The European Library

The 'Etymologiae' of S. Isidoro of Sevilha (circa 560-636) are formed by twenty books and were written towards the end of the author’s life upon request of S. Braulio. They appear as a true encyclopedia organized systematically. The author profusely used innumerable sources, which he often does not quote, attempting to cover all ancient knowledge and to transmit it to posterity. At present, around one thousand codices with the text of the 'Etymologiae' are known, which shows the extraordinary disclosure of this great encyclopedia during the Middle Ages, first in the Iberian Peninsula, then in France and from there throughout all Europe.

This copy, dating from the thirteenth century, originating from the Cistercian monastery of Santa Maria de Alcobaça, is written in librarian caroline lettering; the initials have a sober leafy ornamentation; in what concerns decoration, besides that which is described elsewhere, the geometrical figures (Book III) and the diagrammatized representation of the Earth according to the T-O plan (Book XIV) should be mentioned. The codex also contains another work by S. Isidoro, De naturis rerum ad Sisebutum and letters from S. Bráulio to him. The folia reproduced herein show a crowned figure in a robe with rigid folds, holding a genealogical tree of geometrical forms containing the relationship names, and other genealogical tables set in architectural frames with full turn arches.

Integrated in the Italian mannerist spirit, this drawing is one of the rare decoration projects of the end of the sixteenth century preserved in Portugal up to present times. It is the sumptuous decoration for the ceiling of the nave of Igreja do Hospital Real de Todos-os-Santos, in Lisbon, founded in 1492, by King D. João II and concluded by King D. Manuel, in 1503. This work, attributed to Fernão Gomes, did not survive the fire which destroyed the church in 1601. It was a wooden ceiling formed by fifteen paintings framed by guilded carvings, representing themes related to miraculous cures and hospitality, taken from the Old and New Testaments.

Fernão Gomes (1548-1612), of Spanish origin, worked, between 1570 and 1572, in the Blocklandt workshop, in Delft. In Lisbon, from 1573 onwards, he did several works, having been appointed Royal Painter of King Filipe I in 1594 and, in 1602, he was appointed to the Table of the Saint Luke Brotherhood. In 1604, in association with Diogo Teixeira, Fernão Gomes worked again in the Hospital Real, doing the paintings of the roof of the main chapel of the Church. The Hospital Real de Todos-os-Santos was destroyed by another fire in 1750 and, after the 1755 Earthquake, was transferred to the building of the former Convent of S. Antão, nowadays the Hospital de S. José.

The final manuscript of 'O Guardador de Rebanhos' by Fernando Pessoa - the greatest Portuguese poet of the 20th century - has a very special interest: it marks the moment when the 49 poems which form the cycle were for the first time organized in the order which definitely became its own. However, this time, Pessoa made a fair copy under the form of a manuscript, in several foolscap folia. Since he kept the manuscript in his hands for a long time, never having sent it to the printer, he was able to retouch the text of the poems now and then. Some pages show marks of successive text revisions, in different inks and handwriting which, besides being spectacular, have the particularity of not confirming the idea, made known by the poet, that these poems were written under the effect of sudden inspiration.

This manuscript was owned by the scholar, and relative of the poet, Eduardo Freitas da Costa, having changed hands several times and having been in Brazil for some years. Finally, it belonged to the bookseller Telles da Silva but was not entirely unknown of the public, since it was object of a facsimile edition in 1986. The complete set was only published in 1946, in the volume of the Complete Works called 'Poemas de Alberto Caeiro'. However, twenty four of those poems had been published during the author’s lifetime. In 1925, in nr. 4 of the review Athena, and under the title of "Escolha de poemas de Alberto Caeiro: 1889-1915: de ‘O Guardador de Rebanhos’" and, in 1931, nr 30 of Presença includes 'O oitavo poema...'

