The book “D. João I – O homem e o rei” (The man and king), written by Maria Helena da Cruz Coelho, represents the first volume in the Scriptorium – Batalha collection. This collection is the result of the collaboration embarked on many years ago between the Monastery of Batalha and the Institute of Medieval Studies, on occasion extending to other institutions, in particular the Batalha Teacher Training Centre and the Heritage Centre of Estremadura. Among other events (such as conferences, colloquia, guided tours), this collaboration has produced a series of open courses and training sessions (such as “No tempo de D. Dinis“, currently underway) aimed primarily at secondary school teachers and interpreter-guides. The purpose of these courses was to provide up-to-date historical knowledge taught by university scholars but tailored to an otherwise non-specialist audience.

The success of these actions led their coordinators (Joherem Ruivo from the Monastery of Batalha, Amélia Aguiar Andrade, João Luís Fontes and Miguel Metelo de Seixas from the IEM) to propose a collection of books capable of serving identical purposes. Thus, there emerged Scriptorium – Batalha: small, summary volumes, without the critical apparatus of academic writing, but supplemented by numerous images and a series of bibliographic references, in bilingual Portuguese-English editions, and within the framework of disseminating the outputs of university research to wider audiences.

The collection opens with a volume dedicated to King João I, written by one of the most prestigious Portuguese medievalists. It could hardly be otherwise: this constitutes a fitting tribute to the king to whom we owe the foundation of the Monastery of Nossa Senhora da Vitória, which became a place of remembrance for the Battle of Aljubarrota and for the dynasty that erected this church as his burial site. The author succeeds in synthesising the life of this monarch, running through the various phases that, under critical circumstances, led to the illegitimate son of Dom Pedro I acceding to the throne before outlining the main facets of his long and fruitful reign, culminating with the construction of his exemplary funeral monument and of his memory as the monarch responsible for re-founding the kingdom.