The figure of the Moor has appeared in Portuguese literature for centuries, long before and after the Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula by Christian kings. This paper examines how gender is a component in the description of the Moor. Selected poems or "cantigas de amor" from the Cancioneiro da Ajuda, the epic poem, "Os Lusiadas" by Luis de Camoes, and the oral tale, "A Moura Torta" are three of the literary sources analyzed using a feminist approach. How is the "moura" or Moorish woman presented in the selections? What is the relationship between Christian knights and Moorish women? How does the Reconquest of Portugal affect the description of both male and female Moors in Portuguese literature? This paper suggests that the Moor was not only presented as a military threat to the Portuguese but rather a seductive and subversive object of desire that was dangerous to Christian values and morals.