Creative Freedom in the Portuguese Monarchy
Gil Vicente, Portuguese playwright, and poet is considered the greatest representative of Renaissance literature in Portugal before Camões. He is also known as the “Father of Portuguese Theater” and the most important figure of the literary Humanism introduced in Portugal from 1385. Due to the lack of documents, many facts of his life are surrounded by doubts, such as the place and year of his birth (Guimarães, in 1465). The playwright and poet had considerable intellectual training. He studied Latin, Spanish, French and Italian, but never attended a university, although he is said to have studied at the Spanish university in Salamanca.
His dramatic texts were written between 1502 and 1536 and his successful career took place during the reigns of D. Manuel I (1469-1521) and his son D. João III (1502-1557). In 1502, his play Auto da Visitação was staged for Queen Dona Maria and in the presence of King Dom Manuel during the celebration of the birth of the prince who would become the future D. João III. In addition to authoring the play, based on the adoration of the magicians, he also worked as an actor.
In the monologue, written in Spanish, a simple country man expresses his joy at the birth of the heir, wishing him well. The show enthralled the Corte and was the gateway to his career that spanned over thirty years.
Even though the Portuguese monarchy was intricately linked to religiosity, the author benefited from relative creative freedom. The Inquisition, or Holy Inquisition, also created in the Middle Ages (13th century), was directed by the Roman Catholic Church and was composed of a group of institutions within the legal system of the Roman Catholic Church whose objective was to combat heresy, blasphemy, witchcraft and customs considered deviant and a threat to Church doctrines.
Pope Gregory IX instituted the Tribunal of the Holy Office, in 1233, with the aim of investigating the heresies of the Cathars, also called Albigenses. The pontiff handed over the functioning of the Court to the Dominican Order, created by Santo Domingo. As the Tribunal of the Holy Office was established in Portugal in 1536, some of Gil Vicente's plays were only censored in 1551, fifteen years after his death.
Troubadourism
Gil Vicente also wrote poems in the style of the songs of medieval troubadours that were incorporated into many of his plays, with both prophetic and dramatic density, as in the Auto da Barca do Inferno, when four knights come singing:
To the boat, to the boat, mortals,
well-groomed boat, to the boat,
to the boat of life! Watch yourselves,
sinners, that after the grave, in this river lies
is the bliss of fortune of pleasures or pains!
To the boat, to the boat, gentlemen
a very ennobled boat, to the boat, to
the boat of life!
Features of Gil Vicente's Work
Humanism took place in a historical period characterized by the transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Therefore, medieval elements coexisted with Renaissance ideas and the coexistence of religious and classical values influenced the artists of the time.
Although he lived in the middle of the renaissance, Gil Vicente did not allow himself to be impregnated by humanistic conceptions. Through his plays, he portrayed the popular and Christian values of medieval life. His theater is characterized by being primitive and popular, although it emerged in the court environment, to serve as entertainment in the evenings offered to the king.
A profound observer of reality, Gil Vicente wrote dramatic texts to be staged on stage, which was a novelty in Portuguese theater. He also introduced the use of scenery in presentations. The language displayed a certain colloquialism to be faithful to the characters and portray the unusual ways of speaking and social differences. For this, he mixed the popular, the archaic, the modern and the elite.
His work is rich due to the universality of the themes and the poetic lyricism that he was able to place in art, during the Renaissance atmosphere. His satirical observation left no one out, pope, king, clergy, witches, procuresses, marriageable girls, Jews, and moneylenders.
Vincentian Theater and Theatrical Tradition in Portugal
Gil Vicente founded a theatrical tradition in Portugal, which is why he is considered the creator of Portuguese theatre. Everything indicates that Gil Vicente was not restricted to writing his plays, but also acted in them and directed the actors. He was, therefore, responsible for all stages of setting up the theatrical show. The striking religious theme in his work appealed not only to the public, but to King D. Manuel I, who was deeply religious, and his sister Dona Leonor.
