Sala das Armas e Sala Amarela ING

THE ARMORY AND YELLOW ROOM

This room is thus named because it was the first line of defence in the protection of the Princes, given their importance in the line of succession to the throne. Later, this space was also used to store the weapons of the old Academic Royal Guard. Today, they are used by the Archers (guards) during solemn academic ceremonies, such as the awarding of Honoris Causa doctoral degrees, the swearing in of the Rector and the solemn opening of the academic year. The Academic Royal Guard was the guard corps that ensured the security of the rector, the rector's house, the university buildings and the urban boundaries that fell within the jurisdiction of the University. The guards were originally known as Verdeais. After 1836, they became known as archers, even though they never used crossbows. They donned a kind of military uniform for daily use. Their current uniform dates back to the second half of the 20th century.

Painted by Mateus Coronado, a Spanish artist, the boards illustrate the eight steps and a sequential reading, from left to right, of a section of the deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament: the saga of the journey of the young Hebrew man, Tobias, from Nineveh to Rhaga (which is present day Shahr-e-Rey, Iran), which took place in the 8th century B.C.

The biblical account is a metaphor for victory mediated by faith, the virtues of courage, fraternity, humility, abstinence, and chastity.

The walls of the Yellow Room, adjacent to the Armory, are lined with yellow silk in honour of the Faculty of Medicine, because this is where the "Congregation of the Faculty of Medicine" would meet. This space was a meeting room where members of the Faculty would discuss a wide variety of issues. The other rooms, each with a different colour, represent the other faculties. The rooms are still used today for academic activities.

The portraits of the University rectors who served in the 19th and 20th centuries can still be seen

Did you know ...?

• Each faculty is represented by a color: Medicine - Yellow; Law - Red; Science and Technology - Light Blue; Humanities - Dark blue; Pharmacy - Purple; Economy - Red and White; Psychology and Educational Sciences - Orange; Sports Science and Physical Education - Brown and White.

• The helberds are still used today during academic ceremonies.