Portuguese Literature Commons^™

The Universality Of Traditional Tales Of The Portuguese Speaking Countries, M.Margarida Pereira-Müller 177152

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Throughout the ages, the traditional tale has been the vehicle used for transmitting the culture from generation to generation - the memory of a community. Since the beginning of mankind there have always been tales in all countries and in all cultures of the world. Many of the traditional stories we think are Portuguese or European are to be found as well in other parts of the world, told in a very similar way. Sometimes the only difference is the physical frame: the landscape, the flora and the fauna, how people dress or eat.

Most of these tales have animals …

Blending Myth And Reality: Maritime Portugal And Renaissance Portraits Of The Royal Court, Barbara Von Barghahn

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Historians have long recognized the singular nautical achievements of sixteenth-century Portugal. The Renaissance age of navigation was characterized by intrepid Portuguese mariners who charted unknown waters in double or triple-masted caravels. Vasco da Gama opened a route around Africa to India in 1497. Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 basically steered the same course to South Asia, but deviated on his return to set anchor off the coast of Brazil, the “Land of the True Cross.” Fernão Magalhães’s ship “Victoria” managed to circumnavigate the earth between 1519 and 1521. These Portuguese voyagers substantially changed the medieval world picture. Their maritime expeditions …