Characteristics of the Vicentino Theater
֎ Portrait of Portuguese society
֎ Theater of customs
֎ Social criticism
֎ Work of universal character
֎ Influence of anthropocentricism
֎ Renaissance context
֎ Presence of popular culture themes
֎ Caricatured and allegorical characters
֎ Psychological profile of the characters
֎ Presence of humor and comedy
֎ Moralizing and satirical character
֎ Pastoral, every day, profane and religious themes
Moreover, Vincentian theater had characteristics consistent with the Portuguese court of the time and contained a strong moral critique of certain customs or attitudes that the playwright verified in his time. It was a moralizing theater, despite presenting some elements that bothered the Church after his death. As most of his plays had a satirical content, one of the most famous phrases of the playwright was: laughing punishes customs.
Three Phases of Gil Vicente's Career
Gil Vicente wrote more than forty plays, some in Spanish and many in Portuguese. In them, he ruthlessly criticized the entire society of his time. The value of Vincentian theater lies in its satire, which is often aggressive but balanced by Christian thought. According to the subject addressed, his work can be classified into three phases:
First phase - 1502-1508 - with Spanish influence by Juan del Encina, Gil Vicente presents pieces that have a religious content:
֎ 1502 - Auto da Visitação
֎ 1502 - Auto Pastoril Castelhano
֎ 1503 - Auto dos Reis Magos
֎ 1504 - Auto de São Martinho
֎ 1505 - Quem tem Farelos?
֎ 1508 - Auto da Alma
Second phase - 1508-1516 - the social satire presents a broad vision of the society of the time, a fierce language in a more personal character. The masterpieces of that period are:
֎ 1509 - Auto da Índia
֎ 1510 - Auto da Fé
֎ 1511 - Auto das Fadas
֎ 1511 ou 1513 - Auto da Sibila Cassandra
֎ 1512 - O velho da Horta
֎ 1513 - Exortação da Guerra
֎ 1514 - Comédia do Viúvo
֎ 1516 - Auto da Barca do Inferno
֎ 1516 - Auto da Fama
Third phase -1516-1536 - Gil Vicente reaches his intellectual maturity. Alongside the critique of customs, moralizing attitudes of a medieval nature appear. The best theatrical works of Portuguese literature are from that period:
֎ 1518 - Auto da Barca do Purgatório
֎ 1519 - Auto da Barca da Glória
֎ 1521 - Comédia de Rubena
֎ 1521 - Cortes de Júpiter
֎ 1521 - Farsa das Ciganas
֎ 1522 - Tragicomédia de Dom Duardos
֎ 1522 - Pranto de Maria Parda
֎ 1523 - Auto Pastoril Português
֎ 1523 - Farsa de Inês Pereira
֎ 1524 - Frágua de Amor
֎ 1525 - Farsa do Juiz da Beira
֎ 1526 - Farsa do Templo de Apolo
֎ 1527 - Auto da Feira
֎ 1527 - Auto da História de Deus
֎ 1527 - Comédia Sobre a Divisa da Cidade de Coimbra
֎ 1527 - Auto da Nau dos Amores
֎ 1527 - Tragicomédia Pastoril da Serra da Estrela
֎ 1527 - Farsa dos Almocreves
֎ 1529 - Auto do Triunfo do Inverno
֎ 1529 - Farsa do Clérigo da Beira
֎ 1532 - Auto da Lusitânia
֎ 1533 - Auto de Amadis de Gaula
֎ 1533 - Romagem de Agravados
֎ 1534 - Auto de Mofina Mendes
֎ 1534 - Auto da Cananeia
֎ 1536 - Floresta de Enganos
Auto da Barca do Inferno
Auto da Barca do Inferno (The Play of the Ship of Hell) or Auto da Moralidade (The Play of Morality) is a play written in 1517 by the Portuguese humanist writer Gil Vicente. This play is one of the playwright's most emblematic works. It was performed in 1531 and is part of the Trilogy of Boats, along with Auto da Barca do Purgatório (The Play of the Ship of Purgatory) and Auto da Barca da Glória (The Play of the Ship of Glory). Auto is a genre that emerged in the Middle Ages. They are short texts with a comic theme and consist of a single act.
