1. Agrupamento Escolas Manteigas
ESCOLA BÁSICA Nº1 DE MANTEIGAS
PORTUGUESE WRITERS
Luís de Camões
(the greatest Portuguese
poet)
José Saramago
(Nobel literature)
Fernando Pessoa
(Poet)
Sophia de Melo Breyner
(Poet)
ONCE UPON A TIME…
PORTUGUESE LEGENDS
The Backer of
Aljubarrota
The Serra da Estrela
Legend
The Miracle of Roses
ERA UMA VEZ...

2. THE BAKER OF ALJUBARROTA
Página 2 PORTUGUESE LEGENDS
Once upon a time there was a woman who became very popular in the History of Portugal. Her name was Brites de
Almeida. She was born in Faro, in the Algarve in the XIV century. Her parents owned a tavern in Faro and she used to
help them. Her parents died when she was 20 years old and she decided to sell everything and leave to the North of Por-
tugal.
On her way she met different people and in particular a certain amount of soldiers. She was very fond of fighting and
using weapons and so she asked them to teach her how to use the sword. At the time Portugal was at war with the Span-
ish and the Muslims.
She was a tall, fat, ugly but very strong woman. The soldiers were amused to watch her fighting with other men. One day
a soldier fell in love with Brites and asked her to marry him. She asked him to fight with her first. During the struggle
he died. Brites was distressed.
She was convicted by law to go to prison but she managed to escape. She travelled to Spain by boat, dressed as a man
with other villains. Some pirates caught her and the villains and they were made slaves and sold to a rich Muslim. Being
so brave, Brites managed to escape and returned to Portugal. She decided to live a normal life. She was told that in Al-
jubarrota she would find a job as a baker.
After some time she married to a fat, strong honest
farmer. One day they were told that there was going
to be a battle nearby. Brites decided to help and
fought the Spanish. Tired from the battle, Brites and
her husband return home to their bakery. In the bak-
ery some noise got their attention. There was a
strange noise coming out from the big oven. They
looked closer and discovered that some Spanish sol-
diers were hiding inside. Brites grabbed her shovel and
struck them hard. There were seven soldiers, so they
say. It is also said that after the successful Brites
have grouped women and formed a sort of military
force that chased the Spaniards, killing them merci-
lessly.
Today she is still the most famous baker of Portugal!

3. SERRA DA ESTRELA LEGEND
The king once heard that every night there was a shepherd that had the ability to talk to a Star (Estrela), the
most beautiful of all, on the top of the mountain.
The King called the shepherd and commanded him to give him this star in exchange for a great fortune. The
shepherd said that he preferred to stay poor and still keep his friend the special Star, since he couldn’t live
without it.
When he came back to his poor cottage,
on the top of the mountain, he heard a
soft melody, and the Star told him about
the fear that she had that he could have
been convinced by the idea of becoming
rich. The shepherd told her about his
denial and great dedication to her. He
wouldn't evr exchange its friendship for
all the gold on earth. Extremely happy
with the shepherd's loyalty the star pro-
mised him that she would be his friend
forever and ever.Then the old shepherd
said:
-From now on this mountain will be called:
Serra da Estrela!’
And it is said that from the top of the mountain we can see a Star that shines in a strange and different way,
as if it was still looking for the good shepherd.
Volume 1, Edição 1 Página 3

4. One of the most popular Portuguese Queens was Isabel of Aragon (also known as Saint Queen Isabel),
beloved wife of King Dinis. She's the protagonist of this famous legend, called The Miracle of the Roses.
She came to Portugal when she was twelve years old to marry the king. She was of a legendary beauty
and serenity and enjoyed being helpful towards people in need. She was also very religious, modest and was
always willing to protect everyone from misery.
One day, the Queen went out, as she usually did, to distribute bread and gold to the poor. King Dinis
became very suspicious about her daily visits to the village and started to think that it was a waste of money
and was determined to put an end to it.
He angrily decided to confront the Queen:
- Where are you going, my Lady?
- To the convent, my Lord!
- And what are you hiding on your lap?
The Queen hesitated before answering:
- Those are roses, my Lord! For the convent!
- Roses, my Queen? He became really angry -
Roses in January?
Are you trying to deceive me, my Queen?
Smoothly, Queen Isabel uncovered her lap and
said:
- My Lord, the Queen of Portugal doesn't lie!
And everyone saw beautiful snowy
roses falling from her lap, where there would only
be bread and gold coins.
The Miracle of the Roses.