Livraria do Convento de Nossa Senhora de Jesus
Item
Country
PT
Name of institution (English)
Lisbon Academy of Sciences
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
por
Contact information: postal address
Rua da Academia das Ciências 19, 1249-122 Lisbon
Contact information: phone number
00351 213219730
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
geral@acad-ciencias.pt
Reference number
BACL 11
Note: Most of the incunabula have the reference Reservados
Note: Most of the incunabula have the reference Reservados
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
Library of the Convento de Nossa Senhora de Jesus
Title (official language of the state)
Livraria do Convento de Nossa Senhora de Jesus
Language of title
por
Creator / accumulator
Convento de Nossa Senhora de Jesus
Date(s)
1475/1846
Language(s)
heb
lat
por
Extent
25,882 books
Type of material
Textual Material
Physical condition
Good
Scope and content
The Livraria do Convento de Nossa Senhora de Jesus comprises more than twenty thousand printed volumes of several areas: Theology, Philosophy, Law, History, Mathematics, Natural History, etc. It includes one of the rare Hebrew incunabula preserved in Portuguese libraries. It is a Hebrew Pentateuch with Targum Onkelos, printed in parchment in Elieser Toledano's printing house in Lisbon in 1491 (Reservado 4-15/I-II; former reference was BACL 11 318 3). This rare specimen is composed of two volumes (I: 216 fol.; II: 240 fol.) with text in 2 columns, written in Rabbinical and Aramaic characters, and includes some Hebrew manuscript annotations in the text margins. The Academia das Ciências de Lisboa bought this incunabulum in 1818 for 192$00 from the bookseller Borel in Lisbon, who had acquired it in an auction in Paris.
Archival history
Following the dissolution of the monasteries in Portugal in May 1834, a royal decree on October 23 placed the library, the museum and other facilities of the Convento de Nossa Senhora de Jesus, which was the headquarters of the Third Order of Saint Francis, in the custody of the Real Academia das Ciências (Royal Academy of Sciences). The collection of the Convento de Nossa Senhora de Jesus had been kept there since its foundation at the end of the 16th century. When the Great Earthquake of 1755 damaged the convent’s building, about 10,000 volumes were saved from the library. Over the following decades, the collection was augmented with donations and acquisitions. In 1776, priest Manuel Ferreira, of Oliveira de Azeméis, donated his own library, composed of more than 7,000 volumes. D. Frei Manuel do Cenáculo was then provincial of the Third Order of Saint Francis. He contributed to the collection and gave it a place by constructing a room specifically dedicated to storing the convent’s books and serving as its library. The construction works lasted for years, and the library only opened in 1796. Meanwhile, the library was enriched with other donations, namely by Frei Joseph de Jesus Maria Mayne, from 1780 to 1792. In the early 19th century, the library of the Convento de Jesus was the second largest library in Lisbon and the third in Portugal.
After the extinction of the convent in 1834, the library’s collection of manuscripts was catalogued as “Série Vermelha” (Red Series). However, some manuscripts from the convent’s registry are now part of the “Série Azul” (Blue Series) of the Academia das Ciências de Lisboa. A few years before, in 1826, a catalogue of the library’s manuscripts was composed, which is currently part of the collection (cods. 951-980). The library’s printed books form the collection Livraria do Convento de Nossa Senhora de Jesus, at the present.
After the extinction of the convent in 1834, the library’s collection of manuscripts was catalogued as “Série Vermelha” (Red Series). However, some manuscripts from the convent’s registry are now part of the “Série Azul” (Blue Series) of the Academia das Ciências de Lisboa. A few years before, in 1826, a catalogue of the library’s manuscripts was composed, which is currently part of the collection (cods. 951-980). The library’s printed books form the collection Livraria do Convento de Nossa Senhora de Jesus, at the present.
Administrative / Biographical history
The Convento de Nossa Senhora de Jesus was founded in 1595 by the Third Order of Saint Francis with the aim of becoming its headquarters in Portugal. The construction works lasted for decades, and the foundation stone of the convent’s church was only laid in 1615. The first mass in the Igreja de Nossa Senhora de Jesus was celebrated on February 24, 1623. In 1640, the convent also hosted the Secular Franciscan Order. Then, a hospital and an infirmary were added to the building with the aim of giving assistance to poor brothers and sisters. The Hospital dos Terceiros (currently known as the Hospital de Jesus) had its own chapel, the Capela dos Terceiros.
