Resumen de Splendour in life, humility in death:: Queen Leonor de Lencastre (1458–1525) and the women around her
Ana María Seabra de Almeida Rodrigues
Leonor de Lencastre was the wife of King João II of Portugal and the sister of his successor, Manuel I. Both she and her mother Beatriz participated in high politics and the government of the realm, administered vast territories, and managed considerable fortunes. They also founded convents of Poor Clares –one of Colettines, the other of Observants of the First Rule– where they chose to be buried in graves dug into the ground covered by stone slabs over which the nuns passed in their daily tasks as a sign of humility. In this article, I analyse the demanding religious practice and pious works of Leonor and Beatriz which inspired other women of their entourage, including Leonor’s sister Isabel and Justa Rodrigues. The exemplary dedication of Leonor and Beatriz led these other women to found female religious houses or join those founded by them, and to lead austere lives that contrasted with their privileged social origins. This demanding practice was not shared by all, however, and I also analyse the case of Isabel de Sousa, another noblewoman of Beatriz’s household, who opted for a different way to be commemorated and attain salvation.
