Jeronimos Monastery - Luis de Camoes

Memorial to Luis De Camoes (1524-1580) he is Portugal's Shakespeare and Casanova rolled into one and adventurer, writer whose heroic poems glorifying the nations sailing exploits live on.

After college at Coimbra, Camoes was banished from the court (1546) for flirting with the noble lady Dona Caterina. He lost an eye soldering in Morocco (so he is always pot rayed squinting), served time in jail for brawling, then caught a ship to India and China surviving a ship wreck en route. while serving as colonial administrator in India he plugged away at the epic open that would become his master pied. Returning to Portugal he published Th lusiads in 1572. The long poem describes Vasco Da Gama's first voyage to India in heroic terms on the scale of Homer's Odyssey. Lusiads were the original pre roman natives of portugal.

Portugals national holdiay - June 10 - is known as Camoes Day remembering the day in 1580 when he died.

The stone monument here with literary hater than maritime motifs is an empty tomb as his actual burial spot is unknown. - source rick steeves

The poet laurette wears a wreath made of the laurel bay tree, the one we grow at the side of the house. The quill and the 3 arrows??? not sure of that symbolism. The one at the end of the coffin is the crest of Lisbon I believe.Read more