Improper choices and misfortunes in fouteenth-century Portugal

• Grant number: 23/01302-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: October 01, 2023
• End date: April 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - Ancient and Medieval History
• Principal Investigator: Susani Silveira Lemos Franca
• Grantee: Paloma Caroline Catelan
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais (FCHS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Franca. Franca , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In fifteenth-century Portugal, a continued production of writings about the past was promoted within the scope of the royal court, aiming to exalt the great achievements of the nobility and reward them. History, formerly restricted to the monastic production, gained, in such a context, the grounds of the royal houses, starting to be written by men who combined both the occupation of Torre do Tombo's main guard and chronicler of the kingdom. In their chronicles, despite praising men of high social status,those chroniclers did not shy away from describing the circumstances in which improper choices or their unforeseen results led to hardships and misfortunes. In this same context, the production of moralizing treatises, which dealt with themes aimed at simultaneously edifying the body and spirit, was carried out by lay scholars of the kingdom, including the members of royalty themselves, committed to guiding restraint and the pursuit of virtues by the nobility serving as role models to the commoners. Associating virtues and well-being, these writings highlight the adversities that certain vicious actions could bring therefore proposing the avoidance of mistakes and suggesting models to be mirrored by good Christians. The research aims, in addition to examining situations in which improper decisions taken by nobles are associated with sadness, to ponder the extent to which these circumstances were remembered, in an attempt to discourage reprehensible conduct and to assess the extent to which they were considered a matter of individual responsibility or if they were taken as fortuitous.