The concept of a system is widely used in science, technology, and economics when they talk about some ordered set of any content.
A system is an objective unity of objects and phenomena that are lawfully related to each other, as well as knowledge about nature and society.
The definition of a system as an object of research begins with the selection of its constituent elements from the external environment with which it interacts.
The element of the system is understood as the simplest indivisible part of the system. An element is the division limit of the system from the point of view of the problem being solved by the researcher. The system can be divided into elements not immediately, but by sequential division into subsystems.
A system element is not capable of independent existence and cannot be described outside of its functional characteristics. From the point of view of the system, it is not important what the element consists of, but what is its function within the system. An element is defined as the smallest unit capable of performing some function on its own.
A subsystem is a collection of interrelated elements capable of performing a relatively independent function aimed at achieving the overall goal of the system.
The elements that make up the system are in certain relationships and connections with each other. As a whole, the system opposes the environment, in interaction with which its properties are manifested. The functioning of the system in the external environment and the preservation of its integrity is possible due to a certain ordering of its elements, described by the concept of structure.
The structure is a set of the most essential connections between the elements of the system, which change little during its functioning and ensure the existence of the system and its basic properties. The concept of structure reflects the invariant aspect of the system. The structure of a system is often depicted as a graph, in which elements are represented by vertices, and the connections between them are arcs.
The possibility of separating the external environment and relatively independent subsystems for the system leads to the idea of \u200b\u200bthe hierarchy of systems. Hierarchy means the ability to represent each system as a subsystem or element of a higher level system. In turn, each subsystem can be considered as an independent system, for which the original system serves as a higher level system. This view leads to the idea of \u200b\u200bthe world as a hierarchical system of mutually nested systems.
The main property of a system that distinguishes it from a simple set of elements is integrity. Integrity is the fundamental irreducibility of the properties of a system to the sum of the properties of its elements, as well as the non-derivability of the properties of a system from the properties of its elements. The system is more than the sum of its parts. It is the presence of this property that distinguishes systems from arbitrary sets of elements as an independent object of research.
2.2. System classification
Systems can be classified according to various criteria. In the most general terms, systems can be divided into material and abstract.
Material systems are a collection of material objects. Among material systems, one can single out inanimate systems (physical, chemical, technical, etc.), living or biological systems and systems containing both inanimate and biological elements. An important place among material systems is occupied by socio-economic systems, in which the relations between the elements are the social relations of people in the production process.
Abstract systems are products of human thinking: knowledge, theories, hypotheses, etc.
Depending on the change in the state of the system in time, static and dynamic systems are distinguished. In static systems, the state does not change over time; in dynamic systems, the state changes during operation.
According to the degree of certainty, the states of the systems are divided into deterministic and stochastic (probabilistic) ones. In a deterministic system, the state of its elements at any moment of time is completely determined by their state at previous moments of time. The behavior of a deterministic system can always be accurately predicted. The state of a stochastic system can only be predicted with a certain probability.
By the way the system interacts with the external environment, closed and open systems are distinguished. Closed systems do not interact with the external environment, all processes, except for energy, are closed within the system. Open systems actively interact with the external environment, which allows them to develop and complicate their structure.
According to the degree of complexity, the systems are divided into simple and complex.
The complexity of a system is often understood as the number of its elements and the connections between them. This definition of complexity does not reflect the qualitative changes that occur in the behavior of systems as they become more complex. By a complex system we mean a system that can control its own behavior. Systems that do not have this property are classified as simple. According to this definition, the atom and solar system should be attributed to simple systems. Any technical systems taken by themselves, regardless of the person, are also simple. Human-machine systems are truly complex systems capable of controlling their behavior. In a strict sense, complex systems appear only with the appearance of life.
Among complex systems, one can single out systems, the essential feature of which is the presence of intelligent activity. Examples of such systems are the economic system, any kind of social systems, ecological-economic system. A characteristic feature of such systems is the purposefulness of their behavior.
Purposefulness is understood as the ability of the system to choose behavior depending on the internal goal. To designate such systems with a higher type of complexity, the concept of a purposeful system is introduced in general systems theory.
A purposeful system is a system that implements purposeful behavior and is capable of self-preservation and development through self-organization and self-management based on information processing. The ability of the system to form the goal of its behavior presupposes the presence in it of a person who has the freedom of choice when making decisions. All social and economic systems are purposeful because they contain people who set certain goals for themselves.
