Bernardo de Brito

Friar Bernardo de Brito was a Cistercian monk, historian, and the official chronicler of the Kingdom of Portugal in the early 17th-century. He is considered among the most complex and influential figures in Iberian historiography. Brito is known primarily for the codification of the "Legend of Nazaré" contained within the monumental national chronicle Monarchia Lusitana. Writing during the period of the Iberian Union, Brito blended spiritual mythology and military history in a narrative that helped to shape and maintain the cultural and historical consciousness of the Portuguese nation.