Les Flamands au Portugal au XVe siècle (Lisbonne, Madère, Açores)

Abstract

Martin Lem and his sons, Jacome de Bruges, Josse de Hurtere, Guillaume van der Haeghen, Jean Esmeraudt, Fernão Dulmo, who went to Portugal in search of fortune during the fifteenth century are already known. They are studied here again, following different themes: their origin (usually from low bourgeoisie or obscure); their circumstances of their departure from Flanders, Artois or Picardy; their installation in Portugal (how they entered different milieux); their marriages or liaisons (a way of social climbing); their business (trade or colonization, better known for Martin Lem, The Elder); their successes (as all are known, they were generally successful); their accession to nobility (because, or in spite of their pretensions, they usually were not noble). Their lives are reconstructed from all the known sources, but one must not trust too much the narrative ones.