Sebastianism

Sebastianism (Portuguese: Sebastianismo) is a Portuguese messianic myth, based on the belief that King Sebastian of Portugal, who disappeared in the 1578 battle of Alcácer Quibir, would reappear and rescue Portugal from some future crisis. The belief gained momentum after an interpretation by priest António Vieira of the second chapter of the Book of Daniel (Daniel 2) and the Book of Revelation. In the study of folklore, it is an example of the king asleep in mountain motif. Sebastianism had a heavy influence on the poetic movement of the 1910s called saudosismo and namely on the Portuguese author Fernando Pessoa, who wrote about such a hero in his epic Mensagem (The Message). In Brazil, the most important manifestation of Sebastianism took place in the context of the proclamation of the Republic, when movements defending a return to the monarchy emerged. Sebastianism is one of the longest-lived and most influential millenarian legends in Western Europe, having had profound political and cultural resonance from Sebastian's death until at least the late 19th century in Brazil.