Gil Vicente wrote the following epitaph on his wife, to whom he was most affectionately attached, and who was interred in the Franciscan monastery at Evora.
Aqui jaez a muy prudente
Senhora Branca Becerra,
Mulher de Gil Vicente,
Feita terra.
Which may be thus literally construed:—
Here lies the most discreet,
Senhora Branca Becerra,
Wife of Gil Vicente,
Turned to clay.
Gil Vicente died in the year 1577, at Evora, and his remains were interred beside those of his wife, in the Franciscan monastery. He wrote for his own tomb the following epitaph:—
O gran juizo esperando
Jazo aqui nesta morada,
Desta vida tao cauçado
Descançando.
(The great Judgment-day awaiting
Here, in this narrow dwelling-place,
After life’s weary course,
I am reposing.)
In an old collection of Gil Vicente’s works, this epitaph is given with the addition of the following lines:—
Preguntas-me quem fui eu?
Atenta bem pera ti,
Porque tal fui com’ a ti
E tal has de ser com’ eu.
E pois tudo a isto vem,
O lector de meu conselho,
Tomame por teu espelho:—
Olhame e olhate bem.