Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas (

Avô Avô is a civil parish in the municipality of Oliveira do Hospital Oliveira do Hospital () is a municipality in the district of Coimbra, in the central part of continental Portugal. The population in 2011 was 20,855, in an area of 234.52 km² ...

Oliveira do Hospital Oliveira do Hospital () is a municipality in the district of Coimbra, in the central part of continental Portugal. The population in 2011 was 20,855, in an area of 234.52 km². History Inhabited by ancient civilizations, Oliveira do Hospita ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, 3 February 1596 - Avô, Oliveira do Hospital, Portugal, 8 August 1656) was a Portuguese soldier, poet and writer, author of the poem '' Viriato Trágico''. During his youth, he traveled to the Portuguese

colony of Brazil Colonial Brazil (), sometimes referred to as Portuguese America, comprises the period from 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to a kingdom in union with Portugal. During the 300 years of Brazilian col ...

, and through parts of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

(France, Italy, and Spain). He then fought in the

Portuguese Restoration War The Restoration War (), historically known as the Acclamation War (''Guerra da Aclamação''), was the war between Portugal and Spain that began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668, bringing a forma ...

, where he organized a battalion of volunteers known as the ''Company of the Lions of Beira''. As a reward for his services, he was awarded the governorship of the Castle of Alfaites at the Portuguese border. After disobeying the general of the Beira province, Sancho Manoel de Vilhena, he was arrested and held at the

Castle of Sabugal Nt-castelo-sabugal-1

The Sabugal Castle is a castle in the city o ...

. He then wrote to the king

John IV of Portugal ''Dom (honorific), Dom'' John IV (; 19 March 1604 – 6 November 1656), also known by the Portuguese as John the Restorer (), was the List of Portuguese monarchs, King of Portugal from 1640 until his death in 1656. He Portuguese Restoration War, ...

the epic poem '' Viriato Trágico'', as a way of justifying his actions and requesting forgiveness. The king, impressed with his talent and skill, returned him to freedom. His work, posthumously edited in 1699, was re-edited in 1846. He married Maria da Fonseca da Costa on 19 February 1645.

References

1596 births 1656 deaths 17th-century Portuguese poets 17th-century Portuguese male writers Portuguese male poets 17th-century Portuguese military personnel People from Oliveira do Hospital {{Portugal-bio-stub