Garcia de Resende

Garcia de Resende:
"The Book of Deeds"
(Livro das obras)

Garcia de Resende (* around 1470 in Évora ; † 1536 ibid.) Was a Portuguese courtier , chronicler and poet who is said to have even worked as an architect . The special importance of Garcia de Resendes lies not only in his work as an outstanding chronicler of several rulers of Portugal, but also in the first compilation of Portuguese poems from the end of the Middle Ages and the early modern period on the Iberian Peninsula, which gives the written language and printing of his home country additional impulses received.

Life

A life as the first courtier of Portuguese kings

Torre de Belém, Lisbon

Resende was born in Évora. The nephew of the legal scholar Desembargador and later Grand Chancellor Rui Boto served as a page or noble boy ( moço da camara ) at the royal court as a child . Resende himself later described his education modestly as rudimentary in his closing verses of the Miscellanea , but as a courtier he must have enjoyed a special humanistic education, since he studied with Antonio de Nebrija in Spain . He later worked as a chronicler and from 1491 as private secretary of the Portuguese King John II ( moço da escrevinha ), whose confidante he was later as chamberlain ( fidalgo da casa del rey ) and whose loyalty to the French King Charles VIII he particularly emphasized. Surprisingly, in this phase, he is also occasionally named as the architect who designed the fortress tower of São Vincente, the so-called Torre de Belém , which was only executed by Francisco de Arruda between 1514 and 1521 due to the death of the monarch.

He remained a courtier during the reign of Kings Manuel I and John III. and in 1513 accompanied the Portuguese ambassador Tristão da Cunha on a visit to Pope Leo X. Resende was considered a linguistically and culturally versed courtier who, thanks to his merits, joviality and versatility, was made Knight of the Order of Christ and Fidalgo of the royal court. Interestingly, Resende was one of the first authors to mention the term Policia in his writings Crónica de D. João II and Miscelânea e Variedade de Histórias , which he wrote between 1530 and his death, but were only printed posthumously .

In a more recent study on “ Black Africans ” in the European Renaissance , a striking poem Resendes from Miscelânea e Variedade de Histórias is cited as evidence that some Portuguese aristocrats felt almost alienated due to the flourishing slave trade on the Iberian Peninsula and the simultaneous emigration . On the other hand, de Resende glorified the Christianization of the population of today's Guinea in another poem , since their king supposedly asked for it.

Resende's "Crónica de D. João II" (1545) refers to an earlier one, the "Riu de Rina" composed. However, it does contain personal anecdotes and some descriptions of Resende's age. His “Miscelânea e Variedade de Histórias” (1554) give an overview of social life and important contemporary events, such as B. the conclusion of the Reconquista , the overseas expansion and the Reformation . The chronicles are also one of the primary sources for the ultimately failed negotiations between Christopher Columbus and the Portuguese crown and the overseas trade at the time.

The first Portuguese song collection - The Cancioneiro Geral

“Cancioneiro Geral”, front page and first page, 1516

In the “ Cancioneiro Geral” (German general songbook ) (1516) Resende collected his own and other poems by 286 poets, which were written between 1449 and 1516. The appearance of this compilation as a printed book at that point in time is in itself something special, since in Portugal a total of only eight works had been submitted in print up to 1536. When compiling the collection of songs, Garcia de Resende was guided by the older, but less extensive Castilian models of Baena (1445), Stuñiga (1458) and the authoritative specification of Hernando de Castillo from 1511. Today, this work is a main source for the renaissance of the Portuguese poetry, because Resende had created it not only for the pleasure of Crown Prince Johann, but also “as a legacy of the medieval cultural epoch that was coming to an end”. For the collection, Resende did not rely solely on already known or published poems. So he wrote to the aristocratic or courtly amateur poets of his time or their descendants in order to get hold of poetry that might otherwise have been lost. However , he did not undertake a systematic arrangement or editing of the lyric, which was typically called arte de trovar before. The poet, who also match the late Middle Ages still Trovador is called wrote, previously most dear - ( cantigas de amor ) or satirical songs ( cantigas de escarnho e maldiver , which accounted for) the bulk of previous collections. Resende had evidently forwarded the manuscripts to the printing works of Hermann from Kempten am Rhein , who came from Germany, at the chance of their sending . Newer groupings of his work are the sociable joke and mockery poems, cousas del folgar , like their counterpart, the songs of praise and homage to dei ladies, louvores . Since Resende gave the reader neither a table of contents nor a register, the overview is difficult.

Nevertheless, due to its scope and approach in the Iberian region , his work has been without a successor for a long time, as it provided a wealth of analysis and interpretation material for the following generations of linguists and literary scholars .

