HERCULANO de CARVALHO e ARAUJO, ALEXANDRE. - Writer, poet, literary critic, and the foremost Portuguese historian, born in Lisbon on 28 March 1810 and died at Vale de Lobos (Santarem) on 13 Sept. 1877. Compelled into exile by the momentary triumph of D. Miguel, he drew close to the currents of thought that were gaining ground in other European countries.
He was among the initiators of the Romantic movement in Portugal, where he introduced the historical novel. His writings, the struggle he waged against the conclusion of the Concordat between Portugal and the Holy See (1857) and against foreign Religious Orders, and his denial of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception and of papal infallibility resulted in extremely violent controversies with the clergy and in the placing on the Index of his Estudos sobre o casamento civil (decree of 17 Dec. 1866).
H. undertook the publication of the Portugaliae Mon. Hist. and of a monumental, unfinished Historia do Portugal (1097-1279). H. was also responsible for founding the journal Panorama, which occupies a most important place in the history of the Portuguese press and culture. Also worthy of mention is his Historia da origem e do estabelecimento da Inquisição em Portugal.