Münzer on the Road from Santiago de Compostela to his Stay in Benavente. Dec. 21-20, 1494

Münzer:
“The 21st of December, saying goodbye to Santiago, we left after eating, and after 5 leagues we arrived in the little hamlet of Ferreiros, where we lodged at a very bad inn. In the morning we rode nine leagues, passing the little hamlet of Mellid, to the small town of Segonde, and similarly, on the 24th, to the town of Puente Marín, crossing a great river; after eight leagues, we arrived at the little place called Sarriá. All of this region has fertile land and is mountainous, but is sparsely inhabited. These people eat primarily pork, and in all their habits are truly dirty and pig-like.
On the 25th, the festival of the Nativity of Our Lord, we rested here for a day. That same day I received some letters from Jodocus Mayer, father-in-law of my brother, carried to me by a certain pilgrim, in which there was news of a great epidemic in Nuremburg.
The 26th, in the morning, crossing mountains and valleys we finally came to the town of Cebreros, at the top of a high mountain called Malfaber. They were nine long leagues.
The 27th, descending from the high mountain and through a long valley of seven leagues, we arrived at the castle of Villafranca. This castle is situated on a pretty little plain, where they produce a great quantity of excellent wine. Vines decorate the monasteries, one of San Francis and the other of Saint Benedict. From the high mountains of Galicia three rivers join there, which have very sweet water, potable and abundant in trout.
The 28th, leaving Villafranca in the morning, passing that fertile plain and the castle called Ponferrada, traveling eight leagues, we arrived at a town called Río at the foot of a very high mountain. This very tall mountain divides Galicia and Castile, is extremely high, and is called Mount Rabanal.
On the 29th, going up and coming down the mountain, after eight leagues, we entered Castile, arriving at the small town of Val, where we stayed in another bad inn. On the 30th, rising before dawn, traveling fast over ten leagues, we were received in the city of Benavente. The road from Santiago to Benavente is fifty six leagues, rather curvy, mountainous and very bad. We bypassed the very famous city of Astorga, which is famous for being a bishopric and having a very strong wall with parapets. When in former times, all of Spain passed from being Catholic in the face of the Muslim invasion, the reconquest began from this city, Asturias and Cantabria, that they call Vizcaya; because only the Asturians and the Basques kept their faith as good soldiers of Christ; you will find this in more detail in the History of Spain.”

What We Didn’t See:
We took a different, more southerly route than Münzer’s, and we had the advantage of wonderful roads, so we did the trip to Benavente from Santiago in one day. But on our route as well, we were surrounded by mountains. Riding on horseback through such rough terrain, in the winter, with bad lodgings had to be a miserable experience.


Münzer:
“Benavente is a small city, badly built and planned with four reformed monasteries: Saint Francis, Saint Dominic, the Holy Spirit and Saint Claire. It is situated on a fertile and excellent plain, crossed by the Aquefontis River, that has a lot of very good trout. This river flows into the Duero River along with more insignificant ones, which drains into the sea, near Portugal.
The city belongs to don Rodrigo, count of Benavente who, with the Duke of Seville, are the grandest and richest nobles of the King of Spain. There was also a time in the old days when the Count fought the Kings of Castile; he always faced him, since he is descended from Castilian royal blood.
The Castle of Benavente is of the most noble and beautiful in all Castile, and after the fortresses of Granada and Seville, it has no equal in Spain. It is situated outside the city, on a small mountain. It is square, and has in each of its four corners a very fortified tower, with parapets and many strong bulwarks. It is adorned in its interior with a square patio, with chapels, pavilions and rooms of diverse kinds of brick. All of the artesonado ceilings of the pavilions and rooms are decorated with gold, and the columns are of marble. What else? Everything there tends towards the sumptuous. At the foot of the castle's mountain flows a small river called the Orbigo. The castle's foundations are all vaulted, with arches, rectangles, etc., so scrambled that you would think you were in a labyrinth. There is a very long subterranean passage that descends to the river, so that horses may go down it; and there are so many underground rooms for mills, and to take up water, such as I have never seen, much less would I believe it. I have never seen upon the earth any castle similar to this one, in the subterranean spaces, caves and beauty.
The Count was not in residence, that magnificent and splendid man, but the chamberlain, who in the Spanish language is called the "Alcalde," personally showed us everything. The Count is very fond of animals. He has nine lions, and two more, and a wolf, which get along well and eat together in tranquility. We saw a black man who approached them and caressed them, and they were complaisant about it. Behold the one who achieves such intimacy, who makes the most ferocious beasts show affection with their guardians. The captain assured me that fifteen hundred ducats a year were needed to maintain those animals. A few years ago, he also had an elephant, which died one winter, because it could not stand the cold. There is a lot to write about this noble castle, but I will omit it for brevity's sake. However, it is beautiful, especially the view over the river and in all directions.”

