Produced by Anita Hammond, Wayne Hammond and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
file was produced from images generously made available
by The Internet Archive)
HISTORY
OF
SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE
LITERATURE.
HISTORY
OF
SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE
LITERATURE.
BY
FREDERICK BOUTERWEK.
[Illustration]
IN TWO VOLUMES.
[Illustration]
Translated from the Original German,
BY THOMASINA ROSS.
VOL. II.
PORTUGUESE LITERATURE.
LONDON:
BOOSEY AND SONS, BROAD STREET.
1823.
E. Justins, Printer, 41, Brick Lane, Spitalfields.
PREFACE.
For much of the valuable information which the following History of
Portuguese Literature contains, the author acknowledges himself to be
indebted to the communications of a learned Portuguese, with whom he
became acquainted after the materials he had previously collected were
arranged for publication. M. Bouterwek originally intended to comprise
what he had to say, on Portuguese literature, in a brief sketch, which
was to form a supplement to the preceding volume; but the assistance of
his literary friend enabled him to make the present volume a suitable
companion to his history of the sister literature of the Peninsula.
In England commercial interests may have induced many persons to make
themselves acquainted with the language of Portugal, but the literature
of that country has hitherto been studied by few. With the exception
of Camoens, even the names of the principal Portuguese authors are
scarcely known to us. The greater novelty of the subject is therefore
an advantage which this second volume possesses over the first.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
VOL. II.
BOOK I.
FROM THE END OF THE THIRTEENTH TO THE COMMENCEMENT
OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
_Page_
Rise of Portuguese poetry 1
Gonzalo Hermiguez and Egaz Moniz, poets of the twelfth
century 5
Early essay in epic poetry 8
King Diniz of Portugal, a poet of the thirteenth century 9
Poets of the royal family in the fourteenth century 10
Oldest specimens of Portuguese prose 14
Intimate connection of the Portuguese and Galician poetry.--The
Galician poet Macias 15
The Cancioneiros Geraes 17
Deficiency with regard to historical romances--little influence
of the cultivation of Latin verse on Portuguese lyric poetry 20
Early cultivation of historical prose in Portuguese literature 21
Increase of Portuguese power, followed by the rapid developement
of the national poetry, at the commencement of the
sixteenth century 23
Bernardim Ribeyro 24
His eclogues 25
His cantigas 30
His romance of Menina e Moça 33
Christovaõ Falcaõ 39
Other ancient lyric poems 44
BOOK II.
FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY UNTIL
TOWARDS THE END OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.
CHAP. I.
GENERAL VIEW OF THE POETIC AND RHETORICAL CULTIVATION
OF THE PORTUGUESE DURING THE ABOVE PERIOD.
Relation of Portuguese to Spanish poetry in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries 47
Causes of the continued cultivation of the Spanish language in
Portugal 51
Religious and political character of the Portuguese during this
period 54
CHAP. II.
HISTORY OF PORTUGUESE POETRY AND ELOQUENCE FROM THE
EPOCH OF THE INTRODUCTION OF THE ITALIAN STYLE, TILL
TOWARDS THE END OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
Tranquil adoption of the Italian style 59
Saa de Miranda 61
General character of his poems 63
His eclogues 66
His epistles 71
His spiritual poems 74
His popular songs, &c. 76
His two prose comedies 78
Gil Vicente 85
General character of his dramatic prose 87
His autos, or spiritual dramas 90
His comedies, in a peculiar signification of the term 99
His tragi-comedies 101
His farces 103
Ferreira 111
General character of his poetry 114
His correct style of sonnet composition 117
His odes 119
His elegies 122
His eclogues 125
His epistles ibid
His epigrams, &c. 130
His tragedy and his two prose comedies 132
Camoens 139
General character of his poetry 148
Character and analysis of the Lusiad 150
The other poetic works of Camoens 184
His sonnets 187
His canções 189
His odes 190
His elegies 192
His estancias 195
His eclogues 196
His poems in redondilhas, &c. 197
His dramas 200
Classical school of Saa de Miranda and Antonio Ferreira 208
Andrade Caminha 209
Bernardes 217
Cortereal 223
Other Portuguese poets of the sixteenth century--Ferreira de
Vasconcellos--Rodriguez de Castro--Lobo de Soropita, &c. 225
Rodriguez Lobo 226
His Court in the Country 228
His pastoral romances 235
His miscellaneous poems 245
Imitation of the Spanish romances in Portugal 250
State of Portuguese eloquence in the sixteenth century 252
Romances and novels 253
Sà Sotomayor 254
Pires de Rebello 256
Progress of the historical art 258
Joaõ de Barros 260
Lopez de Castanheda--Damiaõ de Góes--Affonso d’Alboquerque 266
Bernardo de Brito 268
CHAP. III.
HISTORY OF PORTUGUESE POETRY AND ELOQUENCE, FROM THE
LATTER YEARS OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY UNTIL TOWARDS
THE CLOSE OF THE SEVENTEENTH.
Decay of the ancient national energy in Portuguese literature 273
Portuguese sonnets of the seventeenth century 276
Faria e Sousa 277
His sonnets 279
His treatises on poetry 283
His eclogues and his theory respecting that species of
composition 286
His commentary on the works of Camoens 288
Thomas de Noronha--comic sonnet poetry 290
Barbosa Bacellar 292
Torrezaõ Coelho 295
Freire de Andrada, an opponent of the Gongorists and
Marinists 296
Further decline of Portuguese taste--Ribeiro de Macedo--Correa
de la Cerda 302
Violante do Ceo 304
Didactic epistles of Alvares da Cunha 307
Jeronymo Bahia 308
Francisco Vasconcellos 311
Telles da Sylva and Nunez da Sylva 312
Other sonneteers--continued intervention of the Spanish
language in Portuguese poetry 315
Portuguese eloquence during the seventeenth century 317
Romantic prose--Matheus Ribeyro--Castanheira Turacem 318
Historical prose--Freire Andrada’s biography of Joaõ de Castro 322
Portuguese treatises on poetry and rhetoric written during the
seventeenth century 327
BOOK III.
FROM THE CLOSE OF THE SEVENTEENTH TO THE END OF THE
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
Preliminary observations 328
CHAP. I.
GENERAL HISTORY OF POETICAL AND RHETORICAL CULTIVATION
IN PORTUGAL DURING THIS PERIOD.
Total decay of Portuguese literature towards the end of the
seventeenth century 329
Establishment of the Portuguese academy in 1714 331
Administration of the Marquis of Pombal 333
Revived spirit of literature--utility of the Portuguese academy
of sciences 334
CHAP. II.
HISTORY OF PORTUGUESE POETRY DURING THIS PERIOD.
The Conde da Ericeyra 336
General character of his works 338
His Henriqueida 340
Continuance of corrupt taste in Portuguese poetry--Barros
Pereira--Antonio de Lima 347
The Portuguese drama in the first half of the eighteenth
century 350
Spurious dramas called operas ibid
RESUMPTION OF AN IMPROVED STYLE IN PORTUGUESE POETRY.
Manoel da Costa 357
His successful imitation of Cantatas in the style of
Metastasio 362
Progress of Portuguese poetry in the latter part of the
eighteenth century 364
Translations of latin classics into the Portuguese language 365
Titles of some of the poems produced in this period 366
Garçaõ--his imitation of Horace’s odes 367
His dramas in the style of Terence 372
The Abbot Paulino 375
Dona Catharina de Sousa--Her tragedy of Osmia 377
Failure of Osmia on the stage--prevalence of dramatic
imitations and translations 383
Recent Portuguese poets--in particular Tolentino da Almeida 384
Araujo de Azavedo--his translations of English poems 386
CHAP. III.
HISTORY OF PORTUGUESE ELOQUENCE, CRITICISM AND RHETORIC,
DURING THIS PERIOD.
Further decline of Portuguese eloquence 387
New cultivation of eloquence--Classical prose authors still
wanting in modern Portuguese literature 390
Romantic prose--translations 391
Portuguese criticism of the eighteenth century ibid
Ericeyra’s introduction to his Henriqueida 392
Garçaõ’s lectures 395
Philological and critical treatises of the Academicians--Joaquim
de Foyos--Francisco Dias--Antonio das Naves, &c. 398
Compendium of rhetoric by Antonio Teixeira de Magalhaens 402
CONCLUSION.
Comparison of Portuguese and Spanish literature 403
HISTORY
OF
_PORTUGUESE LITERATURE_.
BOOK I.
FROM THE END OF THE THIRTEENTH TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE SIXTEENTH
CENTURY.
RISE OF PORTUGUESE POETRY.
That songs in the Portuguese language were sung on the banks of the
Tagus, before any kingdom of Portugal existed cannot be doubted.
Indeed even Spanish writers, who have considered the question with
impartiality, do not deny that Portuguese poetry flourished at an
earlier period than the Castilian; and all accounts of the first
dawnings of modern civilization in Portugal denote an original poetic
tendency in the national genius. That destiny, however, by which
Portugal has been from an early period politically severed from the
other parts of the Peninsula could alone have prevented the Portuguese
poetry from being like the Galician, completely absorbed and lost in
the Castilian; for the Galician and Portuguese languages and poetry,
were originally, and even after the separation of Portugal from the
Castiles, scarcely distinguishable from each other.[1]
The foreigner, who is not prepossessed by any national partiality, in
favour of either the Castilian or the Portuguese modifications of the
Hispanic romance, might, perhaps, be induced to conclude that poetry
would on the whole have sustained no essential loss, had the language
of Portugal been rejected by literature, and reduced like the Galician
dialect to the rank of a common popular idiom; for the Castilian
poetry was from its origin, so closely allied to the Portuguese, that
it is certain the former might easily have incorporated into itself
the latter without producing the slightest inconsistency in any of
its characteristic features. Still, however, to him who is capable of
feeling the more delicate relations of the beautiful in nature and in
art, it must be an increased pleasure to hear the same melody performed
on two similar, yet differently constructed instruments. The historian
of Portuguese literature ought, therefore, to direct his particular
attention to those apparently unimportant, and yet in themselves very
remarkable properties, whereby Portuguese poetry has in the varied
progress of its cultivation more or less deviated from the Castilian,
or, as it is now usually styled, the Spanish;[2] and also to the manner
in which the differences not only of the two sister languages, but of
the two nations, whose respective characters are impressed on those
languages, have constantly preserved the boundary which divides the
polite literature of Portugal and Spain, and which must otherwise have
soon been obliterated.
The harmonious softness of the Portuguese language, probably
contributed no less to its early cultivation in general than to its
applicability to poetry in particular. Even the characteristic nasal
sound, which the pronunciation of this language has in common with
the French, is in no way detrimental to the rhythm of the Portuguese
syllables; for that rhythm, as in the Spanish and Italian languages,
depends on a certain accentuation, which is a valuable remnant of the
latin syllabic forms, and which is not, as in the French, annihilated
by a new rule of orthoepy. That this ancient accentuation, and with it
the groundwork of metrical perfectibility, should be preserved in the
Portuguese language, is a circumstance rendered the more remarkable by
that of a French prince having been the founder of the first dynasty
of the kings of Portugal; for from this incidental occurrence, some
critics and philologists have endeavoured to explain the similarity
between the Portuguese and French pronunciation. The prince to whose
influence this effect has been attributed is Henry of Burgundy, who
was, in the year 1094, appointed, by his father-in-law, Alphonso
VI. of Castile, governor of the country situated at the mouth of the
Tagus, and who afterwards held that territory in sovereignty with the
title of Count; but however numerous might be the noble families,
brought by this prince from France to Portugal, neither he nor they
could be able to produce an essential change in the national language
among all classes of the people.[3] Moreover the same dialect was and
still is vernacular in Galicia, where no French prince ever ruled. It
is however not a little extraordinary, that under the dominion and
influence of French princes and nobles, Portuguese poetry should from
its origin have preserved unimpaired those romantic national forms,
in which it soon appeared perfectly to coincide with the Castilian
poetry; for notwithstanding that most of the French nobles, who settled
in Portugal, came from the south of France, whence they brought with
them the genuine poetry of the Troubadours, still the introduction of
that poetry did not impede the developement of those poetic forms,
which constituted a common source of pleasure for the Portuguese, the
Galician, and the Castilian.[4]
The favourable situation of Portugal could not fail to contribute in
a considerable degree to the early developement of the Portuguese
tongue. While the Castilians descending from their mountains, obtained
no increase of wealth until they wrested it sword in hand from the
Arabs, the Portuguese, particularly after they recovered possession
of Lisbon, enriched themselves by the peaceful pursuits of trade and
navigation. Lisbon soon became a flourishing commercial city; and the
nation learned to unite civic industry with warlike achievements.
The Portuguese, generally speaking, acquired a degree of practical
dexterity which even to this day seems to distinguish them from the
Spaniards, and which indeed is not sufficiently valued by the enemies
of the Portuguese name, amongst whom must be more particularly included
their Castilian neighbours. The benefits of civil industry, which were
widely diffused from Lisbon, fortified in the Portuguese that feeling
of self-esteem, which was necessary for the maintenance of their
independence on so small a territory. In the reign of Alphonso I. the
son of Henry of Burgundy, the Portuguese dominions acquired nearly
their present extent by conquests made from the Moors, as far as the
Algarvas. The romance dialect of Portugal now advanced southward into
the conquered districts, and thus acquired the dignity of a prevailing
national language, the formation of which proceeded from a great
capital.
GONZALO HERMIGUEZ AND EGAZ MONIZ.
These circumstances may serve to explain how two Portuguese poets
came to be celebrated at so early a period as the reign of Alphonso
I. in the twelfth century. One of these poets is Gonzalo Hermiguez,
and the other Egaz Moniz; two knights descended from the most
distinguished families of the country. The verses of these ancient
bards which have been preserved, are not wholly intelligible even to
natives of Portugal.[5] But though their meaning can only be partially
conjectured, they nevertheless merit attention; for no Spanish
cancion of that age, by any known author, now exists; and in these
oldest records of Portuguese poetry, the germ of the common character
and metrical form of the national songs of Spain and Portugal is
plainly discernible. Gonzalo Hermiguez and Egaz Moniz wrote no rhymed
chronicles or legends. They did not even compose in the Provençal
metres. Their lyric effusions, which are popular songs in the proper
sense of the term, are composed in short trochaic verses, precisely
in the style of the well-known Spanish and Portuguese ballads of
the fifteenth centuries. In the verses of Hermiguez scarcely any
regular measure is discernible.[6] But Egaz Moniz exhibits precisely
that metrical form, for which, during some succeeding centuries the
Portuguese and the Spaniards manifested a particular predilection.[7]
These oldest relics of lyric composition in the Portuguese language
seem to confirm the opinion, that the prevailing tone of romantic love,
which characterised the poetry of the Spaniards and Portuguese, until
the imitation of the Italian style was generally adopted, originated
in Portugal. To paint romantic despair, and all the storms of passion,
combined with the deepest resignation, existing not only in fancy, but
in real life, appears to have formed the poetic costume of chivalry in
Portugal even earlier than in Spain. Thus, the susceptible Egaz Moniz
is said to have survived only a short time the poetic expression of
the anguish occasioned by the infidelity of his beloved Violante.
EARLY ESSAY IN EPIC POETRY.
In all literary probability, the Portuguese also preceded the Spaniards
in essays in epic, or rather in historical poetry. An old Portuguese
narrative in dactylic stanzas (_versos de arte mayor_), whose unknown
author related, as well as he was able, the history of the conquest
of Spain by the Moors, may not be so old as it is supposed to be by
Manuel de Faria y Sousa, who would refer the origin of these verses
to the very period of the Arabic invasion. They are, however, written
in such antiquated language, that they may be regarded as of a date
anterior to the Cantigas of Hermiguez and Moniz; and that they are the
surreptitious fabrication of a later writer can scarcely be supposed,
since no one could have hoped to acquire the least fame or reward by
producing a counterfeit of so little value. No opinion could be formed
of the merits of the whole narrative from the few stanzas, which are
now extant, even though the language were more intelligible than it
is.[8]
KING DINIZ.
In general all these remains of the most ancient Portuguese poetry
must be considered only as first attempts. Throughout the whole of the
thirteenth century, the poetic art in Portugal appears to have remained
stationary in that degree of advancement to which it had arrived in
the twelfth century. The language, however, became gradually more
fixed and regular. In the latter half of the thirteenth century, king
Diniz (Dionysius) of Portugal, promoted Portuguese literature in the
same manner as his contemporary Alphonso the Wise, by his influence
and example, improved the poetry of Castile. Diniz, like Alphonso,
was himself a poet and a prose writer. His poetic compositions were,
according to the fashion of the age, collected in _Cancioneiros_ (song
books), which bore the name of the author. But from the testimony
of Portuguese writers, it appears that the poems of king Diniz are
to be found only in old manuscripts. They cannot, however, be very
few in number, for two _Cancioneiros_ are named, one containing the
spiritual, and the other the temporal works of the king. The first of
these collections bears the singular title of _Cancioneiro de Nossa
Senhora_ (Our Lady’s Song book).[9] King Diniz, in whose reign trade,
and with it the third estate particularly, flourished in Lisbon,
founded in the year 1290 the national university. This institution
was first established in the capital, but it was soon transferred to
Coimbra, where it is still maintained, in a great measure, according
to its original forms. It is one of the oldest universities in Europe.
No accounts have been preserved of any other Portuguese writers,
who, following the example of their king, may have more or less
distinguished themselves in the cultivation of the national poetry;
though at this period celebrated names might the more naturally be
expected, as two poets had flourished in the twelfth century. But
the Portuguese bards, who, in the thirteenth century delighted their
contemporaries by their poetic compositions, shared no better fate than
the writers of the oldest Spanish canciones and romances.
POETS OF THE ROYAL FAMILY IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.
The fourteenth century is not much richer than the thirteenth in names,
which shed a lustre on the history of Portuguese poetry. Scarcely any
writers of verse are recorded, except those who were members of the
royal family, as if they were considered the representatives of all
the contemporary poets of their nation. Alphonso IV. who reigned from
1325 to 1357, pursued with regard to poetry the same course as his
father, King Diniz. Affonso Sanchez, a natural son of Diniz, appears
to have been gifted with a similar poetic talent.[10] But the writings
of Affonso Sanchez are not now to be found even in manuscript; and
those of King Alphonso IV. have never been printed. Pedro I., who
was the son of this last mentioned sovereign, and whose unfortunate
connection with the beautiful Inez de Castro, has given him a romantic
celebrity, seems to have found the Castilian language, which then vied
with the Portuguese in cultivation, as well adapted as his native
tongue to the poetic expression of his feelings. A Castilian poem by
Pedro I., which begins in short verses, like a cancion, and proceeds
in the measure of the Italian canzone, has been preserved, in addition
to some compositions in Portuguese, which are also attributed to that
monarch.[11] If Dom[12] Pedro’s poem be authentic, it proves that the
Italian poetry had an influence on the Portuguese, even at a period
when the Castilian had not yet fully developed itself in the old
national forms. But this early influence of Italian poetry is also
proved by some Portuguese sonnets of the fourteenth or fifteenth
century. An old sonnet, in praise of Vasco de Lobeira, the author of
Amadis de Gaul,[13] is by some writers ascribed to Alphonso IV., King
of Portugal, and by others to the Infante Dom Pedro, the son of John
I., who was born in the year 1392.[14] It is scarcely worth while to
enter into minute investigation merely for the purpose of settling this
dispute. Admitting the problematic sonnet to be really the production
of the Infante Dom Pedro, and therefore written, at the earliest in
the commencement of the fifteenth century, it is certain that at that
period no imitation of the Italian style was thought of in Castile. In
Portugal, however, the metrical form of the sonnet was not only known,
as it also was in Castile; but the Italian style was likewise imitated
in sonnets. The Infante Dom Pedro translated some of Petrarch’s sonnets
into Portuguese.[15] It may therefore without hesitation be inferred
that Dom Pedro, who has never been mentioned as having struck out a
new path on the Portuguese Parnassus, merely followed the example of
some of his countrymen who lived before him. It is probable, that the
mercantile intercourse between Lisbon and the ports of Italy, made the
Portuguese early acquainted with Italian literature. But at the period
now under consideration, the imitation of the Italian style appears
to have been very limited in Portugal; for the old lyric poetry in
the national style, began about this time more particularly to unfold
its characteristic beauties. According to the testimony of a Spanish
writer,[16] the Portuguese _Cancioneiro Geral_ contains some poems of
the fourteenth century, with the names of the authors affixed to them.
CHRONICLES IN PROSE.
In the fourteenth century too, Portuguese prose improved in precision,
after a certain degree of literary consideration had been given to it,
in consequence of chronicles being written in the national language.
From this period the Portuguese vied with the Castilians in the
patriotic task of recording the memorable events of their national
history. The style of the Portuguese chronicles of the fourteenth
century is, however, completely in the chronicle manner.[17] Indeed
the Portuguese literature of the fourteenth century presents no prose
work, which in point of style equals those written during that period,
in the Castilian language, by the Infante Juan Manuel.
INTIMATE CONNECTION OF THE PORTUGUESE AND GALICIAN POETRY--THE GALICIAN
POET MACIAS.
In Portugal as in Spain the fifteenth century was the period during
which the old national songs and romances flourished in the greatest
luxuriance. Since that time Portuguese and Spanish poetry have in
general occupied the same degrees of cultivation, and have lent to each
other a mutual support, though neither stood in need of the other’s
aid. The correspondence between the Castilian and the Portuguese
poetry, was at that time particularly promoted by the Galician poets,
who though faithful subjects of the Castilian monarchy, still remained
true to their mother tongue. Galicia seems to have been the land of
romantic sentiment whence the poetry of love exhibited in the lyric
compositions of Spain and Portugal was transplanted. No Portuguese or
Spaniard is so celebrated in poetic literature, for the influence of
love on his fate, as the Galician poet and knight Macias, who lived
in the first half of the fifteenth century, and of whose remarkable
history a brief sketch may properly be introduced here. Macias, who
obtained the surnames of the _enamoured_ and the _great_, distinguished
himself as a brave warrior against the Moors of Granada, and as an
accomplished writer in the literary retinue of the Marquess of
Villena.[18] But though the marquess appreciated the merits and talents
of Macias, he did not approve the romantic passion with which that
enthusiast interwove his poetic fancies into the affairs of real life.
The marquess strictly prohibited him from continuing a secret intrigue
in which he had embarked with a lady, who, through the intervention
of the marquess, had become the wife of another knight. But Macias
conceived that he could not better prove his chivalrous constancy
in love, than by boldly disobeying the commands of his patron. The
marquess, however, availing himself of his power as grand master of the
order of Calatrava, sent the refractory poet a prisoner to the kingdom
of Jaen, on the frontiers of Granada. In his captivity Macias composed
his songs of ill-fated love in the Galician language, which at the
period of their production were highly esteemed, but which are now lost
with the exception of a few trifles.[19] He contrived to forward copies
of these songs to his mistress. On the discovery of the correspondence,
the poetic boldness of Macias roused the husband of the lady to the
most furious pitch of jealousy. Armed cap-a-pee, he set out with the
intention of slaying the unfortunate poet. He proceeded to the town of
Arjonilla, where Macias was confined, and espying the prisoner at a
window, he threw a javelin at him, and killed him on the spot. Some
idea of the sensation which this affair produced may be formed from the
contents of the old Spanish _Cancionero_, in which it is frequently
mentioned. But the story has more properly its place in the history
of Portuguese poetry. The Spanish amatory poets, however extravagant
might be their extacies in verse, confined themselves, in real life,
within certain boundaries, which were consistent with the habits of
society. The Portuguese, on the contrary, and as it would appear,
the Galicians likewise, when they indulged in the poetic expression
of violent and enthusiastic feelings of love, conceived that it was
still necessary they should seek to impress the stamp of perfection
on their songs, by exhibiting all kinds of sentimental excesses in
their own personal conduct. The Spaniards seem always to have felt
convinced that they could not attain the romantic tenderness of the
Portuguese.[20] A certain simplicity and intensity in the expression of
tender sentiments, to which the language of Portugal is particularly
favourable, has always been one of the characteristic features of
Portuguese poetry, from the fifteenth century down to the present times.
THE CANCIONEIROS GERAES.
