Introduction

1Changes in the field of History and the Human Sciences over the second half of the 20th century brought a number of themes for this large area, opening to the historian a series of new dimensions of social life and incorporating new problems and new approaches. The renewal of political history, sharp process since the 60’s and 70’s of the last century, expresses well the different course experienced in the Humanities, because the field promoted both a revisitation of traditional themes, like the State and Diplomacy, as incorporated thematics so far distant to historian craft, such as the ceremonies, the beliefs, the gestures and rituals.

2These new looks on diplomacy have as one of its primary axis to analyze diplomacy as a space for political communication. Such guidance is made present, in particular, in German historiography, with studies that advanced in the theories of communication applications and cultural anthropology for the understanding of the politische Kommunikation, term that combines mechanisms of medieval diplomacy understood from the notions of «communication conditions» related to the documents and to the organization of the chancelleries; «communication carriers» referring to the messengers and ambassadors; and «rules of political communication», corresponding to trade and diplomatic negotiations¹.

3In those terms, the sending of «embassies of ceremony»², the reception of diplomatic missions, the regal weddings and celebrations of truce and peace are examples that express the growing relationship between diplomacy and ceremonial in the late Middle Ages, an aspect already present, for example, in the study of Donald Queller³. This relationship allows us to consider, on the one hand, that the development of diplomatic practices and the profile of the ambassadors of the low Middle Ages were directly associated with the courtesan culture and to mutations related to the «cerimonializing trend» of the period monarchies⁴; and, on the other hand, note that the ceremonies of diplomacy constituted a singular form of communication between the courts, manifesting the growing importance of information and the politicization of information in the late Middle Ages⁵.

4 In relation to the Portuguese case, the studies on diplomacy have privileged the period from the late Middle Ages, giving emphasis to the Kingdom’s diplomatic relations and, more recently, developed surveys about the ambassadors, while involving a wide variety of documentation, mainly composed by letters, chronicles, treaties and normative sources⁶.

5Having as delimitation the Avis dynasty period, started with the rise of D.João I to the Portuguese throne in 1385, it’s noted that over the next several decades there has been a significant process of legitimation and royal affirmation, for which the matrimonial policy and the signing of external treaties contributed, resulting in the expansion of diplomatic relations of the Kingdom. This process was accompanied by the growth of the Portuguese presence on the routes and in the main commercial squares in Christendom, by conquests in North Africa and the overseas expansion, aspects that characterize the 15th century period as the century of the external projection of Portugal.

6In this scenario, there are a number of Portuguese travel narratives that traveled through 15th century Christianity in diplomatic missions and, mainly, there are narratives of foreigners who were in Portugal, both exerting diplomatic functions (wedding negotiations, correspondence delivery, among others), as acting in the position of Knights, pilgrims and merchants, or simple travelers, activities that also contributed in the diplomacy of the period⁷.

1. Travel narratives

7Travel narratives constitute an important documentation to understand the medieval diplomacy, however, before advancing in notes on the works concerning Portugal, we should make some considerations on the changes in the genre. As Sofía Carrizo Rueda (2002) shows us, the symbolic dimension of travel has resulted in analytical difficulties of texts and made scholars address such works with at least two designations: travel literature (literatura de viajes) and travel narratives (relato de viajes). For the author, in summary, it can be said that «la literatura de viajes tiene como referente la ficción, mientras que el relato de viajes propiamente dicho, si bien recurre esporádicamente a procesos de ficcionalización, presenta sobre todo un fuerte componente informativo y documental»⁸. The distinction, even if slippery and presents limitations against the concrete texts, usually more complex than the ratings, allows the investigator to vary in the methods of analysis applied to travel narratives as distinct as the Odyssey, Don Quixote, Marco Polo’s Book of Wonders, or Embajada a Tamorlán.

8Carrizo Rueda still reminds us that in addition to promoting a profusion of descriptions, the travelogue, in giving centrality to description, weakens all the expectation with the outcome of events:

The travel account separates itself from the travel literature, in my judgment, at this inflection point in which it approaches to extrextual expectations while the second advances to possible unlaces that will happen in the same text. Definitively, because while it arises purely from the «creation of a textual imaginary world» the gender that occupies us cannot renounce any of its two faces: relations with the real world that it claimed to have traveled – both in a series of informative aspects as in this deeper level that are the expectations or questions of the addresses – and the constitution of all this material through a series of resources taken from the scope of literaturidad. The consideration of both gives place to an interpretative circle that needs to go permanently from one to another.⁹

9In this sense, by the informational characteristics that structure the travel narratives, the genre shows itself of great contribution to the study of diplomacy by the end of the Middle Ages, period that extends, for example, the number of journals and other embassies reports. The genre allows also to discuss the roads and means of transport used by committees, compositions of embassies, the trips pacing and diplomatic dealings, trading strategies, gift exchanges, receptions and accommodation offered to ambassadors, the places of the Kingdom and the Court where the negotiations occurred, parties and other celebrations related to diplomacy, circulation and collection of information and, in the limit, the way the foreign space was described by travellers. In the case of reports that we will be dealing with, it is worth to add that they allow us to identify the changes that have occurred in Portugal during the 15th century period, both in terms of royal ceremonies and of the instruments of the royal power, as in its own commercial and social dynamics of the Kingdom. With that said, we analyse a few considerations of foreigners travel reports that were in Portugal during the 15th century.

