Freiburger historische Bestände - digital

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It will thus be seen that at the time of Behaim's
supposed mission there were present in Flanders only the
young Archduke Philip and Margaret, Dowager Duchess
of Burgundy. Maximilian had left Flanders immediately
after the signing of the Treaty of Senlis (May 23, 1493),
and only returned in August 1494, after his marriage with
Blanca Maria Sforza, which was celebrated at Innsbruck
on March 16, 1494. Perkin Warbeck, the " Young King
of England," was absent likewise and only returned with
Maximilian. All this must have been perfectly well
known at Lisbon, for Diogo Fernandes Correa, the King's
factor at Antwerp and a cavalier of his household, was
a trusted servant whose reports were forwarded at regular
intervals.

Behaim's Account of his Mission.

I now turn to Behaim's own account of his " mission."
He left Lisbon towards the close of 1493, and when on
the high sea his vessel was captured, as a suspected
blockade-runner, by an English cruiser, and he was carried
to England. There he fell ill with fever, and twice he
held a lighted taper in his hand, in the expectation of
death. After his recovery and a detention of three
months, he bribed a French " sea-robber " to carry him
into France, and ultimately, in March 1494, he arrived at
Antwerp. In the letter which he wrote there, on March
11, 1494, to his cousin Michael he mentions " the King's
son" (Archduke Philip), the young King of England
(Perkin Warbeck), and " the King of the Romans"
(Maximilian). One of the objects of his journey, he tells
us, was to collect the money owing for sugar to his
father-in-law, but about his " mission " he leaves us in
complete ignorance.

In a postscript we are told that he was obliged to
hurry back to Portugal, where he arrived safely, and tells
his friends that they would hear more about him from
Doctor Jeronimus (Monetarius or Miintzer). As Mone-
tarius was still at Nuremberg at that time (he only arrived
at Lisbon at the end of November 1494), Dr. Scheppig
suggests to me that Behaim refers to a letter which he
had written to that learned physician, a letter long
since lost.

Behaim's Account examined.

Can we wonder that a meagre account such as this,
not supported by a single historian, has led to numerous
conjectures ?

Cardinal Saraiva1 declares that it is most unlikely
that Behaim was entrusted with such a mission, and that
this is only " one of his impostures, so that in his native
country he might be looked upon not only as a great
discoverer but also as a wise diplomat, enjoying the
thorough confidence of the King of Portugal."

i 'Obras completas' (Lisbon, 1875), V., p. 194.

D. Jorge, the son of King John II.

Murr (p. 119) identified the " King's son " mentioned
by Behaim with Don Jorge, the illegitimate son of King
John.

In 1491 the King lost his only legitimate son, AfFonso,
who was thrown by his horse and killed only a few
months after his nuptials with Princess Isabel of Castile
had been celebrated with great splendour at Santarem.
In consequence of this sad accident D. Manuel (born
1469), the brother of Queen Lianor2 and of D. Diogo,
Duke of Viseu, whom King John had killed with his own
hand at Setubal, on August 28, 1484, as the head of an
aristocratic conspiracy which aimed at the life of the
popular monarch, became heir-apparent. King John, after
this act of justice, is reported to have shown much affection
toward young D. Manuel (whom he created Duke of
Beja), but it was well known that, having no children by
his unloved consort, he would have preferred to have been
succeeded on the throne by his illegitimate son D. Jorge,
born in 1481 by D. Anna de Mendonca, a lady of noble
birth and exceptional beauty. This youth had been
placed in charge of the infanta Joanna,3 the King's maiden
sister, and when this lady died, in 1490, he was brought
to the Royal court, with the Queen's consent, and brought
up as his son. In 1492, notwithstanding his youth, he
was with the Pope's consent installed master of the
Order of Santiago and d'Aviz, D. Diogo d'Almeida, a
nobleman of high standing, was appointed his Governor
(aio) and Controller of the Household (governador da casa),
whilst Cataldo de Aquila, a learned Sicilian whose
' Epistola' were printed at Lisbon in 1500, became his
tutor.

The King was much attached to his illegitimate
offsping, and desired to have him legitimised and
appointed his successor. The Queen, however, strongly
objected to a proposal which would have deprived her
own brother of his birthright. She was deaf to her
husband's entreaties, and even his threats failed to move
her.4

The Pope, Alexander VI., a Spaniard, one of the most
infamous wearers of the tiara, proved equally obdurate.
King AfFonso in 1475 had been permitted to marry his
niece; King Manuel subsequently married his deceased
wife's sister; Louis XII. was divorced in order that he
might marry the widow of Charles VIII. and heiress of
Brittany, but the legitimation asked for would have given
offence to Queen Isabella of Castile, and this was
sufficient reason for refusing a dispensation. When King

2 CJueen Lianor was a daughter of D. Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu.

3 Joanna, the infanta, was born in 1454, was betrothed to Henry IV.
of Castile, but died in a convent at Aveiro in 1490.

4 See Euy de Pina, c. 51; Resende, c. 133. Peter Martyr, ' Opus
Epistolarum,' refers to the disputes between the King and his Queen, and
so does D. Augustin Manuel y Vasconcelos, ' Vida y acciones de Rey D.
Juan II.' (Madrid, 1639), but they do not mention Behaim, as has been
asserted.