EwkaW avatar

Kings and Queens

ewkaw

Published: 11 Mar 2025 › Updated: 11 Mar 2025Kings and Queens

Kings and Queens

King Pedro Alcobaca 1.jpg


Visiting Alcobaça Monastery, you cannot miss the majestic church. Stunning on the outside, but when I entered (I will still show photos of that another time) I was stunned by the size of it. Big space, giant columns, almost no decorations... Just space and light.

And in the end of it, you have these two: King Pedro and Ines de Castro.


King Pedro Alcobaca 4.jpg

In the transept of the church are located the tombs of King Pedro I and his mistress, Inês de Castro, who was assassinated in 1355 by order of Pedro's father, King Afonso IV. After becoming king, Pedro ordered the remains of his beloved to be transferred to her tomb in Alcobaça and, according to a popular legend, had her crowned as queen of Portugal and ordered court members to pay her homage by kissing her decomposing hand.

This pair of royal tombs in Alcobaça, of unknown authorship, are among the best works of Gothic sculpture in Portugal. The tombs are supported by lions, in the case of the king, and half-men half-beasts, in the case of Ines, and both carry the recumbent figures of the deceased assisted by a group of angels.
source

King Pedro Alcobaca 7.jpgKing Pedro Alcobaca 5.jpg

King Pedro Alcobaca 8.jpg


All the tomb decorations are in pretty good shape in general. You can see some missing parts though and broken wings on the angels. You can also spot that some of the tiny figures are missing heads or legs.


King Pedro Alcobaca 10.jpg

King Pedro Alcobaca 9.jpg

King Pedro Alcobaca 6.jpg


Both of tombs are facing opposite directions with the light from the high windows shining on them.

King Pedro Alcobaca 3.jpgInes de Castro Alcobaca 5.jpg
King Pedro Alcobaca 2.jpgInes de Castro Alcobaca.jpg

Ines de Castro Alcobaca 7.jpg


They are both guarded by the angels, but if you look closely, you will notice that the queen's angels are smaller than the ones guarding the king. Also the heads holding the tomb - majestic lions for the king and... human dogs (I have no idea what they are) for the queen. It shows the importance of both.


Ines de Castro Alcobaca 2.jpg

Ines de Castro Alcobaca 3.jpg

Ines de Castro Alcobaca 4.jpg


Just a tiny little bit creepy :p


Ines de Castro Alcobaca 6.jpg

»«
Shot with OnePlus 7 pro
All photos and text are my own.


»»-------------¤-------------««


Mono banner.png

Leave Kings and Queens to:

Written by

Polish in Portugal. Owner of a grey diva feline and a small balcony full of plants. Cacti hoarder.

Read more #photography posts


Best Posts From EwkaW

We have not curated any of ewkaw's posts yet. But you can encourage our curation team to review posts by visiting them regularly and by referring other readers. Because we give priority to frequently read content.

More Posts From EwkaW