A goal-oriented system should have the following properties that allow it to model and predict its behavior in the external environment:
perceive and recognize external influences, form the image of the external environment;
have a priori information about the environment, stored in the form of its images;
to have information about itself and about its properties, stored in the form of morphological and functional images that form an informational description of the system.
TOPIC 1 BASIC CONCEPTS OF SYSTEM ANALYSIS
Basic principles of the systems approach
Modeling socio-economic processes is a challenging task. The complexity is due to the diversity of social life, in which both general and private, and individual characteristics of the behavior of structural formations are equally important. To create a model in most was consistent with the reality used a systematic approach.
System analysis- a scientific direction associated with the study of semi-structured, complex problems of an interdisciplinary nature on the basis of a systematic approach and the presentation of the object of research in the form of a system.
The basic principles of the systems approach.
The principle of consistencyrequires a comprehensive, holistic approach to the studied subject of the problem and the process of its solution.
The principle of hierarchyrequires a layered approach. The problems associated with this principle include, for example, the problem of the “role of the individual in history”. So, the fate of an entire people or a state, or a separate organization sometimes depends on one single act of one single person.
Integrity principlerequires an approach to the object under study from the point of view of reflecting its general integral properties, which have a significant impact on it. It is based on a fundamental property of systems: properties of a system are not a simple sum of properties of its constituent parts.
The principle of physical contentprohibits the use of model representations, the elements of which do not have a physically meaningful explanation.
The principle of formalismrequires the use of formal models that provide constructive results and the necessary positive conclusions.
Empirical Consistency Principlerequires that the models used do not contradict empirical data within the scope of their applicability.
Example.As an example of using the principles of taxonomy, we can cite a fragment of the types of power resources, reflecting their multidimensionality.
Types of power resources:
Economic (finance, taxes, patronage, property, etc.).
Technological(organizational resource, management technologies, experience, etc.).
Physical (mineral resources, energy resources, physical phenomena, etc.).
Biological (food, demographic resources, ecology, etc.).
Psychological (image, mentality, psychological feelings, etc.).
Socio-political (rights, violence, socio-political ideas, public goods, etc.).
Information(spirituality, culture, knowledge, information, etc.).
From a systemic point of view, this scheme is quite complete. It covers not only traditional types of power resources, but also a number of those that are usually not fully understood by anyone. These resources include some resources of the physical realm.
For example, physical phenomena. These phenomena (meteorological, climatic, geophysical and even space) in many cases can be used in the interests of power (in the interests of its strengthening and expansion). So in the interests of the ruling political group, the date of the elections is set. As a rule, this takes into account not only the economic and socio-political situation, but also the season and expected weather. And in this sense, hot, dry or cool, rainy weather should be seen as an appropriate resource with which to influence the social composition of the voters, and in some cases, their preferences. So in the novel of Prus "Pharaoh" the situation is described when the Egyptian priests, in the interests of the struggle to preserve their power, used solar eclipse and his knowledge of the moment of its coming.
Basic concepts and relationships
The structure reflects the most essential and stable connections and relationships between the elements belonging to the object under study.Among the most important structural formations are those that manifest themselves as some integral objects. Such structural formations are called systems.
System- there is a set of elements (subsystems) and connections between them, possessing the properties of integrity, expediency and openness.
Structurally real system is an inextricable set of four interconnected, interdependent fundamental systems: structures(elements, connections, structures, laws of organization), processes(processes, factors, states, laws of change), values(values, principles, goals, laws of transformation) and knowledge(language, memory, information, laws of interpretation).
Subsystem- a part of the system, acting in relation to the rest of the system as a kind of integral structural formation that has the characteristics of a system.
Typical subsystems, for example, are: organs of blood circulation, respiration and digestion of an animal; Ministry of Economy in common system executive power.
Element- the smallest part of the system, the internal structure of which does not manifest itself in interaction with the observer system for a given period of time or is not taken into account when solving the problem of analysis or synthesis. So the elements of a society are its citizens;
The part of the outside world that directly interacts with the system or has a significant impact on it is called external environment.
Therefore, when analyzing the economic or political situation within any public education it is necessary to go beyond it and analyze the economic and socio-political situations in the systems of the external environment in order to take into account their influence on the state of the object under consideration . Any really existing system is separated from the external environment by some border. Border is a special functional subsystem(human skin, border guard services, etc.). The presence of a border is one of the necessary conditions for the existence of a system.
