A Harpa do Crente eBook

Portuguese poet, novelist, historian, and essayist, Alexandre Herculano de Carvalho e Araújo was born on March 28, 1810, in Lisbon, and died on September 18, 1877, in Santarém. His work, in all its breadth and diversity, displays a profound coherence, adhering to a romantic-liberal program that guided not only his work but also his life.
Born into a modest family, he studied Humanities at the Congregation of the Oratory, where he also began the meditative reading of the Bible, which would shape his worldview. Prevented by economic and family difficulties from attending university, he prepared to enter the civil service, taking a practical course in Commerce and studying Diplomacy at the Torre do Tombo (National Archives of Portugal), where he learned the rudiments of historical research. Around this time, at the age of 18, his literary vocation was already evident: he learned French and German, read foreign Romantic writers, and began attending the literary gatherings of the Marchioness of Alorna, whom he would recognize as one of his mentors. In 1831, involved in a conspiracy against the Miguelist regime, he was forced into exile, first in England (Plymouth) and then in France (Rennes).
In exile, he perfected his study of history, familiarizing himself with the works of historians such as Thierry and Thiers, and reading what would become his literary models: Chateaubriand, Lamennais, Klopstock, and Walter Scott. In 1832, he participated in the landing of liberal troops in Mindelo and the defense of Porto, where he was appointed second librarian and put in charge of organizing the library's archives. Between 1834 and 1835, he published important articles on literary theory in the journal Literary Repository, from Porto, (later compiled in PamphletsIn 1836, due to disagreements with the Septemberist government, he resigned from his position as librarian and published the pamphlet. The Voice of the ProphetIn Lisbon, he directed the most important literary magazine of Portuguese Romanticism. The Panorama...to which he would contribute with various articles, narratives, and translations, not always signed. In 1839, he accepted King Ferdinand's invitation to direct the royal libraries of Ajuda and Necessidades, continuing his historical research work, which would materialize in the four volumes of... History of Portugal, published over the next two decades. It was precisely around this time that he became involved in a controversy with the clergy, questioning the miracle of Ourique, a controversy that would give rise to the booklets. Me and the Clergy and Solemnia VerbaElected as a member of parliament for the Chartist Party in 1840, he resigned the following year, disillusioned with parliamentary activity.
He returned to politics in 1851 and founded the newspaper. The CountryHowever, he soon became disillusioned with the Regeneration movement, expressing his dissatisfaction with Fontes Pereira de Melo's purely material conception of progress. In 1853, he founded the newspaper... The Portuguese, and two years later he was appointed vice-president of the Royal Academy of Sciences and tasked by his consortia with collecting historical documents prior to the 15th century – a task that would result in the publication of Portugaliae Monumenta Historica, initiated in 1856. In that same year he became one of the founders of the historical progressive party and in 1857 he attacked the Concordat with the Holy See. In 1858, he refused the chair of History at the Higher School of Letters. Between 1860 and 1865, he became involved in a new controversy with the clergy when, participating in the drafting of the first Portuguese Civil Code, he defended civil marriage. In 1865, as a result of his reflections, the following were published. Studies on Civil MarriageIn 1867, saddened by the untimely death of King Pedro V, in whom he had placed many hopes, and disillusioned with public life, he retired to his farm in Vale de Lobos (purchased with the proceeds from the sale of his works), where he would dedicate himself almost exclusively to rural life, marrying Maria Hermínia Meira, his childhood sweetheart.
Despite this new and voluntary exile, he continued to work in Portugaliae Monumenta Historica, intervened in 1871 against the closure of the Casino Conferences, and in 1872 directed the publication of the first volume of Pamphlets He maintained correspondence with various figures in political and literary life. He died of pneumonia at the age of 67, leading to national expressions of mourning.

Alexandre Herculano. In Infopédia [Online]. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003-2011.