The ancestry books in the Portuguese Middle Ages – a hybrid genre, hovering between genealogy and narrative

Abstract

This article intends to discuss a specific literary genre whose main singularity is to be presented as a hybrid literary form – the so-called “ancestry books”, genealogic and narrative sources of the Portuguese Middle Ages (13^th and 14^th centuries). The emphasis is on the “Livro de Linhagens do Conde Dom Pedro”, compiled during the reign of Dom Afonso IV (1325-1357). The genealogic text is examined as a locus of power, in which the nobility is faced with situations of social inclusion or exclusion. In this case, the textual hybridism – alternating the genealogical description with narratives of several types – is seen as an efficient resource for the exercise of that power and micro-power.