Connectionsexpress the active relationship that exists between structural formations.
Connections can be characterized by direction, strength, character. By the first sign, connections are divided into directedand undirected.On the second - on strong and weak.By nature, there are connections submission,connections offspring equalconnections, connections controls reversecommunication. Connections in specific systems can be simultaneously characterized by several features. Feedback is the basis for self-regulation, development of systems, their adaptation to changing conditions of existence. In research, internal and external connections are distinguished. External connections of the system are its connections with the environment. They manifest themselves as characteristic properties of the system.
goal- a situation or an area of \u200b\u200bsituations that must be achieved during the operation of the system for a certain period of time. The system can be represented by a simple enumeration of elements or by a “black box” (“input-output” model). However, most often, when studying an object, such a representation is not enough. In these cases, the system is displayed by dividing it into subsystems, elements with interrelationships that can be of a different nature and introduce the concept structures. Structure reflects certain relationships, the mutual arrangement of the main parts of the system, its structure (structure),
State of the systemis the set of values \u200b\u200bof the characteristics of the system at a given time. If the system is capable of transitioning from one state to another; they say she has behavior.
Equilibriumis defined as the ability of a system in the absence of external disturbing influences (or with constant influences) to maintain its state for an arbitrarily long time. This condition is called a state of equilibrium.
Under sustainability understand the ability of a system to return to a state of equilibrium after it has been brought out of this state under the influence of external (or in systems with active elements - internal) disturbing influences. The state of equilibrium to which the system is able to return called a stable state of equilibrium.In complex systems, unstable equilibrium states are possible.
Process- is called a set of states of the system, ordered by the change in any parameter that determines the properties of the system. Process efficiency- the degree of his fitness to achieve the goal.
Basic properties of systems
Integrativeare the properties inherent in the system as a whole and not inherent in any of its elements separately. Thus, the state is not a simple sum of its regions.
Example. An individual integrative property of an aircraft as a technological system is its ability to perform a controlled flight. Moreover, none of its parts by itself, including the crew members, has this ability.
Task 1.1. Give examples of the manifestation of the property of integrativity in the economic and political spheres, as well as in the field of human relations.
Integrity- the ability of the system to manifest itself in interaction with outside world as a whole.
This property has two aspects:
The properties of a system are not simply the sum of the properties of its constituent elements;
The properties of a system depend on the properties of its constituent elements.
Elements combined into a system can lose some of their properties inherent in them outside the system, that is, the system seems to suppress a number of properties of the elements. On the other hand, elements entering the system can acquire new properties.
Connectivitylies in the presence of stable and relatively powerful connections between the structural components of the system.
Temporary consistency the existence of system elements is established through interactions that provide a certain order of the internal life of the system, both in situational and informational, and in value spaces.
Examples. Interaction of members of a certain community in economic sphere lead to a certain law of distribution of the population by income. A typical example of this situation is the situation of monopolizing collusion of several manufacturers working for one common market.
Openness- the property of interconnection and mutual consistency of the system and its external environment, manifested in communicativeness and vagueness. Openness is the interpenetration and mutual influence (interdependence) of the system and environment. Openness, on the one hand, is a necessary condition for the existence of a system, and on the other, one of the main reasons for its change.
Communicativenessis a property of the system, which consists in the presence of a set of connections (communications) between the system and the external environment.
Example. Different states can be connected with each other by lines of air, rail, road, etc. communication. Cultural, scientific and other types of exchange are carried out between them.
Fuzzinessthere is a property of mutual belonging, mutual kinship of real systems, the property of manifestation of a single whole in them. The vagueness of the system gives rise to a certain contradiction in its interaction with the outside world. Due to this property, the system is to some extent included in its environment and, interacting with it, interacts with itself.
The system has a number of properties.
The properties of the system are the qualities of the elements that make it possible to quantitatively describe the system, to express it in certain values.
The basic properties of the systems are as follows:
- · The system seeks to preserve its structure (this property is based on the objective law of organization - the law of self-preservation);
- · The system has a need for management (there is a set of needs of man, animal, society, herd of animals and a large society);
- · A complex dependence on the properties of the elements and subsystems included in it is formed in the system (the system may have properties that are not inherent in its elements, and may not have the properties of its elements). For example, when working collectively, people may have an idea that would not have come to mind when working individually; the collective, created by the teacher Makarenko from homeless children, did not accept the theft, swearing, disorder, typical of almost all of its members.
