Bento Teixeira (1561? – 1618?) was a Portuguese poet. He is considered to be the introducer of

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

in the Portuguese province of Brazil.

Life

Details about Teixeira's life are very sparse. His birthplace is most commonly accepted to be

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

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 ...

, to Manuel Álvares de Barros and Lianor Rodrigues. Teixeira moved to the colony of Brazil in 1567(?), first living in

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

, but he had to flee to

Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

when he was accused of being a

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

. In Pernambuco, Bento Teixeira became a teacher of

Arithmetics Arithmetic is an elementary branch of mathematics that deals with numerical operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and Division (mathematics), division. In a wider sense, it also includes exponentiation, extraction of nth root, ...

Grammar In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...

and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. Returning to Bahia, he married Filipa Raposa in the city of

Ilhéus Ilhéus () is a major city located in the southern coastal region of Bahia, Brazil, 211 km south of Salvador, Brazil, Salvador, the state's capital. The city was founded in 1534 as Vila de São Jorge dos Ilhéus and is known as one of the mos ...

, in 1584(?). Allegedly, Teixeira

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

ed his wife when he suspected her of

adultery Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept ...

, which prompted him to flee to Pernambuco once more. Having taken refuge at the Monastery of São Bento, he wrote his masterpiece '' Prosopopeia''. Another version states that Teixeira's wife accused him of being Jewish. After being interrogated and absolved in 1589, he was intimated by the caller of the

Portuguese Inquisition The Portuguese Inquisition (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Inquisição Portuguesa''), officially known as the General Council of the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Portugal, was formally established in Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal in 15 ...

, and Teixeira then confessed that he was a follower of

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

. Enraged by his wife's delation, he murdered her and fled to the aforementioned monastery. However, he was found, arrested and sent to

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

in 1595(?), staying there until his death.

Works

Many works were attributed to Teixeira, such as: * ''Relações do Naufrágio'': According to studies made by Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen, it was written by Afonso Luís, pilot of a carrack named ''Santo António'', mentioned in the poem ''Prosopopeia''. * ''Diálogos das Grandezas do Brasil'': According to Capistrano de Abreu, it was written by Ambrósio Fernandes Brandão. The only one whose authorship is confirmed was the epic poem ''Prosopopeia'', written in

1601 This Epoch (reference date)#Computing, epoch is the beginning of the 400-year Gregorian leap-year cycle within which digital files first existed; the last year of any such cycle is the only leap year whose year number is divisible by 100. Jan ...

. The poem, inspired by

Luís de Camões Luís Vaz de Camões (; or 1525 – 10 June 1580), sometimes rendered in English as Camoens or Camoëns ( ), is considered Portugal's and the Portuguese language's greatest poet. His mastery of verse has been compared to that of William Shakes ...

' '' Os Lusíadas'', tells about the life and works of the then-governor of

Jorge de Albuquerque Coelho and his brother Duarte.

External links

A sparse poem by Teixeira
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Teixeira, Bento 1560s births 1610s deaths 17th-century Portuguese poets Portuguese male poets Jewish Portuguese writers Portuguese-language writers Writers from Porto 16th-century Portuguese male writers 17th-century Portuguese male writers 16th-century Portuguese poets Baroque writers