The “Cancioneiro Geral” offers the first surviving example of the Iberoroman Creole language Papiamento in the publication of a poem by Fernão da Silveira for a fictional king of Sierra Leone on the occasion of a royal wedding, which must have been written between 1455 and 1493. Although Resende himself was completely free of the rest of the Portuguese enthusiasm for the development of overseas trade routes, there are several poems of his era about it that, like Francisco de Sousa, illustrated the love of the sea or the longing for distant countries in India or Asia . The poets generally celebrated the supposed heroes of the overseas conquests in their verses. Due to her personal acquaintance with a Vasco da Gama , Francisco de Almeida , Afonso de Albuquerque or Diogo Lopes de Sequeira , conclusions about biographical details emerge for today's analysis , which were often not mentioned in contemporary reports of that time. Resende, as a connoisseur of the court, emphasized da Gama's close relationship with the king more clearly than the official sources in his poems.

Unlike the Cancionero by the Spaniard Fernando del Castillo, which was quickly followed by a second edition and further editions in the following centuries, the “Cancioneiro Geral” did not experience any further edition until the 19th century, although it enjoyed widespread popularity. As early as the middle of the 19th century, only a few copies, some of which were only available in fragments, were generally accessible. Of the four copies that remained in Portugal, one each in the library of the former Necessidades monastery in Lisbon , in the royal library and bank, and in the University Library of Coimbra , only two were complete. An incomplete copy had already found its way into a then unknown library in England at the beginning of the 19th century, while the royal library in Madrid had a partial copy . The German edition of 1846 managed the literary club Stuttgart only thanks to the approval of the Portuguese King Ferdinand II. On the basis of the full copy from the library of Necessidades. Only in the following year did the publisher publish the new edition of Carmina Burana .

Garcia de Resendes cultural importance

Garcia de Resende was also firmly rooted in the cultural life of his time and generally accepted as an intellectual figure. The ambitious diplomat and historian Damião de Góis therefore dedicated the first translation of the dialogues Cato maior de senectute Marcus Tullius Cicero into Portuguese to his older compatriot Resende. As a cosmopolitan with diverse relationships, perhaps the most important courtier in Portugal took care of the translation of the Portuguese poems into the Italian language , whose poetry traditions had influenced it in part, and their acceptance at the Spanish court. It was not for nothing that de Resende included around 26 Castilian poets, such as Juan de Mena and Jorge Manrique , in his collection of songs in addition to a large number of Portuguese poets . Joseph F. O'Callaghan saw no comparable Portuguese poet for Santillana - but without citing specific examples, since he interpreted from a Spanish perspective alone.

History painting by Karl Briullov on the murder of Inês de Castro , 1834

Resende is even of musical historical interest, as his poetic variation of the Inês de Castro material , which was originally used by his compatriot Fernão Lopez around 1400 in his Crónica del Rey Pedro I (printed in 1735), up to the planned project by Giacomo Meyerbeer and his libretto author Gaetano Rossi worked. In addition, Garcia de Resende was considered a gifted guitar player at court , who is said to have set some of his own poems to music himself.

In conclusion, Bellermann's enthusiastic judgment of 1840 may make de Resende more tangible: “Just as Garcia de Resende was valued by his royal rulers, he was so popular at the whole court, to whom he was pleasant and pleasant thanks to his cheerful disposition and his sociable talents made useful. One turned to him when a tasteful party was to be celebrated or when a witty game was to be given. Likewise, his verses are also characterized by their clear and reliable presentation, truth of feeling and lightness of rhyme. His trovas on the death of Ines de Castro are among the best of the Cancioneiro (...) due to their touching simplicity and naturalness. A description of the court, which he gives to a friend in a poetic letter, is very frank and lively. ”This is because Bellmann had already described the almost perfect courtier in the celebration of the court feast over 100 years before Norbert Elias .

Afterlife

Garcia de Resende is also said to have designed the chapel of the Espinheiro monastery near Évora, where he found his final resting place after his death.

His nephew André de Resende (around 1500 to 1573), a Dominican , is considered an important humanist and founder of archeology in Portugal.

In the city of Évora you can still admire Garcia de Resende's architecturally interesting house, Casa de Garcia de Resende , with the characteristic Manuelite window ( Janela ). In 1988 the CTT Correios de Portugal even immortalized this window on a postage stamp . The historic municipal theater of his hometown from the 19th century was also named after him, although some would expect it to be named by the playwright Gil Vicente , who died in Évora in 1536.