Summary and Analysis of Auto da Barca do Inferno
The two boatmen, Angel, and the Devil, receive the souls of the passengers passing through to the other world. The scene takes place in a port. One of the boats goes towards heaven and the other towards hell. Most of the characters go to hell because, during their lives, they did not follow God's path, they were cheaters, greedy, selfish, and big sinners. By following God's precepts and living simply, Joane, the fool, and the four horsemen, go to the boat of heaven.
The work satirizes the final judgment of catholicism, as well as Portuguese society in the 16th century. The allegory of the final judgment is a resource used by Gil Vicente through his characters (devil and angel). In addition, each character has a symbology associated with falsehood, ambition, corruption, avarice, lies, hypocrisy, etc.
Characters and Their Sins
Devil: captain of the boat of hell.
Angel: captain of the boat of heaven.
Nobleman: tyrant and representative of the nobility. He has had a life of luxury and he is going to hell.
Onzeneiro: greedy man, moneylender, and usurer. Because he was a great miser in life, he goes to hell.
Joane, the idiot: an innocent character who had a simple life, goes to heaven.
Shoemaker: hardworking man who stole and deceived his customers. He too will go to hell.
Friar: despite being a representative of the Church, he had a mistress, Florence, and did not follow the principles of Catholicism. He goes to hell.
Brígida Vaz: gossiper (who gossip and intrigue). Convicted of witchcraft and prostitution, she goes to hell.
Jew: character who was rejected by the Devil and the Angel for not being a Christian. He goes to hell.
Corregidor and Attorney: representatives of the law, they were accused of being manipulators and using the laws and justice for the good and personal interests. Both go to hell.
Knights: group of four men who fought to spread Christianity in life. They are absolved of the sins they committed and go to heaven.
Gallery of Characters
Gil Vicente is considered one of the most important satire producers. In all his plays, he used sailors, gypsies, peasants, fairies and demons as references and always allowed the language that the character already possessed to prevail. His gallery of characters is rich and several of them were ridiculed:
The incompetence of doctors - Farsa dos físicos (The farce of physicists)
The practice of witches - Auto das fadas (The play of the fairies)
The bragging of the nobility - Farsa dos almocreves (The farce of the muleteers)
The behavior of the clergy - O clérigo da Beira (The cleric of Beira)
The Life of Gil Vicente
Gil Vicente was probably born in 1465, in Guimarães, Portugal. There are many uncertainties about his biography due to lack of documentation. However, it is known that he had two marriages. The first wife was perhaps called Branca Bezerra. She bore him two children and died in 1514. Three years later, the author married Melícia Rodrigues, with whom he had three children.
At the same time there was another Gil Vicente, a goldsmith. Some scholars claim that, in fact, the two were the same person. In 1509, he became private goldsmith to Dona Leonor de Avis (1458-1525) and obtained the protection of the “old queen”. For this reason, King D. Manuel I, Dona Leonor's brother, made Gil Vicente responsible for celebrating the arrival of his new wife in Lisbon, when the monarch married for the third time. In 1511 he was made a vassal of the king, and in 1513 Master of the scales of the Mint.
During the government of D. João III, the writer received some monetary benefits from the king. He had the protection of the Portuguese Crown, support for his theatrical performances and appreciation for them. Gil Vicente, then, became a recognized name. In the following years, he organized various events, festivities, and royal celebrations, always taking the opportunity to present his texts. With great approval from the public and the Portuguese court, he gained the respect of his contemporaries and left works that have survived time and criticism. He therefore had a successful life as a playwright. Gil Vicente died around 1536 at an unknown location ֎
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E-biografia ֎ Toda matéria ֎ Infoescola ֎ Brasil escola ֎ Educação Globo ֎ Auto da barca do inferno ֎ Toda matéria - Auto da Barca ֎ Todo estudo - Auto da barca do inferno
YouTube
Gil Vicente - vida e obra ֎ Humanismo: Gil Vicente ֎ Todo mundo e ninguém ֎ Gil Vicente - vídeo-aula ֎ Resumo - Auto da barca do inferno ֎ D. Manuel I ֎ Áudio livro - O auto da barca do inferno ֎ Análise - Auto da barca do inferno ֎ D. João III ֎ Rainha D. Maria
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