2. Foreign travelers in Portugal (15th Century)

10Of anonymous author, the narrative Voyage de Jean van Eyck refers to the Burgundy embassy sent by the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, in 1428, to negotiate the marriage between the said Duke and D. Isabel, daughter of the Kings of Portugal, D. João I and Philippa of Lancaster. The ambassadors left Flanders on October 19th and landed in Cascais on December 16th. During this period, the King of Portugal was in Estremoz for the wedding parties of D. Leonor of Aragon with infante D. Duarte, where he received the king of arms Flandres, sent by the ambassadors. The delegation was received by Lords and notable people on January 12th, at Avis, where a great and joyful reception took place. The next day they met King D. João I, being received in the Royal Chamber, where they made the proper reverence and presented the letters of the Duke. The text indicates that the embassy was presented in Latin and answered in the same language.

11The negotiations continued and the ambassadors were informed about D. Isabel with great diligence and in several places, listening to people of different conditions, supporters and contrary to the King of Portugal. They produced a painting of the Princess, by Jean Van Eyck (Figure 1), and a written ballot recounting the development of negotiations, material that was sent to Burgundy in February 12th. While awaiting the Duke’s answer, the embassy’s activities were stalled, and some ambassadors toured the Iberian Peninsula, visiting Santiago de Compostela, in Galicia, and the Kings of Castile and Granada.

Figure 1 - Copy of the portrait of the Infanta Isabel of Portugal made by Jean Van Eyck

12The Portuguese attempts to promote marriage go back to the first years of the 1420, period of the first widowhood of Philip the Good. The negotiations advanced, however, were again interrupted with the celebration of the marriage between the Duke and Bonne of Artois (1424). The passing of the late in the following year reopened negotiations, however, the Duchy of Burgundy seemed more inclined to the alliance with Aragon through marriage between Philip and D. Leonor, future wife of Portuguese infante D. Duarte. This competitor marital project did not come to occur, but the extension of the negotiations for the marriage of D. Isabel and the displacement of part of the ambassadors to the other Iberian kingdoms can be signs that the diplomatic entourage could have alternative plans for the marriage and different goals to the diplomatic mission.

13Nevertheless, in the first weeks of June, with the return of those sent to Burgundy, the negotiations were reestablished in Sintra, where they held a big party in the Palace and were finalized the terms of the marriage, which was settled in front of the notary on July 23rd 1429, in Lisbon. After the wedding by words, in Lisbon urbe, the narrative mentions a series of parties, especially the jousts and banquets, which were attended by the ambassadors.

14Le livre des faits du bon Chevalier messire Jacques de Lalaing, speaks of the life of the Burgundian knight Jacques de Lalaing, highlighting the trip undertaken through different parts of Christianity, particularly the Iberian Peninsula. Begun in 1446, the trip brings the Knight to the Kingdom of Portugal, where he carries out diplomatic functions. According to the narrative, entering the village of Sabugal, Lalaing was received by a squire of the King accompanied by noble men with thirty horses and accommodated in a hosting prepared for him. The reception was marred by the abundance of gifts (wines, meats, spices, etc.) and by the presence of musicians who cheered the traveler.

15 The offset continued for Estremoz and Montemor-o-Novo, where the Knight was also received with festivities, by nobles and the King's envoys. Reaching the city of Évora, where was D. Afonso and the Regent D. Pedro, the delegation was received by a large number of Lords and accommodated in a richly ornate hosting. After mass, Jacques de Lalaing was accompanied by the delegation to the Palace, where the character made the proper reverence and was directed to the Royal Chamber in order to present the letters of the Duke Philip of Burgundy.

16The Diário de viagem do embaixador alemão Nicolau Lanckman of Valckenstein talks about the travel of the ambassadors of the Empire to the outcome of the negotiations of the marriage of D. Leonor in the decade of 1450. The narrative highlights the presence of the characters in Portugal, as well as the festivities held in celebration of the marriage. The text goes on to describe the ceremonies that occurred in Italy, involving the Empress, Frederick III and Eneas Silvio Piccolomini, future Pope Pius II.

17After a long voyage marked by misfortune faced along the way, the ambassadors went on by the monasteries of Batalha and Alcobaça, being greeted by envoys of the King of Portugal and driven to a nearby castle off Lisbon. About the unfold of the embassy says the Diário:

The other day, by order of the Lord King of Portugal, came by horse, most revered Bishops, Prelates, Earls, Barons, Knights and christian nobles; later, Saracens with large entourage, organized according to policies, and the town’s Chamber with many people came to their encounter receiving the ambassadors with full honors, and led them to Lisbon, to the Castle situated in a high hill, to the direct presence his Highness the King of Portugal, and immediately made the presentations.

18 The procedures followed and the report highlights the ornaments of the Portuguese Court, ending with the information that the King sent the ambassadors to the Palace intended for them in the city to rest. The negotiations continued with the participation of the Royal Council and, in another Palace, described as «prepared magnificently», the Ambassadors met with D. Leonor, D. Catarina and D. Joana, daughters of the late King D. Duarte. Still in the presence of the maidens, the envoys attended dances at the Royal Palace, where they had hearings before the key figures of the Kingdom. The next day, the marriage was concluded in the presence of the Kings of Portugal and members of the Court.