What Münzer Saw:
Münzer saw a splendid fortress, with all the furnishings of the Count intact and his menagerie as well. Of all of that, only two of the four towers are left—Napoleon’s troops trashed the castle, and looted whatever items that were still there. They also destroyed all of the convents cited by Münzer. The fortress remained a ruin throughout the 19th century.

What Münzer Never Saw: (June 23, 2011)
In the 20th century, the section with the four towers was converted into a Parador with additional newer sections built on that house the guest rooms. A Mudéjar octagonal ceiling, rescued from another site, was installed in a salon in the old fortress section, to replace the destroyed ones Münzer saw.

Of the subterranean labyrinth of passages, one section survives, which certainly shows the extremely thick walls of the old fortifications. This passage now leads to a bar.

Münzer sort of comes full circle here: outside the dining room is the same passage we quote above, in Spanish. I’m not sure he ever slept here, but we did.
This brings to the end this year’s portion of the Itinerary. The visit to Benavente came on December 30, 1494, nearly at the end of the year. Hopefully next year we will be back following Münzer’s footsteps in a new year ourselves.

Thoughts From the Art Historian:
Having now followed about 3/4 of the Itinerary, we have found that many of the conclusions we drew last year still hold true. As a man of his time, Münzer was interested in contemporary events and contemporary sights. Old structures only deserve notice when they are important to the present, such as the Alhambra. History is an arbitrary thing—to a 15th-century mentality, historical fact as we insist on today was non-existent. Münzer cheerfully declares that Charlemagne built the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela; he is far more interested in the church’s relics, and is certainly not smitten with the ideals of pilgrimage.
For us now, historical accuracy as we interpret it has become paramount. This has led, during the last several decades, to the careful restoration of historical buildings and their contents to the best of medieval archeological standards, with commentary and informative plaques and literature to guide us in what we see. It makes tourism so much easier and informative. Forty years ago, when I began coming to Spain, things were very different. It was still the Franco years, and the entire country was in almost a frozen state of reaction. Many historical buildings were rapidly deteriorating, many had been damaged in the civil war. Painted altarpieces sat in open cloisters. Art History itself was not yet so sophisticated, still mired in thinking of buildings and objects as “works of art,” and by the canon of the day, late medieval Spain was an inferior backwater as compared with the superior visual cultures of Italy and Flanders. But in the bad old days, it was still possible to see older ways of life, and many churches showed the accumulation of centuries of additions and modifications; they cheerfully juxtaposed grandfather clocks with Early Modern altarpieces.
With regime change, with Spain becoming a part of the European Union, and with the evolution of Art History, restoration processes, and medieval archeology, many of the monuments are readily accessible, and when possible, cleaned, and much of the detritus of succeeding centuries removed, and if a church or palace was added to over many eras, each portion is clearly indicated. This has made possible such projects as a reconstruction of the Romanesque stone choir by Master Mateo & Co., in Santiago de Compostela.
As an Art Historian, and one who uses documentation extensively, I should applaud all this, and I do. But I wonder: are we really unearthing the past? Or are we imposing our own canon of historical accuracy on something far more complex that was changed over time? The synagogues of Barcelona, Córdoba and Tomar have survived by accident, because they became storage facilities or were recycled for other uses. It’s great to see them as synagogues again, but can we ever really get into the minds of the medieval Jews who built and used them? Can a modern pilgrim to Santiago de Compostela ever have the same mindset as a 12th century one?
When we follow Münzer’s itinerary, beyond the fragments that survive, can we ever see it through his mindset? Stay tuned until our next exciting chapter!

