Fernando, the Saint Prince
Encyclopedia
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
Infante Fernando (fɨɾˈnɐ̃du; Ferdinand; September 29, 1402-June 5, 1443), commonly known as the Saint Prince was an infante (prince) of Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
of the House of Aviz
House of Aviz
The House of Aviz is a dynasty of kings of Portugal. In 1385, the Interregnum of the 1383-1385 crisis ended with the acclamation of the Master of the Order of Aviz, John, natural son of king Peter I and Dona Teresa Lourenço as king...
and a saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
.
Ferdinand was the sixth and youngest son of King John I of Portugal
John I of Portugal
John I KG , called the Good or of Happy Memory, more rarely and outside Portugal the Bastard, was the tenth King of Portugal and the Algarve and the first to use the title Lord of Ceuta...
and his wife Philippa of Lancaster
Philippa of Lancaster
Philippa of Lancaster, LG was a Queen consort of Portugal. Born into the royal family of England, her marriage with King John I secured the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance and produced several famous children who became known as the "Illustrious Generation" in Portugal...
. Ferdinand and his brothers Edward, Peter, Henry and John of Reguengos, sister Isabella and half-brother Afonso
Afonso, 1st Duke of Braganza
Dom Afonso I, the 1st Duke of Braganza was the eighth Count of Barcelos, the 2nd Count of Neiva, 2nd Lord of Faria and the first Duke of Braganza.-Origins:...
, constitute what Portuguese historians have traditionally labelled the 'illustrious generation
Illustrious Generation (Portugal)
The Ínclita Geração is a term commonly used by Portuguese historians to refer to a group of 15th C. infantes of the House of Aviz, specifically the sons of King John I of Portugal and his wife Philippa of Lancaster...
' (Ínclita Geração)
Ferdinand became interested in religious questions as a young man. Ferdinand was made Lord of Salvaterra de Magos
Salvaterra de Magos
Salvaterra de Magos is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 244,74 km² and a total population of 22,053 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 6 parishes, and is located in the district of Santarém....
and Atougouia
Atouguia da Baleia
Atouguia da Baleia is a parish in the municipality of Peniche, in Portugal, with an area of 46.04 km² and a population of 7,988 residents .The village of Atouguia da Baleia has almost 2,000 residents...
around 1429. After his father's death in 1433 and the death of administrator João Rodrigues de Sequeira, Ferdinand was appointed by his brother Edward of Portugal to succeed them master and administrator of the Order of Aviz
Order of Aviz
The Military Order of Aviz , previously to 1910 Royal Military Order of Aviz , previously to 1789 Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz , previously Knights of St. Benedict of Aviz or Friars of Santa Maria of Évora, is a Portuguese Order of Chivalry...
. He was offered the office of Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
by Pope Eugene IV
Pope Eugene IV
Pope Eugene IV , born Gabriele Condulmer, was pope from March 3, 1431, to his death.-Biography:He was born in Venice to a rich merchant family, a Correr on his mother's side. Condulmer entered the Order of Saint Augustine at the monastery of St. George in his native city...
.
Nonetheless, Ferdinand was dissatisfied with his meager domains and, in 1436, asked his brother King Edward for permission to go abroad to seek his fortune in the service of a foreign king. Ferdinand's threat prompted the reluctant Edward to endorse the plan, long promoted by their brother Henry the Navigator, to launch a Portuguese campaign of conquest against Marinid
Marinid
The Marinid dynasty or Benemerine dynasty was a Zenata Berber dynasty of Morocco. The Marinid dynasty overtook the Almohads in controlling Morocco in 1244. They controlled most of the Maghreb from the mid-14th century to the 15th century and supported the Kingdom of Granada in Al-Andalus in the...
Morocco.