19Going further in the narrative, it is observed that a number of palatial parties and public festivities took place after the conclusion of the marriage, one of these draws attention, the celebrations of October 14th. On this day the Empress, accompanied by the ambassadors and a courtier procession, was led from the Castle into town to watch the representations and performances organized «with great care everywhere»¹⁰. The show started at the castle door with the representation of the Holy Roman Empire, with the procedure of election of the Emperor and with the appointment of Frederick by the Bishop of Cologne. On the opposite side of the castle was staged the Pope, with Cardinals, crowning the King of the Romans and his wife. In front of S. Vicente church, the procession was received by the Archbishop, with its canons and other clerics, which acclaimed and blessed the Empress. The delegation went to the Cathedral, where the people were gathered, «nearly twenty thousand people of both sexes» according to the description. In this place doctors exalted the figure of the Emperor and his wife, in addition to narrate the great Portuguese feats fighting in defense of the Christian faith and against the infidels.

Here I heard narrated the permanence of Christian faith in the Kingdom of Portugal: how the Kings of Portugal exposed to death, against the barbarians and Africans, as teaches the experience of the great and extended dominium of Ceuta in Africa; how Dom Fernando, uncle of the espoused Lady, the Empress, surrendered to death for his country and his people's liberation in Africa. At the mention of his death the whole crowd started to cry, and from the people rose a big and high clamor to God, for the soul of King Dom Fernando, martyred and killed in Africa. I strongly believe that he is one of the saved. Could never tell this story without tears.

20The preaching which was attended by the ambassadors speaks of divine aid to the Portuguese monarchs, reaffirms the obedience to Rome at a time still shrouded in schismatic dissensions, exalts the African campaigns by the House of Avis and cites the martyrdom of infante D. Fernando. In relation to the martyrdom, the celebration of the marriage of D. Leonor is the second official ceremony related to the infante, the King's uncle, captive after the disaster of Tangier (1437) and dead in 1443. In this way, the excerpt present in the Diário is expression of the first steps of the monarchical cult to the Infante Santo in Portugal.

21From D. Fernando’s death there was a deliberate move to take advantage of the tragic image of this death in favor of Regal power, expressed in donations from D. Pedro (1444), at that time Regent of the realm, and in donations from the Duchess of Burgundy (1445), also sister of the deceased, examples of the first movement to promote the cult to the infante D. Fernando. However, it was during the period of King D. Afonso V, the African, that occurred the first public demonstrations of cult to the Infante Santo and popular devotion. First, the insides of infante were delivered to the King on June 1st 1451, in the city of Santarém, and the ceremony of transfer of the viscera to the monastery of Batalha occurred eight days later, having this ceremony marked the beginning of the cult to the infante at Batalha. The second prominent ceremony for this cult occurred in 1472, when the bones of D. Fernando were rescued and later moved to the monastery of Batalha. The Royalty ordered that heralds ran through the city streets of Lisbon inviting the people to a great procession compared to the Corpus Christi¹¹.

22Relating the narrative of the ambassadors to the data on the development of the cult to the infante D. Fernando, it is observed that the delegation visited the monastery of Batalha on the 25th of July, day of S. James, just over a month after the transfer of the viscera and the beginning of the cult to the infante on the site. Adding this factor to the excerpt from the preaching in Lisbon, in October public parties, it’s noticable the mobilization of the monarchy of Avis in favor of promoting the cult to the infante before the foreign visitors and to build a memory of martyrdom of D. Fernando related to the providential, messianic and holy crusade story of the Portuguese Kingdom.

23The case in question allows to consider two aspects: the use of the monastery of Batalha as foreign travellers visit point and the Royal ceremonies as serving of the history of the Kingdom outside of Portugal. The Diário does not clarify who led the ambassadors to the monastery, stating only that when crossing the border between Galicia and Portugal the travelers arrived in Valencia, where they found a mate with servants and horses. Anyway, having occurred or not direction of the Crown for the entourage to pass through Batalha, fact is that the ambassadors passed through there and have left record that in the monastery was the grave of the «serene and always victorious Lord King D. Duarte and D. Leonor, Queen of Portugal, and of all the Kings and Queens of Portugal and the Algarve», and possibly had the first contact with the newly established account of the martyrdom of the Infante Santo, narrative that they would hear months later at the festivities in Lisbon and that would cause the emotion described in the Diário.

24Calls to attention that a few years later, in 1457, during the voyage of Swabian Knight, George of Ehingen, the monastery of Batalha reappears in a foreign narrative. The work Viaje a España de Goerge Von Ehingen (Itinerarium, das ist: Historische Berchreibung weylund Herrn Georgen von Ehingen raisene nach der Ritterschafft vor 150) has autobiographical imprint and speaks of the journey of George of Ehingen¹² that toured different courts of Christendom and the Holy Land, having participated in the wars by King Afonso V in North Africa. The traveler went to meet the King in the city of Lisbon andstayed in an accommodation prepared by the monarch. Being summoned to Court, George of Ehingen was conducted by Lords and other nobles, and found the palace richly ornated. The narrative indicates that the reception was in Portuguese, a language that the traveler didn't know, having been necessary an interpreter so that the King could talk to the foreigner. In another moment of narrative, George of Ehingen indicates that:

Nos hicieron recorrer todo el reino, visitando bellas ciudades, castillos y monasterios, y especialmente uno de estos ultimos superior á cuantos habia visto. Es de la Orden de Santo Domingo y fué fundado por un Rey de Portugal, siendo denominado monasterio de la batalha, por que muchos años antes un Rey de Portugal combatió, en el paraje que ocupa, contra los castellanos.

