The funerary monument of prince Afonso of Portugal (1390-1400): a 15th century commission by duchess Isabel of Portugal (1397-1471)?

Isabel of Portugal, duchess of Burgundy, was a princess of Portuguese and English origins. Her father, king John I, bastard son of king Peter I, launched a complex propagandistic discourse of legitimation of the new dynasty, in which all future members of the Avis family would engage. Isabel was deeply involved in political and religious matters of her time and was responsible for an important patronage, being at the origins of several art commissions. A controversial example is the funerary monument of prince Afonso, her brother. Composed of a wooden arc, covered with highly decorated gilded copper plaques, on which top lies the young prince’s effigy, the tomb has no parallel in Portugal though it is thought to have been commissioned by Isabel. The monument is located in Braga’s Cathedral whose history is linked to the origins of Portuguese kingdom; its copper matches that of Portuguese coins; its style and iconography corresponds with Flemish brasses and English tombs. It is indeed a complex monument at which scholars have looked from an artistic and chemical point of view, but whose historical context still demands attention. Recent research regarding Portuguese queens, the House of Avis and the family’s pantheon at Batalha shine some light on the matter. Could family ties, legitimation and prestige be the keys to better understand this rare monument? As I would like to demonstrate in this paper, it seems that Isabel is indeed in the centre of divergent matters: her English background, her life in Flanders and her care for her Portuguese family. As I will show, Prince Afonso’s monument could, in fact, constitute a female commission that carries a substantial message regarding the Avis dynasty and its relation to the Church.