“ MORAES, FRANCISCO DE (c. 1500–1572) , Portuguese romance writer, was probably born at the close of the 15th century. We know very little of his life, except that he was treasurer of the household to King John III., and he is first found in Paris in the suite of the Portuguese ambassador, D. Francisco de Noronha, who had gone there in 1540. He was a commander of the Order of Christ, and was called O Palmeirim on account of his authorship of the famous romance of chivalry Palmeirim de Inglaterra; in 1572 he was assassinated at Evora. ”

“ The episode of the four French ladies shows an intimate acquaintance with the court of Francis I., where Moraes spent some years, and one of these ladies named Torsi is the one he loved and to whom he addressed some verses entitled “Desculpa de huns amores.” ”