But in order to pursue the comparison between the romance and lyric
poetry of Portugal and of Spain, an intimate acquaintance with
the old Portuguese _Cancioneiros geraes_ (general song books), is
indispensable. Collections of this kind seem to have appeared as early
as the fifteenth century. Writers on literature, however, usually refer
to the _Cancioneiro_, which was printed in the year 1516, by Garcia de
Resende, a man of talent, who flourished at the courts of John II. and
Emanuel the Great.[21] A later collection of the same kind, which was
edited by Father Pedro Ribeyro, professor of poetry, in the second half
of the sixteenth century, has never yet been printed. The manuscript
is dated 1577.[22] According to the statements of writers who seem to
have been acquainted with Garcia de Resende’s work, it would appear
that this old Portuguese _Cancioneiro_ contains many more poetic names
than the better known Spanish collection of the same kind, and that
among these names are several writers who lived in the fourteenth
century.[23] Here the author of this history of Portuguese literature,
who has vainly endeavoured to render himself acquainted with Garcia de
Resende’s interesting collection, must deplore that he is now compelled
to leave a chasm which cannot be easily filled up; for this certainly
is the place in which it would be most proper to endeavour to discover,
in those features, which were doubtless common to all, or at least to
most of the Portuguese lyric bards of the fifteenth century, the nature
of the original difference of Portuguese and Spanish genius. It may,
however, be presumed that the Portuguese poets, who were at this period
so much more numerous than the Spanish, had advanced no farther than
the latter in poetic refinement, for even Bernardim Ribeyro, called
the Portuguese Ennius,[24] who lived until the commencement of the
sixteenth century, and who is more celebrated than any other poetic
writer of the fifteenth century, does not surpass the authors of the
old Spanish ballads, in any thing connected with the cultivation of
genius and the improvement of poetic language. Thus in all literary
probability the Portuguese _Cancioneiro geral_ is merely a companion
work to the Spanish collection. But the preponderating number of the
poetic writers of Portugal, compared with those of Spain during the
fifteenth century, is a circumstance particularly deserving of notice,
since it proves that the soil of Portugal was then, as well as at an
earlier period, even more fertile than Spain in poetic genius. Still,
however, this indicates no peculiarly eminent talent. It is also but
fair to observe, lest the superior number of the Portuguese poets, in
proportion to the limited extent of their native land, should be too
highly estimated, that in the fifteenth century, the Castilian monarchy
was not what it now is; for it was bounded on the south by the Moorish
kingdom of Granada, and on the east by the Arragonian dominions, where
the Limosin language exclusively prevailed.
DEFICIENCY WITH REGARD TO HISTORICAL ROMANCES--LITTLE INFLUENCE OF THE
CULTIVATION OF LATIN VERSE ON PORTUGUESE LYRIC POETRY.
Narrative and particularly historical romances seem never to have
been so highly esteemed by the Portuguese as by the Spaniards. It
is probable that in this class of composition the Portuguese merely
imitated the Spaniards, whom they instructed, on the other hand, in
bucolic poetry.[25]
The enthusiasm with which the Portuguese devoted themselves to the
cultivation of lyric poetry in their native tongue, was not abated by
the passion for latin poetry, which towards the close of the fifteenth
century prevailed in Portugal as well as in Italy. This literary
coincidence was probably occasioned by the commercial intercourse which
then subsisted between Portugal and Italy. The fame of Angelo Poliziano
attracted one of his most ardent admirers, the ingenious Henrique
Cayado, better known by the name of Ermigius, from Portugal to Italy,
where he entered the ranks of the revivers of latin poetry. Cayado was
imitated by a considerable number of Portuguese writers who became
celebrated for the composition of latin verse.[26] But it does not
appear that the national poetry, in the vernacular language, was in any
way neglected or despised by the Portuguese nobility; and the favour of
the great exercised a more powerful influence over the poetic spirit
of the nation, than the example of the learned. There is also very
little ground for supposing that the Portuguese writers endeavoured to
form the romantic poetry of their country on the model of the antique.
A correct notion of the essential distinction between romantic and
classic composition secured at this period the Portuguese as well as
the Italians against the introduction of incongruous and spurious forms
in their poetry; and taste was not yet sufficiently cultivated to admit
of a judicious union of the classic and the romantic styles.
EARLY CULTIVATION OF HISTORICAL PROSE.
The general improvement of the language, and the renewed intimacy
with ancient literature, had even as early as the first half of the
fifteenth century an advantageous influence on the Portuguese chronicle
writers. At this period a very copious chronicle of the reign of King
John I. of Portugal, was written in the Portuguese language, by a
knight and statesman, named Fernando Lopes. This writer distinguished
himself as early as the reign of King Duarte, or Edward, whose
successor, Alphonso V. in the year 1449, conferred on him the dignity
of _Cronista_, or state-historiographer.[27] The narrative style of
this diligent compiler is, indeed, quite as dull and monotonous as that
of the older Portuguese chroniclers; but he obviously made efforts
to express himself with a certain degree of dignity. He neglects no
opportunity of making his historical characters deliver speeches, after
the manner of the ancient writers; and a certain degree of energetic
simplicity is to be found in some of those harangues.[28]
INCREASE OF PORTUGUESE POWER, FOLLOWED BY THE RAPID DEVELOPEMENT OF
THE NATIONAL POETRY AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
Meanwhile the Portuguese monarchy approached the summit of its power
and glory. While Spain, under the dominion of Ferdinand and Isabella,
began to form itself internally into a single state, the government
and people of Portugal directed their attention to discoveries and
conquests in Africa and India. A peculiar union of the heroism of
chivalry, and the industry of social life which prevailed in Portugal,
under the auspices of her enterprising sovereigns, impressed on the
nation a consciousness of power, in which the Portuguese were in no
respect inferior to the Castilians. The flag of Portugal waved along
the western coast of Africa, where Portuguese factories began to be
converted into colonies, extending towards the Cape which Vasco de
Gama doubled in the year 1498. In less than fifteen years after this
memorable event, Portuguese valour, guided by the renowned leaders
Francisco de Almeida and Alfonso de Albuquerque, succeeded in founding
a kingdom in India, of which Goa was the capital. At this period,
during the glorious reign of Emanuel, who in the series of Portuguese
sovereigns is distinguished by the surname of the Great, no Spanish
poet had attained so much celebrity as was enjoyed by the Portuguese
Bernardim, or (according to the more ancient orthography of that name)
Bernaldim Ribeyro. A comprehensive idea of the nature of that romantic
spirit, which every Portuguese poet conceived himself bound to exhibit
in the fulfilment of his poetic destination, may be gathered from an
account of the life and writings of this extraordinary man.