The Great Earthquake of 1755 seriously damaged the convent’s building. The reconstruction started in 1757 at the initiative of Frei Manuel Conceição Poyares, the provincial of the Third Order in Portugal. In 1768, this position was occupied by Frei Manuel do Cenáculo de Villas-Boas, who continued the reconstruction works and started the building of the convent’s library in 1771, which lasted for years. Frei Joseph de Jesus Maria Mayne was the general of the Third Order from 1777 to 1792 and assumed the continuation of the library works, but he died three years before its inauguration in 1795. During his governance, Mayne promoted the creation of the Museum of Natural History, to which he contributed with objects from his personal collection. In 1792, he also opened the Aula de História Natural (Natural History Class), renamed Aula Maynense, in 1849. To support these new facilities, Mayne created a fund whose revenue should be applied to acquiring books, objects and other materials for the convent’s library, museum and Natural History class. Shortly after Mayne’s death, on 24 December 1792, the administration of the library, museum and class was handed over to the Academia Real das Ciências (Royal Academy of Sciences).
Therefore, when the monasteries were dissolved in Portugal, and the Convento de Jesus was abolished on March 14, 1834, a royal decree reiterated the handover of the administration and custody of the convent’s museum, Aula and library to the Academia das Ciências with the recommendation that these facilities should be open to the public. At the end of 1834, the Academia occupied most of the convent’s facilities and properties, except the hospital and the church. The hospital continued to be administered by the Secular Franciscan Order. The Igreja de Jesus was entrusted to Francisco José Pinto, the prior of the parish of Santa Catarina. Then, the religious services of the chapel of Nossa Senhora das Mercês were transferred to the Igreja de Jesus on 12 April 1835.
The Great Earthquake of 1755 seriously damaged the convent’s building. The reconstruction started in 1757 at the initiative of Frei Manuel Conceição Poyares, the provincial of the Third Order in Portugal. In 1768, this position was occupied by Frei Manuel do Cenáculo de Villas-Boas, who continued the reconstruction works and started the building of the convent’s library in 1771, which lasted for years. Frei Joseph de Jesus Maria Mayne was the general of the Third Order from 1777 to 1792 and assumed the continuation of the library works, but he died three years before its inauguration in 1795. During his governance, Mayne promoted the creation of the Museum of Natural History, to which he contributed with objects from his personal collection. In 1792, he also opened the Aula de História Natural (Natural History Class), renamed Aula Maynense, in 1849. To support these new facilities, Mayne created a fund whose revenue should be applied to acquiring books, objects and other materials for the convent’s library, museum and Natural History class. Shortly after Mayne’s death, on 24 December 1792, the administration of the library, museum and class was handed over to the Academia Real das Ciências (Royal Academy of Sciences).
Therefore, when the monasteries were dissolved in Portugal, and the Convento de Jesus was abolished on March 14, 1834, a royal decree reiterated the handover of the administration and custody of the convent’s museum, Aula and library to the Academia das Ciências with the recommendation that these facilities should be open to the public. At the end of 1834, the Academia occupied most of the convent’s facilities and properties, except the hospital and the church. The hospital continued to be administered by the Secular Franciscan Order. The Igreja de Jesus was entrusted to Francisco José Pinto, the prior of the parish of Santa Catarina. Then, the religious services of the chapel of Nossa Senhora das Mercês were transferred to the Igreja de Jesus on 12 April 1835.
Access points: locations
Access points: persons, families
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
Books are arranged sequentially.
Access, restrictions
Consultation is subject to restrictions. Requests should be addressed to the Library Inspector by e-mail (geral@acad-ciencias.pt) at least seven days in advance. They should include the reader’s identification, academic degree, research objectives and institutional affiliation. In the case of consultations requested by graduates (MA and PhD students), requests must be made institutionally by their supervisors.
Finding aids
A digital catalogue is available for consultation in the archive's reading room.
Author of the description
Carla Vieira, 2021
Bibliography
Linked resources
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