FERNÃO LOPES, THE FATHER OF PORTUGUESE HISTORIOGRAPHY

 

The Memory of the Portuguese Throne
 

Fernão Lopes is considered the Father of Portuguese historiography and one of the main figures of medieval Literature. He was born in Lisbon, around 1380, and was an official scrivener and chronicler of the kingdom of Portugal and the fourth chief guard of Torre do Tombo. In 1434, he was decorated as Vassal of the King, a title only granted to a person of extreme trust of the King. He remained as head guard of the Torre do Tombo until 1454.

 

D. Duarte, son of King João I and D. Filipa de Lencastre, long before assuming the throne, concerned with preserving the memory of the kingdom and the people, began to record the traditions of the kingdom. The monarch began a vast undertaking of a historiographical nature with the aim of building a royal memory of Portugal. In 1418, the king appointed Fernão Lopes to the position of “chief chronicler of the kingdom”.

Historical context

 

Humanism expressed the deep belief in man as master of his destiny, breaking with the strong influence of the Church and religious thought. Started in Italy, the movement spread across Europe. In Portugal, the date that marks the beginning of Humanism is the year 1418, when Fernão Lopes was appointed guard of the State archives. His historical chronicles became a landmark of Humanism in Portugal.

 

Fernão Lopes acted within a context close to recent events in the memory of the Portuguese. The most significant were the Crisis of 1383-1385 and the Battle of Aljubarrota (1385). The battle innovated military tactics, allowing men-at-arms on foot to be able to defeat powerful cavalry. In the diplomatic field, it allowed the alliance between Portugal and England, which lasts until today.

The Avis Revolution
 

In Portugal, during the Low Middle Ages, the Avis Revolution took place, from 1383 to 1385. Also known as The Crisis of 1383, it refers to the succession of events and conflicts that took place in Portugal and that resulted in the end of the Afonsina Dynasty and the beginning of the Avis Dynasty. The main consequence was the weakening of monarchical power in the face of local pressures that still survived in the small territorial districts of the Kingdom and the coronation of João, Master of Avis, as D. João I and King of Portugal in 1385.

 

The first dynasty, also known as Afonsina or Burgundy, was founded by D. Afonso Henriques, who proclaimed himself king in 1139, and continued until D. Fernando I, who died in 1383, giving rise to a succession crisis that only resolved with the emergence of a new line of succession.

 

The great importance of the Avis Revolution is related to the consolidation of Portugal as a nation and the departure from Castile's pretensions to annex Portugal to its territory. The victory over the kingdom of Castile definitively established the independence of Portugal, under the command of Dom João I. The support of the commercial bourgeoisie was decisive, as it helped to provide the necessary financial resources for the maintenance of the Army. The dynasty lasted until the death of Cardinal-King D. Henrique on January 31, 1580 without leaving a legitimate heir.

In the political aspect, D. João I was strengthened as King of Portugal with the recognition of the legitimacy of the Avis dynasty through the signing of the Treaty of Windsor, in 1386, between Portugal and England and his marriage with D. Filipa de Lencastre. It resolved the dispute that divided the Kingdom of Portugal from the Kingdom of Leon and Castile, paving the way under the Avis Dynasty for one of the most remarkable times in the history of Portugal, the Age of Discovery.

 

Popular, D. João I, succeeded D. Duarte, a king more allied to the aristocracy. The feudal power of the sons of D. João I grew and with it the predominance of the nobility, which had been seriously shaken by the crisis of independence. Soon after the death of D. Duarte, there was the civil war, the insurrection of Lisbon against the dowager queen D. Leonor de Aragão and the election of the Infant D. Pedro.

 

Certainly, Fernão Lopes had made contact with testimonies of the events, as these events were reported in his Chronicle of D. João I, of 1443. In this way, he consulted the protagonists involved in the resistance against Castile and in the peace signed in the year 1411 with the same kingdom, through the Treaty of Ayllón, ratified in 1423. Thus, D. Duarte appointed Fernão Lopes to write down the achievements of the Avis dynasty.

