This communication/paper aims at highlighting some living medieval aspects found in nowaday popular culture pertaining to the Northeast region of Brazil. It shall be a matter of comprehending the myth of the apocalyptic return of the supposedly evaded Dom Sebastião, the king of Portugal (1557-1578), a sort of eschatological hope still cherished by the poor population dwelling on the islands inhering the location of Lençóis, in the Brazilian state of Maranhão. According to the local version of this Sebastianic mith, after having been defeated in the typically Cruzade battle of Alcácer-Quibir, in Marocco, the king would have vanished from the battle field, to loose his human shape and, by dint of a mysterious charm, acquire the form of a bull. On the islands of Lençóis, the so charmed king expects the day of his return, when a millenial kingdom of justice shall be installed. Dom Sebastião of Portugal can be assigned as a historical late-medieval reconfiguration of King Arthur of Camelot, assuredly the Christian model of the saint and canonical monarch. Such intriguing presence of medieval motives in contempopary culture entailing the hopes and devotional practices of miserable portions Brazilian population pinpoints at what could be designated as “feudal transposition” (Luis Weckmann), which has strongly stressed the dawn of Portuguese colonization in America. KEYWORDS: Dom Sebastião; feudal transposition; nowaday popular culture; Brazil.
About the presenterMarcus Baccega
Marcus Baccega was born in 1979 and brought up in Brazil, in the industrial town of Santo André, close to São Paulo. However, he bears the dual citizenship, also possessing the European passport.
He attended History and Law at the University of São Paulo (USP), having defended his doctoral thesis in the domain of Medieval History. His research theme has ever since been the German version of the Arthurian myth during High Middle Ages.