"Estas cousas Señora filha vos peço e encomemdo": A imagem de consorte na família real portuguesa a partir das instruções de D. Manuel para D. Beatriz (1504-1538)

Abstract

On August 1521, the fleet transporting D. Beatriz of Portugal, duchess of Savoy, set sail from the Tagus River to Nice. On board was the daughter of D. Manuel of Portugal with an enormous entourage and an impressive dowry, showcasing the luxury and the grandem of the Portuguese crown. This was after all one of the ways D. Manuel used as a confirmation of his power: the use of the symbols and images surrounding the royal family as a form of political and social affirmation of the crown. Following this line of thought, the Portuguese king had written his Instrucções for his marrying daughter, an unique document when analyzing the model of the royal consort in the 16th century, beyond what is given to us by the chroniclers and the authors ofmoral treaties. From this valuable written source by the king of Portugal, of what was expected of a princess, together with real life events of this Portuguese Infanta and of her mother, D. Maria of Aragon Queen of Portugal, we can reconstruct the guide lines to the life conduct of these women so close to the power centres but that so often appear to be mere "shadows" in History.