Coleção de Pergaminhos e Documentos
Item
Country
PT
Name of institution (English)
Torre de Moncorvo City Archive
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
por
Contact information: postal address
Rua Infante D. Henrique, 5160-286 Torre de Moncorvo
Contact information: phone number
00351 279258350
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
arquivo.municipal@torredemoncorvo.pt
Reference number
PT/AMTM/CPD
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
Parchments and Documents Collection
Title (official language of the state)
Coleção de Pergaminhos e Documentos
Language of title
por
Creator / accumulator
Câmara Municipal de Torre de Moncorvo
Date(s)
1201/1818
Language(s)
por
Extent
8 books (112 parchments and 22 paper documents)
Type of material
Textual Material
Physical condition
Good
Scope and content
The Coleção de Pergaminhos e Documentos comprises the oldest documentation related to the municipality of Torre de Moncorvo and its outskirts. It includes 4 13th-century, 76 14th-century, 24 15th-century, and 7 16th-century parchments. Besides, it also includes paper documents from the 17th to the 19th centuries.
A few parchments have information on Jewish tenants and royal officers:
PT/AMTM/CPD/00049: D. Ça de Leon from Porto and Moisés de Vila Real, two Jews who had contracted the "sisa" (transfer tax) collection in the Trás-os-Montes "comarca" (district), presented before the city council and judge of Torre de Moncorvo a King Fernando I's "carta de quitação" (discharge letter) of the said contract. June 4, 1375.
PT/AMTM/CPD/00051: Letter from King Fernando confirming that D. Judah, his treasurer, had received the first payment from the Torre de Moncorvo city council (972 pounds and 4 solidi) of the debt resulting from the discharge of the "sisa" contract. June 26, 1375. The same D. Judah, royal treasurer, is mentioned in PT/AMTM/CPD/00048.
Another parchment (PT/AMTM/CPD/00098) contains the replies to the complaints presented by the representatives of the Torre de Moncorvo city council in the "Cortes" (advisory meetings promoted by the crown with representatives of the three estates of the realm, i. e., nobility, clergy and the bourgeoisie) of Lisbon in 1455. Among these complaints, one accuses the "almocreves" (mule drivers) of working on Sundays instead of Saturdays because many of them worked for Jews.
A few parchments have information on Jewish tenants and royal officers:
PT/AMTM/CPD/00049: D. Ça de Leon from Porto and Moisés de Vila Real, two Jews who had contracted the "sisa" (transfer tax) collection in the Trás-os-Montes "comarca" (district), presented before the city council and judge of Torre de Moncorvo a King Fernando I's "carta de quitação" (discharge letter) of the said contract. June 4, 1375.
PT/AMTM/CPD/00051: Letter from King Fernando confirming that D. Judah, his treasurer, had received the first payment from the Torre de Moncorvo city council (972 pounds and 4 solidi) of the debt resulting from the discharge of the "sisa" contract. June 26, 1375. The same D. Judah, royal treasurer, is mentioned in PT/AMTM/CPD/00048.
Another parchment (PT/AMTM/CPD/00098) contains the replies to the complaints presented by the representatives of the Torre de Moncorvo city council in the "Cortes" (advisory meetings promoted by the crown with representatives of the three estates of the realm, i. e., nobility, clergy and the bourgeoisie) of Lisbon in 1455. Among these complaints, one accuses the "almocreves" (mule drivers) of working on Sundays instead of Saturdays because many of them worked for Jews.
Archival history
The municipal archive of Torre de Moncorvo was stored in an outbuilding of the City Council until its transference to the Paços do Concelho (City Council Palace) in 1974. The documents were poorly preserved and subject to deterioration. For these reasons, the archive lost some series.
In the same year 1974, Professor Fernando de Sousa and a group of university students undertook the inventory of the municipal archive. Then, they organised it into two collections: the Parchments (13th to 19th centuries) and the Manuscripts (17th to 20th centuries).
At the end of the 1980s, the municipality rented a building where it installed the Arquivo Municipal. In 1999, it moved to a new building, equipped with the technical conditions needed for preserving its precious collections. However, several municipal documentary collections were kept in other buildings. At present, the Arquivo Municipal de Torre de Moncorvo is divided into three facilities. The historical archive (which includes the Coleção de Pergaminhos e Documentos) is located in Rua Infante D. Henrique, and it is equipped with a reading room, a technical department, and a repository.
