Chief Chronicler of the Kingdom of Portugal explained

Chief Chronicler of the Kingdom (Portuguese: Cronista-Mor do Reino) was a courtly position in the Kingdom of Portugal, formally instituted in 1434 by King Edward I. The Chief Chronicler was the official authority on Portuguese historiography,^[1] and the post was soon associated to the post of Keeper of the Royal Archives, already centralised in an autonomous way in the 1370s — a singularity in late medieval history in both its precocious creation and organisation.^[2]

The first to occupy the position was Fernão Lopes, in 1434. The last occupant was writer and politician Almeida Garrett, who was sacked in 1841, after fiercely criticising António José de Ávila (who was then Minister of the Exchequer), and no one was appointed to replace him. The following year, Minister of the Kingdom Costa Cabral issued a decree extinguishing the position of Chief Chronicler and transferring its responsibilities to the Keeper of the Royal Archives.^[3]

List of Chief Chroniclers of the Kingdom

The following list is sorted by date of appointment:^[4]

1. 1434 – Fernão Lopes
2. 1459 – Gomes Eanes de Zurara
3. 1484 – Vasco Fernandes de Lucena
4. 1497 – Rui de Pina
5. 1525 – Fernão de Pina
6. 1550 – D. António Pinheiro
7. 1599 – Francisco de Andrade
   1. 1614 – Fr. Bernardo de Brito 1618 – João Baptista Lavanha
8. 1625 – D. Manuel de Meneses
   1. 1. 1. 1630 – Fr. António Brandão 1644 – Fr. Francisco Brandão 1682 – Fr. Rafael de Jesus 1695 – José de Faria
   2. 1709 – Fr. Bernardo de Castelo Branco 1726 – Fr.
   3. 1740 – Fr. Manuel da Rocha 1745 – Fr. António Botelho
      1. 1. 1747 – Fr. José da Costa 1755 – Fr. António Caldeira 1784 – Fr. António da Mota 1807 – Fr. João Huet
9. 1822 – João Bernardo da Rocha Loureiro
10. 1823 – Fr. Cláudio da Conceição
11. 1835 – João Bernardo da Rocha Loureiro
12. 1838 – João Baptista de Almeida Garrett

Notes and References

1. Book: Blackmore, Josiah . 2002 . Manifest Perdition: Shipwreck Narrative and the Disruption of Empire . University of Minnesota Press . 47 . 0-8166-3849-7 .
2. Costa Gomes . Rita . 2005 . Zurara and the Empire: Reconsidering Fifteenth-Century Portuguese Historiography . Storia della Storiografia . 47 . 56–89 . 9788816720473 . 2018-04-03 .
3. Decree . 30 November 1842 . 2018-04-03 .
4. Book: Ribeiro, José Silvestre . 1807–1891 . Chronistas Móres . Historia dos estabelecimentos scientificos litterarios e artisticos de Portugal nos successsivos reinados da monarchia . VI . Lisboa . . 298–307 . pt .