Fernão Lopes
Fernão Lopes | |
---|---|
Chief Chronicler of the Kingdom of Portugal | |
In office 19 March 1434 – 1448 | |
Monarch | Edward I of Portugal |
Preceded by | None (position established) |
Succeeded by | Gomes Eanes de Zurara |
High Guardian of the Royal Archives | |
In office c. 1418 – 6 June 1454 | |
Monarch | Edward I of Portugal |
Preceded by | Gonçalo Gonçalves |
Succeeded by | Gomes Eanes de Zurara |
Personal details | |
Born | c. 1385 Alandroal?, Kingdom of Portugal |
Died | c. 1460 (aged 74–75) Alandroal?, Kingdom of Portugal |
Signature | |
Fernão Lopes (Portuguese pronunciation:
His way of writing was based on oral discourse, and, on every page, it revealed his roots among the common people. He is one of the fathers of the European historiography, or a precursor of the scientific historiography, basing his works always on the documental proof, and, as he said, on his pages "one cannot find the beauty of words but the nudity of the truth." He was an autodidact. By the time of his death, a new kind of knowledge was arising, a Latinized scholasticism that involved imitations of the classics.
Life
It is assumed that he was born between the years 1380 and 1390, with a probable villainous family background. There is a chance that he was born and later buried in
He belonged to the generation that came of age after the
Portugal saw many social and political changes in his time, such as: the growth of the new nobility of the '
In 1418, Fernão Lopes was appointed by John I as the head (guardião-mor) of the royal archives ('
Fernão Lopes held his official positions until around 1454, when he was forced to retire on account of his advanced age, and was succeeded by Gomes Eanes de Zurara. Lopes died sometime after 1459.
The last known information about Fernão Lopes states that he was still living in 1459, when he challenged the rights of an illegitimate grandson to his inheritance.[3] The date of his death is uncertain. According to information in the preface of the Chronica de El-Rei D. Pedro I, written by Luciano Cordeiro, after leaving the role of chief guard, Fernão Lopes would still have lived for another five years, dying close to the age of 80.[4]
Fernão Lopes was married to an aunt of the shoemaker Diogo Afonso's wife, leaving a son, Master Martinho, who was "physical" (doctor) of the infant D. Fernando. Martinho had a bastard son, Nuno Martins.[5]
It has been controversially alleged by some historians (starting with
Works
Uncontested (written by Fernão Lopes in 1430s & 1440s; original manuscripts lost; first published in 17th and 18th centuries on the basis of draft copies produced in the early 16th century.)
- ("Chronicle of king Peter I") Crónica de el-rei D. Pedro (Chronicle of the King D. Pedro I), first published 1816 in J.F. Correia da Serra, editor, Collecção de livros ineditos de historia portugueza, Vol.IV Lisbon: Academia das Ciências de Lisboa.
- ("Chronicle of king Fernando I") Crónica de el-rei D. Fernando, first published 1816 in J.F. Correia da Serra, editor, Collecção de livros ineditos de historia portugueza, Vol.IV Lisbon: Academia das Ciências de Lisboa.
- ("Chronicle of king John I, Part I & Part II" ) Chronica del Rey D. Ioam I de Boa Memoria, e dos Reys de Portugal o Decimo, Primeira Parte, em Que se contem A Defensam do Reyno até ser eleito Rey & Segunda Parte, em que se continuam as guerras com Castella, desde o Principio de seu reinado ate as pazes , first published 1644, Lisbon: A. Alvarez.
Contested:
- ("General Chronicle of the Kingdom") Crónica de Portugal ou Crónica Geral do Reino (reported existing in late 15th century,Ruy de Pina)
- Chronicle of 1419:
- ("Chronicle of the first Five kings of Portugal", Porto MS) Crónica dos Cinco Reis de Portugal (1945 title for manuscript cod.886 discovered 1942 in Biblioteca Municipal do Porto)[2]
- ("Chronicle of the first Seven Kings or 1419, Cadaval MS.) Crónica dos Sete Primeiros Reis de Portugal (1952 title) or Crónica de Portugal de 1419 (1998 title) (manuscript cod. 965, dated as begun in 1419, discovered in archives of Casa Cadaval)[8]
- ("Chronicle of the first Five
- ("Chronicle of Nuno Álvares Pereira") Coronica do condestabre de purtugall Nuno aluarez Pereyra, first published 1526, Lisbon: Germão Galharde (anonymous; probably used by Lopes rather than written by him.)
Notes
- ^ "Al-Madan Online 22-1". Issuu. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
- ^ a b c Magalhães Basto (1959)
- ^ "A emergência do discurso histórico na crônica de Fernão Lopes" (PDF).
- ^ "Lopes, Fernão. Chronica de el-rei D. Pedro I".
- ^ Lopes, Fernão (1921). Fernão Lopes. [Obras]. Robarts - University of Toronto. Paris Aillaud & Bertrand.
- ^ Damião de Góis, 1566-67, Crónica do Felicíssimo Rei D. Manuel, pt.4, ch.38, esp. p.522
- ^ e.g. reported by Zurara, "Chronica do Conde D. Pedro de Menezes", end of ch.26
- ^ Magalhães Basto (1959) argues strongly for identifying Lopes as the author of the 1419 MS. This is strongly doubted by Vasconcelos e Sousa
References
- Magalhães Basto, A. de, editor, (1959) Estudos: Cronistas e Crónicas Antigas. Fernão Lopes e a "Crónica de 1419". Coimbra. online
- Vasconcelos e Sousa, B. "Medieval Portuguese Royal Chronicles.Topics in a Discourse of Identity and Power", retrieved at Brown University online
External links
- Prestage, Edgar (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). p. 990.
- Works by Fernão Lopes at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Fernão Lopes at Internet Archive