Elizabeth of Aragon (c. 1270 – 1336) was a devoted Catholic since early childhood. Her marriage to King Denis of Portugal was arranged in 1281 and took place in 1288. She was dedicated to the poor and sick, founding several hospitals and charitable works, paying for the education of destitute noble men, etc. During the famine of 1293 in Coimbra, she provided flour to the poor. This might be the origin of the miracle of the roses attributed to her. Her conciliatory influence was important on several occasions, notably for the 1297 Treaty of Alcanizes that fixed the borders between Portugal and Castile, and during the 1322-4 civil war between her husband and her son. According to legend, in 1323 she rode on a donkey between the two armies facing each other in Alvalade (then in the outskirts of Lisbon) and thereby prevented the battle. After her husband’s death she retired to a convent. Her silver and crystal tomb can be seen in the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova in Coimbra.
Theotonius (1088 – 1166), the first Portuguese saint, was a priest in Viseu and the first prior of the Monastery of the Holy Cross in Coimbra. He was offered the bishopric of Viseu and later Coimbra, but declined both offers. He was a trusted advisor to Portugal’s first King, D. Afonso Henriques.
The set was designed by Jaime Martins Barata from bas-reliefs by Barata Feyo. The stamps circulated from 10 July 1958 to 31 October 1961. Harrison & Sons Ltd., in London, printed them in photogravure on plain paper sheets of 10×10 stamps with perforation 14½×14.
| Stamp | Print run | Afinsa | Gibbons | Michel | Scott | Yvert |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.00 | 7,000,000 | 835 | 1150 | 864 | 832 | |
| 2.00 | 5,000,000 | 836 | 1151 | 865 | 833 | |
| 2.50 | 2,000,000 | 837 | 1152 | 866 | 834 | |
| 5.00 | 1,000,000 | 838 | 1153 | 867 | 835 |
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