The New International Encyclopædia/Faria y Sousa, Manoel

FARIA Y SOUSA, fȧ-rē′ȧ ē̇ sō′ĭ-zȧ, Manoel (1590-1649). A Portuguese-Spanish historian and poet. He was born upon an estate near Pombeiro, in the Province of Minho, was educated at Braga, entered the service of the Bishop of Oporto, but shortly after 1613 went to Madrid. In 1631 he was attached to the Spanish Embassy at Rome, where his talents attracted the attention of Pope Urban VIII. and many learned Italians. Returning to Spain, he made his home in Madrid, where he died. His numerous historical works, written in Spanish, include: Epitome de las historias portuguezas (1628); Asia portugueza (1666-73); Africa portugueza (1681). His poems were collected under the title Fuente de Aganipe, rimas varias (1624-27), besides three other volumes, Fabula de Narciso e Echo, Divinas y humanas flores, and Noches claras (1623-24). They consist of sonnets, eclogues, canzones, and madrigals, most of them written in Spanish. About 200 of the sonnets, however, and 12 eclogues are in the Portuguese language. He is also the author of a commentary upon the Lusiad, which, though thoroughly uncritical, is not without interest to students of Camões.