In addition to the listed properties, large systems have the properties of emergence, synergy, and multiplicativity.
The emergence property is 1) one of the primary fundamental properties large systems, meaning that the target functions of individual subsystems, as a rule, do not coincide with the target function of the BS itself; 2) the appearance of qualitatively new properties in an organized system that are absent in its elements and are not characteristic of them.
The property of synergy is one of the primary fundamental properties of large systems, which means the unidirectionality of actions in the system, which leads to an increase (multiplication) of the final result.
The property of multiplication is one of the primary fundamental properties of large systems, which means that effects, both positive and negative, in BS have the property of multiplication.
Each system has an input action, a processing system, end results and feedback
Figure 1.- Diagram of the system functioning
So, the state of the system is the set of essential properties that the system possesses at each moment of time.
A property is understood as the side of an object that determines its difference from other objects or similarity to them and manifests itself when interacting with other objects.
A characteristic is something that reflects a certain property of the system.
What properties of systems are known.
From the definition of "system" it follows that the main property of the system is integrity, unity, achieved through certain interconnections and interactions of system elements and manifested in the emergence of new properties that the system elements do not possess. This is the property of emergence (from English emerge - to arise, appear).
- 1. Emergence - the degree of irreducibility of the properties of the system to the properties of the elements of which it consists.
- 2. Emergence is a property of systems that causes the emergence of new properties and qualities that are not inherent in the elements that make up the system.
Emergence is the opposite of reductionism, which claims that the whole can be studied by dismembering it into parts and then defining their properties to determine the properties of the whole.
The property of system integrity is close to the property of emergence. However, they cannot be identified.
The integrity of the system means that each element of the system contributes to the implementation of the objective function of the system.
Integrity and emergence are the integrative properties of the system.
The presence of integrative properties is one of the most important features of the system. Integrity is manifested in the fact that the system has its own regularity of functionality, its own purpose.
Organization is a complex property of systems, consisting in the presence of structure and functioning (behavior). An indispensable accessory of systems is their components, precisely those structural formations of which the whole consists and without which it is impossible.
Functionality is the manifestation of certain properties (functions) when interacting with the external environment. Here the goal (purpose of the system) is defined as the desired end result.
Structurality is the ordering of the system, a certain set and arrangement of elements with connections between them. There is a relationship between the function and structure of the system, as between the philosophical categories of content and form. Changing content (functions) entails a change in form (structure), but also vice versa.
An important property of the system is the presence of behavior - action, change, functioning, etc.
It is believed that this behavior of the system is related to the environment (environment), i.e. with other systems with which it comes into contact or enters into certain relationships.
The process of purposefully changing the state of a system over time is called behavior. Unlike control, when a change in the state of the system is achieved due to external influences, the behavior is implemented exclusively by the system itself, based on its own goals.
The behavior of each system is explained by the structure of the lower-order systems of which this system consists, and the presence of signs of equilibrium (homeostasis). In accordance with the sign of equilibrium, the system has a certain state (states) that are preferable for it. Therefore, the behavior of systems is described in terms of the restoration of these states when they are disturbed as a result of changes in the environment.
Another property is the property of growth (development). Development can be viewed as an integral part of behavior (and the most important one).
One of the primary, and, therefore, fundamental attributes of the systemic approach is the inadmissibility of considering an object outside its development, which is understood as an irreversible, directed, regular change in matter and consciousness. As a result, a new quality or state of the object arises. The identification (maybe not quite strict) of the terms "development" and "motion" allows one to express in such a sense that the existence of matter, in this case, a system, is inconceivable outside of development. It is naive to imagine a development taking place spontaneously. In the vast multitude of processes that at first glance seem to be something like Brownian (random, chaotic) movement, with close attention and study, at first, the outlines of tendencies appear, and then rather stable patterns. These laws by their nature act objectively, i.e. do not depend on whether we want their manifestation or not. Ignorance of the laws and patterns of development is wandering in the dark.
The behavior of the system is determined by the nature of the reaction to external influences. The fundamental property of systems is stability, i.e. the ability of the system to withstand external disturbances. The lifespan of the system depends on it.
