Note 2 — VII CINTRA
Reading edition
Byron thus speaks of this climb up the hill of Cintra:—
“Then slowly climb the many winding way,
And frequent turn to linger as you go,
From loftier rocks new loveliness survey,
And rest ye at Our Lady’s house of woe.”
This last epithet for the monastery, which is now the royal palace, is an error arising from a misunderstanding, which Byron shares with many other people to the present day. The original name of the venerated image of the Virgin, after which the monastery was named, is “Nossa Senhora da Penha,” “Our Lady of the Rock.” For some reason the place is still often referred to as the “Pena,” which means “sorrow,” and the Saint becomes “Our Lady of Woe,” as Byron called it.