#there are a bunch of variations on basic doomed love stories set in the reconquista

[reallunargift]

So I was talking to @sisididis the other day about love stories in portuguese folklore. At the time I couldn’t think of any on the spot, and decided I’d make a post later. So here it is.

I tried to look for legends with happier endings, but either this country is allergic to them or my own bias is at work here. Heads up (ha) that there will be gruesome details under the cut for the irl ones (is it really a portuguese love story if decapitation isn’t involved?)

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Almond blossoms

You already know this one, but it’s my favourite so let me start with it for those who don’t know it. This story’s setting is the Algarve when it was still under Muslim rule, namely the city of Silves. Ibn-Almundim was the young king, and he was known as a formidable warrior. One day among his prisoners he spotted Gilda, a beautiful Christian princess from the north. He granted her freedom and the two fell in love and married.

Despite loving her husband, Gilda became very sad and started wasting away. The king sent for wise men from all over, yet no one could determine what was wrong with her. Until finally a prisoner from the same land as Gilda heard about it and asked to be seen by the ruler. He told Ibn-Almundim that Gilda was suffering from homesickness, specifically that she missed the snowy landscapes of her homeland.

So Ibn-Almundim ordered that thousands of almond trees be planted outside the palace. When the trees flowered (late January/early February), Gilda looked out the window and found the entire landscape covered in white. The almond blossoms mimicked snow, which filled her with joy and she quickly recovered, and as far as we know they lived happily ever after.

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Lagoon of the Seven Cities

Once upon a time in the island of São Miguel in the Azores, there lived a beautiful and kind princess called Antília, who loved to roam around the countryside. During one of these strolls, she heard the beautiful sound of a flute and came upon a young shepherd. The two started meeting up everyday, talking and falling more and more in love. The king found out (either by himself or when the shepherd asked for Antília’s hand in marriage) and forbade her from seeing the boy ever again. He also arranged a marriage for her with a prince of another kingdom.

Obedient to her father’s wishes, the princess asked to be allowed to see the shepherd one last time, to which the king agreed. Knowing they’d never see each other again, the two embraced and cried so much that their tears created the blue and green lagoon, mirroring the couple’s eye colours.

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Montedor

This story centres on Aldara, the beloved sister of the Muslim ruler of the area around Gaia, and a Christian prisoner. Aldara's brother spares him because he’s a troubadour, and has him entertain his court. Aldara, a lover of music and poetry, soon falls in love with the troubadour who seems to be singing especially for her. They meet each other in secret until deciding to run away together to the north, but the ruler’s men soon catch up to them. Her brother wants to forgive Aldara, but when it proves impossible to physically separate the two lovers due to how tightly they are embracing, he angrily orders them both to be thrown into the stormy sea.

The sea immediately calmed down, receiving the two gently. Aldara’s brother returned to his palace in Gaia, where he lived out the rest of his days in bitterness. The place where the incident occurred became known as Monte da Dor (Hill/Mountain of Pain), which is the origin of the modern name for it: Montedor.

But the legend doesn’t end there! It’s said that in stormy nights, fishermen in the Montedor area can see two silhouettes embracing each other in the waves. These silhouettes calm their fears and push their boats towards safety and away from the storm.

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Serra da Marofa

This story is set in the 16th century, after the Jews are expelled from Spain. A widower called Zacuto and his daughter Ofa settle in Castelo Rodrigo in Portugal. Luís, a Christian nobleman from a neighbouring village, hears about them and decides to go meet them. Of course he and Ofa fall in love, much to the dislike of her father and his mother.

Whenever he was asked where he was going, Luís would cheerfully say he was going to "amar Ofa" (to love Ofa), and so the mountain became known as Serra da Marofa.

Luís and Ofa do get together in the end. In one version, he gets Zacuto's blessing by "saving" him from robbers (who were Luís' friends in disguise), and in another Zacuto and Ofa convert to Christianity following king Manuel I's edict, which ends Luís´ mother's opposition. So I'd count it as a bittersweet ending, because they get to be together, but the historical context is very sad.

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Serra da Estrela

Once upon a time there was a shepherd who wished to travel beyond his little village. One night a star told him that if he followed her light in the sky, he would find the place he’d always dreamed of. So the shepherd (and his faithful dog) left the village and walked for many years, always following the star in the sky. Until one day they finally arrived to a beautiful mountain range, the peak of which was so tall that  they could speak to the star every night. The shepherd and his dog lived there for many happy years until their dying day. The star remained, of course, and because she knew a shepherd’s love and knows what missing someone feels like, she shines differently from all the other stars around her. This explains how Serra da Estrela, which is mainland Portugal’s highest mountain range, got its name, as "estrela" means "star".