Simple systems have passive forms of stability: strength, balance, adjustability, homeostasis. And for complex, the determining ones are active forms: reliability, survivability and adaptability.
Reliability is the property of preserving the structure of systems, despite the death of its individual elements by replacing or duplicating them, and survivability - as an active suppression of harmful qualities.
Adaptability is the property to change behavior or structure in order to preserve, improve or acquire new qualities in the face of changes in the external environment. A prerequisite for the possibility of adaptation is the presence of feedbacks.
Any real system exists in the environment. The connection between them is so close that it becomes difficult to determine the border between them. Therefore, the separation of the system from the environment is associated with one degree or another of idealization. Two aspects of interaction can be distinguished:
- · In many cases it takes on the nature of an exchange between the system and the environment (matter, energy, information);
- · The environment is usually a source of uncertainty for systems.
The impact of the environment can be passive or active (antagonistic, purposefully opposing the system).
Therefore, in the general case, the environment should be considered not only indifferent, but also antagonistic in relation to the system under study.
In total, 30 properties of systems are distinguished, which are proposed to be divided into four groups:
- 1) properties that characterize the essence and complexity of systems;
- 2) properties that characterize the connection of the system with the external environment;
- 3) properties that characterize the system's goal-setting methodology;
- 4) properties that characterize the parameters of the functioning and development of the system.
A system should be understood as a certain integrity, consisting of interdependent parts, each of which contributes to the functioning of the whole. Consequently, the main task of the leader is the need to see the organization as a whole, in the unity of its constituent parts, which directly and indirectly interact with each other and with the outside world. He must take into account that any, even private, managerial influence on any component of the organization necessarily leads to numerous and often unpredictable consequences. They must be taken into account in management; for this you need to know what are the basic laws by which the systems are built.
The study of the essence of management should begin, as V.A.Eliseev notes, with the definition of its components and the relationship between them and the external environment, the differences in the management of the functioning of the system under given conditions and the management of the development of the system. The purpose of control in the first case is to eliminate internal and external disturbances without changing the output parameters of the system, and in the second, to change the input and output parameters in accordance with changes in the external environment.
The regulation of the system ensures that its activity is such that the state of the output of the system is equalized at a given rate. Consequently, the main task is reduced to the establishment of a given state of the system functioning, provided for by planning as proactive control. The complexity of management depends, first of all, on the number of changes in the system and its environment. All changes have certain patterns or are random.
VA Eliseev considers the essence of management as a set of the following concepts: management organization, management process and information.
It is possible to speak about the organization of management only when the purpose and object of management are highlighted. Therefore, the effectiveness of the organization of management largely depends on the clarity of the formulation of management objectives.
Prior to this approach, schools placed the main emphasis on the progress of management as such. The systematic approach has shown that the control object itself has no less, if not more, complexity. Not only management, but also that which is governed, has its own logic, its own laws, and they are systemic in nature. Therefore, effective management must necessarily take them into account, and for this - to know and be able to use them.
Portrait of the Infanta Enrique
Whose portrait is this?
I.I.Dmitriev. Inscription for the portrait (1803)
And this portrait will not be truly yours!
A. A. Delvig. To E.A. Kilshtetova(1818)
When we read the "Chronicle" of Gomes Ianish de Zurar, which marked the beginning of the history of caravels of the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, we brought a portrait of the inspirer and organizer (not at night) of pioneering studies of the sea-ocean ( Mare incognitum) of the Portuguese Infant Heinrich the Navigator. This portrait was attached to the so-called Parisian copy of Zurar's work without specifying who is depicted on it. They considered it obvious that there could be no other options but to take him for a portrait of an Infante: after all, Henry was actually the main character of the Chronicle.
The chronicle was first published in 1453, the portrait, according to art historians, could have been performed later (it was inserted as a frontispiece into a copy of the chronicle kept in the National Library in Paris.)
Over the years, there was no doubt that this is indeed a portrait of the Portuguese Infante Enrique. Moreover, this version seemed to have received significant confirmation when in the eighties of the XIX century in the monastery of San Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, a polyptych was discovered dedicated to the patron saint of the Portuguese capital, Saint Vincent of Saragossa art ( Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga) in Lisbon).
