Alemão (Henrique)
The extinct Alemão surname, traced to the legendary Henrique Alemão, said to be a Polish prince who founded an estate and chapel at Madalena do Mar.
The surname Alemão, now extinct, ‘derives’, says the annotator of ‘Longing for the Homeland’ (Saudades da Terra), following the genealogies, ‘from Henrique Alemão, a legendary figure from the earliest days of the colonisation of this island of Madeira. It was said of him that he was a Polish prince and that, after the battle of Varna was lost in 1444 by Władysław IV against Murad II, he vowed to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land and was dubbed a knight of St Catherine of Mount Sinai. When he came to the island of Madeira, João Gonçalves Zarco granted him, at the locality (sítio) later called Madalena do Mar, a large tract of land as a sesmaria (royal land grant to settlers on condition of cultivation), by a charter confirmed by Prince Henry the Navigator on 29 April 1457 and by Afonso V on 18 May of the same year. Henrique Alemão did indeed found a large settled estate (fazenda povoada) there, with a chapel dedicated to St Mary Magdalene, from which the place took its name. He married Senhorina Anes and died a dreadful death, crushed by a landslide (quebrada) that fell from Cabo Girão onto the boat in which he was travelling from the city of Funchal to Madalena. His widow later married João Rodrigues de Freitas. Even now there is, above the town of Ponta do Sol, the Fajã do Alemão, which the common people corruptly call “do Limão”.’
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 02Place
Places mentioned · 06
Abroad
- Cabo Girão
Câmara de Lobos. Cliff whose rockfall killed Henrique Alemão.
Sheer sea cliff about 600 m high (listed at 589 m) and a recommended viewpoint. Its cliffs contain dykes, and it is one of only two places where C. dissectum grows. A rockfall from it killed Henrique Alemão in his boat.
- Fajã do Alemão
Ponta do Sol. Place named after him, popularly called Fajã do Limão.
Fajã do Alemão is a place above Ponta do Sol, named after Henrique Alemão. It is popularly called Fajã do Limão.
- Funchal
Starting point of his fatal voyage.
The capital of the archipelago and seat of the principal captaincy, where settlement began; it was made a vila c.1451–52. Its bay, the widest in the archipelago, lies between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz and offers sheltered anchorage, though its harbour had never been studied oceanographically. The Elucidário discusses it as a health resort with climate data and records the January 1906 disturbances, the Danish prince's visit in May 1846 and recent volcanic cones in the area.
- Madalena do Mar
Ponta do Sol. Where Henrique Alemão received land and founded his estate and chapel.
Madalena do Mar is a parish on the south-west coast of Madeira, in the municipality of Ponta do Sol, founded on the estate of the legendary Henrique Alemão and made an independent parish in 1582. The Elucidário records its chapels, sugar and banana farming, its capitania-mor, damage in the 1876 floods and the 1939 flood of the Ribeira da Madalena, and it was the birthplace of António Policarpo dos Passos Sousa.
- Ponta do Sol
Town above which lies the Fajã do Alemão.
South-coast parish and municipality, settled from about 1440 by Rodrigo Enes 'o Coxo'. Its parish church of Nossa Senhora da Luz holds a triptych. The Elucidário also records its quay of 1848, paid for by the council, and the royal visit of 1858.
- Varna
Bulgaria. Site of the 1444 battle in the legend.
Varna is a place abroad. It was the site of the 1444 battle that features in the legend of Henrique Alemão.
People
People mentioned · 08-
Legendary early settler, reputedly a Polish prince, granted land at Madalena do Mar and killed by a rockfall from Cabo Girão.
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King who confirmed the grant on 18 May 1457.
- Henry the Navigator1394–1460
Confirmed the land grant on 29 April 1457.
- João Gonçalves Zarcod. 1467
Captain-donatary of Funchal who granted Henrique Alemão land.
- João Rodrigues de Freitasd. 1523
Second husband of Senhorina Anes.
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Ottoman sultan victorious at Varna.
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Wife of Henrique Alemão, later married João Rodrigues de Freitas.
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King who lost the battle of Varna in 1444.