Illustrious Generation

The members of the illustrious generation are normally considered to be the five legitimate sons of John I and Philippa of Lancaster: Some lists are expanded to include their sister Infanta D. Isabella (1397–1471), from 1430 duchess of Burgundy as consort of Duke Philip III the Good, and their older half-brother D. Afonso (1377–1461), the natural son of John I and Inês Peres, co-regent with Peter of Coimbra during the minority of King Afonso V in the 1440s, and from 1443 the first Duke of Braganza.

The appellation Ínclita Geração was originally coined by Portuguese poet Luís de Camões in his 16th-century epic Os Lusíadas (Canto IV, stanza 50), in reference to the legacy of King John I of Portugal: Não consentiu a morte tantos anos Que de Herói tão ditoso se lograsse Portugal, mas os coros soberanos Do Céu supremo quis que povoasse.

Death did not consent that for so many years Portugal could enjoy that felicitous Hero, but the sovereign choirs of the supreme Heaven wanted him among themselves, But for the defense of the Lusitanians, He who removed him, left behind those that would govern and augment the land more than ever : Illustrious generation, high Royal Princes.

[1] According to the chronicler Gomes Eanes de Zurara, all of the five brothers participated in the conquest of Ceuta of 1415 and were knighted in the aftermath by their father, King John I, with arming swords supplied by their dying mother, Philippa of Lancaster.

Despite the high titles, John I retained careful control over the activities of his sons, deploying them as deputies of his will, and not allowing them too much room for independent manoeuver, responsibility or authority.

It is probably as a result of this that, through the 1420s, the princes dedicated themselves to individual pursuits - Edward to philosophy, Peter to celebrated tours of Renaissance Europe and Henry to his nautical charts.

The nature of these accomplishments also justifies the inclusion of Isabella of Portugal in the list, as she helped transpose much of the Renaissance spirit and flair of the Burgundian court back to Medieval Lisbon.

The country was surprised by Edward's will, which appointed his consort Eleanor of Aragon, rather than his brothers, as regent of the kingdom on behalf of his young son, the new king Afonso V of Portugal.

Many commoners believed the foreign-born Eleanor would be a pliable puppet of the Portuguese high aristocracy, who were itching to claw back the authority they lost to the burghers since the revolution of the 1380s.

The country seemed to be careening towards civil war, when John of Reguengos, in his capacity as constable, quickly seized control of the city of Lisbon and assembled a burgher-packed Cortes that promptly elected his brother and ally Peter of Coimbra as regent.

But he quickly began to cultivate the support of the ambivalent Henry the Navigator, renewing and expanding his benefices, most notably granting him a lucrative monopoly on trade in Africa south of Cape Bojador in 1443.