LEGENDS OF SINTRA

Legends of Sintra
Work done by:
Class 10. CE.BC
Mediadora: Anabela Ovídio
Formadora: Maria do Céu Rocha
Formandos: Alexandre Cerqueira
Ana Silva
Bianca Pereira
Felipe Alberto
Luís Alegre
Legend of Seteais
Seteais is one of the most
beautiful corners of Sintra. Its
name dates back to 1147, when
D. Afonso Henriques won Lisbon
and Sintra.
According to the legend, a
Christian knight, D. Mendo de
Paiva, has found a secret door
through which many Moors were
running away. Among them,
there was a very beautiful girl, accompanied by her maid.
When she saw the young man, and feeling she couldn’t escape, she
sighed.
But D. Mendo decided to make this young girl prisoner. Then, she sighed
again. Her maid started to be worried and told the young man that this
girl had been cursed by a witch and would die on the day she gave seven
woes.
The revelation of this secret made the Moorish sigh again. The knight
didn’t believe the story, which caused another sigh of the girl. Then, he
made both prisoners and she sighed again. The poor old woman was
desperate, because the girl had already sighed five times.
Meanwhile, the knight went to get a quiet place to take them.
But a group of Moors appeared and cut off the head of the maid. The girl
sighed for the sixth time. And the seventh sigh was when she saw the
sword falling on her neck.
D. Mendo came back and was very sad . Then he decided to give that
corner the name of Seteais, in honor to the beautiful Moorish.
Legend of Peninha
It is said that during the reign
of D. João III, in the land of
Almoínhos- Velhos, there was
a dumb shepherdess, who
used to take her sheep to
graze on the top of the
mountain.
One day one of her sheep ran
away leaving the young
shepherd desperate in search
of such sheep.
After looking for so long, she finally found a woman, who was carrying her
sheep. As she couldn’t speak, she thanked the woman the way she could.
Then the woman asked the shepherd to give her some bread, but the girl
explained her, with her hands, that she had no bread for her, because the
year had been bad. Then the old woman told her:
- When you get home, call your mother and get me some bread.
The girl tried to explain that it was impossible, because neither she had
bread at home, nor she could call her mother, because she was dumb. But
the woman insisted in such a way that the girl decided to do what she was
asking for.
When she arrived at home, she called her mother and her voice was heard
all over the house.
Then she told her mother all the story and rushed to find bread. Both were
surprised when they found inside an ark full of bread enough for the
entire village.
The next day, as a proof of gratitude, the entire village went up the
mountain and on the site where the shepherd had found the lady, was
now a grotto with the image of Nossa Senhora.
This place became sacred and later a chapel was built there, known as
the Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Peninha.
Legend of Cabo da Roca
The legend says that, near Cabo
da Roca, a little boy of about five
years old, disappeared from home
and his mother didn’t know where
to find him. She already imagined
him fallen into the sea and
drowned. She imagined him dead.
But the truth was different. Some
witches had taken him from home
and threw him onto a cliff, on a
hill overlooking the sea.
As the little boy cried a lot, some shepherds appeared and gave the news
to the village. Then many villagers and the sad mother rushed together to
rescue the little boy.
It was a complicated task to take the boy from the hole, but they did it. All
glad to see him safe and sound, they asked him who had taken him there
and who had given him food. Then the boy explained that some women
had taken him there by air and threw him into this pit. However, every day
a beautiful Lady came there with soup for him.
After knowing the truth, everybody went to the church to thank Nossa
Senhora. When the boy came into the church, and looking at the image of
Nossa Senhora, he immediately recognised her and said: “Mother, here is
the Lady, who gave me the soup everyday”
This boy named José Gomes, is known in Cascais by his nickname,
Chapinheiro, where you can find evidences of this miracle.
Legend of Monserrate
Tradition says that in times
of Arab rule, a young Arab
lived in that place.
This young boy had a quarrel
with the mayor of Sintra’s
castle and this led to a duel
between them. In this duel
the young Arab died and
was lying on the ground.
He was soon taken as a
martyr by the population, who raised a tomb and later a chapel in this
place.
This small chapel collapsed, being replaced by another in 1500, built by
Padre Gaspar Preto, under the invocation of Nossa Senhora de
Monserrate, whose image, made of alabaster, was brought from Rome.
Legend of Gruta da Fada
Cave formed by a large granite rock,
based on two rocks.
According to the legend, every night
a fairy comes there, around
midnight, to mourn her fate.
This cave in on the road to Pena,
near the main gate of Parque da Pena.
Legend of Palácio Nacional de Sintra
In Palácio Nacional de Sintra
there is a room whose ceiling is
painted with different drawings
of magpies.
It is said that the king and the
queen,
who
lived
there,
arranged marriages for more
than one hundred women and
at the time there were no illicit
relationships or adultery.
The court was a school. D.
Filipa was considered an example of a wife, but terrible in her meekness
brought her husband on thorns.
One day, according to the legend, the king was kissing the face of one of
the maids and suddenly the queen appeared, accusatory and serious,
without a word, but with a ghastly air. D. João, ashamed and worried just
told her:
“Foi por bem”. The queen left the room, feeling her pride wounded.
Quickly the news spread throughout the palace and all the maids
repeated the phrase “Foi por bem”.
Upset with the situation, the king decided to take an initiative and built a
room for the staff. All were overjoyed and counting the days until the
room was ready.
That room was finally opened and everybody was astonished when they
saw that the ceiling was painted with magpies, whose beaks had written
"Por bem."
Legend of Penedo dos Ovos (pedra amarela)
In the middle of Sintra’s
mountain, there is a big rock
placed there by nature or
caused by volcanic eruption.
It was said that under this
rock an enchanted treasure
was hidden, which belonged
to anyone who was able to
knock down the rock, throwing
eggs against it.
Then an old woman decided to start collecting eggs, in order to get the
treasure. She took all the eggs to the rock and, one by one, she threw all
of them against it. When there was none left she felt disappointed,
because the rock was still firm, washed with eggs.
And so, instead of falling into the ground, uncovering the wonderful
treasure, fell to the ground the dreams and hopes of the woman.
Even today people see in that rock the yellow colour of the eggs thrown
into it.
Legend of Convento dos Capuchos
Frei Honório, a man of great
faith
and
virtues,
highly
respected by the inhabitants of
the neighbourhood, has lived in
that place for 30 years and his
body lies still in the church of
this convent.
Once upon a time Frei Honório
met a beautiful girl in the
countryside, but he didn’t look at
her. However, the girl forced him to do something: she wanted him to
confess her right there. The monk told her that he couldn’t do that there,
because it was not the right place and sent her to the convent in search of
another confessor. But the girl insisted, not satisfied with the answer.
Red as a tomato and sweating, it was August, the monk quickened his
pace, always followed by the beautiful girl.
Then, he covered his face with one hand to escape the beauty of the girl
and, with the other, he made the sign of the cross. The girl started
shouting, running away immediately and nobody else has seen her again.
So, Frei Honório isolated himself, on bread and water, in a cave of that
convent, as a punishment of having fallen in temptation and he stayed
there till the end of his life.