Camões In Asia

Luis Vaz de Camões was, in Landeg White’s words, “the first European artist to cross the Equator and experience Africa and India at first hand. The result was The Lusíads, an epic of European thought and action in the sixteenth century.” In CAMOES IN ASIA the reader will follow the voyage of our Poet to the East, right from his departure from Lisbon in March 1553 to his return to the Kingdom in April 1570. Sword in one hand, he fights Europe’s rival super-power in the sixteenth century (The Turkish Empire) on the Indian Ocean; quill in the other hand, he abandons himself to the protection of Pegasus, creating pages of aching, touching poetry dedicated to both unforgettable love affairs of his past and to more recent ones.
He also writes poetry by order, as well as theatre plays for the Governor’s Court, while slowly weaving the epic about the voyage of Da Gama, by oceans where none had ventured. The reader will learn about Camões’ stay in Macau: when, why, in whose company. This work will illustrate that the source of data gathered is none other than Asia’s Chronicler Diogo do Couto (1542-1616), who is 27 years of age at the time of their meeting in Mozambique. For about one year they get to know each other and travel together back to the Kingdom. Diogo do Couto will write about this experience in Década VIII of Asia (extended version). In the first Diálogo do Soldado Prático (1569-1570), which he intends to present to the king, he writes a whole chapter devoted to China (chapter 25). The contents of this chapter are largely supplied by Luis de Camões and by Captain Pero Barreto, as hinted by Professor Antonio Coimbra Martins.

Autor: Eduardo Ribeiro

ISBN: 978-972-858-646-1
Editores: CCCM
Edição: Lisboa, 2016 | Idioma: Inglês | Nº Páginas:
Dimensões: 210x140x7 mm
Peso: 165 g