In August 1437, the Portuguese expeditionary force, under Henry's leadership, set out to seize Tangier
Tangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
. Ferdinand brought his household and Aviz knights with him. The campaign proved disastrous. Henry impetuously launched a series of assaults on the walls of Tangier with no success, while allowing his siege camp to be encircled by a Moroccan army rushed north by the Wattasid
Wattasid
The Wattassids or Banû Watâs were a Berber dynasty of Morocco.Like the Marinids, they were of Berber Zenata descent. The two families were related, and the Marinids recruited many viziers from the Wattasids...
strongman Abu Zakariya Yahya al-Wattasi
Abu Zakariya Yahya al-Wattasi
Abu Zakariya Yahya ibn Ziyan al-Wattasi Abu Zakariya Yahya ibn Ziyan al-Wattasi (d.1448) Abu Zakariya Yahya ibn Ziyan al-Wattasi (d.1448) (abū zakarīyā' yaḥyā ben ziyān al-waṭṭāsī was a vizier of the Marinid sultan of Fez, regent and effective strongman ruler of Morocco from 1420 until 1448. He...
, governor of the Marinid
Marinid
The Marinid dynasty or Benemerine dynasty was a Zenata Berber dynasty of Morocco. The Marinid dynasty overtook the Almohads in controlling Morocco in 1244. They controlled most of the Maghreb from the mid-14th century to the 15th century and supported the Kingdom of Granada in Al-Andalus in the...
palace of Fez
Fes, Morocco
Fes or Fez is the second largest city of Morocco, after Casablanca, with a population of approximately 1 million . It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region....
(called Lazeraque by the Portuguese chroniclers). Unable to break out, the Portuguese expeditionary force was starved into submission. To preserve his army from destruction, Henry signed a treaty with the Moroccan ruler, agreeing to restore Ceuta
Ceuta
Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta along with the other Spanish...
(which had been captured by the Portuguese in 1415), in return for being allowed to withdraw his army unmolested. Henry handed his brother Infante Ferdinand over to the Moroccans as a hostage until the fulfillment of the treaty. Ferdinand was placed under house arrest first in Asilah
Asilah
Asilah or Arzila is a fortified town on the northwest tip of the Atlantic coast of Morocco, about 31 km from Tangier. Its ramparts and gateworks remain fully intact...
, then later moved to Fez.
Back in Portugal, Ferdinand's brothers, Edward of Portugal, Peter of Coimbra and John of Reguengos pleaded with the Portuguese Cortes
Portuguese Cortes
In the Medieval Kingdom of Portugal, the Cortes was an assembly of representatives of the estates of the realm - the nobility, clergy and bourgeoisie. It was called and dismissed by the King of Portugal at will, at a place of his choosing...
(parliament) to ratify the treaty and deliver Ceuta to Morocco. But the burgher-dominated Cortes refused. According to legend, Ferdinand himself communicated he did not want to be released in exchange for the precious city, and wished to remain in captivity. But Ferdinand's surviving letters and the account of Ferdinand's secretary Frei João Álvares
Frei João Álvares
Frei João Álvares was a 15th century Portuguese friar of a military Order, chronicler and writer....
, who was with him throughout his captivity, makes it reasonably clear that Ferdinand did not seek out a martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
's fate, that he expected the treaty to be honored and his release to be secured quickly.
The harrowing fate of the abandoned young Ferdinand is said to have contributed to King Edward's decline into depression that contributed to his premature death in 1438. Once it became clear that the Portuguese had no intention of ransoming him (and after a hare-brained attempt to escape), Ferdinand's status as a noble hostage was downgraded and he was subjected to ordeals and humiliations by his Moroccan jailers.
Disregarding the Cortes, the new regent Peter of Coimbra decided to fulfill the treaty and swap Ceuta for his imprisoned brother. In April, 1440, a flotilla under the command of D. Fernando de Castro
Fernando de Castro
Dom Fernando de Castro was a 15th C. Portuguese nobleman, diplomat and military figure. Fernando de Castro was the 1st Lord of Paúl de Boquilobo...
was sent to Ceuta, with instructions to evacuate the Portuguese garrison and deliver the city to the Marinid
Marinid
The Marinid dynasty or Benemerine dynasty was a Zenata Berber dynasty of Morocco. The Marinid dynasty overtook the Almohads in controlling Morocco in 1244. They controlled most of the Maghreb from the mid-14th century to the 15th century and supported the Kingdom of Granada in Al-Andalus in the...
