Metadata: Monastery of Lorvão
Collection
- Country:
- Portugal
- Holding institution:
- The National Archive of Torre do Tombo
- Holding institution (official language):
- Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo
- Postal address:
- Alameda da Universidade, 1649-010 Lisbon
- Phone number:
- 00351 210037100
- Email:
- mail@dglab.gov.pt
- Reference number:
- PT/TT/MSML
- Title:
- Monastery of Lorvão
- Title (official language):
- Mosteiro de Lorvão
- Creator/accumulator:
- Mosteiro de Lorvão
- Date(s):
- 0919/1899
- Language:
- French
- Latin
- Portuguese
- Extent:
- 564 books, 111 bundles and 9 rolls
- Type of material:
- Textual Material
- Physical condition:
- Good
- Scope and content:
-
This fonds comprises documentation produced by or related to the Monastery of Lorvão, in the center of Portugal. It includes royal privileges given to the monastery, "forais" (forals), property records, books of privileges and rents, sentences, "prazos" and "aforamentos" (emphyteusis contracts), papal bulls, royal letters, donations, wills, religious books, etc.
Some of these records contain information related to Jewish communities in Portuguese localities where the monastery held properties. Here are some examples:
PT/TT/MSML/G1M07/00035: this document includes a law from 1473, which established the payment of a tribute by the Jewish people with an income of over 6,000 “reais” (currency).
PT/TT/MSML/G6M02: this bundle includes a record (doc. 16) concerning a debt contracted in 1337 by a Christian tenant in Torres Vedras, João Durães, to a Jew named Joseph Amado. In 1345, following a complaint from Amado, King Afonso IV gave orders that the debtor's assets be sold in order to pay the debt. Finally, Durães’s properties in Coutada, on the outskirts of Torres Vedras, were sold in October 1346. However, Amado was no longer alive, and it was his son-in-law, Salomão, who received the payment.
- Archival history:
- Between 1860 and 1864, the paleographer José Manuel da Costa Basto brought some records from the Monastery of Lorvão to the National Archive of Torre do Tombo. These nine books were integrated into the Costa Basto collection. More documents were incorporated into the archive in the following years. First, in 1864, the abbess of the monastery, D. Maria da Graça Freire, delivered 1,480 documents to the Torre do Tombo. In 1897, following a request from the Ministério do Reino (Ministry of the Kingdom), all the remaining documentation from the Monastery of Lorvão were gathered and delivered to the archive. Then, 127 books entered into the Torre do Tombo's collection. However, some volumes are still missing. In 1912, some records preserved in the Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal (National Library) were relocated to the Torre do Tombo. Throughout the 20th century, more items were sent to the National Archive. Part of the documents was integrated into the "Colecção Especial" (Special Collection). Between 1938 and 1990, the documents of this collection were gradually reorganised according to their geographical provenance. They were arranged chronologically and gathered into bundles of about 40 documents each. At the end of the 1990s, the organisation of the documents by geographical criteria was replaced by a rearrangement by religious order.
- Administrative/biographical history:
-
The Monastery of Lorvão was founded shortly after the conquest of Coimbra, in 878, by King Afonso III of Leon. Its properties were expanded during the 10th century, benefiting from the conquest of lands from the Muslims. Then, the monastery gained considerable wealth and properties between the rivers Vouga and Mondego. However, not long after, it lost part of its assets after the Muslims’ reaction. The monastery only recovered its status in 1086, when it started following the Rule of Saint Benedict. It also earned significant cultural relevance at the end of the 12th century, due to the activity of its scriptorium.
At the beginning of the 13th century, the Monastery of Lorvão moved from being a male monastery to becoming a female convent, after King Sancho I's daughter, D. Teresa, became its patroness. Then, the monastery began to follow the rule of the Order of Cistercians, and thus, the male monks were transferred to different monasteries. The monastery's assets kept growing. In the 14th century, it held proprieties from the river Minho (the northern frontier with Castille) to Lisbon. After the outbreak of the black plague, the monastery lost many of its members, being reduced to less than ten nuns.
However, it managed to resurface. In the 15th century, it received many privileges and rights from the kings. In the following century, some sources refer to the excessive number of nuns living there.
In 1834, the new Liberal regime outlawed religious orders and male monasteries in Portugal. Only female monasteries and convents were allowed to remain open, until the death of the last nun. This was the destiny of the Monastery of Lorvão, which was closed after its last nun died.
- Access points: locations:
- Lorvão
- Torres Vedras
- Access points: persons/families:
- Joseph Amado
- King Afonso IV
- System of arrangement:
- This fonds is arranged in two sections and several installation units organised in bundles. Section A Cartório do mosteiro (monastery's registry) is divided into sections [city charters, sentences, collection of "padroado" (patronage), inventory, etc.] and several installation units with various documents. Section B Livraria do mosteiro (monastery library) is composed of several installation units, mainly books of liturgy and other documents for religious celebrations.
- Access, restrictions:
- Access to some documents needs special permission and is limited to a specified schedule. Other documents are available online. The original copies of those are not available for consultation.
- Finding aids:
-
Unpublished finding aids available in the archive:
"Inventário dos cartórios recolhidos da Biblioteca Nacional, em 1912" (Inventory of the registries collected by the National Library in 1912). (L 283), fol. 97.
"Inventário das corporações religiosas, desintegrado da antiga Colecção Especial ... em 24/07/1978" (Inventory of the Religious Organizations, extracted from the Colecção Especial). (L 208), pp. [4v]-5.
"Inventário dos documentos do Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Lorvão que, em virtude do Decreto de 2 de Outubro de 1862 e Portaria de 9 de Julho de 1863, foram transferidos para o Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo, recebidos no Mosteiro, em 31 de Agosto de 1864" (Inventory of the documents from the Mosteiro de Lorvão that were transferred to the Torre do Tombo in 1864). (L 288).
"Relação de livros e documentos existentes no cartório do Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Lorvão que, em virtude da Portaria do Ministério do Reino de 5 de Agosto de 1879, foram transferidos para o Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo, recebidos no Mosteiro, em 18 de Agosto de 1879" (Inventory of books and records from the Mosteiro de Lorvão that were transferred to the Torre do Tombo in 1879. It includes the catalogue of 30 bundles of the Mosteiro de Lorvão and 68 bundles of parchments stored in wooden cases). (L 288).
"Relação dos livros e documentos existentes no cartório do Mosteiro de Santa Maria do Lorvão que em virtude da Portaria do Ministério do Reino de 5 de Agosto de 1879 foram transferidos para o Arquivo da Torre do Tombo" (Inventory of books and documents from the registry of the Mosteiro de Lorvão that were transferred to the Torre do Tombo in 1879). (C 415, C 416, C 417).
Salvador, Helena Maria da Conceição. 1981. "Mosteiro do Lorvão: inventário preliminar" (Mosteiro do Lorvão: preliminary inventory). (L 506).
- Links to finding aids:
- https://digitarq.arquivos.pt/details?id=4381036
- Yerusha Network member:
- Universidade Nova de Lisboa - Western Sephardic Diaspora Roadmap
- Author of the description:
- Inês de Sá, 2021
