“ He grew up resolved to emulate the medieval knights who had reconquered Portugal from the Moors. He was a mystic and a fanatic, whose sole ambition was to lead a crusade against the Mahommedans in north-west Africa. He entrusted the government to the Jesuits; refused either to summon the Cortes or to marry, although the Portuguese crown would otherwise pass to a foreigner, and devoted himself wholly to hunting, martial exercises and the severest forms of asceticism. ”

“ Its votaries believed that the rei encuberto, or “hidden king,” was either absent on a pilgrimage, or, like King Arthur in Avalon, was awaiting the hour of his second advent in some enchanted island. Four pretenders to the throne successively impersonated Sebastian ”