BERNARDIM RIBEYRO.
This poet received such a literary education as was in those times
required for the study of the law, and a subsequent residence at
court. King Emanuel, conferred on him the appointment of _moço
fidalgo_ (gentleman of the chamber). Ribeyro found at the court of
that sovereign an object capable of fixing his poetic fancy, but not
his future happiness; for from that time forward the heart of this
sentimental enthusiast appears to have been incessantly agitated by sad
emotions. Portuguese writers insinuate that the Infanta Dona Beatrice,
the king’s daughter, was the lady of whom the unfortunate Ribeyro was
enamoured. It is evident from his writings, that he has studiously
thrown a veil over the secret of his heart. We are not informed how he
reconciled this passion with his domestic relations, or whether at the
period of his marriage he had emancipated himself from those romantic
illusions which at other times exercised so powerful a dominion over
him. It is related that he frequently retired to the woods where he
passed the night alone, singing to the murmuring brooks his songs of
passion and despair. But it is also said that he tenderly loved his
wife, and after her death showed no inclination to enter, a second
time, into the married state. There is no possibility of reconciling
these psychological inconsistencies, since it is not known at what
period of his life Ribeyro retired from court. Neither is it recorded
at what period or at what age he died. But that he cherished romantic
fancies in real life, as well as in his poetry, is a fact which is
sufficiently confirmed by the accounts which have been preserved of his
conduct and by the general character of his writings.[29]
Among the poetic works of Ribeyro, so far as they are known, his
eclogues are particularly distinguished. If not the very oldest, they
are certainly among the most ancient compositions of the kind in
Portuguese and Spanish literature; and when compared with those of Juan
del Enzina, who flourished about the same time in Spain, they may, in
every respect, claim the priority. Juan del Enzina ingeniously sported
with simple ideas; but Ribeyro sang from his inmost soul. However,
even Ribeyro is poor in ideas. His language and composition are very
remote from classical correctness, and his prolixity is tedious. But
amidst the monotony of Ribeyro’s homely verses, there appears a spirit
of truth and poetic feeling, which no art or study could have produced.
The eclogues, which are unquestionably the production of Ribeyro’s
pen, are four in number; but a fifth in the same style is attributed
to him. They are all composed in _Redondilhas_, arranged in stanzas of
nine or ten lines each, called _decimas_. Like most compositions in the
class to which they belong, these eclogues assume the form of tales;
but the lyric garb in which the simple materials are clothed, is the
most interesting circumstance of the whole. Ribeyro has described in
his eclogues only the scenery of his native country. The Tagus, the
Mondego, the sea on the coast of Portugal, and even sometimes the city
of Coimbra, and other towns, are exhibited in a poetic point of view.
The names usually given to the shepherds are, Fauno, Persio, Franco,
Jano, Sylvestre; but among the shepherdesses we find, a Catharina and
a Joana introduced. Certain peculiarities and mysterious allusions
sufficiently betray the object of the poet, which was to represent
the romantic situations and events of the fashionable circles in
which he moved at the court of Lisbon, under the poetic disguise of
situations and events of pastoral life. In conformity with the notions
of the age, this kind of disguise was, from its affinity to allegory,
highly valued; and it afforded the poet an opportunity of unfolding
the sentiments of his heart, to the mistress whom he dared not name,
without the fear of compromising either her or himself. Ribeyro’s
fancy revelled in this union of truth and fact with truth of poetic
feeling. The characters in all his eclogues are nearly the same under
different names, and among them an unhappy lover is always the most
conspicuous. The fervent expression of tenderness and despair on the
part of the lover, forms the soul of these little pastoral pictures.
Ribeyro’s poetic style is in its principal features the old romance
style, only here and there somewhat more luxuriant, and occasionally
interspersed with antiquated conceits. The unaffected truth of some of
the descriptions is heightened by a peculiar kind of rural grace,[30]
and even the uniform repetitions and plays of words in the lyric
passages are, in general, not destitute of poetic interest.[31] The
enthusiast must be forgiven for the application, certainly not very
ingenious, of his own name, which he has sometimes allegorically
disguised by the word _Ribeyra_, (a river,) and sometimes introduced
as the real name of a shepherd; but the shepherd is in the same way
reminded of a beautiful river, which is intended as the allegorical
representative of a lady, who under the name of _Ribeyra_, is the
object of _Ribeyro’s_ adoration.[32] Some of these antiquated conceits
are, however, dignified by warmth of expression.[33] But upon the
whole, Ribeyro’s eclogues are nothing more than the heartfelt effusions
of a poet, who with all his tenderness and depth of sentiment had not
sufficient energy to strike out a new course for himself.[34]
The _Cantigas_ of Bernardim Ribeyro unquestionably bear the
characteristic stamp of the fifteenth century. They may be ranked on
an equality with the best pieces of the same kind in the old Spanish
_Cancionero_. Like them they paraphrase an idea which is set down at
the head of the poem, and thus appear in the form of glosses, without
being confined within a certain number of lines. The idea is as in
Spanish, called the _mote_ (motto). That which the Spaniards term
a _glosa_, is by the Portuguese denominated a _volta_ (turn); and
the title _Cantiga_, which the Portuguese give to a composition of
this kind, seems, like the Spanish term _Villancico_, to have been
borrowed from the ecclesiastical hymns.[35] One of Ribeyro’s Cantigas
is remarkable for the boldness with which the poet, in his character
of a married man, very unequivocally marks the distinction between
his wife and the lady who is the object of his regard, and assures
this lady that only his hand and not his heart is wedded.[36] If this
Cantiga be really founded on truth, a question with which the critic
has, generally speaking, little concern, it not only weakens the
authenticity of the accounts respecting Ribeyro’s tender attachment
to his wife, but also serves to explain the studied obscurity of the
allusions which prevail throughout the whole of his writings; and in
this last respect the question is of some interest to the critic.
