2020Major Figures of History and Culture - Special Folder

António Ribeiro Chiado
Blessed with a remarkable enthusiasm as a scandalmonger, as well as a great ability to imitate gestures and voices, the poet António Ribeiro Chiado (1520-1591) was a merciless social chronicler. He became famous for humorously denouncing the vices of Lisbon and the kingdom. Despite producing work of an uneven quality and not refraining from criticising palace intrigues, he performed his Auto da Natural Invenção (Play of Natural Invention) in front of King João III. An improbable destiny for someone born to a humble family, in the outskirts of Évora, on an unknown date. Expelled from the Franciscan Order after having been arrested, he headed for Lisbon, where he is thought to have led a dissolute life, and adopted the role of merciless satirist.