Works

• Cancioneiro Geral , 1516.
• Chroniques de Garcia de Resende, João Barros et al.
• Crónica del Rey Dom João II . 1545
• Miscelânea e Variedade de Histórias . 1554.
• Vida e feitos de'l rey Dom João Segundo . Livro das obras de Garcia de Resende, ed. by E. Verdelho, Lisbon 1994.

in German edition:

• Eduard H. von Kausler (Ed.): Cancioneiro Geral. Old Portuguese song collection of the noble Garcia de Resende . Library of the literary association Stuttgart 15, Stuttgart 1846–1852; Volume 1: archive.org - Volume 2: archive.org - Volume 3

newer editions:

• Álvaro J. da Costa Pimpão, Aida Fernanda Dias (ed.): Cancieoneira Geral de Garcia de Resende (1516) . 2nd vol., Coimbra 1973.

literature

• Germán Bleiberg, M. Ihrie, J. Pérez (Eds.): Dictionary of the literature of the Iberian peninsula . Volume 2, Westport / Connecticut, London 1993, ISBN 0-313-28732-5 , p. 1362.
• Isabella Tomassetti: Tra intersteualità e interpretazione: i decires a citazioni del Cancioneiro geral the Garcia de Resende . In: Rivista di Filologia e Letterature Ispaniche. I, 1998, pp. 63-100.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Portuguese literature . In: Heinrich August Pierer , Julius Löbe (Hrsg.): Universal Lexicon of the Present and the Past . 4th edition. tape 13 . Altenburg 1861, p. 396-399 ( zeno.org ).
2. ↑ Learn Portuguese.com
3. ↑ Milton Mariano Azevedo: Portuguese: a linguistic introduction . Cambridge University Press 2005, p. 12.
4. ^ Sandra Sider: Handbook to life in Renaissance Europe . Facts On File, New York 2005, p. 275.
5. ↑ Marília Mendes: A lingua portuguesa em viagem: actas do Coloquio Comemorativo do Cinquentenario do Leitorado de Portugues da Universidade de Zurique, 20 a 22 de Junho de 1996 . Teo Ferrer de Mesquita, Frankfurt am Main 2003, pp. 64f.
6. ^ François Soyer: The persecution of the Jews and Muslims of Portugal: King Manuel I and the end of religious tolerance (1496-7) . Brill, Leiden 2007, p. 150.
7. ↑ Barbara Hüttel, Richard Hüttel, Jeanette Kohl: Re-Visionen: on the topicality of art history . Akademie Verlag, Berlin 2002, pp. 89ff.
8. ^ Jean-Denis Lepage: Castles and fortified cities of medieval Europe: an illustrated history . McFarland, Jefferson, North Carolina 2002, p. 215.
9. ^ Airton L. Cerqueira-Leite Seelaender: Police, Economy and Legislative Doctrine: A Contribution to the Analysis of Portuguese Jurisprudence at the End of the 18th Century . Klostermann, Frankfurt am Main 2003, p. 66.
10. ↑ Thomas Foster Earle, KJP Lowe: Black Africans in Renaissance Europe . Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge 2005, p. 114.
11. ^ Sylvia R. Frey, Betty Wood: From slavery to emancipation in the Atlantic world . Routledge 1999, p. 12f.
12. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from July 28, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
13. ↑ Some call it one of the primary sources for the everyday history of Portugal in its era; António Henrique R. de Oliveira Marques , Vitor André: Daily Life in Portugal in the Late Middle Ages . Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison 1971, p. 329.
14. ↑ Will u. a. named as one of the important sources for the ambivalent trade between Venice and the Mameluks , who wanted to push back the influence of Portugal on the spice trade. See: Albrecht Fuess: Burned Shore. Effects of Mamluk maritime policy on Beirut and the Syro-Palestinian coast (1250–1517) . Brill, Leiden 2001, p. 56.
15. ^ Josiah Blackmore: Moorings: Portuguese expansion and the writing of Africa . University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis 2009, p. 70.
16. ^ Arthur Percival Newton: The great age of discovery . B. Franklin, New York 1970, p. 84.
17. ↑ Fernand Braudel : Civilization and capitalism, 15th-18th century. The Structures of Everday Life . University of California Press, Berkeley 1992, p. 435.
18. ↑ Gustav Gröber : Outline of the Romance Philology . Volume 2, part 3. 1st edition. 1888, here BiblioBazaar 2009, p. 265.
19. ^ Gustav Gröber : Outline of the Romance Philology . P. 267.
