PORTUGAL TOURS
ALCOBAÇA MONASTERY
In 1147, Afonso Henry leaves Coimbra to conquer Santarem from the Arabs and passing close to this place, where there are very fertile lands, he promised to make a monastery here, for Saint Bernard's Cistercian order (it was a politic maneuver, because Saint Bernard, friend of the Pope, helped Afonso Henry to be accepted as the king of Portugal by the Pope, which gave Portugal a more definitive and more durable independence).
The Cistercian monks of Claraval have made a copy of motherhouse here (Monastery of Claraval), for the Benedictines.
The Benedictine Monastery (Saint Benedict's order) made from 1148 to 1222 (it took 74 years to be built) represents the end of the Romanesque style using the ogival arch, the beginning of Gothic. It is one of the most important Cistercian Monasteries in Europe. It follows the style of the Cistercian houses, being inspired mainly by Claraval. There is in this monastery, transformations made during later centuries, roughly adapted to the sobriety of the initial architecture: it was restored in the XIII, XIV, XVI, XVII, and XVIII centuries.
It is located in one of the most fertile places in Portugal, among the rivers Alcoa and Baça. Legend says that a rich girl called Alcoa was in love with a poor boy called Baça. The girl's parents have not consented the wedding because the boy was poor. Both have cried so much that their tears originated the two rivers, Alco, from the boy’s tears and Baça, from the girl’s tears
Saint Bernard
Saint Bernard, a crusader, was a priest of Claraval (Clairvaux), to whom the prestige of the Cistercian order is owed. In 1114 he entered as a religious man in Cister and he was the founder and first monk of Claraval Monastery, thus making Claraval a branch of Cister.
Bernard supported Hugo of Payens, creator of the knight Templars.
Cister
The order of Cister was the first religious order founded in Portugal.
Cister: Famous Monastery in France and the Benedictine leader. The Cistercian order was founded in France by Saint Robert, who was a Benedictine monk, in 1098 (when he ordered to make the Monastery in the desert of Cister, in France) but it developed thanks to Saint Bernard. In 50 years the order grew to 343 convents. They were an austere order, penitents, they had a strict life of work.
The first in Portugal was in São João de Tarouca (1139). In 1559 they already had in Portugal 13 Monasteries for monks and 10 convents for nuns. They propagated the French Gothic style, of Burgundy, in Europe. In 1580, when Alcobaça was made the motherhouse, they had more than 1.800 Monasteries and 10.000 convents in Europe and 27 in Portugal ! They had schools of art, Letters and Sciences. In 1834 they have closed their Monasteries in Portugal and in 1835-36 in Spain.
The monks of Alcobaça
In 1153, A. Henry donated to Saint Bernard and its descendants of Claraval, the whole land between Leiria and Obidos and these monks became very powerful. They ended up controlling 13 cities, 3 ports and 2 castles (the taxes have made them very rich and with that they helped the poor).
Some monks of Alcobaça came from Claraval. They were 999 and they lived of the agricultural development (today the orchards of Alcobaça are still famous) of their properties and they gave protection to a school and sculptors. They developed the agriculture, calling colonists to whom they gave the tools and sometimes the lands. They made the first public school in Portugal in 1269 and they were the professors. They also made an art school. 99 monks celebrated masses every day and every night.
The monks have always very well received Portuguese people and foreigners here in this monastery. Beckford (millionaire and writer) was here and called it the big temple of gluttons.
This Monastery is made up of several parts (buildings) as the following ones:
Façade
The Romanesque-Gothic façade was altered: the current one dates from the XVII century and was made by the Italian monk João Turriano. The Gothic portal and the rosette are the original ones. Two Baroque bell-towers with slack support, are miracles of construction because they are leaning only on the first two columns of the church. In the base of the towers, at the door level, there are Carrara marble statues 4 m high, representing Saint Benidict and Saint Bernard. Above, the 4 virtues: Strength, Justice, Prudence and Charity. The two windows are manueline. Above the rosette, the statue of Our Lady of Alcobaça, in marble and at the top there are 2 angels and a cross.
On each side of the church’s façade, there are two big Baroque facades that correspond to the rooms of the monks (left, XVII century) and the school (right, XVIII century). In total, the facade measures 221 m.
