Monólogo do Vaqueiro: vertido [do castelhano] e adaptado por Affonso Lopes Vieira. [Representado no teatro D. Maria II, Lisb?a, 1910

by Gil Vicente

Apresentada à família real portuguesa (rei D. Manuel, rainha D. Maria, rainha Velha Dona Lianor, infanta D. Beatriz (mãe do rei) e sua filha a Duquesa de Bragança) numa data particularmente festiva (nascimento do príncipe João, futuro D. João III), este auto foi a primeira obra de Gil Vicente.

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1502

About the author

Gil Vicente, called the Trobadour, was a Portuguese playwright and poet who acted in and directed his own plays. Considered the chief dramatist of Portugal he is sometimes called the "Portuguese Plautus" and often referred to as the "Father of Portuguese drama." Vicente worked in Portuguese as much as he worked in Spanish and is thus, with Juan del Encina, considered joint-father of Spanish drama.

Vicente was attached to the courts of the Portuguese kings Manuel I and John III. He rose to prominence as a playwright largely on account of the influence of Queen Dowager Leonor, who noticed him as he participated in court dramas and subsequently commissioned him to write his first theatrical work.

He may also have been identical to an accomplished goldsmith of the same name, creator of the famous monstrance of Belém, and master of rhetoric of King Manuel I.

His plays and poetry, written in both Portuguese and Spanish, were a reflection of the changing times during the transition from Middle Ages to Renaissance and created a balance between the former time of rigid mores and hierarchical social structure and the new society in which this order was undermined.

While many of Vicente's works were composed to celebrate religious and national festivals or to commemorate events in the life of the royal family, others draw upon popular culture to entertain, and often to critique, Portuguese society of his day.

Though some of his works were later suppressed by the Inquisition, causing his fame to wane, he is now recognised as one of the principal figures of the Portuguese Renaissance.

More information at Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Bic · Rating 3 out of 5]

«... de Gil Vicente, procedeu de uma visitação que o autor fez ao parto da muito esclarecida rainha D. Maria, e nascimento do mui alto e excelente princepe D. João, o terceiro em Portugal de este nome.» E foi—continua a rubrica—«a primeira coisa que o autor fez e que em Portugal se representou, estando o mui poderoso rei D. Manuel, a rainha D. Beatriz, sua mãe, e a senhora duquesa de Bragança sua filha, na segunda noite do nascimento do dito senhor.» «E estando esta companhia assim junta—conclue a rúbrica—entrou um Vaqueiro…» Senhoras e senhores: o teatro português vai nascer—e Gil Vicente vai entrar em scena!