Dom Fuas Meets the Devil
November 30, 2016
Back in the 12th century, Portugal was just starting as an independent nation. The knight, Dom Fuas, was the John Paul Jones of his day. He lived in the fairy tale like castle of Porto de Mós, north of Lisbon, overlooking a harbor, and he served Portugal’s first king, Dom Afonso Henriques. It seems the Devil wanted to do away with the pious knight Fuas, so he set a trap for him. Dom Fuas loved to hunt. On one misty day in 1182, near the fishing town of Nazaré, Fuas spotted the biggest stag he had ever seen and the chase was on. But this was no ordinary deer. It was the Devil leading Dom Fuas to his death. The knight pursued it at full gallop, being led to the high and craggy sea cliffs above Nazaré. Just as the devil-stag rode off the cliff, Our Lady appeared before Dom Fuas and his horse, stopping them from plunging to their deaths. Dom Fuas built a chapel to honor Our Lady on the very spot of this miracle, and it still stands. The Sítio, as the chapel is called, features tiles depicting the legend. Visitors admiring the view today are advised to just walk away if they see a dark stag galloping by.
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