Batalha Monastery opens exhibition in homage to Camões and the Illustrious Generation

The Batalha Monastery opens on Thursday, in the Founder's Chapel, an exhibition paying tribute to Luís Vaz de Camões and the Illustrious Generation.

“Illumina Geração, Altos Infantes: a Batalha n'Os Lusíadas” is an invitation for “visitors to take a journey through the heroic memory of Portugal — where poetry and History intersect”, explained the monument's director.

The title refers to the expression consecrated by Camões in “Os Lusíadas”, where the poet exalts the children of D. João I and D. Filipa de Lencastre, “exceptional figures such as D. Duarte, D. Pedro, D. Henrique, D. João and D. Fernando, protagonists of a decisive period in our history”, said Clara Moura Soares.

“In the year that marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of Luís de Camões, this exhibition was created as a double tribute: to the greatest poet of the Portuguese language and to the heroic generation that he immortalized”, highlighted the director of the Batalha Monastery, quoted by the Lusa news agency.

The Founder's Chapel houses the tombs of D. Pedro, D. Henrique, D. João and D. Fernando, as well as those of D. João I and D. Filipa. D. Duarte is currently buried in the Imperfect Chapels.

Inspired by the verses and epic vision of Luís de Camões, the new exhibition revisits “decisive moments such as the Battle of Aljubarrota, the construction of the Batalha Monastery and the extraordinary legacy of the “high infantes”, sons of D. João I and D. Filipa de Lencastre”.

Therefore, Clara Moura Soares emphasizes, “his final resting place, the Batalha Monastery, is the perfect setting to celebrate his legacy and strengthen the ties between the epic poet and this remarkable generation.

A generation that, he adds, whose action extended across the military, political, cultural and diplomatic domains”, with “deep marks on the destiny of Portugal”.

The director of the Batalha Monastery hopes that, through the new exhibition, visitors will better understand “the meaning of the expression “Illumina Geração” and recognize the exceptional relevance that these princes had in the construction of Portugal’s identity in the 14th and 15th centuries”.