s. As it turns out the lead ship was intercepted by Genoese pirates, and Fernando de Castro killed, so command of the mission was passed on to his son Álvaro de Castro. In the meantime, an embassy under Gomes Eanes and Martim de Tavora proceeded to Asilah
Asilah
Asilah or Arzila is a fortified town on the northwest tip of the Atlantic coast of Morocco, about 31 km from Tangier. Its ramparts and gateworks remain fully intact...
to receive the released Ferdinand from the Marinid authorities. But negotiations with the strongman Abu Zakariya Yahya al-Wattasi
Abu Zakariya Yahya al-Wattasi
Abu Zakariya Yahya ibn Ziyan al-Wattasi Abu Zakariya Yahya ibn Ziyan al-Wattasi (d.1448) Abu Zakariya Yahya ibn Ziyan al-Wattasi (d.1448) (abū zakarīyā' yaḥyā ben ziyān al-waṭṭāsī was a vizier of the Marinid sultan of Fez, regent and effective strongman ruler of Morocco from 1420 until 1448. He...
in Fez
Fes, Morocco
Fes or Fez is the second largest city of Morocco, after Casablanca, with a population of approximately 1 million . It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region....
went poorly. In the end, the deal fell through and the swap was not realized.
Ferdinand died in captivity in Fes
Fes, Morocco
Fes or Fez is the second largest city of Morocco, after Casablanca, with a population of approximately 1 million . It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region....
in 1443. Remaining imprisoned members of his party (including his secretary, Frei João Álvares
Frei João Álvares
Frei João Álvares was a 15th century Portuguese friar of a military Order, chronicler and writer....
) were eventually ransomed a few years later.
Ferdinand's remains were transferred to the Monastery of Batalha in 1471, where they lie in the Founder's Chapel. Ferdinand's sacrifice in the name of national interests gave him his nickname the Saint Prince and soon fostered a saintly cult. Henry the Navigator commissioned Ferdinand's secretary Frei João Álvares
Frei João Álvares
Frei João Álvares was a 15th century Portuguese friar of a military Order, chronicler and writer....
to set down the details of Ferdinand's life and captivity in 1460 (it was eventually published in 1527). However, Álvares chronicle, originally intended as a piece of Christian hagiography
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
to supplement the cult of the 'Saint Prince', did not flatter Henry's leadership nor absolve him of responsibility for Ferdinand's fate.
Ferdinand was beatified in 1470, and the Bollandist
Bollandist
The Bollandists are an association of scholars, philologists, and historians who since the early seventeenth century have studied hagiography and the cult of the saints in Christianity. Their most important publication has been the Acta Sanctorum...
s have included his life in their great publication.
Ancestry
Sources
- Frei João ÁlvaresFrei João ÁlvaresFrei João Álvares was a 15th century Portuguese friar of a military Order, chronicler and writer....
(c.1460) Chronica dos feytos, vida, e morte do infante santo D. Fernando, que morreo em Fez, first published 1526, Lisbon. [1730, edition, Fr. Jeronimo dos Ramos, editor, Lisbon: M. Rodrigues. online
- Ruy de Pina (c.1510) Chronica d'el Rey D. Duarte, first published 1790 in J.F. Correia da Serra, editor, Collecção de livros ineditos de historia portugueza, Vol. 1, Lisbon: Academia das Ciências. [1901 edition, Gabriel Pereira, editor, Lisbon: Escriptorio online
- Ruy de Pina (c.1510) Chronica d'el Rey D. Affonso V, first published 1790 in J.F. Correia da Serra, editor, Collecção de livros ineditos de historia portugueza, Vol. 1. Lisbon: Academia das Ciências de Lisboa [1901 edition, 3 vols, Gabriel Pereira, editor, Lisbon: Escriptorio, online
- Russell, P.E. (2000) Prince Henry 'the Navigator': a life New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press.