A sextina imitated from the Italian forms, but in trochaic verses,
which are besides pure redondilhas, is likewise among the number of
Ribeyro’s poems. In addition to these Cantigas, which are, however, but
little known,[37] there has been preserved a narrative romance of the
idyllic kind, which by some favourable accident has even found a place
in one of the old Spanish Cancioneros, where it is also attributed to
Ribeyro.[38] This romance, which is allegorical, contains plays on the
name of Ribeyro, and veils the glowing anguish of the poet under a
singular obscurity of ideas and images. The romantic mysticism and deep
fervour of expression, which distinguish it, sufficiently attest its
authenticity.[39]
But a work, by this author, which is of greater extent, and which
exhibits the first remarkable attempt towards the improvement of
romantic prose in the Portuguese language, remains to be noticed.
This work is a kind of romance which Ribeyro appears to have written
in his mature years, and which he did not complete. The name given
to it _Menina e Moça_, (meaning “a young and innocent maiden,”) is
a repetition of the three first words with which the story begins,
and therefore is not susceptible of precise translation in the form
of a title.[40] In point of intricacy this fragment has no parallel
in the whole range of romantic literature. The mysterious Ribeyro
has here employed all the powers of his inventive fancy, in giving
utterance to his enthusiastic feelings, and in minutely expressing
the sentiments of his heart; while at the same time he has confounded
and changed characters and events so as to secure every circumstance
and allusion against malicious interpretation. Thus a reader in the
nineteenth century is at a loss to unravel the entangled composition,
and it being merely a fragment, is a circumstance which increases the
difficulty. No alchymist ever bestowed more pains on the enigmatical
dressing of his doctrine of the philosopher’s stone, than Ribeyro has
taken to envelope his romance in a veil of obscurity. It is asserted,
nevertheless, that with all this caution he was afraid to lay it openly
before the public; and in fact the book did not become known until
after his death. It is impossible to form any probable conjecture as
to the ultimate object of the author. The commencement of the tale,
or if it must be so called, the preface, is put into the mouth of a
sentimental female character who has withdrawn from the gay world to
a wild solitary spot on the Portuguese coast. This lady, whose name
is not mentioned, relates that while she was yet _Menina e Moça_,
she was carried from her father’s house to foreign lands. From that
period, doomed to lead a life of wretchedness, alone, among the rugged
cliffs, she bewails her never-ending sorrows, beholding only on the
one hand the unchangeable mountain tops, and on the other the ever
restless waves of the sea.[41] In this manner the anonymous female
continues her narrative, and describes her inconsolable condition.
She states, that by way of amusement, though of a melancholy kind, she
has devoted herself to the task of writing “this little book,” (_este
livrinho_), which is intended to unfold her sufferings and her errors.
From this introduction the reader impatiently expects the history of
the nameless lady, who has now excited his interest. But here the
confusion and intricacy commences. The supposed authoress states, that
in her solitude she had discovered another lady no less unfortunate
than herself. She introduces this lady, who in her turn begins to
relate her history. This new character throws the first completely into
the back ground. She expatiates on the virtues befitting knights and
ladies, and sheds tears of regret for the departed days of chivalry.
She states that the wild valleys to which she has retired, were once
the scenes of memorable and brilliant events: and here the reader is
again disappointed, for instead of relating her own adventures, as is
naturally expected, she commences an intricate and romantic story of
love and heroism, the period of which is laid in the ages of chivalry.
This story is in fact the romance which Ribeyro wished to write. What
the author intended by the two-fold frame-work of his romance, and
the superfluous history related by the one lady to the other, is an
enigma that cannot be solved without a knowledge of the private life
of the poet, circumstances of which are supposed to be ingeniously
concealed under these forms of art. Ribeyro very dextrously makes his
fair narrator observe that, as a woman, she is not qualified to speak
minutely, and at length concerning the achievements of knighthood; but
that with respect to the affairs of the heart she is enabled to say all
that is necessary. Thus he has spared himself the trouble of exercising
his descriptive talent on a branch of the history, the details of which
he was not inclined to follow.
It would be impossible to furnish an abstract of the tale of love and
heroism which forms the subject of this romance. Even on a perusal of
the whole, so great is the obscurity, that nothing can be comprehended
of the circumstances, without the utmost effort of attention. That
Ribeyro has clothed in the disguise of this story, the most interesting
events of his own life, is a fact which admits of no doubt; for the
contrivance which he adopted with the view of concealing his personal
implication, by the intricate arrangement of his romance, is disclosed
with the greatest simplicity. The really artless Ribeyro, having so
far disguised himself, conceived that by transposing the letters of
real names, he did all that was necessary to avoid compromising the
individuals of his acquaintance, whom he introduced in his romance,
arrayed in the garb of ancient chivalry. Thus _Alvaro_ is converted
into _Avalor_, _Joana_ into _Aonia_, and _Bernardim_, the christian
name of Ribeyro himself, is changed into _Bimnarder_ and _Narbindel_.
The unconscious simplicity of these transpositions corresponds with the
whole tone and style of the romance. The monotony of incessant love
complaints renders the prolixity of the narrative still more tedious;
but even amidst that monotony and prolixity, it is easy to recognise
a spirit truly poetic, more remarkable, however, for susceptibility
than for energy. Some of the sentimental passages are distinguished by
the charm of a most tender and pathetic sweetness. This characteristic
appears even in the introduction, where a story is told of the death of
a nightingale, which being perched on the branch of a tree overhanging
a brook, dies while singing, and dropping into the brook is carried
away by the current, along with the fallen leaves.[42] The reader is
surprised by these delicate plays of feeling, no less than by many
occasional reflexions, which though trivial in the present day, were
at the commencement of the sixteenth century by no means common. Thus
allusion is made to the absurd notion of women in imagining they can
secure the heart of a lover by the same persevering service which
pleases themselves in the other sex.[43] By traits of this kind,
and by the simple truth of description, this old Portuguese romance
is sufficiently distinguished from the common class of romances of
chivalry, which during the sixteenth century, became in a great measure
the fashionable reading of the Spaniards and Portuguese. Spanish
literature at that period could not boast of any work written in so
cultivated a style, and yet that style soon afterwards became somewhat
antiquated. From some passages in which allusion is made to Galician
phrases, it is evident that the Portuguese in the age of Ribeyro,
carefully distinguished their native tongue as a cultivated language,
from the Galician, which had now become a common popular idiom.
