Edicion Critica De Teodosio Ii, De Francisco Manuel De Melo, Con Un Estudio Critico Y Analitico
Resumen del Libro
Abstract: This dissertation is a critical edition of Teodosio II, a Seventeenth century manuscript written in Spanish by Francisco Manuel de Melo. It is the unfinished biography of Don Teodosio II, the Seventh Duke of Braganza (1568 to 1630), written at the request of king Don João the IV, Teodosios son. The original manuscript of Teodosio II is lost, but five extant manuscripts exist in several Portuguese libraries, the oldest from Evora (1648), and the other four from the Eighteenth century. In this study, all manuscripts have been consulted and compared. Beside the three already known manuscripts, mentioned in bibliographies and catalogs, I was able to locate two more, which I have included in this study. Apparently a biography, the authors real objective is to reclaim from the Spanish the historical events that took place in Portugal during the life of Don Teodosio and to assign them to him. In doing so, Melo established an antecedent for his defense of the Braganzas rights to the Portuguese Crown. The sixty year period of union with Spain under the Habsburg Dynasty (1580-1640) lasted the entire life of Teodosio. This biography, written in the Spanish conceptist tradition, and inspired by the works of the classic writers, integrates the political and social events of this period as part of Teodosios life. Chapter One explains the historical and literary approach of my research, which focuses on the role of literature in historical discourse. Chapter Two presents the political, social, and economic background of Portugal during the time of Teodosio II. Chapter Three is a brief biographical essay on the life of Melo, and a study of his political and historical works that form a single political corpus with Teodosio. Chapter Four discusses Melo as an historian, his ideas on history and truth, and his classical and contemporary influences. Chapter Five is a study of Teodosio in which I discuss how it was written, its purpose, language, and style as well as a …