The image reproduces the first poem of the cycle - Eu nunca guardei rebanhos: [1st v.] -, written in the second page of the folio, in black ink and shows later amendments and additions. First in pencil, in the margin and/or between lines and later, also, in black ink used with two different writing instruments. The poem is dated, at the end (pg. 5), in red ink with the indication [8-3-1914], over which can be read [8-3-1913]. At the right of the numbering of the poem is a mark, in red pencil and, on the upper left corner, the reference “1889-1915”, which corresponds to the supposed dates of the birth and death of the heteronym Alberto Caeiro.

As Armando Cortesão wrote: 'nothing is known about the primitive story of this Atlas'. Its authorship is attributable to Fernão Vaz Dourado, an opinion which is corroborated by all the historians who compared it with other similar works signed by this cartographer. With regards to the date of its creation, after a careful in-depth analysis of the matter, Armando Cortesão was able to conclude that it was drawn between 1575 and 1580, possibly in Lisbon circa 1576. The Atlas in question is formed by 20 folia, drawn on parchment support, measuring 380 x 510mm, folded in half and joined by a bookbinder’s tape glued to the reverse. Out of the 20 folia which form the Atlas, the first three contain cosmographic data, navigation regulations and quadrennial tables of solar declination, and the remaining seventeen are formed by nautical charts. The binding is in brown leather with gold engraved fastenings. The reproduced image represents the western coast of Europe, from the south of Scandinavia, along the western Mediterranean coasts, to the north of Africa, a little to the north of Cape of Good Hope, and it includes the Atlantic archipelagos.

Ludolphus of Saxony, a Carthusian monk, born in Saxony, lived in the 14th century in Mainz, where he wrote, among others, the work through which he became known: 'Vita Christi', a story of the life of Christ, told in a suggestive manner which inspires in its readers sentiments of piety and devotion. Many editions were made, both in Latin and in other languages, the first having been published in Germany, in 1474. In Portugal, it was translated by Cistercian monks of the Alcobaça Abbey in the first half of the 15th century and printed in 1495, by order of Queen D. Leonor, wife of King D. João II. Ordered to Valentino of Moravia (Valentim Fernandes), a German printer recently arrived in Lisbon, associated with another German, Nicholas of Saxony, the 4th part came out of press on the 14th May 1495, followed by the 1st, 2nd and 3rd parts, respectively on the 14th August, 4th September and 20th of November of the same year, all of them also illustrated and printed in gothic characters, in black and red. It is nowadays considered a monument of Portuguese typography of the fourteenth century.

The image shows the beginning of Livro Segundo, having on the left a xylograph representing the Calvary (copy of an engraving attributed to the German engraver Master E. S.) and, below, the Kings of Portugal, D. João II and D. Leonor, kneeling in adoration. The decoration , which surrounds the first page of the text is formed by horizontal borders with floral motifs and animals having, at the bottom, in the center, a white shield. The capital, also of German origin, has a decoration of leaves and flowers on a black background.

The 'Origem da Lingoa Portuguesa' (Origins of the Portuguese Language), by Duarte Nunes de Leão (c. 1630-1608), was published exactly four centuries ago, in 1606. It is, however, a slightly older book: according to its printing permissions, it was probably written during 1600 and ready for publication as soon as 1601.

Duarte Nunes de Leão was a magistrate of high standing at the Portuguese court. He is best known, however, for his historical and linguistic books, namely for an Orthographia da Lingoa Portuguesa (Orthography of the Portuguese Language), the first ever published in Portugal. The Origem is an essay on the changeability of languages, which Duarte Nunes accepts with unusual willingness for his times. Numerous and lengthy wordlists provide him with data for chapters on lexical borrowing from several languages, on diachronic strata, or on the obsolescence of some words. The work is crowned by the apology of the Portuguese language in comparison with others.

This is mainly a book relevant for linguistic and grammatical historiography. Modern readers should tread carefully on its facts (e. g., from a list of 300 words allegedly imported from the French, only 60 deserve that imputation), but it is precisely its blending of phantasy and experience that turns the Origem into a good example of Renaissance scholarship.

The full book can be seen at: http://purl.pt/50/.