Fernão Lopes

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For the Portuguese soldier, see Fernão Lopez.

Fernão Lopes (pronounced [fɨɾˈnɐ̃ũ ˈlɔpɨʃ]; c. 1380–1459), was a Portuguese chronicler, appointed by King Edward I of Portugal. Fernão Lopes wrote the History of Portugal as it was known at the time. His writing was based on oral expression and revealed his common roots. He even says that in his "pages one cannot find the beauty of words but the nudity of the truth." He was an autodidact and one of the last representatives of popular knowledge. By the time of his death a new kind of knowledge was rising, which was latinized, and involved imitations of classics.

He was born between 1380 and 1390 and belonged to the generation that came after the war with Castile and the Battle of Aljubarrota. In his life he knew many of the protagonists of the 1383-1385 Crisis, including John I of Portugal, Edward I of Portugal, Nuno Álvares Pereira and Dr. João das Regras. He saw the reign of three monarchs: John I, Edward I and Afonso V and he also lived during the regency of Pedro, Duke of Coimbra. Portugal saw many social and political changes in his time, such as the growth of the new nobility of the Ínclita Geração (the children of John I and Philippa of Lancaster), the Conquest of Ceuta, the insurrection of Lisbon against the Queen Mother Leonor of Aragon, the election of Pedro, Duke of Coimbra, for the regency, a civil war between Pedro and Afonso V, and the subsequent Battle of Alfarrobeira where Pedro died. At the end of his life Lopes witnessed the beginning of Portuguese maritime expansion.