The authorship of the work was quickly established. All six panels of the polyptych are believed to have been performed by one of the first Portuguese painters, Nunu Gonsalves ( Nuno gonçalves). The exact dates of his life are not known, it is believed that he worked between 1450 and 1471.
The third panel from the left of the polyptych, which is called the "Panel of Princes", depicts a person very similar to the portrait from the "Chronicle" of Zurar.
There is a temptation to consider the newfound image of a man similar to Heinrich the Navigator as the canonical image of the Infante. Whole generations of historians could not resist this temptation, who in one way or another concerned in their works the deeds of the Portuguese prince. Images from the "Chronicle" and from the "panel of princes" were replicated unimaginably
But real researchers differ from superficial amateurs (to whom I include myself) in that they are always gnawed by a worm of doubt. These researchers asked themselves a few simple questions. What are the events depicted on the panels from the Monastery of St. Vincent.? Who are the sixty characters that are here? What is the meaning of the many symbols shown here and there on the panels? Who was the customer of this work?
No definitive answers to these questions have been received so far. However, there is consensus on some of them. Most scientists agree that the panels show several social groups Portuguese society of the 15th century. And that they are attended by the children of King João I of Portugal. True, it is not possible to understand who is who.
We are, of course, immediately attracted by the "Panel of Princes". A man in black, with a small mustache, in a black round chaperone on his head remarkably resembles the famous images of Heinrich the Navigator (we use here this famous name, which was given to Prince Enrique in the 19th century by German historians Heinrich Schaefer and Gustav de Veer and was later consolidated by the works English biographers Infante Henry Major (1868) and Raymond Beasley (1895). Infante D. Henrique) But we must be aware that no reliable portraits of the Infan have survived. No one. The portrait from Zurar's Chronicle is not signed. The only sign that may indicate that this portrait is related to Heinrich is the motto given under the portrait: talent de bien faireagainst the background of two pyramids, which is confidently considered the motto of the Infante Enrique.
We will talk about this motto further, and now we will return to the portrait. We must take into account that the main, decisive part of the first campaigns along the western coast of Africa was made during the reign of King Duarte I of Portugal. Therefore, it was hypothesized that the “Chronicle” of Zurar contains a portrait of the king, and not his brother Enrique. This practice of portraying monarchs in the chronicles of that time was quite natural.
If we accept this alternative point of view, it will be easier to decipher the image on the "Panel of Princes": it only depicts crowned persons, and this is not a "panel of princes", but a "panel of kings". In this version, the man in the black chaperone is King Duarte, symmetrically to whom there is an image of his wife, Queen Eleanor of Aragon. Below them are depicted kneeling their son, King Afonso V of Portugal and his wife, Queen Isabella of Coimbra. The child in the picture is the future King João II. This interpretation is much simpler than if you consider the man in black as Prince Enrique. Having accepted the last option, we will not be able to establish what kind of queen is located on the left side of the panel. Prince Enrique was known to be single. If the lady is his mother Philippe, then why is her husband, King João I, absent here? If sister Isabella is the Duchess of Burgundy, then why is she here at all, especially without her husband. And why is this strange couple placed above the images of the king and queen, and where then to look for the parents of the royal couple? Everything is completely confused, cannot be compared with the previous hypothesis, which assumes the presence of only crowned persons on the panel.
But if the man in black is not Prince Enrique, then where is he? Let's turn to the fifth panel of the polyptych - "Panels of the Knights".
Here is also a fragment of it, with the best color rendering. And color, as we'll see later, matters.
According to an alternative interpretation of the images on the polyptych, which denies the presence of the Infante Enrique in the "Panel of Princes", the Infante is exactly on the "Panel of Knights", in the group of four younger brothers of King Duarte of Portugal.
The man in green clothing on the right is the younger brother of the King Infante Pedro (Duke of Coimbra, regent of King Afonso V). On it we see the chain of the Order of the Garter, of which Pedro was a knight.
On the left, in red robes, Infante João (constable of Portugal, master of the Order of Santiago). The manner of holding the sword by the blade, which we see here, was characteristic of the images of the knights of this order.
In the upper part of the four-figure composition, a man in black robes and a helmet is depicted - Infante Fernando, Grand Master of the Aviz Order. In 1437, he took part with his brothers in a campaign in North Africa and was captured. The Muslims offered to release him in exchange for the return of Ceuta to them, but the prince himself and his older brother the Infante Enrique did not agree to this deal. Fernando remained a captive until his death in 1443, later declared a Saint.