25Differently from the report in Diário, the autobiographical text by George of Ehingen allows to observe a deliberate action of Afonso's Court in order to take the foreign traveler to the monastery of Batalha and, consequently, promote the dynasty’s memory in stone, memory associated with the victory in Aljubarrota (1385) and the Divine Providence. The traveller indicates that he couldn't understand what was being said in the Court, however, the visit to the monastery and to other cities of the Kingdom was also a way to tell the Knight on the history of Portugal and, after the departure of George of Ehingen with letters from D. Afonso V to Empress D. Leonor, propagate this story in different courts of Christianity¹³.

26In the following decade the brother of Queen of Bohemia toured different parts of the West between 1465 and 1467, on a journey that lasted 15 months. The text Viaje del noble boemio León de Rosmital de Blatna, por España y Portugal, hecho del del año 1465 à 1467 reports that after going through different places of the Kingdom, Leon de Rosmital met with D. Afonso V in Braga, which « received the Lord and his entire entourage honorably. Because he had brought letters to the King from this same King's blood sister [D. Leonor], wife of the Emperor, written by her own hand ». The role of messenger exercised by the Baron amplified the reception due to such an illustrious traveller, such as years before had happened to George of Ehingen. The King offered different gifts to Leon de Rosmital, but what most caught the traveler´s eye were the black people who abounded in the Portuguese Court.

27 Journals of Roger Machado. Embassy to Spain and Portugal, is a narrative written by Ambassador Roger Machado and speaks of the Embassy sent in 1488 to the Catholic Kings in order to negotiate the marriage of the heir to the English throne with Catarina, daughter of Fernando and Isabel. After negotiations in Spain, the entourage arrived in Portugal in early April 1489, staying inicially in Elvas. From this location, Richmond, king of arms, sent an envoy with a letter to the Portuguese King in order to inform him that the ambassadors had come to the Kingdom. The diary indicates that the entourage stayed in town for four days, having received loads of wine, oat, fruits, meat, fish and other things sent by the Lords of the city. On April 13th the ambassadors participated in celebrations and left Elvas, being escorted by the Royal household Knights sent by the monarch, who was in Beja.

28The entourage headed to Vila Viçosa where they met with another Knight sent by the King, with instructions that the ambassadors remained in town during the Holy Week, suggestion questioned by the foreigners requesting to travel to the proximity of a days travel from the Royal Court. The request has been granted and the ambassadors continued journey to reach a grand festival prepared for them.

El día veintiuno de abril los embajadores dejaron dicha villa de Portel y se fueron a comer a la villa llamada Vivigueira, que está a dos leguas de Portel. Y allí se encontraba la casa real. En Portel se había preparado un gran festival para los embajadores, bailes de hombres y mujeres a la moda del país, corridas de toros y combates cuerpo a cuerpo –, toda la diversión y el solaz posible se organizó en su honor. Es verdad que a una legua de esa villa llamada Vivigueira, donde estaba la corte real, el gran canciller de Portugal llegó bien atendido por varios nobles y personas de alto linaje, como caballeros, doctores y procuradores, abogados, escudeiros y otras personas de condición hasta el número de cien.

29On April 22nd the ambassadors gave their missives to the King, which « los llevó apart y conversó un poco con ellos ». The report even states that during the next few days were held several parties, banquets and tournaments, having the ambassadors participated in the celebrations and remained in contact with the monarch who, on May 23rd, said goodbye to the party by giving them a series of gifts.

30The six narratives cited speak either of diplomatic missions or noble travelers carriyng letters from foreign courts to the King of Portugal, that is, of travellers who somehow acted directly in diplomatic relations and in political communication between the courts of the 15th century. The reports demonstrate that the reception of these foreign entourages occurred in varied ways, in general, time consuming, and involved stops and celebration by different parts of the Kingdom. This aspect expressed that at the end of the medieval period the monarchy remained itinerant, feature that took the diplomatic entourages along the Kingdom to meet with the King, which, on the one hand, it could harm negotiations and, on the other, could facilitate the collection of informations on the foreign Kingdom.

31The roaming issue brings out another face of the exercise of diplomatic negotiations from the period. If ambassadors crossed different roads and, at times, were housed in monasteries, castles and towns before being received by the Royal Court, the documentation indicates that the city was the quintessential space of diplomatic activity. The chronicles and travel narratives indicate the importance that the urban space had for diplomacy. Place of information and rumor circulation, the Portuguese cities cited in the reports were also characterized for being the stage of diplomatic ceremonies. In that sense, the sharp development of diplomacy throughout the 15th century had direct implications on relationships woven in urban space and in the very experience and understanding of those spaces. Ambassadors were greeted at the gates of the cities, parades crossed the streets, processions with the presence of illustrious foreigners drove to monasteries and to the Cathedral, jousts took place in the squares, performances took place in the vicinity of the Castle ... the city lived a particular time, the time of the party, the time of the show, the time of diplomacy.

32In the specific case of embassies, it’s observed the importance of ceremonial protocols at a time when the rules of communication were increasingly standardized. In the texts of Van Eyck and Roger Machado, for example, the officers of arms, specifically the kings of arms, move ahead from the embassy informing the authorities in each city the arrival of the entourage and organizing the reception and hosting. Respect to that protocol favored the structuring of the reception ceremonial, expressed by an entourage formed by members of the city's elite, the Royal household, noble servers, doctors, clergymen, among others, sent by the King and by local authorities.