In the same year 1974, Professor Fernando de Sousa and a group of university students undertook the inventory of the municipal archive. Then, they organised it into two collections: the Parchments (13th to 19th centuries) and the Manuscripts (17th to 20th centuries).
At the end of the 1980s, the municipality rented a building where it installed the Arquivo Municipal. In 1999, it moved to a new building, equipped with the technical conditions needed for preserving its precious collections. However, several municipal documentary collections were kept in other buildings. At present, the Arquivo Municipal de Torre de Moncorvo is divided into three facilities. The historical archive (which includes the Coleção de Pergaminhos e Documentos) is located in Rua Infante D. Henrique, and it is equipped with a reading room, a technical department, and a repository.
Administrative / Biographical history
The origins of the municipality of Torre de Moncorvo date back to the 13th century. King Dinis (1261-1325) granted its first "foral" (city charter) on April 12, 1285. The castle and the walls of the village were built at that time.
The walled space was small, and the population soon started to establish their residence in the "arrabaldes" (outskirts). The "judiaria" (Jewish quarter) was located inside the walls. During the Middle Ages, Moncorvo hosted an important Jewish community, and it was the head of the "arrabiado" with jurisdiction over the Trás-os-Montes district (Northeastern Portugal). The Rabbi of Moncorvo represented the Chief Rabbi (settled in Lisbon) in the region, and he was assisted by a group of "vereadores" (councillors) elected by the Jewish "comuna" (commune).
The production of linen, silk, wool, iron, olive oil, wine, and almonds boosted the region's economic development between the 15th and 18th centuries. In 1512, the village received a new "foral". After the administrative reorganisation of the Portuguese kingdom in the 16th century, Torre de Moncorvo became the head of one of the four "comarcas" (counties) of the Trás-os-Montes region. A corregidor appointed by the king was responsible for supervising the local government and exercising his civil and criminal jurisdiction in the "comarca". Such competencies motivated a constant tension between the successive corregidors and the municipal authorities. Moncorvo also became one of the five ecclesiastic "comarcas" (districts) of the archbishopric of Braga in 1522. In addition, it was the head of the "provedoria" (judicial jurisdiction) that also comprised the Bragança and Vila Real districts, and, in the 17th century, it became one of the 29 "almoxarifados" (financial and tax jurisdictions) of the kingdom.
After the administrative reform in the 1830s, Torre de Moncorvo was incorporated into the newly established district of Bragança. Its circumscription was then extended with the integration of new parishes that belonged to counties that were then extinct or rearranged.
The walled space was small, and the population soon started to establish their residence in the "arrabaldes" (outskirts). The "judiaria" (Jewish quarter) was located inside the walls. During the Middle Ages, Moncorvo hosted an important Jewish community, and it was the head of the "arrabiado" with jurisdiction over the Trás-os-Montes district (Northeastern Portugal). The Rabbi of Moncorvo represented the Chief Rabbi (settled in Lisbon) in the region, and he was assisted by a group of "vereadores" (councillors) elected by the Jewish "comuna" (commune).
The production of linen, silk, wool, iron, olive oil, wine, and almonds boosted the region's economic development between the 15th and 18th centuries. In 1512, the village received a new "foral". After the administrative reorganisation of the Portuguese kingdom in the 16th century, Torre de Moncorvo became the head of one of the four "comarcas" (counties) of the Trás-os-Montes region. A corregidor appointed by the king was responsible for supervising the local government and exercising his civil and criminal jurisdiction in the "comarca". Such competencies motivated a constant tension between the successive corregidors and the municipal authorities. Moncorvo also became one of the five ecclesiastic "comarcas" (districts) of the archbishopric of Braga in 1522. In addition, it was the head of the "provedoria" (judicial jurisdiction) that also comprised the Bragança and Vila Real districts, and, in the 17th century, it became one of the 29 "almoxarifados" (financial and tax jurisdictions) of the kingdom.
After the administrative reform in the 1830s, Torre de Moncorvo was incorporated into the newly established district of Bragança. Its circumscription was then extended with the integration of new parishes that belonged to counties that were then extinct or rearranged.
Access points: locations
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
Records numbered sequentially and arranged by date.
Links to finding aids
Author of the description
Carla Vieira, 2021
Bibliography
Published primary sources
Linked resources
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| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Arquivo Municipal de Torre de Moncorvo | Collections (official language of the state) |