Church
The most symbolic part in the Monastery. The plans are the same of the Monastery of Claraval like all the Cistercian churches.
It is the longest in Portugal: 106 m long, or 21 m wide and 20 m high. It has 25 pillars.
The interior is of a noble austerity: the walls obey the austerity (severity) of Cister, naked, strong, with small windows. The rule is not to have decoration to not disturb meditation.
There are parts of the church where we notice deviations, a quantity of asymmetries and disconcerting solutions that continue in mystery: there are parts with windows and others not, some bigger ones and other smaller ones.
The capitals (upper part of the column) are Romanesque (not very salient) but some already with water leaves, which is Gothic decoration.
Main chapel
It dates from the XVII century in Baroque style, with statues of saints in terracotta. The decoration of the choir is of William Elsden, English engineer of the XVIII century who worked in Portugal. Around the main chapel there is a deambulatory with 9 chapels, like in Claraval, decorated with gilt woodwork of the XVIII century.
Sacristy (enter by the fourth chapel of the deambulatory)
-restored by Juan de Castillo and João de Ruan. Reconstructed after the 1755’s quake. The door was made by Juan de Castillo.
Transept
In the transept there are 4 chapels:
Left: chapels of Saint Sebastian and of the Immaculate Conception.
Right: two chapels with statues made by the monks in the XVII century; one represents the mount Calvary and in the other one there are 40 terracotta figures, representing Saint Bernard's death. Some of the figures, made in human size, were decapitated by the Napoleon soldiers. In this chapel there are the tombs of two kings: Afonso II (The Fat, son of Sancho I) and Afonso III (the Bolognese, son of Afonso II). In 1255 he transferred the capital from Coimbra to Lisbon. He married first Matilde, countess of Bologna (he left his wife to return to Portugal to fight his brother) and later Beatríz, illegitimate daughter of king Afonso X of Castile who gave him Algarve as a dowry (In 1250, Afonso III had conquered Algarve from the Moors. But the Moorish king had given Algarve to Afonso X).
Tomb’s hall (facing the kings’ tombs)
Tombs of:
-Urraca, the daughter of Afonso IX of Castile, wife of Afonso II (very dedicated to Saint Francisco de Assis who had the idea of evangelising Morocco. He sent 6 of his monks to Morocco where they were decapitated. Before, they were here in Portugal and they met Urrraca (they told the queen that their relics would come to Portugal and kill the first who saw them: she or her husband. And the queen fixed everything in a way that her husband would be the first to see the relics and she left the palace to not see the relics. But when she was leaving the palace the relics were arriving and she saw them and died in that same year (1220), still very young. King Sebastian, with an obsession of opening tombs, opened this one in 1569, and her body was found very well preserved.
-Children of Afonso II.
-Beatríz, daughter of Afonso X of Castile (the wise), wife of Afonso III (the Bolognese, the one who conquered Algarve from the Moors, transferred the capital from Coimbra to Lisbon and fought his brother taking the crown from him).
Tombs of Peter and Inês
On each side of the transept, there are the tombs of king Peter I (the cruel) and his love affair, Inês de Castro. Here is theirs story:
History of Inés and Peter
Afonso IV, father of Peter:
He was very jealous of illegitimate sons, he fought his father so that he wouldn’t give so much power to his illegitimate brothers.
-His second daughter Maria became queen of Castile. The son of both (XI Afonso and Maria) was Peter I of Castile (also the cruel), nephew of Peter I, the cruel of Portugal.
Constanza, Peter's second wife:
-With whom Afonso XI of Castile was married, but after the wedding he rejected her and he changed her for Maria of Portugal (sister of Peter I, the cruel of Portugal).
Inés of Castro
Illegitimate great-grandchild of Sancho IV of Castile. She was a Galician lady-in-waiting. Peter was the grandson of the same king, so both were cousins in second degree.
