Chief Chronicler of the Kingdom of Portugal


Chief Chronicler of the Kingdom 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, 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.
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, 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.

List of Chief Chroniclers of the Kingdom

  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
  8. 1614 – Fr. Bernardo de Brito
  9. 1618 – João Baptista Lavanha
  10. 1625 – D. Manuel de Meneses
  11. 1630 – Fr. António Brandão
  12. 1644 – Fr. Francisco Brandão
  13. 1682 – Fr. Rafael de Jesus
  14. 1695 – José de Faria
  15. 1709 – Fr. Bernardo de Castelo Branco
  16. 1726 – Fr.
  17. 1740 – Fr. Manuel da Rocha
  18. 1745 – Fr. António Botelho
  19. 1747 – Fr. José da Costa
  20. 1755 – Fr. António Caldeira
  21. 1784 – Fr. António da Mota
  22. 1807 – Fr. João Huet
  23. 1822 – João Bernardo da Rocha Loureiro
  24. 1823 – Fr. Cláudio da Conceição
  25. 1835 – João Bernardo da Rocha Loureiro
  26. 1838 – João Baptista de Almeida Garrett