Ferdinand The Saint Prince - Death

Death

Ferdinand's isolation in Fez continued, meeting only his physician at mealtimes and, every two weeks, his chaplain. By bribing the guards, he was sometimes allowed to meet other members of his entourage. He was not assigned to labor like the others, but spent his days largely confined to his cell, praying and writing prayers. After fifteen months in these conditions, Ferdinand fell ill on 1 June and died a few days later, on 5 June 1443. According to his hagiographers, on the evening before his death, Ferdinand reported seeing a vision of the Virgin Mary, the St. Michael the Archangel and St. John the Evangelist.

After his death, the Fez authorities had Ferdinand's corpse embalmed with salt, myrtle and bay leaves. Ferdinand's heart, organs and intestines were taken out in the process (and promptly acquired by his fellow prisoners, who hid them in clay pots buried underground in a corner of their dungeon). Ferdinand's naked and disemboweled corpse was subsequently hung upside down from the battlements of the walls of Fez for public display. After four days, the body was placed in sealed wooden coffin and once again hung from the same battlements "for a long time". In his hagiography, Alvares reports several "miracles" subsequently attributed to the coffin.

Ferdinand was unmarried and childless at the time of his death. The lay mastership of his Order of Aviz was passed to his nephew Peter, Constable of Portugal (son of Peter of Coimbra).