Hieronymus Münzer at Santiago de Compostela: Dec. 13-21, 1494.

Münzer
"The day of December 13th we arrived at Compostela, which is situated in the middle of a complete circle of mountains. In the middle is another hill, elevated as if it were raised up in the center of the circle. It has no river, but many and good fountains, that flow with sweet water. It is not big, but very old, and it is fortified with a very old wall and numerous and solid towers. The country is good and the little gardens of the city are full of orange trees, apple trees, lemon trees, plum trees and other fruit trees. But the people are so dirty—they have many pigs that they sell very cheaply—and so lazy that they only concern themselves minimally with the cultivation of the land, and live in general from their earnings from the pilgrims. They have a good climate, and both within and without the city many monasteries, like that of Saint Dominic, in which there is a gentleman, a learned preacher, who showed me many things; the monastery of Saint Benedict, whose abbot the king had sent to Castile as a prisoner as a squanderer of its goods, the monastery of Saint Clare of the Carmelites, and that of the Minor Brothers. The king, may God prolong his life many years, is presently occupied with the reform of the Augustinians.
The church of Santiago is one of the three principal ones, following in order that of Rome and that of Ephesis in Asia, which has just disappeared [conquered by the Turks]. It was built by Charlemagne, King of the Franks, and Emperor of Germany who, as afterwards you will know about his wars, paid for it with the spoils, donations and tribute of the Saracens. It is a marvelous work, in the manner of a cross. The central nave measures a hundred paces, the length of its arms is of a hundred and twenty, the width, fifteen, the width of the central nave, thirty-two, and the length of all the central nave and the retro-choir, of a hundred and twenty. All is constructed and vaulted with very hard dressed stone. It has two side aisles, like the church of Saint Sebald; and in the choir, forming a circle, chapels. It is truly a very robust work. It has in the four angles four very strong towers, and now they are building another, also very strong…The chapels around the choir are twelve, and the vault that forms the head of the cross is very high. In the middle of it they swing, from side to side of the arms of the church, an enormous incense burner with aromatic smoke.
Pope Calixtus conceded many privileges to this church. Its present Archbishop is don Alfonso, Count of Cifuentes, a learned man and a great orator. The church has forty five canons, among which are seven created by Calixtus; they are the only ones permitted to celebrate mass at the high altar, and they are called the Cardinals of Santiago.
The King of Castile has given the Cathedral very beautiful ornaments. Equally, King Louis of France, father of Charles, has given it many donations. The coat of arms of the [French] King with the lilies is seen engraved everywhere. Among the twelve chapels that circle the choir, the first is of the King of France, who had it built and bestowed upon it two hundred ducats annually, so that all the canonical hours may be sung. But the canons collected the rents, and only sing in the principal choir. Seven of the twelve chapels are parochial for all Compostela, where the most distinguished citizens of the parish are buried, and where the sacraments are administered. We attended at two burials. Although the canons sang the hours and the Office of the Dead with much diligence, they applied themselves, however with even more zeal to the profits.
On the day of the festival of the Blessed Virgin the high altar was adorned with two images of saints, of thirty, twenty-five and fifty marks, and others of gilded silver. Among all of them, however, the largest was that of the Blessed Virgin, of pure gold, so they assure me, who held a magnificent scepter in her right hand, and held the Infant Jesus, her son, in her left, with a superb crown, which was carried by a cardinal in the procession under a canopy, that was carried by two priests, trying to keep their equilibrium. Also there was a cross, adorned with gold and precious stones, usually kept in the sacristy that was shown to the pilgrims. I will treat the abundance of reliquaries of Compostela in another section.
So loud is the continual chatter in the Cathedral, that you would think you were at a fair. There is very little devotion there. The very holy Apostle should be shown more veneration. They believe that he is buried with two of his disciples under the high altar, one to the left and one to the right, although no one has seen his body, not even the King of Castile when he was here in the year of the Lord 1487. We believe it only in faith, which is that which saves us as men."

