Francisco de Andrade (poet)
| Francisco de Andrade | |
|---|---|
| Chief Chronicler of the Kingdom of Portugal | |
| In office 1599–1614 |
|
| Monarch | Philip II of Portugal |
| Preceded by | António Pinheiro |
| Succeeded by | Bernardo de Brito |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1540 Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal |
| Died | 1614 Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal |
Francisco de Andrade (c. 1540 – 1614) was a Portuguese historian, chronicler, and poet, author of the epic poem The First Siege of Diu (1589).[1]
Biography
Francisco de Andrade was born in Lisbon, the son of Francisco Álvares de Andrade, a fidalgo, and Isabel de Paiva. He studied humanities, and cultivated poetry from an early age. Francisco de Andrade held the post of Chief Keeper of the Tower of Tombo, and Chief Chronicler of the Kingdom, and led a quiet life, until his death in 1614.
He was the Purveyor of Santa Casa da Misericórdia in Almada in 1579–80, 1584–85, 1586–87, 1589–90, 1592–93, 1596–97 and 1607–08. Francisco de Andrade was the brother of the theologian Diogo de Paiva de Andrade, he had a son with the same name, who was also Purveyor of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia in Almada.
His epic, The First Siege of Diu, made of 20 cantos in ottava rima, was described as "the poem that most closely resembles, albeit still at a distance, the Lusiads, for the purity and beauty of language, smoothness of sentences, elegance of style, and sonorous ease of versification."[2] According to José Maria da Costa e Silva, this epic is "of great value for the many beauties of language, style, and imagination, which it contains."[3]
Works
- Crónica do muito Alto, e muito Poderoso Rei destes Reinos de Portugal D. João III: deste nome (1613)
- O primeiro Cerco, que os Turcos puseram à Fortaleza de Diu. Poema Heróico (1589)
- Instituição del-Rei N. Sr. Lisboa (1565; translated from the original latin poem by Diogo de Teive)
- Crónica do valeroso Príncipe, e invencível Capitão Castrioto (1567; translated from the original latin chronicle by Marin Barleti)
- Filomena de S. Boaventura (1566)
Notes
References
- Costa e Silva, José Maria da (1851). Ensaio Biographico-Critico sobre os Melhores Poetas Portugueses, Vol. 4. Lisboa: Imprensa Silviana, pp. 248–320.
- Ricard, Robert (1937). "Les Portugais et l'Afrique du Nord sous le Règne de Jean III (1521-1557) d'Après la Chronique de Francisco de Andrade," Hesperis, Vol. XXIV, pp. 289–325.