And of course there are many versions of this story, though all keep the central theme of the shepherd and the star. In one version, a king hears about the shepherd’s star and wants to buy her, but the shepherd refuses to sell his friend, which makes the star immensely happy, and contributes to her different glow. In another version the shepherd also names his dog in the same way as the mountain range, which is a reference to the Serra da Estrela dog breed.

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I know this post is for legends, but I’d like to mention some love stories that we know for sure happened (even if they were surely embellished in literature)

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Pedro and Inês

Arguably the most famous love story is that of the heir prince Pedro, who upon meeting his arranged bride fell in love with her lady-in-waiting instead, Inês de Castro.

The king and the court were against this relationship, but no matter how many times Inês was banished, Pedro’s love for her would not waver. When his wife died, Pedro refused to marry anyone else. He and Inês started living together and rumours that they had married in secret also started circulating. After 15 years of this affair and seeing no other way out, the king ordered Inês’ execution. It’s said that Pedro was out hunting when three assassins beheaded her.

To this day the place where it happened is called Estate of Tears (Quinta das Lágrimas). There you can find the Fountain of Loves (Fonte dos Amores) and the Fountain of Tears (Fonte das Lágrimas). The Fountain of Loves got its name due to witnessing the love between Pedro and Inês, while the Fountain of Tears is said to have been created by the tears spilled when Inês was murdered. Some algae that grow there are said to have been dyed red by her spilled blood.

Pedro rebelled against his father, but revenge would only come after he was crowned king. Two of the assassins were brought back from Castile and executed, and it’s said that Pedro watched this while having dinner. Legend says that he ordered one of the murderers' hearts to be ripped from his chest, and the other from his back, because they had destroyed his own heart by killing his beloved Inês. There are also versions where he either bites one of the hearts or actually eats it.

Pedro then declared that he had married Inês in secret and legitimised their children together. He had her corpse exhumed and dressed as a queen, and the court was made to kiss her hand. His and Inês’ tombs face each other, so that when Judgment Day comes and all the dead rise, the first thing they will see is each other.

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Camilo Castelo Branco and Ana Plácido

Camilo is a famous Portuguese writer from the 19th century. He fell in love with Ana Plácido, a fellow writer who was already married. Eventually they ran away together, soon being found by her husband. Ana was sent to a convent, but managed to escape and returned to Camilo’s arms. After this, Ana’s husband pressed charges and both Ana and Camilo were arrested for adultery. They awaited trial in the same prison for around a year, where Camilo was visited by King Pedro V and wrote one of his most famous works, Amor de Perdição. The book is about a forbidden romance between two youths from rival families, and ends with the tragic lovers separated and dead.

Camilo’s protagonist is convicted for murder and exiled to India, but Camilo himself would have a different fate. The trial was tense, but in the end he and Ana were both released as the judge decided that the crime hadn’t been proven (public opinion seems to have been on the couple’s side as well, because who doesn’t like a good illicit love story?) Once again they went right back to each other, living together and finally marrying after her husband died.

Afflicted by blindness and unable to write, Camilo asked a famous doctor to come see him. There was nothing that could be done, and when the doctor was leaving Camilo shot himself. He fell into a painful coma before finally dying hours later. I’ve read some theories that he might have planned this doctor’s visit so that Ana wouldn’t be the one to find him, and so she had someone who could help her and be a witness to what had happened.

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Henriqueta Emília da Conceição and Teresa Maria de Jesus

Henriqueta was a prostitute who by the age of 20 had become very wealthy, and who fell in love with another prostitute, Teresa. Madly in love, the two lived together until Teresa died in 1868. Heartbroken, Henriqueta made her a beautiful grave. When people came to mourn Teresa’s death, Henriqueta asked them to leave for a bit so she could have a final moment with her. Then she beheaded Teresa’s body and took her head home with her. It seems Henriqueta didn’t really hide this, and soon she was brought to trial. Henriqueta claimed that she was a relative of Teresa’s, but by now the nature of their relationship was known.

The judge absolved her, however, seeing the crime as a desperate act of devoted love. Henriqueta is buried in the same graveyard as Teresa, but not in the same grave. There’s a story that two nights a year you can hear her lamenting for her lost love.

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