over seas that
had never before been navigated. Portugal found a new destiny and the world began to
move towards Globalisation.
The Infant de Avis
ascendency and relationships
Henry the navigator
talant de bien faire
O INFANTE
D. HENRIQUE
talant
de bien faire
Padrão dos Descobrimentos
Av. Brasília, 1400-038 Lisboa
[email protected]
www.padraodosdescobrimentos.pt
PADRÃO DOS DESCOBRIMENTOS
8 June / 30 September 2013
Opening Times
everyday from 10.00 to 19.00
(last entry 18.30)
Leaflet texts
João Paulo Oliveira e Costa
Translations
Kennis Translations
Lighting design
Victor Vajão
Construction and installation
Oficina de Museus
Graphic design
RMAC – Brand Design
Assistants
Miguel Costa
Rita Cruz Neves
Exhibition design
António Viana
Institutional Coordination
Tiago C. P. dos Reis Miranda
CHAM
Prince Henry’s Motto
GOMES EANES DE ZURARA (c. 1410-1474?)
Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea
1453
Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France
© French School, The Bridgeman Art Library
Curator
João Paulo Oliveira e Costa
Executive assistant
Conceição Romão
Coordination
Margarida Kol de Carvalho
Maria Cecília Cameira
Prince Henry panel (detail)
NUNO GONÇALVES (?), atrib.
São Vicente de Fora Polyptich
15th Century [c.1450-1490]
Lisboa, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga
Inv. 1361-1366 Pint
© José Pessoa 1994, Direcção Geral do Património Cultural
Arquivo de Documentação Fotográfica (DGPC/ADF)
Exhibition
O INFANTE D. HENRIQUE
talant de bien faire
Padrão dos Descobrimentos
AFm_FolhaSala_UK_DHenr_A5.ai
1
13/06/25
17:22
AFm_FolhaSala_UK_DHenr_A5.ai
2
13/06/25
17:23
Prince Henry’s signature
Acts of the Court of Torres Novas
1438
MANOEL FERNANDEZ
Livro de Traças de Carpintaria [Shipbuilding Book]
1616
Lisboa, Torre do Tombo
Inv. Colecção São Lourenço, liv. 1, fol. [5v]
PT|TT|CSL|1
Lisboa, DGPC/Biblioteca da Ajuda
Inv. BA 52-XIV-21
Scanned version: Biblioteca da Ajuda
The Infante
When he was 14 he came into his estate; at 17 he was given the domain of Viseu; at 21 he
was the hero of the expedition to Ceuta, was armed knight and was given the title of Duke
of Viseu; at 22 he was entrusted with the governorship of Ceuta; at 26 he was appointed in
the Order of Christ; at 30 he was given the monopoly over the kingdom's soap works; at
36 he became protector of the University; at 39 he became Master of the archipelago of
Madeira and obtained exclusive rights to the region's tuna fishing; at 40 Gil Eanes came
with the news of his successful passing of Cape Bojador; at 43 he suffered a humiliating
defeat in Africa, at the threshold of Tangier; between 45 and 47 he was the mainstay for
the regency of Prince Pedro; at 49 he was given Gouveia and Cape St Vincent and Sagres,
and also received exclusive trading rights for anywhere south of Cape Bojador; at 52 he
started to sign documents as being in "his villa", in Sagres; at 55 he was at the battle of
Alfarrobeira; at 59 he was granted the town of Lagos; at 63 he obtained the governorship
of Silves in exchange for that of Gouveia; at 64 he was involved in the conquest of Ksar
es-Seghir; he passed away in Sagres at 66 years old.
The Duke of Viseu's power was enormous and wide-ranging; the ducal court managed a small
state within the kingdom, and this gave him considerable economic and military clout.
The Unknown
and the Fantastic
The Great Praise
Sea Monsters
SEBASTIAN MÜNSTER (1488-1552)
Cosmographey, das ist Beschreibung aller Lander
Basel, Sebastian Henric-Petri
1598
Lisboa, Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal
Inv. RES. 2096
Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini (1380-1459)
PAOLO GIOVIO (1483-1552)
Pauli Iovii Novocomensis episcopi Nucerini Vitae illustrium virorum
Basilia, Petri Pernae Typograhi
1578
Pitts Theology Library
Inv. 1578Giov1
Digital Image Archive
“[So said the seafarers] So said the seafarers] that after this Cape [Bojador] there are no
people nor settlements of any kind; the land is no less sandy than that of the deserts of
Libya, where there is no water, nor trees, nor green herbs; and the sea is so shallow that
for a league of land it is no deeper than a fathom. The currents are so treacherous, that any
ship that does pass will never manage to return. And so our ancestors never dared go there.”
Gomes Eanes de Zurara, The Chronicle of Guinea, Chap. VII
The Geographical
Revolution
Henry's political activities alone were enough to make him a famous figure in the History
of Portugal, but his sponsorship of the Discoveries elevated him to the level of a protagonist
in World History.
The start of navigation beyond the secular limits of Christendom was the result of Henry's
determination. Chroniclers refer to the "murmurs" of people who did not understand his
stubbornness in sending men to try and make a journey that had been deemed impossible.
Reaching and going beyond Cape Bojador was a dramatic historical breakthrough and it
led to irreversible and radical changes in mankind's relationship with the planet, opening
up the route to Globalization.
Henry did not limit himself to his triumph over Bojador. He later organized services to
develop the art of navigation, with the creation of a new ship and the refinement of
numerous navigational objects, and at the same time he sought to help his men adapt to
the different realities they found themselves in. He was never satisfied with familiar
territory and right up to his death he was still ordering the caravels to go further onwards
until the Indies [usque ad indos].
“For some time I have heard from my many Portuguese friends, when questioned about
your deeds, that, stirred by a greatness of soul and impelled by boldness, you set sail with
your triremes around one of the most remote beaches in the ocean; and that you reached
further than we have heard of any ancient, emperor or king, ever penetrating.
Indeed, it is said that you travelled beyond the African meridian and even reached the
lands of Ethiopia.
Such deeds are not only worthy of admiration, on account of the violent seas and the
terrible storms, but must also be celebrated with universal joy, due to the wonders of the
things that have been brought back.”
Lettter from Poggio Bracciolini to Prince Henry, c. 1448
Poggio Bracciolini, Lettere, ed. Helen Harth, Vol. III, pp. 88-90
Monumenta Henricina, vol. IX, pp. 299-303 (translation by Carlos Ascenso André)
Talant
de bien faire
The motto chosen by the Prince Henry to guide his life can be translated thus: the “will to
do well”. This phrase hints at a determined and ambitious personality, as well as a tireless
and uncompromising character.
Henry certainly experienced failure at the gates of Tangier, but the rest of his life was
defined by the massive accumulation of riches and power, and by his personal
commitment to cultivating his own House, as well as bringing peace to his family and
realm. He survived every crisis he encountered because he was always clear-headed
enough to choose the right path. Meticulous, insightful and quick to defend the law, he
was one of the most influential noblemen of his time, and received princely rewards from
all other rulers.
The known world was not enough for him; he yearned to know more and gain new
wealth. He convinced his men to overcome their fear of the sea. Inspired by their lord,
sailors, pilots, carpenters, cartographers and soldiers joined his revolutionary project,
and discovered their own talent for doing well. Together they thus turned a new page in
the history of humankind.
We do not know exactly what led the young Henry to chose “the will to do well” for his
motto, but his youthful intuition sprang from an indomitable force that was only quieted
when he breathed his last in Sagres on 13 November 1460.