Philippa of Lancaster in Portugal (1387-1415): The Roots of a New Religious Spirituality? (SP)

Abstract

The only English Queen of Portugal (February 1378-July 1415), Philippa of Lancaster is considered to have had some responsibility in the changes that took place in the fifteenth-century Portuguese court, especially in the cultural arena. This assumption, however, has lacked all empirical support until now. One of the least-known facets of the queen’s personality concerns the kind of spirituality that she practiced, and which she could have passed on to her own children and imposed on the Portuguese court. By delving into the origins of this spirituality, into the queen’s education and her performance as a queen, we have been able to prove the truth behind some of these assumptions and the lack of support for others. Our study of the queen’s education and religious practices is based on our tracing of sporadic allusions in different texts, our reading of the chronicles of her husband’s reign, and of her eldest son’s writings, which present her as an exemplary queen with a pure and untainted behavior. The perpetuation of this image of the queen is now more easily understood.