Adriana Zierer (Email)

My interest for the Celts started during my Masters course, when I developed research on King Arthur as example of king-warrior and its appropriation by Portuguese medieval Chronics (dissertation submitted in 1999). In my PhD, I was still concerned with the appropriation of medieval imaginary kings (Arthur and Prester John) associated to the Dynasty of Avis – more precisely, to the founder of such dynasty, John I of Portugal. Another theme of significant importance for my thesis (submitted in 2004) was the interpretation of elements of Celtic origin present in medieval narratives about the Earthly Paradise, as The Voyage of Saint Brandan and A Vida de Sancto Amaro (The Tale of Saint Amaro).

Current research: Representations of the Knight in the medieval Imaginary

This research aims to identify the elements of the medieval knight and to oppose basically two models of knights: the courteous knight and the Christian knight. The first is represented in the work of Chrétien de Troyes, whereas the second appears in the 13th century literary works, with the prosification of the chivalry novels such as in A Demanda do Santo Graal and also in Libre qui es de l'ordre de cavalleria, a pedagogic manual produced in the same period by the Catalan philosopher Ramon Llull. Additionally, it will also address the appropriation of the chivalric models underpinning the royal power of the dynasties of Borgonha and of Avis in Portugal.

Areas of interest: