Cover not available
Part of
A Comparative Literary History of Modern Slavery: The Atlantic world and beyond
Edited by Madeleine Dobie, Mads Anders Baggesgaard and Karen-Margrethe Simonsen
[Comparative History of Literatures in European Languages XXXVI] 2024
► pp. 254–270

Chapter 14
Bárbora and Jau

Slavery in the life and poetry of Luís de Camões

This chapter examines two contrasting emotional responses to enslaved people in the writing of the Portuguese Renaissance poet Luís de Camões. On the one hand, Bárbora, the captive woman made famous in a lyrical poem by Camões, stands for the golden age of Portuguese discoveries and its open-mindedness towards far-off exotic civilizations; on the other hand, Camões depicts Jau, the Javanese slave he owned for about a decade, in a way that suggests social conservatism and indifference. In the nineteenth century, many Romantic authors and artists, inspired by the figure of the noble savage and a new emphasis on emotional bonds, highlighted the importance of these two slaves in the life of Camões.
Keywords: Portuguese Empire, Luís de Camões, Romanticism, lyric poetry, exoticism
Article outline
  • Camões’s early life: Slavery and social hierarchies
  • Camões and Bárbora
  • Camões and Bárbora in the light of Romanticism
  • Camões and Jau
  • Conclusion
  • References
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
References (18)
References
AAVV. 1908. Archivo Historico Portuguez. Vol. VI. Lisbon: Oficina Tipográfica.Google Scholar
Brásio, António. 1959. Monumenta Missionaria Africana — África Ocidental (1342–1499). Lisbon: Agência Geral do Ultramar.Google Scholar
Caminha, Pêro Vaz de. 2000. Carta de Pêro Vaz de Caminha a el-rei D. Manuel sobre o achamento do Brasil. Mem Martins: Publicações Europa-América.Google Scholar
Camões, Luís de. 1595. Rhythmas. Lisbon: Manoel de Lyra.Google Scholar
Castilho, António Feliciano de. 1849. Camões: Estudo historico-poetico liberrimamente fundado sobre um drama francez dos senhores Victor Perrot, e Armand du Mesnil. Ponta Delgada: Typographia da Rua das Artes.Google Scholar
Cerejeira, M. Gonçalves. 1926. O Humanismo em Portugal — Clenardo. 2nd edition. Coimbra: Coimbra Editora.Google Scholar
Chateaubriand, François de. 2005. Mémoires d’Outre-Tombe. Translated by A. S. Kline. Poetry in Translation. [URL]. Consulted 11/2/2024.Google Scholar
. 1910. Mémoires d’Outre-Tombe. Vol. I. Paris: Edmond Biré.Google Scholar
Cunha, Xavier da. 1893. Pretidão de amor. Endechas de Camões a Bárbara escrava seguidas da respectiva tradução em várias línguas e antecedidas de um preâmbulo. Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional.Google Scholar
Garrett, Almeida. 1825. Camões. Paris: Livraria Nacional Estrangeira.Google Scholar
Leal, Gomes. 1880. A fome de Camões. Lisbon: Empreza Litteraria Luso-Brazileira de A. Souza Pinto e Livraria Industrial de Lisboa.Google Scholar
Marnoto, Rita. 2003. “Barbora escrava. Canon, beauty and color: An embarrassing contradiction”. Portuguese Literary & Cultural Studies 9: 49–61.Google Scholar
. 1997. “Camões, Laura e a Bárbora escrava”. Máthesis 6: 77–103.
Resende, Garcia de. 1910. Cancioneiro General. Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade.Google Scholar
Sena, Jorge de. 1978. Antigas e novas andanças do demónio. Lisbon: Edições 70.Google Scholar
Sousa, Manuel de Faria e. 1689. Rimas várias de Luís de Camões. Part 2, Vol. 3. Lisbon: Teotónio Dâmaso de Melo.Google Scholar
Vicente, Gil. 1962. Obras completas. Porto: Livraria Civilização.Google Scholar
Zurara, Gomes Eanes de. 1841. Chronica do Descobrimento e Conquista de Guiné. Paris: J. P. Aillaud.Google Scholar