El romance de La pérdida de don Beltrán en la tradición oral portuguesa

The Hispanic traditional ballad of La pérdida de don Beltrán was very well known in the Iberian kingdoms during the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. However, its modern oral tradition belongs almost exclusively to Portugal. More than one hundred and thirty versions have been collected in the region of Trás-os-Montes in contrast to just a few gathered in the Spanish northwest and some fragments preserved by the Sephardic jews. This paper aims to examine when this ballad started to be sung in Portugal, how the tradition of the north of the country was born and what are the main narrative and rethorical features developed by its versions.