 

Renovator of the historical chronicle

 

Fernão Lopes distinguished himself from his predecessors for inheriting classical, French and Iberian traditions and for giving great importance to the critical analysis of History and the documentary evidence of events, to report the facts as they really happened, with truth and objectivity, purging the opinions biases, rhetorical exaggerations and legends.

In an innovative way, he presented the people as an important historical agent, minimizing the almost exclusive role of kings and aristocracy. Therefore, he is considered a renewer of the historical chronicle genre. Lopes was one of the forerunners of scientific historiography and the founder of Portuguese historiography.

 

Fernão Lopes had a considerable intellectual background, a humanist sensibility and an agile and engaging literary style. His work was based on orality and the popular universe, without discarding erudite references. Of his various works, only the chronicles of D. Pedro, D. Fernando and D. João I remain.

 

Characteristics of Fernão Lopes' writing

 

Fernão Lopes had a personal style of writing, for which he became a landmark in medieval literature. He emphasized popular characteristics to the detriment of the usual protagonism. His colloquial language attracted many admirers, people who supported his way of writing and gave more value to his work, especially the historical chronicles. Even though his prose began in the period of Troubadourism, he only gained notoriety during Humanism.

Contemporary with the rise of the Avis Dynasty to the throne of Portugal, Fernão Lopes felt closely the strength of the people in the struggles for freedom and considered this aspect in the process of historical development. The history of a people, in his view, was not only constituted by the exploits of kings and knights, but also by popular movements and economic forces. In addition to the environment of the courts, he also described the villages, the street rebellions, the wars, the suffering of the population and the joy of the victories of his people.

 

The care to substantiate the version of events, resorting to narrative or documentary sources, gave him the credibility he deserved. Fernão also wrote prose works of high literary quality. Some pages that served as a model and style were those that described the Revolution of 1383, based on accounts of people who had witnessed the revolutionary events of 1383 to 1385.

Work method

 

For Fernão Lopes, affection is inherent to the human condition, which escapes rational control. Thus, he considers that the narrator's passions and certain psychological and social influences and predispositions modify the narrative, which would imply a difficulty in apprehending the truth. Hence the need for the chronicler-historian to control the mundanall affection (the mundane affections, a broad category which included the psychological, social and political predispositions and conditionings of man), in order to guarantee the space of autonomy of the historical discourse, separating the particular desires and interests. In this way, he understands that the chronicler's attributes must be exemption and authority.

Even inferring that mundane affection affects all men, he understands that it changes according to social groups at different levels of subjectivity. Thus, he analyzes worldly affection into two groups:

 

Those of the lordly order, closer to the king - it would be characterized by traditional values ​​attached to servility to the king and the panegyric model, conferring a partiality and an artificiality that could bring about a distortion of reality. A panegyric was, originally, in Ancient Greece, the speech of an encomiastic or laudatory character that was delivered at large festive gatherings of the people. In Ancient Rome, the speech that the Roman consuls pronounced before the emperor, after being elected, was called "panegyric", expressing their respect and admiration.

 

The most distant from the lordly order and the king - would be the bearers of the "naked truth", because their mundane affection would correspond to the bonds of affection and natural passions of man, therefore, disconnected from artificialism and ceremonies of servility.

Main works

 

The author managed to unite History and Literature. He produced several works through a simple language and full of dialogues. Of the chronicles he wrote about the history of Portugal, we have only three identified with certainty:

 

• Chronicle of D. Pedro I (1434),
• Chronicle of D. Fernando (1436)
• Chronicle of D. João I (1443) (first and second part).

 

In addition, a narrative talks about the first seven kings of Portugal, known as the Chronicle of 1419 – a set of narratives about the first seven kings of Portugal. According to some scholars, it would also be a work of his authorship.

