What are the legends that have shaped the history of the Portuguese people? From one generation to the next, stories are told and passed down. These tales feature chivalrous heroes, witches, enchanted Moors, mythological creatures, as well as kings and queens.
But what truths lie behind these stories? Does the past blend with myth? More than mere tales, these legends are a reflection of Portugal’s history and beliefs.
The Lost Princess of the Moura Encantada
Rooted in Portuguese folklore, the figure of the Lost Princess of the Moura Encantada is a recurring theme, anchored in the era of Muslim occupation and the Christian Reconquista.
Once upon a time, in the warm, golden lands of southern Portugal, there lived young Moorish princesses of bewitching beauty, only daughters of lords ruling over castles.
Moorish Castle in Sintra
When Christian armies approached to reclaim the land, the lords cast enchantments on their daughters to protect the kingdom’s treasures. Transformed into supernatural beings, they became tied to mysterious places – ruins, caves, springs or remote hills – where they would sometimes appear as fairies, mermaids or radiant women brushing their long golden hair.
Place of appearance of the Moura Encantada
Neither fully human nor entirely spirit, they became the “Moura Encantada”, the enchanted lady. Condemned to wander outside of time, they await a man of pure heart and extraordinary courage, able to fulfil a task or an act of faith to lift the curse.
Moura Encantada – Credit: Portugal Num Mappa
The “lost princess” is both a poetic and tragic figure, symbolising a bygone past, a lost culture, and an enchantment suspended between two worlds. Through her, Portugal preserves the melancholic echoes of its blended history, between East and West, between myth and reality.
The Ghost of Queen Inês de Castro
Once upon a time, there was a young lady-in-waiting at the Portuguese court named Inês de Castro. The crown prince, Dom Pedro, fell madly in love with her. Their love was deep, sincere, and burned like the sun on the stones of the monastery.
Dom Pedro & Inês de Castro
But the king, Dom Afonso IV, feared the union. He worried that Inês’ Castilian blood might upset the balance of the kingdom. One morning in 1355, Inês was murdered.
The story goes that when Dom Pedro became king, he avenged her with icy fury. He had her assassins' hearts ripped out and, in a mad gesture, exhumed Inês’ body, crowned her Queen of Portugal, and forced the nobles to kiss her skeletal hand as a sign of loyalty.
Coronation of Inês de Castro – Pierre-Charles Comte
He then had two magnificent tombs sculpted at the Monastery of Alcobaça, facing one another, so that he and his queen might meet with a single glance. It is said that Inês’ soul never found peace.
Tomb of Inês de Castro
For centuries, her ghost is said to haunt Coimbra. They say she weeps. That she searches for her children. That she still sings, her voice as mournful as the winter wind. The legend of the Ghost of Inês de Castro symbolises eternal, cursed love and unjust power.
The Cursed Monastery of Sintra
The tale of a “Cursed Monastery of Sintra” is not a well-established legend in Portuguese folklore. Rather, it may stem from the unique and sometimes eerie atmosphere of Sintra and the history of some of its religious buildings, which have inspired isolated stories or local interpretations perceived as hauntings or curses.
Hidden in the misty depths of Sintra’s forests lies an ancient, time-worn convent: the Monastery of the Capuchos. It is sometimes called the Cursed Monastery.
Convento dos Capuchos – Photo José Marques Silva
This forgotten place, nestled in the mossy folds of the mountain, was once home to friars seeking silence and penance. But it is said that the silence was broken, a vow betrayed, and ever since, shadows have never left the site.
Some claim to have seen motionless figures at the turn of a stone corridor, or heard prayers whispered in a tongue only the wind still understands, echoing through the lichen-covered walls.
Convento dos Capuchos
There is no single tale, no name etched in the chronicles of the kingdom — only fleeting impressions, unexplained chills, and the sensation of a gaze upon one's shoulder.
This monastery, with no clear legend or named ghost, may be the most haunting of all, for it leaves the imagination free to invent its own curse in the heart of Sintra’s green mystery.
The Vanished Island of São Brandão
The legend of the Vanished Island of São Brandão, also known as Saint Brendan’s Island or the Blessed Isle, drifts like a mirage in the mists of maritime imagination.
It is neither a fixed myth nor a defined tale, but rather a story that has travelled through the ages, lost between reality and illusion.
It is said to have appeared to those who dared to venture into the Atlantic – an island where lush vegetation touched the sky and fruits were offered like promises of paradise. Yet the island always eluded the sailors, vanishing as suddenly as it appeared, shrouded in mist or sinking beneath the waves.
Featured on old maps, it drew explorers and adventurers, all hoping to discover this promised land – but none ever did. Over time, the myth grew, becoming a spiritual and mystical quest, somewhere between mirage and revelation.
São Brandão – Map by the Pizagni brothers, 1707
Today, the Island of São Brandão is no longer on maritime charts, but it continues to sail through legend – a phantom isle leaving behind a wake of mystery, a call to the imagination, and an indelible mark in the great book of maritime dreams.
Some say it was Atlantis; others claim it only appears to sailors of pure heart.
The Cursed Treasure of the Templars of Tomar
The legend of the “Cursed Treasure of the Templars of Tomar” is a mystery woven around the aura of an ancient and powerful Order. While no specific tale speaks of a cursed treasure within the walls of the Convento de Cristo, the Templars’ supposed riches and their historical presence in Tomar have long fuelled the popular imagination.
Castelo de Tomar
The Order of the Temple, vast and discreet in its affairs, held treasures gathered from conquests, which are believed to have vanished. This missing wealth has crossed centuries and become an obsession for some.
In Portugal, the transition from the Order of the Temple to the more discreet Order of Christ hinted that secrets and riches may have been hidden in Tomar. The Convento de Cristo, with its symbol-laden stones and enigmatic architecture, is fertile ground for speculation and legend. And while treasure hunters have never uncovered this hidden fortune, tales of curses have flourished.
Convento de Cristo – Tomar
These tales seep into the imagination, turning the search for this unknown treasure into a mythical quest — a silent warning to the curious: some secrets are best left buried, protected by the veil of mystery and sacred history.
Portuguese folklore is rich in legends. Some are rooted in historical fact, while others are merely the result of interpretations or the collective imagination of a time when magic and mystery felt more tangible than today.
Nonetheless, these stories have helped shape the history of the Portuguese people, and by extension, their customs and beliefs.