BATALHA, a small village in Portugal, about 60 miles north of Lisbon, where a famous monastery, the place of sepulture of the royal family, is situated. Don John, th'e first of the name, and tenth king of Portugal, on being attacked by the king of Castile with a powerful and greatly superior army, invoked the protection of the Virgin, vowing to consecrate a magnificent monastery to her honour should he prove victorious. Having defeated his adversary, and reduced the whole kingdom to tranquillity, lie founded the monastery of Batallia in 1385, which he designed should be the most splendid in all Christen dom. It was at first endowed for 30 monks, but there are now 41. • The architect under whom the monastery was built is said to have been an Irishman, named Hacket ; -and, at this day, it is one of the most elegant Gothic edifices in Europe. It is adorn ed with a profusion of ornaments in the richest taste, some of which are hieroglyphical, or mystical, and inexplicable by the learned. These are particularly conspicuous on the mausoleum of the founder. On the tombs of several illustrious branches of the royal family, interred here during the 15th century, besides figures merely ornamental, is seen the order of the garter, which they had obtained from the sovereigns of England. This monastery was
both by foreign princes and those of Portugal. When the emperor of Constantinople, Emanuel Pa leologus, was at Paris, in 1401, soliciting the assist nee of the Christian powers, he transmitted a singu lar collection or precious relics, along with a certifi cate respecting them tinder his own hand, which we believe is till'extant. In 1755, the edifice was da maged by the fatal earthquake which destroyed the capital, and the spire of the founder's mausoleum was overthrown. For a more ample account of this structure, which is considered a model of pure Gothic architecture,- see 1Iurphy's Plans, Elevations, Sec tions, and Views of the Church of Balalha ; Louis de Sousa's History of the Royal Monastery of 13a talha ; and Link's Travels in Portugal, chap. xxv. p. 280. (c)