D. Catarina Micaela de Sousa César e Lencastre (29 September 1749 — 4 January 1824) was a Portuguese noblewoman, and a poet and playwright. While a celebrated author during her lifetime, most of her work remains unpublished.

Biography

D. Catarina was born in

Guimarães Guimarães () is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga. Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved ...

on 29 September 1749 — the Feast of Saint Michael, the reason why her second given name was ''Micaela'' — the daughter of Francisco Filipe de Sousa da Silva Alcoforado (''

fidalgo ''Fidalgo'' (, ), from Galician and Portuguese —equivalent to a nobleman, but sometimes literally translated into English as "nobleman" —is a traditional title of Portuguese nobility and Brazilian nobility that refers to a member of the ...

'' of the Royal Household, Lord of Vila Pouca, Familiar of the

Holy Office The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace o ...

), and his wife, D. Rosa Maria Viterbo de Lencastre (daughter of the 3rd Viscounts of Asseca). She was married by proxy on 31 August 1767 to Luís Pinto de Sousa Coutinho, at the time the Captain-General and Governor of

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – ) is one of the states of Brazil, the List of Brazilian states by area, third largest by area, located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible ...

, in

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. When her husband was named

envoy Envoy or Envoys may refer to: Diplomacy * Diplomacy, in general * Envoy (title) * Special envoy, a type of Diplomatic rank#Special envoy, diplomatic rank Brands *Airspeed Envoy, a 1930s British light transport aircraft *Envoy (automobile), an au ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

in 1774, she accompanied him to London where, soon enough, she hosted people notable in arts, letters, and sciences, turning the Portuguese embassy into a '' salon littéraire''. After definitely returning to Portugal, she became closely acquainted with the Marquise of Alorna. She became known as ''Safo Portuguesa'' ("the Portuguese

Sappho Sappho (; ''Sapphṓ'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; ) was an Ancient Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung while accompanied by music. In ancient times, Sapph ...

") due to her poems in celebration of love.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balsemão, Catarina Micaela de Sousa César e Lencastre, Viscountess of 1749 births 1824 deaths 18th-century Portuguese people 18th-century Portuguese poets 18th-century Portuguese women writers 19th-century Portuguese people 19th-century Portuguese poets 19th-century Portuguese women writers 19th-century Portuguese dramatists and playwrights People from Guimarães Portuguese nobility Portuguese salon-holders Portuguese women poets 18th-century Portuguese dramatists and playwrights