Góis, Damião de (1502–1574)

Portuguese humanist and chronicler. Travelling widely in Europe, he met the scholars Erasmus and Bembo among others, and after several years on government service retired to devote himself to study. His most important works, which he published in Portuguese and in Latin, are chronicles of the Portuguese kings Emanuel I and John III.

A member of a noble family, Góis was born at Alenquer and grew up at the court of King Emanuel I the Fortunate. Emanuel's son and successor, John III, appointed him secretary to a Portuguese factory in Antwerp in 1523, and he later visited several European countries on government missions. In 1533 he resigned his post to devote his time to study, in which he was advised by his friend Erasmus. In Padua (1534–38) he met Pietro Bembo. After marrying Johanna van Hargen, a Dutch noblewoman, he lived for six years in Louvain.

In 1558 he became keeper of the Portuguese national archive in Lisbon and in 1558 was appointed official court chronicler. Towards the end of his life, Góis was imprisoned by the Inquisition and deserted by his family. He probably died at his family estate at Alenquer, a few miles north of Lisbon.

His chronicles of Emanuel I and John III are entitled: Crónica do felicíssimo rei Dom Emanuel (four parts) (1566–67); and Crónica do príncipe Dom João (1567).

He also wrote a Latin treatise on the religion and customs of Ethiopia (1540).