Garcia de Resende’s Cancioneiro Geral: feast and theatricality, a space for the exaltation of the self

The Portuguese poetry of the XVth and XVIth centuries is denominated courtly poetry due to the fact that it was in the palace that nobles and courtesans got together for rejoice and cultural changes – not only that of Portugal but also of its neighbor, Castile. After the poetry composed by troubadours in the previous centuries, the poetry of the Fourteenth and the Fifteenth will portrait the culture and sociability of a country where the maritime Discoveries will point out the richness and ostentation, because of an economy in expansion. Garcia de Resende’s Cancioneiro Geral, a compilation of 880 poems from 1459 to 1516, is considered a historical document in verses which registers the beginning of the greatness of Portugal.