-Constanza came accompanied by Inés de Castro with whom Peter fell in love and he maintained with her scandalous loving relationships. Constanza died from childbirth of Fernando I. Peter married Inés secretly and they had 3 children. His father didn’t like this (because Afonso didn't like illegitimate children to whom his father gave too many privileges). He went to Coimbra, where Inés was, accompanied by armed noblemen to kill her. The 3 noblemen decapitated her in front of the 3 children. Peter organized an army against his father but he made peace with him. When his father died Peter declared that he had married Inés secretly and he ordered the arrest of the 3 noblemen who had killed Inês. He sent them in when he was having his dinner and ordered to pull out the noblemen’s hearts with them alive and he ate the two hearts as dessert. Inés body was transferred later from Coimbra to Alcobaça, 100 Km. away, in a impressive procession, with the aristocracy carrying candles and when they arrived to Alcobaça Inés was sat down in a throne, she was crowned and the court was forced to kiss the hand of the dead queen.
Inés and Peter's tombs
The two Gothic tombs are masterpieces of medieval sculpture, worked by Portuguese with French influence. The tombs are face to face, so in the day of the final judgement they both rise and stand face to face.
Inés Tomb
Inés statue is kept by 6 angels. On each side of the tomb 12 scenes of the life of Christ. In the pilasters (square columns) there are saints of the Old Testament representations and in the friezes there are apostles and musicians figures. On the head’s side is the Calvary (Crucifixion of Christ) and on the feet side there is the final Judgement: the Resurrection of the deads and the Judgement. The tomb is supported by 4 lions with human faces representing the murderers (the noblemen in charge by his father).
Tomb of Peter
Peter dressed in his armour of war and the sword in the two hands (the idea of being romantic was different in that time). He is also surrounded by 6 angels. At the feet, there is a dog (symbol of dedication). On each side of the tomb, scenes of Saint Bartholomew’s life, favourite of the king (his patron saint). Next to the head, a wheel with scenes of the life of the two lovers. At the beginning cheerful scenes (Inés and her children) and at the end, sad and dramatic (the murderers decapitating Inés - Inés head on the floor, the punishment of the murderers, the monster of the fatality squashing the two lovers). An inscription in the low part of the wheel, under the monsters, says: Until the end of the world." The tomb is also supported by lions (symbols of rage and vengeance).
THE CLOISTER
Cloister of Silence
It is called of silence because one could not speak. They communicated with their hands.
The cloister, initially of one single floor, was ordered by king Dinis, begun by Domingo Domingues, in 1308, and finished by Diogo in 1311. Made according to the rules of the Cistercian cloisters. The second floor and the decoration were made by Juan de Castillo and his brother, Diego de Castillo and Nicolas Chanterenne. Renaissance fountain of Juan de Castillo (they say that wetting the finger and playing it in the head, a wish is accomplished in next 6 months).
Library (behind the main chapel)
Beside the two inexpressive cloisters that were made to the east, the one of the Novices and the one of Rajador (the one who cleaves firewood). They made the library with a roof of the XVIII century and next to the windows there are vestiges of frescoes.
Chapter’s house (the first room to the left of the main chapel)
It has bishops' statues. From the windows we see the Romanesque cloister.
Bedroom (to the left of the Chapter House)
Room full of columns. Only in 1666 separate rooms were allowed to the monks.
Kitchen (to the left of the bedroom)
Made in the XVIII century, with an 18 m high chimney, central fireplace to roast an entire ox, 8 tons table to cut meat. The water comes from Alcoa and it arrives to a spout that was used as a crawl of fish. Tiles of 1752.
Barn, pantry (wide room full with columns)
Evil tongues say that here fit 999 casks of wine, one for each monk.
Dining room (to the left of the kitchen)
In the dining room there is a pulpit where a monk read during the meals, in high voice, episodes of the life of the saint of the day and of the Bible. There is a small and narrow door: if the monks were not able to pass through that door, they should fast during 3 days, drinking water and eating dry bread.
The dining room is now a museum of statues (one of Our Lady of Alcobaça of the XIV century) and paintings of the XVIII century.
1-Kings Hall (This room is now the main entrance to the Cloister)
It is a room of the XVIII century. It has statues in terracotta (boiled clay) of the XVIII century of all the kings until king Joseph. Some empty niches were for posterior kings, but they were not made. A symbolic group represents the Pope and Saint Bernard crowning A. Henry as king of Portugal (it never happened). The tiles of the XVIII century represent the conquest of Santarem and the foundation of the Monastery. We see an enormous boiler of the Spanish soldiers in Aljubarrota that was enough for the food of 300 soldiers.