Freiburger historische Bestände - digital

Dr. Monetarius of Nuremberg in 1494,1 and there is no
doubt whatever that he knew Behaim. Yet, in his
accounts of Portuguese discoveries no hint is to be found
that Behaim took the slightest share in them. The silence
of his German contemporaries may partly be due to the
fact that Behaim lived most of the time in Fayal, with his
father-in-law. This, however, does not explain the silence
of Valentin Ferdinand, nor of Lucas Rem, who was at
Lisbon when his fellow-countryman died in hospital.

German Brotherhoods.

Not only were German residents numerous at Lisbon
in Behaim's day, but there also existed two German
Brotherhoods.2 The more ancient of these was the
" Irmandade" or " Confraria de S. Bartholomeu dos
Allemaos em Lisbon." It originated towards the end of
the thirteenth century when one Overstadt or Sobrevilla,
a German merchant, built a chapel near the Tajo. King
Diniz, finding its site suitable for a larger building, erected
upon it the Church of St. Juliao, which was completed in
1290, and a chapel within this church—the fourth on the
south side—was allotted to the "Brotherhood." The
church was ruined by the earthquake, and burnt down in
1816, but it was rebuilt after each disaster. The " Brotherhood
" retains its chapel within it to the present time, and
a mass is still said there on Sundays and holidays for the
soul of its founder. The German bombardiers who served
in the Royal Navy, and who were granted special privileges
in 1489, belonged to this Brotherhood and were nursed in
its hospital.3

The second Brotherhood originated in 1414 among
Burgundians and Flemings who took part in the siege of
Ceuta, and who are described, in 1482, when King John
confirmed their ancient privileges, as the "Confrades
alemaes e flamengos da Confraria de Sta. Cruz e Sto.
Andre.4 They had their chapel in the ancient church of
a Dominican monastery, founded in 1249, near the Rocio.
This Brotherhood is credited with having looked carefully
after brethren in distress and seen to their decent burial.
The "Hospital de todos os Santos," founded by King
John in 1492, stood in the garden of this monastery.5 It
was in this hospital that Behaim died.

1 See p. 2.

3 J. D. Hirsch, ' Hanseatische Geschichtsblatter,' XVIII., p. 27.
J. von Minutoli, 'Portugal u. seine Kolonien' (Berlin, 1855), L,
337; private letter of H. Daehnhardt, German Consul General at
Lisbon.

3 In 1870 the " Statutes " of the Brotherhood were amended. Germans
up to the fourth generation are now admitted as "brethren" without
distinction of religion. A Protestant chapel was built in 1807 on the
site of its old hospital.

* Luis de Sousa, ' Historia de S. Domingos,' 3rd. ed. (Lisbon, 1866),
I., 399. An English Brotherhood founded in 1147 by comrades who
helped in the capture of Lisbon from the Moors, had its Chapel of St.
George in the same church. Up to 1249 it owned a chapel in the Egreja
dos Martens (Martyres).

6 Ruy de Pina, c. 56 j Resende, c. 140.

Martin Behaim's Private Life

We know verv little of the life led by Behaim at
Lisbon. There is no doubt, however, that at an early
period he made the acquaintance of Josse van Hurter, the
Captain donatory of Fayal and Pico, whose daughter
Joanna de Macedo became his wife.6 This connection
no doubt gained him admission to the Court and to
Society, even though his personal claims as the eldest son
of a German patrician might not have done so.
Commercial pursuits, at that early period at all events, do
not appear to have been a bar to such admission, whatever
may have been the case subsequently, when Portugal had
become debauched by an inflow of wealth from India, and
the honest trader was looked down upon with contempt.7
It is, however, possible that Behaim, on making this
aristocratic connection, gave up commerce, took up his
residence in Fayal, and assisted his father-in-law in the
management of his estate.

But whatever his occupation, there were rumours set
afloat that Behaim's conduct was not that of an honourable
man. Thus, his brother Wolf, writing from Lyons
to his cousin Michael, on November 27, 1491, says:
" Here at Lyons they say things about Martin which
make me ashamed of him, and I wish very much we were
rid of him altogether."8 There may have been a foundation
for these rumours current among commercial men at
Lyons. Martin may have been guilty of " irregularities "
in matters of business, which in the eyes of business men
are looked upon as heinous offences, although treated with
some indulgence by men of the world. We can hardly
believe his conduct to have been " dishonourable," or his
father-in-law, only a few years afterwards, would not have
intrusted him with the collection of money owing for
sugar sold into Flanders.

Still, it is rather curious that Dr. Monetarius, who had
evidently been on friendly terms with Behaim during the
visit of the latter to Nuremberg in 1490-93 (for he gave
him a letter in which he advised the King to employ him
on a voyage of discovery), and who was the guest of
Behaim's mother-in-law, when he visited Lisbon in 1494,
should not have stated in the 1 Itinerarium' which he
wrote of his travels that his young townsman was absent
from Lisbon at the time of his visit, or referred to him in
any other way whatsoever. Perhaps he thought "De
amicis nil nisi bonum."

6 This happened in 1488, or earlier, for a son was born to him on
April 6, 1489. For a full account of these relations see the chapter on " Fayal
and the Azores."

' See Jorg Pock's letter, dated Lisbon, March 27, 1520 (Ghillany,
p. 118). Jorg (or George) Pock was the Lisbon agent of the Hirschvogels of
Nuremberg. He ca*oe to Lisbon long after Behaim's death, and all
he knew about him was from hearsay. In 1520 he went out to India,
and on January 1, 1521 he wrote from Cochin : " I have read with pleasure
the news about the monk of Wittenberg (Luther), have told it to all the
priests, who marvel much, and say that he preaches the truth, and a
bishop here says that this monk is ft holy man in the sight of God."

8 Ghillany, p. 105.

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