Nothing but roses milord!
Isabel of Portugal, the Holly Queen, was the daughter of the King of Aragão and a princess of Navarra. A marriage that brought peace between those two kingdoms. The people in those kingdoms always looked upon Isabel as a symbol of that peace, thus was an aura created about that fair lady. Her grandfather called her the Rose of Aragão.
As she grew older she married D. Dinis, the Farmer King, from Portugal.
King D. Dinis is remembered today mostly because he planted (not personally of course) the famous Leiria Pine Forests and for having fathered over a hundred little bastards (guess the way to the Kings bed was open to just about every nice looking woman). He actually did a few more things: he was a poet, he ordered the creation of the first real University in Portugal (Estudos Gerais) and among all other good things he did he kept some bad things too: he hated charity legend has it.
Isabel was received by the Portuguese people with some awe that soon changed into heartfelt reverence. She would act within the royal family setting conflicts, she would act as an Ambassador between the Portuguese court and the other kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula and even among those kingdoms and she did a lot more.
The simple people loved her because of her charity work mostly. She would come down herself from her house in Santa Clara to downtown Coimbra in order to distribute food and money to the poor.
D. Dinis heard rumors about this behavior and ambushed after she left the palace, asking what was it she was carrying in her lap.
To this Isabel replied calmly: "Roses milord, that is what I am carrying". And the moment she showed the loafs of bread she had smuggled from the kitchen they were transformed into a dozen roses.
That is in short what the legend says.
The simple folks claim she has done several miracles and the Holy See sanctified her in 1625.
Still today her story is told with reverence and sung by a few.
The hospitals of Coimbra, Santarém and Leiria were built on the Queen's orders, this much at least is not legend.
(the mp3 link only works for a week, maybe less, if you find it broken please say something and I'll try to fix it)
As she grew older she married D. Dinis, the Farmer King, from Portugal.
King D. Dinis is remembered today mostly because he planted (not personally of course) the famous Leiria Pine Forests and for having fathered over a hundred little bastards (guess the way to the Kings bed was open to just about every nice looking woman). He actually did a few more things: he was a poet, he ordered the creation of the first real University in Portugal (Estudos Gerais) and among all other good things he did he kept some bad things too: he hated charity legend has it.
Isabel was received by the Portuguese people with some awe that soon changed into heartfelt reverence. She would act within the royal family setting conflicts, she would act as an Ambassador between the Portuguese court and the other kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula and even among those kingdoms and she did a lot more.
The simple people loved her because of her charity work mostly. She would come down herself from her house in Santa Clara to downtown Coimbra in order to distribute food and money to the poor.
D. Dinis heard rumors about this behavior and ambushed after she left the palace, asking what was it she was carrying in her lap.
To this Isabel replied calmly: "Roses milord, that is what I am carrying". And the moment she showed the loafs of bread she had smuggled from the kitchen they were transformed into a dozen roses.
That is in short what the legend says.
The simple folks claim she has done several miracles and the Holy See sanctified her in 1625.
Still today her story is told with reverence and sung by a few.
The hospitals of Coimbra, Santarém and Leiria were built on the Queen's orders, this much at least is not legend.
(the mp3 link only works for a week, maybe less, if you find it broken please say something and I'll try to fix it)
posted by DCveR at 6:54 AM
15 Comments:
Bread into roses! That's magic for you!
DC, couldn't listen to the song. Error somewhere.
isis: Although both stories are so different I can see the resemblances.
cream: It seemed to be working to me, but I've placed a second file there and corrected the link.
DC, couldn't do it but I have listened to the song by Nuno da Camara Pereira. Rainha Santa Isabel. A good song!
i love bread stories
While the song is downloading...
...you make history so interesting, Dcver, you tell it so well.
One hundred little bastards. How did they know brothers and sisters, and not end up marrying each other?
cream: What was the error you got?
piu piu: Can you tell us one? Or show us in one of your movies?
GG: I have no idea. Nor do I know who kept track of all his illegitimate progeny. Also in those days there were no paternity tests...
Guess what, DC! It is working now! Who sings it?
cream: The exact same singer you mentioned, Nuno da Câmara Pereira.
Definitely sounded much better than on Wanadoo Music!
Obrigado!
"and for having fathered over a hundred little bastards (guess the way to the Kings bed was open to just about every nice looking woman)."
Its good to be the King.
cream: No need to thank.
phoenix: Back then it was nice being the King. Plenty of women, bossing everybody around, every whim fulfilled. But after that came the Republicans murdering Kings and heirs. Nowadays being King here would be no fun at all.
Here we got a connection. Isabel's father, Peter III and grandfather James I are, in my opinion, the greatest kings we have had in Catalonia. Both used Catalan as their primary language and both wrote their memoirs in Catalan too (I just both the English translation of one of them for $80, The book of deeds of James I).
It seems they also had a nice daughter too.
ian: Sadly we don't learn much about the history of the old Iberian kingdoms. Only the major "interactions" with Portugal either as enemies or allies. Thank you for adding that piece of the puzzle, I'll try and get some more info on Pedro III and Jaime I.
Isabel reminds me of Diana, the late Princess of Wales.
penny: Thank you. As far as story telling goes GG really is much better.
kris: You're not the first person to say that. Here in Portugal several fans of Di have made that same comparison.
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