20. ↑ Cf. Maria Ana Ramos: Ciganos literáios do sécula XVI . In: Marília Mendes: A lingua portuguesa em viagem: actas do Coloquio Comemorativo do Cinquentenario do Leitorado de Portugues da Universidade de Zurique, 20 a 22 de Junho de 1996 . Teo Ferrer de Mesquita, Frankfurt am Main 1996, p. 57ff., Here p. 64f.
21. ^ Cancioneiro Geral . I, 204-205.
22. Jump up ↑ Caroline R. Wiltshire, Joaquim Camps: Romance phonology and variation: selected papers from the 30th Linguistic Symposium on Romance Languages, Gainesville, Florida, February 2000 . Benjamin, Amsterdam 2002, p. 119.
23. ↑ Johannes Kramer: The Ibero-Romance Creole Language Papiamento: a Romance illustration . Buske, Hamburg 2004, p. 126f.
24. ^ John Kelly Thornton: Africa and Africans in the making of the Atlantic world, 1400-1800 . Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge 2006, p. 214.
25. ^ John M. Lipski: A history of Afro-Hispanic language: five centuries, five continents . Cambridge University Press 2005, p. 52f.
26. ^ Donald Frederick Lach: Asia in the making of Europe. A century of wonder. The literary arts. The scholarly disciplines . University of Chicago Press, NA Chicago 1994, pp. 118ff.
27. ^ Glenn Joseph Ames: Em nome de Deus: the journal of the first voyage of Vasco da Gama to India, 1497-1499 . Brill, Leiden 2009, p. 7.
28. ↑ Sanjay Subrahmanyam: The career and legend of Vasco da Gama . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge / New York, p. 63.
29. ^ Thomas F. Earle: Damião de Góis's Translation and Commentary on Cicero's De Senectute . In: Martha Elizabeth Schaffer, Antonio Cortijo Ocaña: Medieval and Renaissance Spain and Portugal: studies in honor of Arthur L.-F. Askins . Tamesis, Woodbridge 2006, pp. 144–157, here: p. 145.
30. ↑ Malcolm Jack: Lisbon, city of the sea: a history . Tauris, London / New York 2007, p. 42.
31. ↑ Fernando Cabo Aseguinolaza, Anxo Abuín Gonzalez, César Domínguez: A Comparative History of Literatures in the Iberian Peninsula . (= Comparative history of literatures in European languages, Volume 24) John Benjamin's Pub. Amsterdam / Philadelphia 2010, p. 422.
32. ^ Joseph F. O'Callaghan: A history of medieval Spain . Cornell University Press, Ithaca 1983, p. 651.
33. ^ António Ferreira: The tragedy of Ines de Castro . Translation into English by John RC Martyn, Acta Universitatis Conimbrigensis 1987, p. 350.
34. ^ Antony C. Bezerra: Inês de Castro . historianet.com.br
35. ^ Armin Schuster: The Italian operas of Giacomo Meyerbeer . Volume 2: From “Romilda e Costanza” to “L'esule di Granata” . Tectum Verlag, Marburg 2003, p. 312.
36. ^ Andy Bennett, Kevin Dawe: Guitar cultures . Berg, Oxford / New York 2001, p. 159.
37. ^ Eduard H. von Kausler (Ed.): Cancioneiro Geral. Old Portuguese song collection of the noble Garcia de Resende . Library of the literary association Stuttgart 15, Stuttgart 1846, p. XI.
38. ↑ Christ. F. Bellermann: The old song books of the Portuguese. Or contributions to the history of Portuguese poetry from the thirteenth to the beginning of the sixteenth century, along with samples from manuscripts and old prints . Ferdinand Dümmler, Berlin 1840, p. 41.
39. ↑ Peter Herrle, Erik Wegerhoff: Architecture and identity . Berlin / Münster 2008, p. 472.
40. ^ Philip M. Parker: Pantheon: Webster's timeline history, 689 BC - 2007 . ICON Group International, San Diego 2009, p. 9.
41. ^ Resende, André de . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 23 : Refectory - Sainte-Beuve . London 1911, p. 182 (English, full text [ Wikisource ]).
42. ↑ Miguel Tamen, Helena Carvalhão Buescu: A revisionary history of Portuguese literature . Garland Pub., 2008, p. 68.
43. ↑ portugalvirtual.pt
44. ↑ algarve-reisen.com
45. ^ Image of the Janela de Resende stamp .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
46. ^ Council of Europe, European Cultural Foundation (ed.): Guide of cultural centers in Europe = Guide des centers culturels européens . Strasbourg 1990, p. 183.
47. ↑ Image of the theater  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on Flickr  
48. ^ HV Livermore: Portugal: a traveller's history . Boydell Press, Woodbridge et al. a. 2004, p. 166.
49. ^ Full text edition of the Crónica de D. João II from 1798