Moral values and the representation of the past in 15th century PortugalThe problem which the present text investigates is the complex relationship existing between memory and morals in the construction of the historical truth by medieval Portuguese chroniclers. Several historical accounts are analyzed through a comparative perspective with the intent of showing that, for the chroniclers of the 14th century, making value judgments and attempting a faithful representation of events was not a contradictory enterprise. On the contrary, the men believed in a 'constructed verity' regarding the past which would supposedly show what would occur in the future. For 14th century Portuguese chroniclers, then, this convergence was the basis of their realism and verity.
Middle Age Chronicles; Portugal; Moral