33The reception of ambassadors and noble travelers follows, in this way, the ceremonial practices of the court, both included in this courtier universe, space by excellence for the development of the ambassador’s profile of the late Middle Ages. Meat, wine, spices, songs, dances, among other elements were part of a celebration that aimed to assert the prestige of the receiver and strengthen ties between this and the one who sent the diplomatic mission. The inumerous parties indicated in the reports exercised the role of communicative events of values and beliefs, even mobilizing news and projects that would be celebrated, in this case, by the Royal power, that made them coincide, many times, with periods, places and central acts of that communicability, such as the fair, the festivities, the Royal celebrations, etc¹⁴.

34Another striking case of this courtier environment was the closeness between the knighthood activities, as the jousts and the tournaments, and diplomatic negotiation undertaken by the ambassadors¹⁵, in addition to the banquets to which diplomatic envoys often participated. On this last point, it is observed that during the reception of the entourage or during the negotiations and celebrations that, sometimes, diplomatic dealings took place, travelers attended «State meals», sharing the King's table, that was a place of representation of political power, through which were shown social hierarchies¹⁶.

Figure 2 - Banquet de Noces. Representation of a wedding banquet with the presence of illustrious guests in the upper right corner of the image

35The Diário de viagem do embaixador Nicolau Lanckman de Valckenstein brings many references to banquets, of which stands out the last of the entourage in Portugal. The report states that the King gave a great party at a palace erected for the occasion. The environment was ornamented with tapestries of different colours and fabrics, with figures of different characters and stories.

At the first table, facing many and large serving pieces and magnificent silver objects and bowls, arranged and placed Regaly in its place, and watched over by guards of Knights, sat the following people: first, and in the upper position, the married Dona Leonor; secondly, at the same table, the Lord King of Portugal, older brother of the betrothed Lady; thirdly, on the other side, in front, sat Dona Catarina, sister of the betrothed Lady, and, to her side, fourthly, Infante D. Fernando, younger brother of the betrothed Lady; (...) in sixth and seventh place, sat the ambassadors of the Lord Emperor. All these people had simple water at the table during the feast, except D. Fernando and the ambassadors, who drank well spirited wine.

36The excerpt shows that diplomatic activity demanded knowledge of courtiers codes and the growing etiquettes and ways that imposed gradually in court space and, especially, to the King's table. It is added that at the end of the passage, the report informs the ambassadors drank «well spirited»¹⁷ wine, which could represent a moral issue to the characters. In general, wine appears in the texts as part of common food diet, however, it was recommended the mixture with water in order to avoid intoxication and excesses that it could generate¹⁸.

37These moral restrictions directly affect the performance of diplomatic functions, because the ambassadors should have a moral conduct beyond reproach. Specifically in the Portuguese case, the advisor profile established by the title of the Ordenações Afonsinas, from which one can deduce the profile of ambassadors, involves elements such as memory, good understanding, good speech, being polite and smooth with words, among others aspects that are directly about morality. The moral standard in Ordenações approaches the content of Avis moralistic prose, indicating that such men should be meek, doers of justice, lovers of honor and good, avoiding the carnal delights as games and drunkenness, and noisy and rough speeches. In this way, the constitution of counselor and ambassador profile at the Avis Court is directly associated with the pattern that has developed from the courtesan culture, palatial, and moral religious models, being in the Portuguese case directed by the own Avis monarchs¹⁹.

38Specifically on the negotiation dynamics, the narratives allow to note that after the first contact, the committees were received at the Palace and, in some cases, were accompanied by the Chancellor. In institutional terms, the travel narratives indicate that the Royal Council was constantly consulted in matters of diplomacy, indicating the importance of this sphere of power in the management of external issues, either as advisory space, or as ambassadors locus of choice. Nevertheless, it was the Royal Chamber the privileged space of diplomatic negotiation. In some cases, the reports indicate that the embassy presentation and negotiation took place in the Chamber in the presence of members of the Royal family and the Council, however, it is also possible to realize, just as in the texts of Jacques de Lalaing and Roger Machado, even more private meetings. Both practices, alongside references to espionage and secret embassies present in 15th century chronicles, express, in a way, the growing politics of secret and information control attempts in the period, restricting, on the edge, to the Council and Royal family members the diplomatic affairs.

39There are other elements in the narratives about negotiation dynamics that deserve special attention. Van Eick’s narrative indicates that the negotiation happened in Latin. Three decades after George of Ehingen informs that the Court spoke in Portuguese, a language he didn't understand. Similarly, in the 30’s, the King D. Duarte left recorded «Ditado per latym e lingoajem d’el rey pera outros prinçipes e senhores» in Latin²⁰. In the 70´s, the Livro Vermelho of D. Afonso V brings extended rules, but only in Portuguese. Can those elements represent a retreat from Latin in Avis Court or the assertion of a national language? Maybe possible answers are in other documents that escape the present reflection, in any case, it is noted in the narratives the presence of interpreters in courtier space, men, sometimes cited unnamed, which exerted very significant role for diplomatic relations and to the conduct of court ceremonials. Furthermore, from the narrative about the voyage of Jacques de Lalaing, it is noted a magnification in details about the reception, on the banquets and gifts received, over the festivities and, especially, about the hosting of the characters, aspects that show the development of ceremonial practices of the Portuguese Court and the structuring of a new ceremonial standard.

3. Cerimonial and Diplomacia in Portugal

40In order to consider this aspect in more detail, are mentioned the studies of Ana Isabel Buescu²¹. When analysing royal marriages in the first half of the 16th century, the author indicates the existence of a « similar ceremonial pattern, with festivities at the palace and in the context of the Court, but also as an important dimension of public party ». Such elements that mark the « ceremonial standard » of the 16th century can be found in development throughout the 15th century.