At the bottom of the composition is a man in purple clothes. In the version under consideration, this is the Infante Enrique, Heinrich the Navigator. He kneels, on his neck - a symbol of the Order of Christ, of which Enrique was the Grand Master. The face of this gray-haired man is already very different from all his images in historical literature. Both his posture and casual dress emphasize the artist's desire to humiliate his model.
How could Heinrich the Navigator deserve such an attitude?
It can be assumed that the reason was his joining the performance of Alfonso I, Duke of Braganza (Afonso of Portugal, the illegitimate son of King João I) against the regent Pedro, half-brother of Enrique. Therefore, Enrique is depicted on his knees, as if asking for forgiveness from his brother killed in this civil strife. The symbol of the Order of Christ on the chest is damaged
Harness belt unbuttoned
The holes in the belt are in a strange mess.
The top of the sword hilt is twisted relative to the plane in which the guard is located, the blade looks dull and unkempt (despite the fact that the blades of his brothers' weapons are shining). The lanyard's brush is made of matted black threads, while the arms of the Enrique brothers are made of gold and silver cords.
Many other details can be cited that humiliate the Infanta, making him a character begging for forgiveness from the family. Here is just one more symbol that should emphasize the position of Enrique. The color of the princes' clothes on this panel plays a major role in this. It is subordinated to the meaning of the liturgical flowers in the rite catholic church... Fernando's black is the color of mourning and sorrow, Pedro's green is the color of everyday service, Juan's red is passionarity and sacrifice, Enrique's purple is the color of repentance and humility.
I don't know which of the variants of the portrait of Heinrich the Navigator to give preference to, but I think it is interesting to know both.
(In writing this post, articles from the English and Portuguese Wikipedia and materials from the PAINÉIS DE S. VICENTE DE FORA website were used)
(1394-1460), right Enrique (Dom Enrique o Navigator), Portuguese prince, nicknamed the Navigator. For 40 years, he equipped and sent numerous naval expeditions to explore the Atlantic coast of Africa, creating the prerequisites for the formation of a powerful colonial empire of Portugal. Born March 4, 1394 in Porto. Third son of King Joan I (founder of the Aviz dynasty) and his wife Philip of Lancaster (daughter of John of Gaunt).
In 1415, Prince Henry, together with his father, took part in a military campaign, as a result of which the Moors' fortress of Ceuta, located on the African coast of Gibraltar, was taken. There he learned that caravans laden with gold, following from the valley of the Niger River, crossed the Sahara, but decided that Portugal should look for sea routes to the gold-bearing lands of Guinea. Thus was the beginning (since 1416) of a long and well-organized campaign of sea expeditions. The ships moved along the African continent and returned to Portugal, using a wide belt of tailwinds and coastal currents. One of the results of these expeditions was the discovery of Madeira (1418-1419) and the Azores (1427-1431). Madeira Island, located 900 km southwest of Portugal, became the first Portuguese colony. Sugarcane and vineyards were cultivated on his lands. The exploration of Africa itself was fraught with great difficulties, for example, Cape Bohador in the south of the Canary Islands posed a huge danger to navigation. But the southern route to the tropical lands of Africa was finally opened - in 1434 Gilles Ianish rounded the cape. Henry was strongly influenced by his brother Prince Pedro, the king's second son. In 1418-1428 he visited many of the royal courts of Europe. Later, Pedro arrived in Venice, where he watched with interest the trade of the Venetians with the Eastern countries and where he was presented with a manuscript of the Book of Marco Polo. After reviewing the manuscript, Henry invited the captains of his ships to collect information about the sea route to India, as well as about the African Christian country of Ethiopia. He hoped to reach this land by bypassing Muslim countries from the southeast. Brother Pedro supported him in this. After the second campaign in Ceuta (1418), Henry established his residence in the Algarve, the southernmost province of Portugal, where the reliable bay of Lagos was located. In 1443, Henry received at his disposal Sagres, the southwestern point of Portugal at Cape San Vicente, or, as it was then called, "Sacred Cape". There, at the expense of the Portuguese spiritual-knightly order of Christ, of which he was the head, the prince founded an observatory and a nautical school. Called Villa do Infante, it became a center of attraction for prominent