 

Much more controversial is the authorship of the Crónica de D. Afonso IV, the Crónica de D. Afonso III or D. Sancho II and the Crónica do Conde D. Henrique. His authorship of the Chronicle of the Constable, which was postulated for some time, is now completely discredited.

 

The Chronicle of D. João I, which has the king as the protagonist, is a document, insofar as it intends to record and prove the facts considered worthy of memory. It is also a monument, as it intends to perpetuate the exaltation of royal achievements, with the construction of tombs, the foundation of royal chapels and the construction of royal palaces such as that of Sintra or the Monastery of Batalha.

Fernão Lopes remained the official chronicler of the kingdom until 1448 when King Afonso V (1438-1481) appointed Gomes Eanes de Azurara as the chief chronicler of the Kingdom.

 

Biography

 

Fernão Lopes was born in Lisbon, around 1380. He was a scrivener and chief chronicler of the Kingdom of Portugal. For more than 20 years, he recorded the memory of the people and the kingdom from the first dynasty (Afonsina or Burgundy) to the reign of D. João I (Avis). He was considered the greatest historical chronicler of Portugal

 

Of humble origin, nothing is known about his intellectual formation, but his professional career is known. The first record that we have about him dates from 1418 when he was appointed guard of the Torre do Tombo archive, the Régio archive, in Lisbon. Between 1419 and 1433, he was secretary to D. João I, the first king of the second royal dynasty - the Avis Dynasty.

 

In 1419, he was cited as the "scribe of books" of D. João I, and it must have been around this time that he was commissioned by D. Duarte to put the deeds of Portuguese kings in the form of chronicles. In a charter of 1422, he appears with the function of registrar of the purity of Infant D. Fernando.

 

The last known information about him is that he was still alive in 1459, when he contested the rights of an illegitimate grandson to his inheritance. His date of death is uncertain. According to information in the preface to the Chronica de El-Rei D. Pedro I, written by Luciano Cordeiro, after leaving the position of head guard, Fernão Lopes would have lived for another five years, dying at the age of 80.

He was married to an aunt of the wife of the shoemaker Diogo Afonso, leaving a son, Master Martinho, who was a "physicist" (doctor) for Infant D. Fernando. Martinho had a bastard son named Nuno Martins.

Links usados e sugeridos

Por que Fernão Lopes é importante? ֎ Crónica de D. João I

As Crónicas de Fernão Lopes ֎ A Alma e a Gente

Biografia detalhada  ֎ Portuguese Medieval History

The Portuguese Crisis of 1383-1385 ֎ 

Toda materia ֎ E-biografia ֎ Guia Estudo ֎ Wikipedia 

  

MICHEL DE MONTAIGNE AND DOUBT AS A WEAPON AGAINST RELIGIOUS FANATICISM

 

Michel de Montaigne(Michel Eyquem de Montaigne) was a French philosopher, writer and humanist considered the inventor of the personal essay genre when he published his Essays in 1580. Montaigne wrote one of the most captivating and intimate self-portraits ever made, alongside those of Saint Augustine and Rousseau. He was influenced by various philosophical currents, especially Renaissance Humanism.

Michel de Montaigne was born in the castle of Montaigne, in Saint-Michel-de-Montaigne, in the Bordeaux region of France. All of his family members spoke to him only in Latin. As a result, the boy did not learn French until the age of six, when he was admitted to the Collège de Guyenne in Bordeaux. It is not clear where or whether Montaigne studied law. The only thing that is known for sure is that his father bought him an office at the Court of Périgueux.

Historical context

 

Living in the second half of the 16th century, Montaigne witnessed the decline of intellectual optimism that marked the Renaissance. The Calvinist Reformation, closely followed by religious persecution and the Wars of Religion (1562-1598) shook the immense human possibilities arising from the discoveries of New World travelers, the rediscovery of classical antiquity and the opening of academic horizons through the works of the humanists. These conflicts were in fact political and civil wars, as well as religious ones, marked by great excesses of fanaticism and cruelty.