What Münzer Saw:
Münzer did not have a very high opinion of the custodians of Santiago de Compostela or of the Galicians in general--this is clear from remarks made on the trip to Santiago from Portugal. When the party stopped at Caldes, a hot spring he complained: “it has sulfurous and thermal springs and waters, that I tried. But the people there are so incurious that they have not built any buildings or baths there, except a pit, in which one washes.” Later, on the road after Santiago he comments on bad inns on the way to Castile, and much as he states in the Santiago section, he again remarked: “These people eat primarily pork, and in all their habits are truly dirty and pig-like.” Perhaps it was something of a contrast after visiting with ultra-clean, non pork-eating Muslims in Andalusia, and communing with the King of Portugal and seeing that country’s active commerce and exploring enthusiasms. Also, he was there in winter, generally cold, rainy and muddy—and just after pig slaughtering time in November. However, Galician society was divided into self-sufficient, family-centered farms, and there was apparently little interest in the international pilgrims except for revenues brought in.
He was impressed with the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. It had already been a famous shrine and pilgrimage center for half a millennium (not built by Charlemagne), and though there were probably less pilgrimages made in the 15th century than in earlier times, it was still one of the three principal pious destinations among Christians. Münzer would have seen the church still with its Romanesque exterior. The basic layout of the church hasn’t changed, though as in all churches of the time there were no pews for ordinary people. At that time, the nave would have been partially occupied by the great 12th century stone choir, built by the same Master Mateo who was responsible for the Pórtico de la Gloria. Münzer mentions neither—they were probably too old to interest him, as usual.

Of the original 11 (not 12) chapels in the ambulatory, little remains intact, except for the Capilla del Salvador, the first to be built, Most have more recent decorations and different configurations than when Münzer saw them, as Kenneth Conant’s famous reconstructed plan of 1926 demonstrates. And there is no trace at all of the donations given by Louis XII of France: his chapel has long passed into other hands, and not a single coat of arms is to be found. Decorating the church, however, are 12 plaques with the cross, the alpha and omega and sun and moon, donated by King Pedro IV in 1249 to commemorate the consecration of the Cathedral 38 years earlier. The bones of Saint James that Münzer couldn’t see were lost in the late 16th century, and not recovered until 1879. They reside in the Cathedral’s crypt, in a neo-Romanesque shrine, and are visitable.

Santiago has so many treasures that it is hard to pick out the gilded Madonna and gold cross mentioned by Münzer. Many of the precious relics are enshrined in a giant reliquary retablo in the Cathedral’s museum. The cross may have been the famous one donated by Alfonso II of Asturias to the Cathedral in the 9th century. It was stolen in 1906, but there is a replica in the museum. The giant incense burner, called the botafumeiro is still used (though it's a newer version, as Napoleon's troops stole the olf one in 1808), but only on great feast days. The rest of the time it is unhooked and stored. People still crowd the church and are quite noisy.

All of the monastic sites that Münzer cites still exist, but with the exception of the church of the Dominican convent (now a museum of folklore), most of the others now date to the 17th century. The Augustinian convent church that Münzer cites King Fernando reforming is still there under a different name. When the Augustinians moved to new quarters in the 17th century, the old church became Santa Maria del Sar. It nearly vanished in the 18th century because of structural problems (the nave columns began to tilt outwards), but heavy buttresses saved the day.