41The first marriage of the Avis dynasty was of King D. João I and Philippa of Lancaster, in 1387. According to Fernão Lopes²², the parties and jousts lasted fifteen days between preparations and the celebration of marriage. The streets of Oporto were adorned with herbs, the nobles practiced military activities in jousts and tournaments, banquets were organized and the party also counted on «joguos e damças per todallas partes e praças». The marriage of D. Duarte with D. Leonor of Aragon, in 1428, was also space of festivities. Hunts, jousts, bull runs, dancing and singing were present at the ceremony. However, the marriage occurred under the displeasure of the Prince, who had programed the festivities for Évora and, due to the outbreak of plague that affected the town, had to transfer the celebrations to Coimbra.

42The marriage of D. Isabel, narrated by Van Eyck, is the matrimony that generated more spending between the reigns of D. João I and D. Afonso V. The celebrations lasted three days. On 26 September 1429, the banquet was held by the Tagus River, where there were assembled four big tables. In the following days the jousts took place at Rua Nova de Lisboa. Finally, there was a great procession which accompanied D. Isabel to the Cathedral. Fourteen ships and about 2000 people headed next to the future Duchess of Burgundy.

43 These famous marriages contributed to the promotion of the external image of the Royal House of Avis and the development of monarchic ceremonial in Portugal. If D. João’s I marriage gave signs of the care that the new dynasty would have with celebrations, the marriage of D. Isabel demonstrates the complexity acquired for celebration in the 30’s. Nevertheless, Van Eyck’s narrative also demonstrates some weaknesses present in the period, for example, the delay in receiving the embassy, which was not received in Cascais and had to find the King, being received almost a month after the arrival in the Kingdom, and the lack of adequate space for the banquet, which was quickly built on the banks of the Tagus River. Such aspects contrast with Jacques de Lalaing and Nicholas of Valckenstein narratives about the embassies, indicating that from the years 1440, still during the Regency, the monarchic ceremonial gained new outlines, these would be organized during the reign of D. Afonso V and started to aggregate signifficantly the overseas elements.

44The scenography of power present in the description of the Diário constitutes a significant change in the ceremonial during the reign of D. Afonso V. Scenarios were set up throughout the city, creating a secular procession that recounted, exalted and, not least, experienced the history of the Empire and Christianity, associating to this the laudable Portuguese feats. Thus, the new feats put the wedding celebrations of D. Leonor closer to those ceremonies conducted in the reigns of D. Manuel and D. João III, under the direction of Gil Vicente, than of the celebration of the marriage of D. Isabel in 1430.

45Other evidence make it possible to consider D. Afonso’s V reign as a period of the monarchy’s ceremonial systematization and, specifically, of those related to diplomacy. Rita Costa Gomes²³ proposes that the measures taken by the early Kings of Avis constitute a process of «global redesign of Royal ceremonies», movement that would have produced the missing compilation of Portuguese ceremonies. Gomes indicates that during the 15th century the Avis Court saved two normative texts. The first, a compilation of English usage, manifests its influence in the Portuguese Chapel since the 30’s, having the Codex remained in the Royal Library until the reign of D. Manuel. The second, a collection of internal ordinances and general standards, is the Livro Vermelho, which was used in the Court until the 16th century. According to the author, the document is «the most important description, though with gaps, of Portuguese uses of the end of the Middle Ages».

46 In the records of Livro Vermelho, document 4 is the most quoted. Dated from January 1471, under the title «Dytados em lynguoajem d'ElRey Dom Affonso o Quynto nosso Senhor pera Rex e Primcipes e Senhores e todas as outras pessoas estrangeiras de fora de seus Reinnos...», systematizes the forms that should be used in diplomatic contacts with foreign Princes and monarchs, in addition to the representatives of these and of the great lords of the Kingdom itself.

47There is still a document, which organizes the seat of ambassadors in the Royal Chapel, and in other ceremonies. Under the title of « Detriminaçao do Coselho d'ElRey acerqua da maneira que se aja de ter com os Embaixadores dos Rex e Principes estramjeiros, que a Sua Corte vierem, asy acerqua do asentamento em Sua Capela como das outras cerimonias », the text indicates the solemnity of the daily lives of embassies within the scope of the Court, in addition to inform about the distinctions of status. Differently from the Aula and the Chamber, the Chapel was the Court’s ecclesiastical body par excellence, where the rites of Christian worship took place²⁴. In it took place daily mass, to which the monarchs watched from the interior of a mobile structure especially assembled in the Chapel. This remained closed most of the time, however the Livro Vermelho indicates that the King could show himself in its interior to the ambassadors and members of the Court. The seats layout was not facing the altar, but to the Royal curtain, which expresses a hierarchical organization of the cult. By the characteristics and functions of the space, members of the clergy are highlighted in the document, the seat and the hierarchical precedence being detailed in relation to the others present. After this exposure, the text arranges the ambassadors layout in case of simultaneous missions:

E em caso que a Corte do dito Senhor venham jumtamente Embaixadores de dous ou tres Rex, ou Principes, ou de mays, e asy vaaõ a sua Capela pera averem d'estar em seu asentamento, far-se-ha a deferemça de huuns aos outros no asemtar, que se faz nos ditados que se a cada huum poem, segundo o ditado que o dito Senhor a cada huu Rey, ou Principe poõe, asy precedera o seu Embaixador, ou será precedido d'outro.