scientists, cartographers and astronomers of the time. Henry's life was a chain of personal tragedies. In 1437, together with his younger brother Ferdinand, he participated in an unsuccessful expedition to Tangier; Ferdinand was taken prisoner by the Moors and imprisoned, where he died, since Henry could not ransom him. After that, in 1438, his elder brother, King Duarte, died. The middle brother Pedro became regent, but, having begun the struggle with the pretender to the throne Alfonso V, he was killed at Alfarrobeira in 1449. All these events led to the fact that expeditions were organized by Henry sporadically, and long intervals appeared in their schedules. Nevertheless, in 1444 Henry's captains discovered the Senegal River, two years later they reached the Geba River in Sierra Leone. During the life of Henry, the Portuguese could not advance south of this point. In 1455 and 1456, the Venetian Alvise da Cadamosto, the most famous of Henry's skippers, sailed up the Gambia River, which flows into Gambia, and the next year discovered the coast of the Cape Verde Islands. At this time, the mass trade of African slaves began, the center of which was located in Argena, near the Cape of Cabo Blanco. Henry encouraged the slave trade, and saw the act of baptizing slaves as a way to save their souls. The prince's expeditions began to generate income and in the eyes of the Portuguese nobles and merchants, Henry became a national hero. Last years Henry spent almost complete seclusion in Sagrish, surrounded only by members of his "university", although in 1458 he accompanied a successful expedition to Tangier and further south to Arquila. Then he returned to Sagrish at the "Sacred Cape", where he died on November 13, 1460.
LITERATURE
E.A. Melnikova Image of the world. Geographical representations in Western and Northern Europe. M., 1998
Collier's Encyclopedia. - Open Society. 2000 .
See what "HEINRICH SEAFLER" is in other dictionaries:
Henrique ... Wikipedia
- (1394 1460) Portuguese prince, organizer of sea expeditions to the islands of the central part Atlantic Ocean and the shores of Africa (for which in the 19th century he was nicknamed the Navigator, although he did not sail himself). Heinrich the Navigator funded by the Order ... ... Historical Dictionary
- (Dom Henrique o Navegador) (1394 1460) Portuguese prince (son of João I), organizer of sea expeditions to the northwestern shores of Africa, which initiated the Portuguese expansion to this continent. On the initiative of Heinrich the Navigator began ... ... Large encyclopedic Dictionary
Heinrich the Navigator - (Henry the Navigator) (1394 1460), Portuguese. prince, third son of King João I of Portugal and grandson of John of Gaunt. He himself did not participate in expeditions associated with the great geographical discoveries, but patronized many. portug. to seafarers, ... ... The World History
- (Dom Henrique o Navegador) (1394 1460), Portuguese prince (son of João I), organizer of sea expeditions to the northwestern coast of Africa, which marked the beginning of the Portuguese expansion to this continent. On the initiative of Heinrich the Navigator began ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary
Enrique (Dom Hen rique o Navegador) (1394-1460), Portuguese prince - son of King João I of Aviz, head (master) of the Christian order, organizer of numerous naval expeditions to explore the western coast of Africa and part of the Atlantic. ... ... Geographical encyclopedia
Heinrich the Navigator - () a Portuguese prince, organizer of sea expeditions to the islands of the central Atlantic Ocean and the shores of Africa (he received the nickname the Navigator, although he did not sail himself). Henry the Navigator at the expense of the Order of Christ (.) Founded in ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary "World History"
- (Dom Henrique o Navegador) (4.3.1394, Porto, 13.11.1460, Sagrish), Portuguese prince, organizer of sea expeditions to the islands of the central Atlantic Ocean and the shores of Africa (for which in the 19th century he received the nickname "Navigator", ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
Heinrich the Navigator - GE / NRICH SEA / VATEL, Don Henriquez (1394 1460) Portuguese prince, scientist, organizer of sea expeditions to the islands in the Central Atlantic and to the shores of Africa. For his organizational activity he received the nickname Navigator, although he himself did not ... ... Marine Biographical Dictionary
Heinrich the Navigator - (Dom Henrique o Navegador) (1394-1460), Portuguese prince, organizer of sea expeditions to the islands of the central Atlantic Ocean and the shores of Africa (for which in the 19th century he received the nickname Navigator, although he did not sail himself). G. M. on ... ... Encyclopedic reference book "Africa"
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