the wills of the kings of portugal between the 12thand14thcenturies Literarily beautiful, in this panorama, is the entire initial protocol of the testament of Pedro I, also written by the notary general who wrote the last wishes of his father, the notary Vasco Eanes: A single will, that of Pedro I,39 was made in the last hours of the king’s life, in 1367, in the town of Estremoz: “And we ordered it to be sealed by our seal, made in the Monastery of Sam Francisco d’ Estremoz, Sunday, seventeenth day of January…”.40 This is also a will of a strong political nature, seeking to ensure rights for the children that the monarch had had with the famous Inês de Castro and, in some ways, accentuating topics of sin and forgiveness, this for a king in whom the virtues of “chastity and temperance”, wrote Fernão Lopes his chronicler, did not prevail.41 The testamentary instrument of Pedro I opens with the invocation, then a spiritual arenga, theintitulatio with clause of affirmation of humility and faith, and other clauses planning for the disposition of his body. After this come the clauses ordering the chapel and liturgical services that ask for the perpetual memory of his soul: 250 37 Sousa 1729, p. 221. (This and the following translations from Portuguese into English are myown.) 38 Sousa 1729, p. 281. 39 Pimenta 2005. 40 Sousa 1729, p. 282. 41 Lopes 2007, p. 4. pense in Lisbon’s Cathedral where the body of the Blessed St. Vincent lies, themainousia[chancel] of the said church (with other nearby chapels), which I have as my chapel, and in this chapel I chose, by devotion, my tomb; and want to add more to this work so that God may be praised, and to give me reward in his holy glory in Paradise.37 We order Vasco Eanes, our general notary, to be given two hundred pounds for the great service he has done for our father and for the work he will do on this will. And the clause of this legacy for the said Vasco Eanes we have ordered to be written by the hand of Affonso Domingues, our vassal, so that all suspicion of this legacy that we left to the said Vasco Annes may be removed, and by whom we have ordered this will to be written.38 In the name of the most holy and very high Trinity, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, amen. For nothing is more certain than death, which is natural and ge-
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