UMA ÉPOCA DE GRANDEZA: IDADE MÉDIA, DECADÊNCIA E REGENERAÇÃO NA HISTORIOGRAFIA PORTUGUESA (1842-1942)

Abstract

Widely underestimated as a period of civilizational decline during the Modern Age, the Middle Ages were largely rehabilitated by Romanticism. In Portugal, authors such as Alexandre Herculano represented the medieval period as a time of progress and greatness capable of inspiring a decadent nation. It is the purpose of this article to take stock of the portuguese historiography about the Middle Ages in the period between 1842 and 1942 in the light of the debates about a national decadence. To this end, we will use the works of authors from different historiographical schools and ideological fields that represent the medieval period from a positive perspective, contrasting with a modernity marked by the moral and material decline of the nation. We will demonstrate how a romantic view of history persisted in portuguese culture until quite long after the period normally associated with Romanticism, influencing several attempts to national regeneration.