Chronicles
It is probable that the chronicles of the early kings of Portugal from Sancho I to Afonso IV which were published under Pina's name in the 18th century were written by Fernão Lopes and edited by Pina, while that of King Duarte seems to have been the joint production of Lopes and Gomes Eanes de Zurara, with Pina again as the editor only.
Pina was a favorite of fortune during his life, for, apart from royal benefactions, he received presents from public men who wished to figure well in his books, and after his death he obtained the credit for work that was not his. His authority as an historian is considerable, and his frankness is said to have provoked remark from contemporaries.
Pinas' chronicle of King AFonso IV was first published in Lisbon in 1853; those of King Duarte and King Afonso V in vol. i of the Colecção de livros inéditos da historia portugueza (Lisbon, 1790), and his chronicle of John II in vol. ii of the same collection (Lisbon, 1792).
Ruy de Pina was immensely influential in his day. Afonso de Albuquerque, governor of Portuguese India, is said to have sent a set of jewels to Ruy de Pina, in an effort to ensure that he would not be overlooked in his chronicles. The introduction to the chronicle of King Duarte contains the fullest account of Pinas' life.
Read more about this topic: Rui De Pina
Famous quotes containing the word chronicles:
“Will you see the players well bestowed? Do you hear, let them
be well used, for they are the abstracts and brief chronicles of the time. After your death you were better have a bad epitaph than their ill report while you live.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Our medieval historians who prefer to rely as much as possible on official documents because the chronicles are unreliable, fall thereby into an occasionally dangerous error. The documents tell us little about the difference in tone which separates us from those times; they let us forget the fervent pathos of medieval life.”
—Johan Huizinga (1872–1945)