Friar Bernardo de Brito (20 August 1569 – 27 February 1617) was a Portuguese monk and historian. He is perhaps best known for having authored the first two volumes of ''Monarchia Lusytana'', his ''

magnum opus A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

''.

Biography

Friar Bernardo de Brito was born Baltasar de Brito e Andrade, in the fortified village of Almeida in 1569. His father, Pedro Cardoso de Andrade, was a distinguished army captain who fought in Italy and Flanders who was killed in action during the Siege of Antwerp; his mother was Maria de Brito e Andrade, the sister of Rui de Andrade Freire, ''

alcaide Alcaide is a Portuguese and Spanish name, meaning 'castle commander'. It is borrowed from the Arabic term , which literally means 'commander'. Etymology From the Arabic 'commander' it becomes the Spanish form alcayde or alcaide, origin of the ...

'' of the Castle of Almeida and ''fronteiro'' of

Terras de Riba-Côa Ribacoa is a historical area in central Portugal. It is located roughly between Côa and Águeda Águeda () is a city and a municipality in Portugal. According to the Portuguese 2011 census, the municipality of Águeda had 47,729 inhabitants, i ...

. His father wished he joined the military; we was sent abroad to study in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, where he became fluent in

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 ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, and

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. When he returned to

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 ...

, he joined the

Cistercian Order The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

; he professed his vows in the

Alcobaça Monastery The Alcobaça Monastery or Alcobasa Monastery (, ''Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça'') is a Catholic monastic complex located in the town of Alcobaça, Portugal, Alcobaça (or Alcobasa, ), in central Portugal, north of Lisbon and south of Co ...

, on 23 February 1585, assuming the

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should n ...

''Bernardo de Brito'' in honour of

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, O.Cist. (; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reform of the Benedictines through the nascent Cistercian Order. Bernard was ...

, reformer of his Order. He obtained a

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

in the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; , ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The university ...

, on 12 April 1606. He devised a project of a monumental

History of Portugal The history of Portugal can be traced from circa 400,000 years ago, when the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by ''Homo heidelbergensis''. The Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, which lasted almost two centuries, led to the es ...

, in eight volumes, from the Creation to his time, which he called ''Monarchia Lusytana''. In 1597, at age 28, he published the first volume, which he dedicated to

Philip I of Portugal Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He was also ''jure uxoris'' K ...

. As it pleased the monarch (who issued a congratulatory Royal Charter on 3 April 1597), he continued the project and published volume two in 1609. After his death, the unfinished ''Monarchia Lusytana'' was continued by other important chroniclers. He was named chronicler of the

Cistercians The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

in 1606 and, in 1614, was made Chief Chronicler of the Kingdom of Portugal. He was several times offered the position of

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

, but always refused. He died in 1617 and was buried in the Convent of Our Lady of Aguiar, in Castelo Rodrigo, and later, in 1649, his remains were reinterred in the Chapter House of the

References

{{Authority control Portuguese chroniclers Portuguese Roman Catholic priests University of Coimbra alumni 1569 births 1617 deaths