Funeral spectacle and figurative expression: the Brief compendio e narraçam do fúnebre spectacle (1709) by Sebastião da Rocha Pita

Abstract

This work analyses an account of the funerals of the King of Portugal, Pedro II, which took place in the Cathedral of Bahia in 1707. This account, Breve compendio e narraçam do fúnebre espectáculo, was written by Brazilian poet Sebastião da Rocha Pita and was published in Lisbon in 1709. The text provides a detailed account of the event, offering a notable example of how the colonial elite— comprised by political, military, and lettered groups—made an effort to express their loyalty and subordination to the Portuguese Crown through ephemeral architecture, poetry and emblematic, and in general through figurative expression.