The Political and Social Dynamics of Poverty, Poor Relief and Health Care in Early-Modern Portugal

By the end of the fifteenth century most European countries had witnessed a profound reformation of their poor relief and health care policies. As this book demonstrates, Portugal was among them and actively participated in such reforms. Providing the first English language monograph on this topic, Laurinda Abreu examines the Portuguese experience and places it within the broader European context. She shows that, in line with much that was happening throughout the rest of Europe, Portugal had not only set up a systematic reform of the hospitals but had also developed new formal arrangements for charitable and welfare provision that responded to the changing socioeconomic framework, the nature of poverty and the concerns of political powers. The defining element of the Portuguese experience was the dominant role played by a new lay confraternity, the confraternity of the Misericórdia, created under the auspices of King D. Manuel I in 1498. By the time of the king's death in 1521 there were more than 70 Misericórdias in Portugal and its empire, and by 1640, more than 300. All of them were run according to a unified set of rules and principles with identical social objectives. Based upon a wealth of primary source documentation, this book reveals how the sixteenth-century Portuguese crown succeeded in implementing a national poor relief and health care structure, with the support of the Papacy and local elites, and funded principally through pious donations. This process strengthened the authority of the royal government at a time which coincided with the emergence of the early modern state. In so doing, the book establishes poor relief and public health alongside military, diplomatic and administrative authorities, as the pillars of centralisation of royal power.

Jorge Afonso: uma interrogação essencial na pintura primitiva portuguesa

O pintor Jorge Afonso (c. 1480-1540) ocupou cargos da maior importância e foi mestre de alguns dos mais importantes artistas da primeira metade do século XVI. Por laços familiares, por ligações profissionais, ou como representante régio no fornecimento e controle de empreitadas, esteve no centro das grandes obras artísticas do seu tempo. Fez uma carreira como oficial de armaria dentro da reestruturação manuelina, o que o tornou, também do ponto de vista simbólico, uma figura importante da corte do Venturoso. A Jorge Afonso são atribuídas as grandes tábuas da Charola do Convento de Cristo de Tomar, oito pinturas do mosteiro da Madre de Deus e o retábulo do Convento de Jesus de Setúbal. A dissertação reanalisa os dados biográficos do pintor, estuda as pinturas incluindo o seu desenho subjacente, e reelabora a compreensão da pintura portuguesa do tempo, vista sob a influência desta figura tutelar; ABSTRACT: Jorge Afonso. An essential quest on Portuguese primitive painting. Painter Jorge Afonso (1480-1540), held positions of major importance and was master of some of the most remarkable artists of the first half of the 16th century. By family links, by professional connections or as Royal representative for the supply and control of works, he was at the very center of the great artistic works of his time. He built a career as Herald what made him an important figure in King D. Manuel’s court . To Jorge Afonso are attributed the large paintings of the ‘Christ’s Convent’ Ambulatory in Tomar, eight paintings from the ‘Madre de Deus’ monastery and the ‘Covent of Jesus’ altarpiece in Setubal. This dissertation reanalysis the painter biographical data, studies the paintings including its underdrawing and reconstructs the understanding of Portuguese painting of that time, perceived under the influence of this tutelary figure.