A literatura de cordel portuguesa

This article analyzes the literary, linguistic, historical and cultural elements that define the genre known as literatura de cordel (chapbooks, cordel literature): the intertwining of orality and literacy, the mixing of popular vs. learned culture, the relationship between text and images; as well as the material and practical aspects of these chapbooks, such as number of copies printed per edition, the intended audience and readership, the bookshops where these prints could be acquired, their topics and style, etc. Keywords Chapbooks, Portugal, Popular, Learned, Orality, Literacy Neste texto, convocando elementos literarios e linguisticos mas tambem historicos, culturais e sociais, apresentamos e discutimos os aspectos que fazem a especificidade da literatura de cordel portuguesa: as relacoes entre a oralidade e a escrita, o popular e o culto, e entre o texto e a imagem; as caracteristicas e as contingencias materiais da edicao; as tiragens; os publicos; os locais de venda; e os temas e a estilistica. Palavras-chave Literatura de cordel, Portugal, Popular, Culto, Oralidade, Escrita