T he analysis of these variants led Cintra to realise that there were errors of translation from Portuguese in the Castilian manuscripts, while there were no errors of translation from Castilian in the Portuguese manuscripts (although Cintra attributes this to chance , verifying the existence of such errors is only possible with a solid knowledge of historical linguistics). This led to the hypothesis that the Segunda Crónica Geral [Second General Chronicle] was a text originally written in Portuguese that had been translated into Castilian. As Cintra demonstrated, it was a reworking of the Primeira Crónica Geral [First General Chronicle] but written in Portuguese and then translated into two independent Castilian versions ( org. Faria 1999: 40-41 ) . The intricate matter of the origins of peninsular historiography therefore received a decisive contribution from Cintra, who, as well as solving the issue of Portuguese or Castilian priority with regard to the Segunda Crónica Geral [Second General Chronicle] , attributed the authorship of its collection to Count Pedro of Barcelos – also responsible for compiling the Livro de Linhagens [Book of Lineages] and the Cancioneiro trovadoresco [ Troubadour Songbook ] that preceded the Cancioneiro da Ajuda [Ajuda Songbook] – and renewed knowledge of the sources of various historiographical texts from the peninsular Middle Ages.

The corpus of choice studied by Cintra allowed for an in-depth practical reflection on concepts of textual history such as source, variant (and extended variant), testimony, interpolation, recasting and, of course, text . These concepts thus gained a density they had rarely achieved until the mid-20 th century in Portugal.

Cintra ’ s philological proficiency, which Mattoso says was coupled with “ a solid knowledge of historical context and factology ” ( org. Faria 1999: 580 ) , also became apparent in other texts, such as the versions of the legend of Ourique. A detailed study of the surviving versions of the legend led him to distinguish between three stages: firstly, from the date of the battle until the end of the first half of the 15 th century, a traditional account was drawn up leaving its traces or expression developed in the Alfonsine general chronicles and in texts that derive from them; in the second stage, the legend underwent a profound change, fuelled by the episode of the apparition of Christ, to which the Crónica de 1419 [Chronicle of 1419] , a model for later texts, bears witness; the third stage saw the legend undergo new changes and take on a crystallised form by the historians of 17 th century in Alcobaça.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | (Pdf)