Necromancers and prophecies: the goth in Herculano and Schiller

Abstract

Alexandre Herculano (1810-1877), through his literary and historiographic production helped make popular the romanticism ideals in Portugal and contributed to the emergence of new aesthetic values and of a particular view of the world in the eighteenth-century in Portugal. His interest in the Middle Ages and in the literary production from the late eighteenth-century made him establish relations with authors from the so-called european Pre-Romanticism. Specifically concerning Friedrich Schiller, his novel Der Geisterseher (O Aparicionista), from 1787-1789, was the target of a highlighted interest coming from Herculano, as it’s ascertained through a more strict
comparative analysis among some of his writings, for example when comparing O Alcaide de Santarém with the german author’s paradigmatic work. Based on this analytical proposal, it’s possible to notice in the highlighted writings from both authors a  ulsating gothic imaginary, full of a necromancer-dominated atmosphere, prophecies and the supernatural, aesthetic elements present not only in the posterior german and portuguese romantic literary production, but also determining for the development of a new relation with reality and historic studies.