48 The ambassadors layout in the Chapel follows the structure established in document 4 of Livro Vermelho, which demonstrates the importance of the list to the systematization of diplomatic formalities, serving as guidance for the late. To these elements, its added document 26, titled «Detriminaçam e Regimento d’El-Rey, da maneira que se daquy em diante aja de ter acerqua dos mantimentos ordenados e corregimentos que se ham de dar aos Embaixadores, e pessoas que ele por seu serviço mandar fora de seus Reinos... ». In addition to the elements expressed in the title, the document makes a distinction between missions in the Iberian Peninsula, which demanded fewer resources, and missions outside of Iberian space, in addition to define the diplomatic envoys as embaixadores:

E esta maneira detrimina o dito Senhor, e manda que se daquy em diante tenha com todolos Embaixadores, e pessoas que elle mandar com embaixadas, e recados seus fora de seus Reinnos; e posto que vaa Doutor, e Cavaleiro, ou outro Senhor mayor, que elle dito Doutor ambos juntamente, como ele dito Doutor tambem levar nome de Embaixador...

49It is considered that these documents are evidence that in the 1470 decade, the Portuguese monarchy took another step in order to systematize diplomatic ceremonies, especially the sending and the reception of embassies. With more and more foreigners circulating through the Kingdom’s cities owing to the development of navigations and an increasing diplomatic network, Afonso V decided to invest in the systematization of the Portuguese ceremonial, aware that this was an important political tool. This process steps back to the previous decades, with the Kingdom’s heraldic reorganization, the writing of the Livro dos Arautos in 1416, the elaboration of a list of rules for Royal documents to be dispatched abroad present in the Livro dos Conselhos de El-Rey D. Duarte, the rules of procedure for the officers of arms in 1476, resulting in the own compilation of the Court’s documents and uses that constitutes Livro Vermelho.

50It is worth to consider other aspects present in travelogues and related to 15th century diplomacy. Van Eyck’s narrative in the 1420´s, makes references to men representing the Indies, dreamlike medieval society’s skyline. Jacques de Lalaing, on the other hand, when visiting the Kingdom of Portugal in the 1440’s makes a remark to the fact of having won spices as a gift. In the 1450’s, the ambassadors of the Empire were able to watch the parade of an elephant that demonstrated the power of the King called the African. Baron of Rosmital, in the 1460’s, was surprised by the black people he saw in the Kingdom and, as a gift, even won a monkey. There was only a few years that the slave trade, which would mark the future Portuguese Empire, had given its first steps, and descriptions of travellers demonstrate the transformation experienced by the Kingdom of Portugal.

51Diogo Ramada Curto²⁵ argues that marriages and other festivity occasions were particularly intense moments for communication of the Court with the outside world and for the identification of national habits. Diário brings a number of other passages in which it is noticeable the Kingdom’s elation and concern for the promotion of Portugal’s history. Upon reaching the city of Lisbon, for example, the ambassadors describe the history of the site saying that "this city was built by Ulysses, in honor of his wife, who had the name of Bana; and the name is composed of Bana and Ulysses, which makes Ulixbana", a passage that underlines the antiquity and Greek roots of Lisbon, subject that, in the following century, became famous in the penalty of Damião de Góis.

52The reports of the weddings of D. Isabel and D. Leonor reinforce the view that diplomatic ceremonies were unique moments for the promotion of the image of the monarchy, of the Kingdom and also of the city that hosted the celebrations. In these cases, the ambassadors registered verbatim the grandeur of the celebrations and practices conducted on Lusitanian lands, allowing that impression to circulate through other regions of Christianity extolling the Portuguese Kingdom. The Royal ceremonies and, specifically, the ceremonies related to diplomacy, demonstrate, other mechanisms by which the monarchy structured, restructured and made known the history of the Kingdom, especially out of Portugal.

53There is still another reference of the Diário directly linked to the relationship between diplomacy and the memory and exaltation of the Kingdom. On 19 February 1452, D. Leonor and her entourage headed to the city of Siena to meet Frederick III. The princess was received on the 24th, on door Camollia, "with a big parade, solemnity and honor”, and to celebrate the meeting was erected a stone statue so it would "stay perpetual memory of this moment". The narrative indicates that the meeting was proceeded with festivities and, later, the couple went to Rome in order to complete the marriage and coronation by Pope Nicholas V. However it is on the sculpture of Siena that lays our attention. It is possible, as indicated by the chronicler Rui de Pina, that the commission of the statue has been made by Portuguese Ambassador João Fernandes da Silveira, anyway, there is the intention to register it for posterity by Collona del Portogallo and the repercussions of the construction.

Figure 3 - Fresco of the Libreria Piccolomini, cathedral of Siena.

Figure 4 – Colonna del Portogallo, Siena

54One of the Italian artists described by Giorgio Vasari, Bernardino di Betti, known as Pinturicchio (c.1454-1513), recorded the event at Libreria Piccolomini of Siena Cathedral. The painting started to be made in the year 1502 and ended in 1508. The famous fresco by Pinturicchio (Figure 3) about the meeting highlights in the foreground the Emperor, Princess Leonor and the Bishop of Siena, Eneas Silvio Piccolomini, future Pope Pius II; in addition to, in the background, signal the marble column present in the description of the Diário and the Chronica de El-Rey D. Affonso V. It is possible to note that the production of the sculpture and, later, of the fresco, was crossed by the various interests of the mainly involved in the ceremony, the Emperor Frederick III, the princess Leonor and, consequently, the King of Portugal, and even the Bishop of Siena, Eneas Piccolomini. Registered in text, in ink and marble, the event remains carved in the life of the Italian city (Figure 4) and can serve as an indication that the 15th century concern in perpetuating the memories of Portuguese accomplishments through diplomacy was successful.