What Münzer Could Have Seen:
Aside from the choir and the Pórtico, Münzer could have seen the transept doorway called the Puerta de la Plateria, but, being even older, he does not cite it either. He could have also seen the palace of Archbishop Gelmírez that adjoins the Cathedral, with its secular Romanesque decorations, but since it was Romanesque it didn’t rate a citation. Neither did the tiny church of San Fiz de Solovio.

What Münzer Never Would Have Seen: (June 21-22, 2011)
Münzer would never have seen the 18th century exterior shell that encloses the entire Romanesque structure of the Cathedral, or the great 16th-century Retablo Mayor, though its central image of Saint James was already there.
Pilgrimage has become fashionable again. Modern ones wear big backpacks and hiking boots, and carry ergonomic backpacks. They can get showers and stay in organized hostels—and they carry an official pilgrimage card that they get stamped at each important stop. Most have cameras, some have cell phones. But it’s still a very long hike from Roncesvalles. And they are still awed by their final arrival at the Cathedral.
The city and its people are clean now, and educated. It’s the rainy climate that darkens the stone buildings, not dirt.
Campers of another sort, political protesters, have pitched their tents in the big plaza in front of the Cathedral.

NOTE:
We have one more stop on this year’s Münzer Itinerary: Benavente and its castle, where we’ll arrive tomorrow. Though I’ll post Münzer’s account of his journey there from Santiago, we are taking a different route: many of the locations he cites have disappeared and others do not follow any sort of logical trajectory (perhaps he was mistaken in his notes, as seems to have been the case with Fredes). We’ll go through Ourense in order to stop at some Visigothic and Mozarabic sites.

Münzer on the Road: Lisbon to Santiago de Compostela: Dec. 4-13, 1494

Münzer:
The 2nd of December, leaving the illustrious and glorious Lisbon after eating, then to proceed five leagues along the sea, we arrived at the town of Alberca, very late at night. Rising in the morning and traveling without rest for nine leagues, we arrived at the city of Santarem. Oh, how truly fertile and green is this entire place, in wine of the best class, oil, and other produce!
On December 4, leaving Santarém and passing through some delightful places, we arrived after eight leagues at the city of Tomar, famous for its gigantic olives and its extensive olive groves, and by a river—an insignificant one—that consists mostly of a spring with cold water that nourishes trout. It has an attractive castle, richly adorned by the Prince don Enrique, discoverer of the Islands, who passed most of his life here.
On the 5th, after our meal, leaving Tomar, traveling on the road for twelve leagues, riding hard by moonlight, we arrived at Coimbra, situated on a beautiful mountain and on a plain, crossed by the Mondego river, with its famous bridge and abundant olive trees.
On the 6th, when we finished dining, leaving Coimbra through fertile places and countryside, in two days we arrived at the famous and very old city of Oporto, which is situated in the foothills of a very high mountain. Its territory is watered by the very famous Duero River; as abundant there as the Rhine by Basle. It is a bishopric that is fertile and very ancient. It is a league from the sea, and in times of rising tides, the great ships arrive at the city walls, which are of very old, square-cut stone. Oporto is older than Lisbon., a great city constructed on a mountain and its surroundings, adorned with very old houses in the lowest part. It belongs to the bishopric of Coimbra. There would be a great deal to write about this place, but I omit it thanks to brevity. After Lisbon, it is the most eminent city in Portugal. It is eighteen leagues from Coimbra.
On the 9th, we left Oporto and arrived at the little town called Barcelos, which is situated on a mountain. Its walls are skirted by a very famous river, which comes from Braga, in olden times called Augusta, a very ancient city. It is eight leagues from Oporto.
On the 10th, after eating, we left Barcelos and after five long leagues we arrived at the town of Ponto do Lima, by which flows the Lima River, with a handsome bridge of eighteen arches. After eating in an inn, after three miles, we arrived at Coserado.
On the 11th [of November] after traveling three leagues, we arrived at Valença do Minho, the last town in Portugal on the northern route. Crossing the river Miño, which is as powerful as the Rhine near Basel, we arrived at the city of Tuy, which is situated on a mountain above the river, across from Valença, and is the first city of Galicia. It is a bishopric, with a nice church.
The same day, after our meal, we left Tuy, and very late at night arrived at Redondela, a little town situated on an inlet, where they fish for the very abundant sardines. And if a certain German, born in Frankfurt, who lived there, hadn't given us lodging, we would have passed a very bad night, because the weather was rough; but in exchange for our money, he gave us much largesse.
On the 13th, leaving Caldas before sunrise, we arrived at the very old city of Padrón, formerly called Iria. The first place we entered was the extremely old church of Santiago, and we saw under the high altar a stone column with a certain concavity, where they said the body of Santiago rested…..All of this seen rapidly, after four leagues, we arrived at the very holy city of Compostela, in which, they assured us, the whole body of Saint James the great lies, son of Zebedee and brother of John the Evangelist.

