The Lusiads

First published in 1572, The Lusiads is one of the greatest epic poems of the Renaissance, immortalizing Portugal's voyages of discovery with an unrivalled freshness of observation. At the centre of The Lusiads is Vasco da Gama's pioneer voyage via southern Africa to India in 1497-98. The first European artist to cross the equator, Camoes's narrative reflects the novelty and fascination of that original encounter with Africa, India and the Far East. The poem's twin symbols are the Cross and the Astrolabe, and its celebration of a turning point in mankind's knowledge of the world unites the old map of the heavens with the newly discovered terrain on earth. Yet it speaks powerfully, too, of the precariousness of power, and of the rise and decline of nationhood, threatened not only from without by enemies, but from within by loss of integrity and vision. The first translation of The Lusiads for almost half a century, this new edition is complemented by an illuminating introduction and extensive notes.

ISBN 0199539960   Pages 288 ISBN13 9780199539963 (What's this?)   Volumes 000 Publisher Oxford University Press   Weight (grammes) 238 Imprint Oxford University Press   Published in Oxford Format Paperback   Series title Oxford World's Classics Publication date 12 Jun 2008   Previous ISBN 9780192801517 Translator White, Landeg   Height (mm) 196 Library of Congress PQ   Width (mm) 129 DEWEY 869.12   Spine width (mm) 17 DEWEY edition DC22   Academic level General

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