4. Other narratives, other questions

55Before concluding, it is worth mentioning that there are other travel narratives of foreigners who were in Portugal in the 15th century and that, even without acting directly as ambassadors or messengers, also offer traces that contribute to this reflection. The Crónica de uma viagem à costa da Mina no ano de 1480 is one of these examples and speaks of a French merchant that between 1479 and 1480 toured the West coast of Africa. In addition the stay in Spain and Portugal, the traveler passed through the Canary Islands, Cabo Verde, Sierra Leone, among other points of Africa, which extends the particularities of the narrative. Eustache de La Fosse was arrested overseas in possession of African spices and, upon arriving in the Kingdom, was imprisoned in Setúbal. The text states that during questioning the justice officials insisted on knowing whether the merchant had received orders to bring with him the seeds of Paradise (pepper).

56A second text is Viaje de Nicolas de Popielovo por España y Portugal, speaks of the journey of the noble of Breslau through different parts of Christianity, highlighting his passing through the Iberian Peninsula (1484-1485), both in visit to Santiago de Compostela, as stopping in the realms. Nicolas de Popielovo (Nicolas de Popplau) arrived at Setúbal accompanied by two companions, hosting himself at the address of a shoemaker. According to the report, one of the traveller’s servers spoke Spanish and was sent to the Palace to search for the King's Cook, of Flemish origin, that according to Lisbon traders could arrange audiences with the King. The contact did not result in the expected audience for the traveler, even if Popielovo states in the narrative that he carried letters from the Emperor. The sequence of the narrative recounts the hardships faced by the foreigner, as the arrest of one of his companions and the difficulties of understanding the Portuguese language. After going to the Court looking for monarch, Popielovo managed to be received in the Royal Chamber, had his audience with D. João II and the liberation of his server.

57From the end of the 15th century, there is still the Viaje por España y Portugal en los años 1494 y 1495, that speaks of Austrian Jerónimo Münzer’s travel, that leaving Nuremberg toured Christianity accompanied by friends who knew foreign languages. The traveler was in the Iberian Peninsula for five months and the text highlights the visit to Granada, then recently conquered by the Catholic Kings. During his stay in Portugal, was with D. João II in Évora, where he dazzled with the camels who were at Court, was received at the King's table and had audiences with the monarch. The text does not inform the subjects dealt with, but, whereas, in 1493, possibly at the request of Emperor Maximilian, Münzer sent letter to D. João II with the proposal to seek a path to Cathay by navigating West, and that the previous excerpt of the narrative states that the King was «extremo afable y amigo de enterarse de todo por sí mismo; al que llega a él para hablarse de empresas bélicas, de navegación o de otras de interés, le escucha atentamente...», it is possible to consider that the navigations were on the agenda at the meetings. It is added that in the descriptions about the Kingdom of Portugal, it is also noted the reference to exotic animals from Africa and the slaves that multiply in Lisbon.

58The cited examples demonstrate the disparities experienced by travelers abroad, situations, sometimes of risk that, generally speaking, the slow crystallization of the Ambassador's status limited. Both Popielovo as Münzer indicate to have contacted members of the Court to ensure the audience with the monarch, however, while the first faced several difficulties and had to press for a meeting with D. João II, the second was quickly received, had several audiences and even received safe travel permits and escorts during his stay in Portugal. The three cases reveal sides of a same question, the information importance at the end of the medieval period. Travellers of the period, whether with commercial or «scientific» interests, were potentially informants at a time when authorities increasingly sought to collect and control information.

5. Conclusions

59By what was exposed, we believe that a complex ceremonial practice presents itself in the diplomatic activities of late medieval period. Receptions, parades, dances, gifts, tournaments, jousts, bullfights, processions, stagings. It was still noticeable the concern with the preparation of richly ornate hostings to receive the foreign entourages, care that, together with the other elements of the ceremonial, favored the laudatory tone of these illustrious travellers narratives, texts that resonated the honor and power of the Kingdom and the King on other courts of Christianity.

60 These narratives are examples that such sources allow the investigator to identify a series of elements related to the Court and to diplomacy of the late Middle Ages, which, sometimes, do not appear in more traditional documents, such as treaties, proxies and letters of belief. On the other hand, the reports allow to identify the growing ceremonial role at Court and, by comparison, the structuring of the monarchic ceremonial of Portuguese royalty.

61 Nearing conclusion, what can we see through the eyes of 15th century travelers? Ambassadors were greeted at cities gates, parades crossed the streets, processions with the presence of illustrious foreigners drove to monasteries and to the Cathedral, jousts were waged in squares and Town Halls, bullfights and banquets entertained the Court and the people, stagings happened in the Castle vicinitys, travelers attended dances and heard about overseas travels... aspects present in the narratives and that involved, especially, the urban space. So, we can say that the Kingdom and, specifically, the city space lived a particular time, the time of party, the time of the show, which was also the time of diplomacy, which has not gone unnoticed of travelers reports.

62The excerpts and the examples selected sought to emphasize that during the 15th century the Kingdom of Portugal experienced significant changes and we see in the texts that over the festivities the propagandistic project of the House of Avis was made present, be it with the affirmation of the monastery of Batalha in traveller’s routes or with the promotion of the cult to the Infante Santo. In addition, it was noticed how aspects, exotic in general, linked to overseas widened in royalist celebrations, favoring Regal power in a period of the Portuguese maritime Empire formation.