What Münzer Saw:
The rich and varied landscape of the Portuguese Atlantic zone remains as it was in the 15th century, with many more houses scattered over the countryside, and not confined to walled cities. Tomar still has its great castle, which was founded by the successors to the Knights Templar, and was a favorite dwelling place of Prince Henry the Navigator.

And Oporto is still a major port, with old houses along its waterfront, but not as old as the ones Münzer encountered.
Ponto de Lima still has its long bridge, though it is somewhat modified (now 15 arches instead of 18), but we were told that it was probably where the travelers crossed the Lima river in the 15th century.

And Tuy (or Tui, as it’s now called) has its Romanesque Cathedral, though again modified out of necessity after Münzer came calling: it has bracing arches over its nave and reinforced arches over its side aisles because of its earthquake-weakened structure, as well as heavy reinforcing buttresses around its squat Gothic cloister. The church of Santiago at Padron is still extant, though very much modified.

What Münzer Could Have Seen:
Tomar boasts the oldest surviving synagogue in Portugal. But it is quite small, the interior being sustained by four columns and twelve vaults surround them (for the four Matriarchs and the twelve tribes respectively). It was in use in the 15th century, but for Münzer, probably not worth seeing after the grand one in Lisbon.

In Coimbra, through which the German party passed, there was already a great University, but it is not mentioned at all. Likewise, Porto has a Cathedral that existed in Münzer’s time, but it must have been one of those things he decided not to mention “for the sake of brevity.” He could have seen ladies anywhere along the route doing laundry the old fashioned way.

What Münzer Never Would Have Seen:(June 18-20, 2011)
Cable cars, funiculars and motorboat tours in Oporto, a vast and luxurious hotel/spa in Coimbra within an 18th century mansion, and outdoor cafes and a wide river promenade, as well as old city walls incorporated into 20th century buildings in Ponto de Lima are certainly beyond Münzer’s imagination! Wine was certainly being produced. But Port?

The Art Historian Speaks:
Outside of Ponte de Lima, we stayed in a guesthouse that was as close to Münzer’s better accommodations on the Itinerario as could be found. It was called Paço de Calheiros, and it was owned and run by Count Francisco de Calheiros; it was an estate that had been within his family since the 12th century. Most of it was his personal residence, but some ground-floor rooms had been turned into a Bed and Breakfast.
Like Münzer, the Count gave us a tour, including the family chapel and heir personal archive. We had breakfast in the estate’s dining room, replete with weapons on the walls. This seems to be the sort of hospitality that Münzer and his companions enjoyed en route when they were lodged at assorted castles. However, our guesthouse did not have a collection of exotic animals. Instead it had a swimming pool and electricity and modern plumbing. The breathtaking views would have been the sort that Münzer loved.

