Damião de Gois: The Life and Thought of a Portuguese Humanist, 1502–1574

257 Pages·1967·17.131 MB·English

by  Elisabeth Feist Hirsch (auth.)

DAMIAO DE GOIS
ARCHIVES INTERNATIONALES D'HISTOIRE DES IDEES
INTERNATIONAL ARCHIVES OF THE HISTOR Y OF IDEAS
ELISABETH FEIST HIRSCH
DAMIAO DE GOIS
THE LIFE AND THOUGHT OF A
PORTUGUESE HUMANIST, 1502-1574
Directors: P. Dibon (Paris) and R. Popkin (University of California, La Jolla)
Editorial Board:J. Aubin (Paris);J. Collins (St. Louis Univ.); P. Costabel (Paris); A.
Crombie (Oxford); I. Dambska (Cracow); H. de la Fontaine Verwey (Amsterdam); H.
Gadamer (Heidelberg); P. Golliet (Nimeguen); H. Gouhier (Paris); T. Gregory (Rome);
T. E. Jessop (Hull); A. Koyre t (Paris); P. O. Kristeller (Columbia Univ.); Elisabeth
Labrousse (Paris); S. Lindroth (Upsala); P. Mesnard (Tours) ;J. Orcibal (Paris); I. S.
Revah (Paris); G. Sebba (Emory Univ., Atlanta); R. Shackleton (Oxford); J. Tans
(Groningen); G. Tonelli (Pisa).
Vamiao de Gois, by Albrecht Durer
Fonds Albertina aus dem Bildarchiv der C)sterreichischen )Jationalbibhothek
ELISABETH FEIST HIRSCH
-
DAMIAO DE GOIS
THE LIFE AND THOUGHT OF A
PORTUGUESE HUMANIST, 1502-1574
MARTINUS NIJHOFF / THE HAGUE / 1967
Copyright 1967 by Martinus Nijholf, The Hague, Netherlands
Softcover reprint oft he hardcover 1st edition 1967
All rights reserved, including the right to translate or to
reproduce this hook or part< lhereof in any form
ISBN-J3: 978-94-010-3490-6 e-1SBN-J3: 978-94-010-3488-3
DOl: 10.10071978-94-010-3488-3
To the memory
of
DR. A. DA VEIGA-SIMOES
PREFACE
Scholars have given relatively little attention to sixteenth-century
Portuguese humanism, although Portugal's vital influence on the
humanistic thirst for learning has been readily acknowledged. Through
her heroic explorations of distant lands and dangerous sea routes,
Portugal infected many humanists with the excitement of discovery,
none more than Damiao de Gois, Portuguese student of history.
Gois, although generally little known, was - in his life and finally
as a victim of the Inquisition in Portugal - thoroughly representative
of the course of sixteenth-century Erasmian humanism in Portugal; in
addition he deserves recognition in his own right as a contributor to
modern historiography.
Portugal's explorations and the atmosphere of passion for discovery
that prevailed in Lisbon had as strong an influence on Gois during his
early years as that of the school of Erasmus, the "prince of humanists"
who was eventually to become his personal friend and guide.
Gois's two great chronicles of the Portuguese kings John II and Ma
nuel I culminated a life spent as diplomat, composer, art collector,
articulate pleader for religious tolerance, and scrupulous student of
history. A factual report of Gois's life - in the main outlines accurate
but not complete - exists in Portuguese, and a short resume of his life
has been published in English, but so far no full study has been available
in any language.
This book is intended to present a comprehensive biography of
Damiao de Gois, to trace his intellectual development in relation to the
movement of Erasmian humanism, to show his thought and activity
against the wider perspective of the European community of humanists
in which he moved, and finally to show the latter part of his life in the
context of humanism under John III in Portugal and afterwards.
It is my contention that the sixteenth-century force of humanism
changed the faith of the West and in some respects laid the foundation
for modern man's confidence in his own powers. Part of my aim in this
book is to show how Erasmus' role in the movement of humanism
vm PREFACE
affected such men as Gois and helped to make possible the transition
from the world of the Middle Ages in which God was central and all
powerful to the contemporary era, when man has even been said to
have created his own God and to be able to make his own world.
My interest in the sixteenth century dates back to student days, when
my dissertation, as well as a later publication for the Italian Royal
Academy, concentrated on the Age of Humanism and the Reform.
However, it is doubtful whether I should ever have devoted myself to
Portuguese humanism without encouragement from the man to whom
the book is dedicated.
I met Dr. A. Da Veiga-Simoes first in Paris, where we were both
