coming of the Frenchmen is seen in the work of
Joao de Castilho, after he first left Thomar for Belem. There he had
found Master Nicolas Chantranez already at work, and there he learned,
perhaps from him, so to change his style that by the time he returned to
Thomar to work for Dom Joao III. in 1528 he was able to design buildings
practically free from that Gothic spirit which is still found in his
latest work at Belem.

CHAPTER XVI

LATER WORK OF JOAO DE CASTILHO AND THE EARLIER CLASSIC

To Dom Manoel, who died in 1521, had succeeded his son Dom Joao III. The
father had been renowned for his munificence and his splendour, the son
cared more for the Church and for the suppression of heresy. By him the
Inquisition was introduced in 1536 to the gradual crushing of all
independent thought, and so by degrees to the degradation of his
country. He reigned for thirty-six years, a time of wealth and luxury,
but before he died the nation had begun to suffer from this very luxury;
with all freedom of thought forbidden, with the most brave and
adventurous of her sons sailing east to the Indies or west to Brazil,
most of them never to return, Portugal was ready to fall an easy prey to
Philip of Spain when in 1580 there died the old Cardinal King Henry,
last surviving son of Dom Manoel, once called the Fortunate King.

With the death of Dom Manoel, or at least with the finishing of the
great work which he had begun, the most brilliant and interesting period
in the history of Portuguese architecture comes to an end. When the
younger Fernandes died seven years after his master in 1538, or when
Joao de Castilho saw the last vault built at Belem, Gothic, even as
represented by Manoelino, disappeared for ever, and renaissance
architecture, taught by the French school at Coimbra, or learned in
Italy by those sent there by Dom Manoel, became universal, to flourish
for a time, and then to fall even lower than in any other country.

Except the Frenchmen at Coimbra no one played a greater part in this
change than Joao de Castilho, who, no doubt, first learned about the
renaissance from Master Nicolas at Belem; Thomar also, his own home,
lies about half-way between Lisbon and Coimbra, so that he may well
have visited his brother Diogo at Santa Cruz and seen what other
Frenchmen were doing there and so become acquainted with better
architects than Master Nicolas; but in any case, who ever it may have
been who taught him, he planned