In the polite literature of Portugal, Bernardim Ribeyro stands on
the boundary of the old national and the modern taste, which at the
commencement of the sixteenth century, began to be developed in
Portugal as well as in Spain, in consequence of the imitation of
the Italian style. In spite of all their defects and deformities,
Ribeyro’s verses as well as his prose romance, deserve to be honourably
remembered, since they present remarkable monuments of the romantic
character of the Portuguese at the period when the national greatness
of that poetically organized people began suddenly to decline. A
remnant of that character must, however, still be preserved, even by
the Portuguese of the present day, otherwise a new edition of Ribeyro’s
romance would not at the end of the eighteenth century, have been
presented to the Portuguese public, as a proof of the excellence of a
language in which such a work was written.[44]
CHRISTOVAÕ FALCAÕ.
Among the contemporaries of Ribeyro the most distinguished was
Christovaõ Falcaõ, or Christovam Falcam. He was a knight of the order
of Christ, an admiral, governor of Madeira, and a celebrated poet in
the age in which he lived. A long eclogue by this writer, which forms
an appendix to the works of Ribeyro,[45] so completely partakes of
the character of the poems which it accompanies, that were it not
for the separate title it might be mistaken for the production of
Ribeyro himself. It therefore proves that Ribeyro’s poetic fancies,
his romantic mysticism, not excepted, were by no means individual.
The fashionable form of the poetry of melancholy love in Portugal,
was to complain and yet ostensibly affect to conceal itself. Thus,
Christovaõ Falcaõ, by a slight change of his own christian name,
gives the name of _Crisfal_ to the shepherd who poetically represents
himself. The subject of the poem is the love of _Crisfal_ and _Maria_,
the shepherdess who is the heroine of the eclogue. This shepherdess
is evidently a real personage, and it is mentioned by writers on
literature that the poet’s mistress had the same Christian name; she
was a _Maria Brandam_. The rural scenery described in this eclogue,
like that in the poems of Ribeyro, is all national: the Tagus, the
Mondego, and the rocks of Cintra, are introduced here as in Ribeyro’s
romance. The story is simple. Two lovers are separated by the severity
of their parents. The shepherd relates his sorrows, and calls to mind
his past days of happiness. This reminiscence gives birth to a kind
of tale which is interwoven with the complaints of the shepherd. The
verses are redondilhas, and the eclogue consists of upwards of ninety
of the ten line stanzas called decimas, exclusive of some cantigas
in shorter stanzas, which are interspersed through the work. The
language and style, particularly in the lyric complaints, are even more
antiquated than Ribeyro’s. The most truly beautiful portion of the poem
is the description of a brief interview and renewed farewell between
Crisfal and Maria,[46] particularly towards the close.[47] The poet
throws a veil of mystery over the subsequent fate of Crisfal, and does
not choose to hint whether the hapless shepherd survives. A nymph who
has heard his complaints inscribes them on a poplar, in order, as it is
said, that they may grow with the tree to a height beyond the reach of
vulgar ideas.[48] So delicate a winding up of the story would not have
entered into the imagination of every amatory bard.
Portugal may therefore be regarded as the true native land of romantic
pastoral poetry, which, however, about the same period flourished in
Italy, where it assumed more cultivated forms, particularly after
Sanazzaro had written; but in Portugal alone was it properly national.
Two Portuguese writers, Saa de Miranda and Montemayor transferred this
style of poetry to Spanish literature.[49]
Among the works of Falcam, there is a kind of poetic epistle, if it may
be so called; but he wrote no didactic epistles. This poetic epistle
is in fact merely a lyric romance, which the author has addressed to
his mistress in the form of a letter, when, as the superscription
expressly mentions, he had secretly married her contrary to the will
of her parents; an act for which he incurred the penalty of five years
imprisonment. From his prison he addressed verses to his lady.[50] Thus
it also appears that this Portuguese poet, who afterwards discharged,
probably with honour to himself, the duties of admiral and governor,
wished to make the same romantic principles the basis of his conduct
and his writings.
OTHER ANCIENT LYRIC POEMS.
It is probable that the lyric pieces which are annexed to the old
edition of the works of Ribeyro, and which immediately follow the
poems of Falcam, were written by the latter. They belong entirely
to the class of Villancicos in the Spanish Cancioneros. They are,
for the most part, cantigas or glossed mottos; but some are entitled
_Esparças_, or overflowings of the heart.[51] In all these songs the
plays of antiquated chivalrous wit are very affectedly blended with
genuine effusions of the heart. They are, however, like the old Spanish
canciones, throughout enlivened by a glimmering of poetic truth; and
even the old fashioned conceits successfully contribute to express
intensity of feeling. This is particularly the character of the mottos,
which appear to be more remarkable for far-fetched quaintness, than the
old Spanish compositions of a similar kind. The following may serve
as examples:--“I saw the end at the beginning; I see the beginning at
the end; so that I know not whether I am beginning or ending.”[52]
“Since in beholding you, lady, I have lost the knowledge of myself, do
not you do against me, that which for your sake I have done against
myself.”[53] “At variance with myself, great is my danger, for I
can neither live with myself nor fly from myself.”[54] Some mottos
are, however, expressed in a more simple and popular form; but it is
remarkable that those which are most inartificial, or destitute of
point, are precisely those of which the glosses are more particularly
distinguished by nature and grace.[55] The Portuguese of this age seem
to have been much less disposed than the Spaniards to pourtray in their
lyric poetry the continual conflict between passion and reason. Like
the Italians the Portuguese gave free utterance to the emotions of the
heart, and were only induced to seek after quaint ideas, by an eager
desire that the vehemence and depth of their passionate feelings should
be energetically and ingeniously expressed.
It would appear that at the commencement of the sixteenth century the
romantic pastoral and lyric styles were the only species of poetic
composition to the cultivation of which the Portuguese directed their
attention. No evidence appears to exist of any remarkable essay in
dramatic poetry, before the time of Gil Vicente, who will hereafter
be noticed. It is probable that unimportant treatises on poetry and
versification, in the style of that which Juan del Enzina wrote in
Spanish, existed at the same period in the Portuguese language; and on
a comprehensive view of the polite literature of Portugal, previous
to the introduction of the Italian style, it will be found that like
the true sister of Spanish literature, it was, in an equal degree,
susceptible of the reform which presented itself to both.