Michel de Montaigne's ideas

 

Under the influence of his friend La Boétie, the philosopher adopts the stoic pretension of reaching the absolute truth. However, his spirit coexists more with doubt, and the stoic experience certainly marked, forever, Montaigne's rupture with any idea of absolute truth. Stoicism was a school and philosophical doctrine that emerged in Ancient Greece, which valued fidelity to knowledge and focus on everything that can be controlled only by the person himself, despising all kinds of external feelings, such as passion and extreme desires.

 

Montaigne was seduced by the philosophers of skepticism, a doctrine according to which the human spirit cannot reach any certainty about the truth, which results in an intellectual procedure of permanent doubt and in the abdication of a metaphysical, religious or absolute understanding of the real. According to these philosophers, if man knows nothing about himself, how can he know so much about the world and about God and his will? Doubt is for Montaigne a weapon against religious fanaticism.

Education aimed at understanding and awareness

Montaigne considered that education should create human beings focused on investigation and conclusions, at the same time that they exercise the mind for a critical positioning of the individual. In the philosopher's words: we only take care of filling our memory, and we leave understanding and conscience empty. Teaching should be linked to empiricism, a doctrine according to which all knowledge comes solely from experience, limiting itself to what can be captured from the external world, through the senses, or from the subjective world, through introspection, that is, through practical experiences.

 

The memorization scheme and the use of books, based on the bookish culture of the Renaissance, would alienate students from knowledge. In book culture, students would not learn quickly and still would not have the practice to solve several very important issues, linked to human and moral development.

In the field of education, the personality of the child must be respected in order to form an honest man capable of reflecting for himself. This man should seek dialogue with others, having a sense of relativity about all things. Thus, he will be able to adapt to the society where he will have to live in harmony with other men and with the world. He will be a free spirit and free from beliefs and superstitions.

Skepticism combined with the desire for truth

 

Bearing in mind the age of dissimulation, corruption, violence and hypocrisy in which he lived, the Essays' starting point lies in negativity, the negativity of Montaigne's recognition of the rule of appearances and the loss of connection with the truth of being.

 

Montaigne's skepticism is reflected in the French title of his work, Essais, or Attempts, which implies not a transmission of proven knowledge or confident opinion, but a project of trial and error. A reference to neither an established genre nor an indication of a necessary internal unity and structure within the work. The title indicates an intellectual attitude of questioning and continuous evaluation.

 

His skepticism does not exclude belief in the existence of truth, but it constitutes a defense against the danger of locating it in false, unexamined and externally imposed notions. This leads to the rejection of commonly accepted ideas and a deep distrust of generalizations and abstractions; it also shows the way to an exploration of the only realm that promises certainty: that of concrete phenomena and, above all, the basic phenomenon of your own self body and mind.

This self, with all its imperfections, is the only possible place where the search for truth can begin. That is why Montaigne does not fail to affirm that I am myself the subject of my book. He discovers that “master form” cannot be defined in simple terms of a constant and stable self, as it is something changeable and fragmented. Valuing and accepting these traits is the only guarantee of authenticity and integrity, the only way to remain true to the truth of your being and nature and not to extraneous appearances.

Yet despite his insistence that the self guard its freedom from outside influences and the tyranny of imposed customs and opinions, Montaigne believes in the value of going beyond the self. In fact, throughout his writings, as he did in his private and public life, he manifests the need to maintain links with the world of other people and events.

For this necessary coming and going between the interiority of the self and the exteriority of the world, he uses the image of the living room and the back room: the human being has a room facing the street, where he meets and interacts, and a bedroom for funds. He must always retreat to the back room of the more private self, where he can reassert the freedom and strength of intimate identity and reflect on the vagaries of experience.