Münzer in Lisbon: Nov. 26-Dec. 1, 1494

Münzer:
"On the 26th of November, leaving Évora by Montemor, a beautiful castle surrounded by olive trees, through the countryside for sixteen leagues and along the sea for three leagues, we arrived finally at the famous city of Lisbon. It is on a very high mountain, on whose peak are two royal fortresses. And below them, the whole mountainside is inhabited, full of houses, monasteries and other churches. It has another mountain to the west, whose eastern part is totally inhabited, and in the middle a very populated large level area that extends to the sea. It is bigger than Nüremberg and much more heavily populated, because in each individual house there are, in general three, four, or five inhabitants. It is more three cities than two. The Jews have three neighborhoods to themselves, below the castle, at the foot of the mountain; the gates to these are closed every night. Saturday (vigil of St. Andrew), I entered their synagogue, and I never have seen its equal. In front of the synagogue there is a large structure, that is covered by a great vine, whose trunk was four palmos in circumference. Oh, what a beautiful place and seat from which to preach, like those in mosques! In the synagogue, ten great chandeliers blazed, and in each one, fifty or seventy lamps, without counting other smaller lamps. The women had their own synagogue, in which there were also many lamps burning. The Jews of Lisbon are very rich, and they receive so much royal tribute that they have bought the king. They are very insolent to Christians and they have a profound fear of exile, because the King of Spain ordered Portugal to exterminate their marranos, as well as their Jews, or he will go to war against him. The King of Portugal, following in the conduct of the King of Spain, proclaimed that before the festival of the Nativity of Our Lord, all the marranos must leave; the latter have hired a beautiful ship, the Regina, and they will depart for Naples in the middle of December. As for the Jews, the King has conceded them a treaty of two entire years for them to leave Portugal at their leisure. Taking this into consideration, the Jews are continually departing and looking for new places to live. The Saracens also have their own houses and a mosque next to the city walls, below the castle; where we went….
On the mountain facing the castle there is a monastery of Carmelites, superbly constructed by the Prince Enrique, that you would think it was a fortress. I climbed the tower and looked at the surroundings of that part of the city, and it was very pleasing. On the same mountain are the Monasteries of Santa Trinidad and that of the minor brothers, where we saw an enormous crocodile hanging in the choir, and a big tree called a Dragon Tree, which produces a red sap like dragon's blood. In the monastery of Saint Augustine, which is located above the castle, there are also three other dragon trees.
We went up to the castle and saw two savage lions, more beautiful than any I've seen, and a well-painted map of the world, and a very large gilded table, whose diameter measured fourteen palmos. It is a truly regal castle, with its pavilions, rooms and other things…
In the port, they were selling all sorts of victuals in great abundance and produce, like hazelnuts, walnuts, lemons, almonds, figs, etc., and apples that you can't imagine. I have never seen wholesaled so many apples, not even in Nüremberg in the autumn and the beginning of the winter, which is when they are customarily sold. Oh, and such a variety of fish, of herrings, that they call sardines. And this is not even mentioning tuna, dolphin, and other fish.
We had our lodging in a grand and significant house of the King, in the bedroom of the son-in-law of don Martín Behaim, called don Jodocus of Hurder, of Bruges, noblemen and Captain of the islands of Fayal and Pico. The house is on the main plaza, and on a very wide plot of land near the monastery of Saint Dominic. We were treated exquisitely.
[The Port of Lisbon]: Half a mile below Lisbon are two mountains, each a quarter mile distant from the other, through whose gap the sea enters towards the north east for fifteen leagues, its width being in some places three leagues and in others, less. In the suburbs of Lisbon, even in the wildest storms, the ships find complete security."

