On the kings of Portugal, or how an image of a far-away region came to be established in Holland

At the end of the fourteenth century efforts were made to establish better, mainly commercial, relations between the county of Holland and Portugal. At that moment Portugal was certainly no terra incognita for the inhabitants of Holland, as is shown by the fact that a village in Holland already earlier derived its name and coat of arms from Portugal. Yet a clear and positive image, that could serve political goals, was lacking. Such an image was provided by a Middle-netherlandish poem, written shortly before 1390, in which the reestablishing of royal virtues in Portugal was praised