Essay as a new literary genre

 

In March 1580, Michel de Montaigne published the first edition of Essays, consisting of two books divided into 94 chapters. A second edition was published in 1582, and a third appeared in 1588. His book became one of the most important, influential works of the Renaissance, and had a profound influence on European moral thought in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The work established the essay as a new literary genre, where the writer makes personal and subjective reflections on various topics, including religion, education, friendship, love, freedom, war, etc.

 

Conceptually, the Essays reflect the classical values of Skeptical, Stoic, and Epicurean currents of Hellenistic philosophy. Epicureanism was the Philosophical School created by Epicurus of Samos in the mid-4th century BC, which states that, in order to reach a state of complete freedom, tranquility and freedom from fear, the individual must remain in search of moderate pleasures.

 

Michel de Montaigne gave it that name because the work was not science or Literature, just personal opinions. Gathered in three volumes, it was the only work published by him being considered a milestone for the birth of the personal essay genre. The articles that deserve to be highlighted are On Cannibals, On Vanity, On Friendship, On Books and Journal of Travel.

Western Europe more barbaric than the natives of the New World

 

Montaigne extends his curiosity about others to the inhabitants of the New World, whom he met through his keen interest in oral and written travel accounts and through his encounter in 1562 with three Brazilian indians whom the explorer Nicolas Durand de Villegagnon brought back to France.

 

Giving an example of relativism and cultural tolerance, he finds these people, in their fidelity to nature itself and in their cultural and personal dignity and sense of beauty, far superior to the inhabitants of Western Europe who, in the conquests of the New World and in their own internal wars, proved to be the true barbarians. The suffering and humiliation imposed on the natives of the New World by their conquerors provoked his indignation and compassion.

Completely original meditation on yourself

 

Although he was apparently a loyal, if not fervent, Roman Catholic, Montaigne was suspicious of all human pretensions to knowledge of a spiritual experience that is not linked to a concretely lived reality. He refused to speculate about a transcendence that is beyond human knowledge, believing in God but refusing to invoke him in necessarily presumptuous and reductive ways.

 

Despite knowing the classical philosophers, his ideas spring less from their teachings than from a completely original meditation on himself, which he extends to a description of the human being and an ethic of authenticity, self-acceptance and tolerance. The Essays are the record of his thoughts, presented not in artificially organized stages, but as they occurred and repeated themselves in different forms throughout his thinking and writing activity.

The Essays embody a deep skepticism towards human beings' dangerously inflated claims to knowledge and certainty, but they also assert that there is no greater achievement than the ability to accept one's self without contempt or illusion, in the full realization of one's limitations and of your wealth.

 

Montaigne Readers

 

Not all of her contemporaries expressed the enthusiasm of Marie de Gournay, who fainted with excitement at the first reading of the Essays. She recognized in the book the full force of an unusual mind revealing itself, but most intellectuals of the period preferred to find Montaigne a sure reincarnation of Stoicism.

Montaigne continues to be studied in all aspects of his text by a great number of scholars and to be read by people from all corners of the earth. In an age that can seem as violent and absurd as his, his refusal of bigotry and bigotry and his lucid awareness of the human potential for destruction, coupled with his belief in the human capacity for self-assessment, honesty and compassion, appeals as convincingly as ever for many who find in him a guide and a friend.

Used and suggested links

A subjetividade do pensamento ֎ O ceticismo de Montaigne

Os ensaios de Montaigne ֎ Montaigne ensaios 

֎ The Complete Works of Montaigne

Introduction to Montaigne ֎ The Philosophy Of Montaigne

El Filósofo de los ensayos ֎ Quién fue Montaigne

Toda matéria ֎ Brasil escola ֎ Biografia ֎ Montaigne e os livros

Britannica ֎ Encyclopedia of philosofy ֎ The New Yorker  

Biografías y vidas ֎ Filosofía y co ֎ Psicología y mente