engaged in research in the Bibliotheque Nationale, and again in Berlin
after he had become Portuguese ambassador to Germany. From the
beginning of our acquaintance Dr. Da Veiga-Simoes voiced a wish
that I should study Renaissance Portugal, a period which was his own
scholarly concern and which he sincerely loved. Without Dr. Da Veiga
Simoes'influence, I would never have gone to Portugal; I would not
have dealt with the fascinating figure of Damiao de Gois; and I would
not have become acquainted with the beautiful Portuguese country
and its charming people. The dedication, however, has a more subtle
justification and deeper meaning, since Dr. Da Veiga-SimOes shared
with Damiao de Gois not only his historical interests but a great love
for his native land and a dedication to European culture.
Although my research was interrupted for a decade, only in part
due to the war, I made a visit to Portugal in 1949; then in 1954-1955,
thanks to an International Fellowship granted by the American As
sociation of University Women, I was able to spend a whole year in
Europe. Research in many libraries and archives, including those of
Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, and Germany, enabled me to
gather the bulk of the material for this biography. Further trips to
Portugal and other European countries were made possible by grants
from the Institute of Higher Learning and the Gulbenkian Foundation
in Lisbon, and by the American Philosophical Society. I would like to
express my gratitude to these institutions; I would also like to thank the
Guggenheim Foundation for having awarded me a fellowship in
1960-1961 to continue research and to start writing the biography.
Some results of these studies have already been published in a number
of journals.
It gives me great pleasure to express my appreciation for the stimu
lation and support I received from several friends. Professor P. O.
PREFACE IX
Kristeller of Columbia University gave generously of his time and read
the whole manuscript in its first draft. His valuable comments on its
substance and his suggested translations of difficult Latin texts have
been incorporated in the book. Professor Roland H. Bainton also read
parts of the book; his wide knowledge of the period was of great value
in clarifying facts and avoiding errors of interpretation. I have been
indebted to Professor Bainton ever since my first year in America, which
I spent as a Sterling Research Fellow under his guidance at Yale Divinity
School. Professor Francis M. Rogers of Harvard University helped me
in many ways, and I have benefited greatly from his thorough ac
quaintance with Portuguese bibliography of the period. Finally, I
would like to thank my Portuguese friends for their many kindnesses,
especially for having sent me important publications not easily available
outside Portugal. Miss Joyce H. Brodowski and Dr. Hugh D. Ford of
Trenton State College deserve my thanks for excellent literary sugges
tions. My husband and my sons patiently suffered with me an author's
many travails. I specially thank my son Roland and his wife Joanne for
preparing the Index.
The organization and content of the book, as well as the opinions
voiced in it, are, of course, my own responsibility.
Finally, a word about the spelling of Gois's name. Gois used the Por
tuguese version Damiam or Damyam de Goes and the Latin Damianus
a Goes with occasional slight variations. I adopted the modern form
without the accent on the family name.
Some discrepancies in the spelling of Portuguese names and titles are
due to the fact that this writer followed the original without changing it
according to modern usage.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface ....... . VII
Introduction. . . . . . XIII
I. The Court of Manuel I. . . . . . .
II. The Diplomat. . . . . . . . . . . 12
III. Gois's Intellectual and Spiritual Development 23
IV. Damiao de Gois and the Arts .... 38
V. Gois and the Diplomatic Community . 50
VI. Erasmus and Damiao de Gois 64
VII. Italy (1534~ 1538) . . . . . . . . . 90
VIII. Louvain (1538~1544). . . . . . . . 115
IX. Damiao de Gois's Humanist Thinking. 129
X. Humanism in Portugal under King John III (1521~1557) 160
XI. Damiao de Gois's Contribution to Historiography. 191
XII. Trial and Death . 208
Epilogue . . 221
Bibliography 225
Author Index 233
Name Index. 237