The ideal of chivalry of The Book of The Order of Chivalry, by Raimundo Lulio, in The Lusiads, by Luis de Camoes

This article aims to show the resonance of the medieval ideal of chivalry, modeled by Raimundo Lulio in the Book of the Order of Chivalry, in the epic The Lusiads of Luis de Camoes. This Mannerist epic extols even in the sixteenth century, the knightly values through their kings and heroes, praising the virtues they demonstrated. The epic of Camoes, so reveres, in their characters, the Theological virtues (faith, hope and charity) and the Cardinal virtues (prudence, temperance, justice and fortitude), specifically courage, honor and pledged word, attributes indispensable to fighting as recommended by Lulio in his Book, a manual with a view to prescribing the ideal warrior. This article shows the permanence of medieval thought in the Camonian poetics, which sings the expansion of the Portuguese empire and its faith in the territories reached by Portuguese colonization. Portuguese sailors and other characters from the epic poem are thus figured with the qualities of medieval knights whose mission is the dedication to modern holy war against the enemies of Christianity.