Luís de Camões

Who is Luís de Camões?

Luís Vaz de Camões is widely regarded as Portugal's greatest poet and one of the foremost figures of the Renaissance. Little is known with certainty about his early life, but he is believed to have been born around 1524, possibly in Lisbon or Coimbra. He led an adventurous and turbulent life, serving as a soldier in North Africa, where he lost the sight in one eye, and later travelling to India and the Far East in service of the Portuguese crown. His masterpiece, the epic poem 'Os Lusíadas' (The Lusiads), published in 1572, celebrates the Portuguese voyages of discovery, especially Vasco da Gama's sea route to India, blending history with classical mythology. Beyond the epic, Camões wrote lyrical poetry, sonnets, and plays that profoundly shaped the Portuguese language. He died in poverty in Lisbon in 1580. Portugal's National Day, 10 June, marks the anniversary of his death.

Sources: Luís de Camões, 'Os Lusíadas' (1572) · Landeg White (translator), 'The Lusíads' (Oxford World's Classics, 1997)