The “Ré Cavelleiro,” or knightly king, had thus done his best to upset the results of the wise policy of his grandfather, John “the Great.” Fortunately he had not done much harm, and his son and successor, John II., proved himself able to do more than compensate for his father’s mistakes. But it must not be considered that Affonso V. was a worthless king of the type of Ferdinand “the Handsome”; he was rather a restless knight after the fashion of Count Henry of Burgundy. He had literary tastes as well; he wrote much and ably on various subjects, and showed a great knowledge of what a king ought to be--perhaps learnt from the “Cyropaedia” of Xenophon, which had been specially translated for his instruction by the orders of the Duke of Coimbra. He was a liberal patron of men of letters, and made Duarte Galvão “Chronista Mor do Reino,” or Chronicler-General of the kingdom; and he appointed Azurara, another chronicler, librarian and keeper of the archives at the Torre del Tombo. He collected a great library at Evora, and founded the Order of the Tower and Sword; but perhaps the truest sign of the greatness which existed somewhere in his character is to be found in his answer to the chronicler Acenheiro, who asked how he should write the chronicle of his reign, when he said simply, “Tell the truth.” These, then, were the kings who reigned in Portugal during the age of discovery. It is now time to see the nature, extent, and value of these discoveries, which were paving the way for the heroic age of Portuguese history. [Illustration: PORTUGUESE GOLD COINS. (1) Crown piece of John V. (2) Crusado (400 reis) value = 2s. (3) Crusado novo. (4) Eight tostoêns piece (80 reis). (5) Quartinho d’ouro (1,200 reis). (6) Sixteen tostoêns, value = 8s. 10d. (7) Half moidore piece. (8) Half moidore of Maria. 1777. (9) Moidore of John V. 1724. (10) Gold piece of 77 tostoêns, value = £1 15s. 6d. (11) Two-and-a-half moidore piece, value = £3 2s. (12) Dobrão of John V., value = £3 11s. (13) Five moidore piece, value = £6 5s. ] [Illustration: text decoration] TABLE I. THE DESCENDANTS OF JOHN “THE GREAT.”