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Of coffins and Portuguese kings - Letter From the Algarve by Frances Ruddick
• 18 Oct 2007 •
 THERE’S nothing frivolous about the prospect of passing away, a condition philosophically described by William Penn as “turning us over from time to eternity.”
Due to the latest vogue in burial caskets, it is possible to have this or other similar meaningful quotations inscribed onto a customised coffin. In Britain, this unique fashion in funeral ware is beginning to catch on.
May I suggest from the coffin catalogue this ideal inscription for a dead expatriate on the Algarve?
The wording is composed by John Donne: “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less…”
I assure you, there are many other apt quotations now available on coffins. Additionally – for people of few words – there is a coffin painted in red, white and blue with the Union Flag.
Other choices, without literary references, sum up the deceased’s talents in pictures. A ballerina, for instance, might select to spend eternity in a casket entitled: Swan Lake. An air enthusiast can be buried in a coffin called Spitfire.
For a person who excelled at golf – a green burial casket showing a painting of a golfball trickling into hole is supposedly a ‘fairway’ to go. Entitled: Hole in One – this and all the others I have mentioned – can be purchased from a range of Picture Coffins.
There are similarly customised coffins for ex-fly fishermen, ex-rugby players, ex-footballers, ex-snowboarders – I’m being serious – and ex-cricketers, entitled: Crack of the Willow. The list goes on. All are made from eco-friendly, accredited wood. Some are aesthetically pleasing – painted with glorious landscapes, fields of flowers and colourful abstract scenes, - almost too beautiful to burn or bury.
I’m not being flippant when I say that one of Portugal’s favourite kings, João II, would have benefited from a similarly good quality burial casket.
Four years after his funeral in Silves Cathedral in 1495, his successor, Dom Manuel, decided to have him disinterred. This extreme decision was prompted because João had not been buried in Portugal. He had died while visiting Alvor; his funeral and entombment took place in nearby Silves but at that time the Algarve was a completely separate kingdom.
What is more, João had been a remarkable king, loved by the Portuguese people and fondly nicknamed by them the Perfect Prince. He had died unexpectedly at the youthful age of 40 and Manuel was anxious to bring his relative home.
He ordered that the tomb should be opened and the coffin brought to Batalha Abbey, the resting place of other Portuguese monarchs. Records indicate that those attending the disinterment were witness to a miracle. The king’s coffin and shroud had rotted away but his body remained ‘incorrupt’ .This phenomenon was attributed to the king’s flawless soul and the remnants of his shroud and coffin were elevated to the status of holy relics.
His revered corpse was blessed, placed inside a new coffin, transported to Lisbon and onwards to Batalha, where it resides today.
Perhaps it’s cynical to wonder what might be found if he was disinterred again? According to reverential expectations he wouldn’t need so much as a face-lift. After more than 500 years, respect for him continues, as numerous Portuguese people file past his tomb in the magnificent Founder’s Chapel in Batalha.
Lying alongside eight of his relatives – including Philippa of Lancaster, the English wife of João I – above their tombs, a star vaulted ceiling and a series of stained glass windows form part of the main frontage of the church. The whole construction is considered to be Portugal’s greatest Gothic monument and as far as churches go, one of the most beautiful I have visited.
With such exceptional surroundings, a Picture Coffin would probably be superfluous to requirements. In the curious case of João II and his incorruptible flesh, a glass coffin would have proved that he’s a saint.
For more information, visit www.picture-coffins.co.uk |  Return to Top
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