_--"He was a man of rank, who, in order to
avoid the legal punishment to which several crimes rendered him
obnoxious, put himself at the head of a party of freebooters.
avoid the legal punishment to which several crimes rendered him
obnoxious, put himself at the head of a party of freebooters.
Camoes - Lusiades
[514] _And from the leaves. _--This legend is mentioned by some ancient
Portuguese chronicles. Homer would have availed himself, as Camoens has
done, of a tradition so enthusiastic, and characteristic of the age.
Henry was a native of Bonneville near Cologne. "His tomb," says Castera,
"is still to be seen in the monastery of St. Vincent, but without the
palm. "
[515] _In robes of white behold a priest advance. _--Thestonius, prior of
the regulars of St. Augustine of Conymbra. Some ancient chronicles
relate this circumstance as mentioned by Camoens. Modern writers assert,
that he never quitted his breviary. --CASTERA.
[516] _The son of Egas. _--He was named Mem Moniz, and was son of Egas
Moniz, celebrated for the surrender of himself and family to the King of
Castile, as already mentioned.
[517] _The dauntless Gerald.
_--"He was a man of rank, who, in order to
avoid the legal punishment to which several crimes rendered him
obnoxious, put himself at the head of a party of freebooters. Tiring,
however, of that life, he resolved to reconcile himself to his sovereign
by some noble action. Full of this idea, one evening he entered Evora,
which then belonged to the Moors. In the night he killed the sentinels
of one of the gates, which he opened to his companions, who soon became
masters of the place. This exploit had its desired effect. The king
pardoned Gerald, and made him governor of Evora. A knight with a sword
in one hand, and two heads in the other, from that time became the
armorial bearing of the city. "--CASTERA.
[518] _Wrong'd by his king. _--Don Pedro Fernando de Castro, injured by
the family of Lara, and denied redress by the King of Castile, took the
infamous revenge of bearing arms against his native country. At the head
of a Moorish army he committed several outrages in Spain; but was
totally defeated in Portugal.
[519] _And lo, the skies unfold. _--"According to some ancient Portuguese
histories, Don Matthew, bishop of Lisbon, in the reign of Alonso I,
attempted to reduce Alcazar, then in possession of the Moors. His
troops, being suddenly surrounded by a numerous party of the enemy, were
ready to fly, when, at the prayers of the bishop, a venerable old man,
clothed in white, with a red cross on his breast, appeared in the air.
The miracle dispelled the fears of the Portuguese; the Moors were
defeated, and the conquest of Alcazar crowned the victory. "--CASTERA.
