A product of Portuguese colonisation and of the political processes of the modern and contemporary eras, Brazil is a nation whose identity, like the other American nations, has mostly been built on a post-medieval past. This characteristic, however, has not prevented features of the European, and specifically the Portuguese, Middle Ages emerging and undergoing incorporation into Brazilian historical culture, influencing the image Brazilians have created about themselves. Of particular relevance was the work of Gilberto Freyre (1900-1987), an intellectual whose theses were subject to particular political appropriation by the Estado Novo regime in Portugal but who also indelibly marked narratives about Brazilian national identity. The idea of medieval Portugal as a “melting pot” of diverse cultures (Christians, Muslims and Jews), although already defended by various authors since the 19th century, would serve as the basis for Freyre’s theories around a supposed “Portuguese propensity” for good relations with tropical peoples – theories that, at the time of their production, were subject to deep controversy in Brazil and later described as “Luso-tropicalism”.

More than 30 years after the death of Gilberto Freyre, the Institute of Medieval Studies (IEM), the Institute of Contemporary History (IHC) and Práticas da História journal have opened this space for academic discussion on the applications of the Middle Ages in the construction of Luso-Brazilian identity(ies) in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Following a first exploratory seminar, held in April 2018, bringing together the conclusions of this event and opening new paths, a conference is taking place on 9 and 10 May at the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, NOVA University. Suggested topics include:

The cultural and political contexts producing “luso-tropicalism” and their relationships with the various representations of the Portuguese Middle Ages;

The authors who influenced Gilberto Freyre’s theories on medieval Portugal

The relationship between Gilberto Freyre’s theories and Orientalist discourses and representations of Portugal and Brazil;

The way in which contemporary Portuguese and Brazilian historiography has interpreted the “influence of medieval Portugal” on the development of Brazilian society through to contemporary times in accordance with the various views (whether of a more “traditionalist” or “progressive” nature) on the Portuguese Middle Ages that developed over the twentieth century.

Instructions for submitting proposals for papers:

Proposals, consisting of an abstract of up to 300 words and a brief biography (up to 60 words), are to be submitted by 10 March 2019, to medievalismos@fcsh.unl.pt, in any one of the following languages: Portuguese, English, French or Spanish.

The announcement of the accepted proposals will be carried out by e-mail on 25 March.

A volume of peer reviewed papers will be published in 2020.

Written versions of the papers, containing between 6,000 and 10,000 words and following the submission guidelines of the Práticas da História journal, are to be delivered to the aforementioned email address by 30 November 2019.

After positive decisions by the anonymous reviewers, the final versions of the submitted articles will be published in a thematic issue of the Práticas da História journal, planned for the second half of 2020.


Organisation: Instituto de Estudos Medievais (IEM); Instituto de História Contemporânea (IHC) 
Partnership: Práticas da História 
Organisers: Maria de Lurdes Rosa (IEM-NOVA FCSH), Pedro Martins (IHC-NOVA FCSH), Nadia Altschul (Univ. Glasgow)