What Münzer Saw:
Lisbon had already become a major Atlantic trading center. Portuguese explorers had already rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and would soon reach India by sea. The great overseas Portuguese trading enterprise was just taking off, and Münzer was amazed by the harbor of Lisbon, and was able not only to board some German trading vessels, but to see the King’s warehouse of imported goods. With the exception of the Castle, now known as the Castle of St. George, virtually all the buildings that Münzer visited, though they may survive in name, do not survive in their original construction. This is not only because of later construction in the boom years of the 16th and 17th centuries, but because Lisbon suffered the Mother Of All European Earthquakes in 1755 that destroyed virtually everything, except for very strong stone structures.
He had the chance to visit the Jewish community, though is somewhat confused between Spanish refugees and the local Jews, who were protected by the King, and were only expelled after King João’s death from Spanish pressure. There are presently two Jewish synagogues in the city, and we present the portrait of a Portuguese Rabbi in Nuno Gonçalves’ mid-15th century depiction.

What Münzer Could Have Seen:
Münzer’s interests in Portugal seemed to be commercial reporting and an interest in mapmaking and navigation. Models of some of the ships he might have seen are in Lisbon’s Maritime Museum. Lisbon is still an important port, but like Málaga it’s mostly container ships now, also ferries and pleasure craft.
Münzer may or may not have visited Lisbon’s Cathedral, which is mostly Romanesque—it was probably too old to pique his interest.

What Münzer Never Would Have Seen:
Lisbon is a major European city with a population of over half a million. It was a major port in Münzer’s day, but of much smaller dimensions, of course. In the Saint George Castle, the only lions are now stone ones.
Our lodgings weren’t so grand, either, but it was a pretty good hotel. And there are still sardines: I ate some.

Münzer in Évora - Nov.16-26

Münzer:
[The Road to Lisbon]: Passing the border of the Kingdom of Castile and entering into that of Portugal, we arrived at the stronghold of Serpa.
From there, twelve long leagues away, was the city of Évora. From Seville to Évora the distance is forty-two very long leagues, which we traversed with much effort, riding from three or four hours before dawn until very late at night, so that we arrived at Évora—where the King of Portugal was residing—on November 16th.
There, outside the walls, in the church of Saint Blaise, we saw part of a snakeskin, brought from Guinea of Ethiopia, which was thirty palmos long and the thickness of a man, which was killed by fire-arrows. They unrolled it from its neck to its tail, and this part of the skin was painted of such varied and handsome colors sprinkled like stars and gilded spots, and it caused much admiration. That skin measured twenty-two palmos and they assured us that it devoured men grasping them with spirals of its tail, and that it fought with elephants.
In Évora there is also a beautiful royal palace and a very lovely vaulted church, that is the Episcopal seat, and which has a magnificent cloister, in which we walked as on a highway, checking out the situation of this city, that is bigger than Ulm. We also saw a young and handsome camel in the King's patio, which he had had brought from Africa, where they are abundant.

What Münzer Saw:
At Évora, Münzer fulfilled one of the primary purposes of his journey: to meet with the Portuguese King João II (probably on behalf of the Emperor Maximilian) to discuss matters of cartography and exploration. These were apparently secret talks. Münzer spent a week in the town, meeting with the King on diverse occasions. But he is silent about the subject of these talks.
The church of Saint Blaise, just outside the extensive city walls that exist to the present, also is still there, but we were unable to find out if there was still a big snakeskin inside.
The Cathedral he saw is still there; it has undergone a thoughtful restoration, and the interior, exterior and cloister are still essentially the same. The view from the top, however, is somewhat different. The residence where Münzer met the King and saw the camel are long gone.

What Münzer Could Have Seen: (June 15-16, 2011)
Not too much pre 16th-century material remains. Portugal, like Seville, boomed with its African, Asian and American explorations after Münzer left; though the snakeskin was probably an early trophy of Portuguese explorations along the African coasts.
The Franciscan church was already in existence, as was the ivory French Virgin, whose whole front opens up to reveal scenes from her life, now in the Cathedral museum.

What Münzer Never Would Have Seen:
Portuguese trade with China began in the mid 16th Century. Now it’s everywhere, and the Chinese have the advantage.