Códices Alcobacenses
Item
Country
PT
Name of institution (English)
National Library of Portugal
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
por
Contact information: postal address
Campo Grande, 83, 1749-081 Lisbon
Contact information: phone number
00351 217 982 000
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
bn@bnportugal.gov.pt
Reference number
ALC.
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
Monastery of Alcobaça Codices
Title (official language of the state)
Códices Alcobacenses
Language of title
por
Creator / accumulator
Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça
Date note
12th century/18th century
Language(s)
lat
por
Extent
463 volumes (ALC. 64 and ALC. 132 are missing)
Type of material
Textual Material
Physical condition
Satisfactory
Scope and content
The Códices Alcobacenses collection gathers manuscripts of several thematics, including a few items with Jewish-related matters.
The codex ALC. 475 comprises miscellaneous documents, including a record of the Lisbon pogrom of 1506 (fols. 66-66v) and a copy of a letter sent by Dom Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) to D. Afonso, Count of Faro, around 1470 (fols. 110-111). Herman Prins Salomon, who transcribed and published this letter, classified it as a "philosophical letter" on death and loss. Abravanel addressed it to D. Afonso on the occasion of the death of his father-in-law, D. Sancho de Noronha, Count of Odemira. There is another copy of this letter in the Fundo Rivara of the Biblioteca Pública de Évora (Cod. CIII/2-20, fl. 69v).
The Códices Alcobacenses also include numerous polemical works against Judaism. A special mention should be made to the codex ALC. 148, which contains a 13th-century copy of Dialogus contra judaeos, an anti-Jewish work composed by Pedro Afonso (1062-c. 1135), a Spanish Jewish converso who became the physician of King Afonso VI of Castille. Another copy of this manuscript is part of the Livraria de mão de Santa Cruz de Coimbra collection of the Biblioteca Pública Municipal do Porto (Santa Cruz 34). The ALC. 138 also includes a manuscript copy of Disputation with a Jew by Gilbert Crispin, Abbot of Westminster (c. 1055-1117).
The codex ALC. 475 comprises miscellaneous documents, including a record of the Lisbon pogrom of 1506 (fols. 66-66v) and a copy of a letter sent by Dom Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508) to D. Afonso, Count of Faro, around 1470 (fols. 110-111). Herman Prins Salomon, who transcribed and published this letter, classified it as a "philosophical letter" on death and loss. Abravanel addressed it to D. Afonso on the occasion of the death of his father-in-law, D. Sancho de Noronha, Count of Odemira. There is another copy of this letter in the Fundo Rivara of the Biblioteca Pública de Évora (Cod. CIII/2-20, fl. 69v).
The Códices Alcobacenses also include numerous polemical works against Judaism. A special mention should be made to the codex ALC. 148, which contains a 13th-century copy of Dialogus contra judaeos, an anti-Jewish work composed by Pedro Afonso (1062-c. 1135), a Spanish Jewish converso who became the physician of King Afonso VI of Castille. Another copy of this manuscript is part of the Livraria de mão de Santa Cruz de Coimbra collection of the Biblioteca Pública Municipal do Porto (Santa Cruz 34). The ALC. 138 also includes a manuscript copy of Disputation with a Jew by Gilbert Crispin, Abbot of Westminster (c. 1055-1117).
Archival history
This collection comprises codices from the library of the Cistercian monastery of Santa Maria de Alcobaça, which passed to the Biblioteca Nacional after the extinction of the religious orders in 1834. In 1775, when the Index Codicum Bibliothecae Alcobatie was composed, the Monastery of Santa Maria de Alcobaça fonds contained 476 codices. 476 codices of this fonds were incorporated in the Biblioteca Nacional. The Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo stored eight codices from the monastery's collection. The remaining are lost.
Administrative / Biographical history
The Cistercian monastery of Santa Maria de Alcobaça was founded in 1153 by King Afonso Henriques. The first monks came from the Clairvaux Abbey in 1157 and were housed in Chaqueda, or Santa Maria-a-Velha, the place where the monastery was built later. The construction began in 1178 but was suspended after the Muslim incursions in 1184 and 1195. The coming of more monks from Clairvaux encouraged the restart of the monastery's works, which was habitable in 1222. The church was concluded in 1223 and sacred in 1252.
During the first two centuries, the monastery was managed by abbots elected by the monks and confirmed by the Clairvaux Abbey or the Cistercian Order. After 1369, the Holy See began to elect the abbots. Pope Sixtus IV, by the bull "Ad perpetuam" in 1475, granted the management of the Alcobaça Monastery to the archbishop of Lisbon when the abbot position was vacant, until the election of the new abbot. In 1459, the pope dispensed the monastery of being visited by the Cistercian order's head and the abbot of participating in the general chapter in France. Since then, and particularly after D. Jorge da Costa (the future Cardinal of Alpedrinha) became the first secular abbey in 1475, the monastery entered a recession. In 1519, cardinal-infante D. Afonso and king Manuel began the reformation of the monastery. However, despite these efforts, when the abbey of Clairvaux visited it in 1532, Alcobaça continued in decline. The reformation continued in the following years. The cardinal-infante D. Henrique, who succeeded his brother D. Afonso, was responsible for the organisation and dynamisation of the abbey after 1540. During his government, the position of abbot ceased to be lifelong and became triennial.
After a King Sebastião's charter, the congregation was renamed as Congregação de Santa Maria de Alcobaça. The abbot of Alcobaça became the General Abbot of the congregation in Portugal, which became independent of Cister.
The activity of Alcobaça's scriptorium, its library, and the monk's dedication to teaching reflected the community's dynamics. Since the second half of the 13th century, Alcobaça's monks founded schools of Latin, Logic, and Theology, where the religious trained but which were also open to external students. After the foundation of the College of Espírito Santo de Coimbra in 1550, the monastery's courses were directed to internal training. At the end of the 16th century, Alcobaça had its own printing house.
In 1833, the monks left the monastery. In the following year, convents, monasteries, religious colleges, hospitals, and houses of male orders were dissolved. Alcobaça Monastery's assets, including its library, were incorporated in the Próprios da Fazenda Nacional (national treasury).
During the first two centuries, the monastery was managed by abbots elected by the monks and confirmed by the Clairvaux Abbey or the Cistercian Order. After 1369, the Holy See began to elect the abbots. Pope Sixtus IV, by the bull "Ad perpetuam" in 1475, granted the management of the Alcobaça Monastery to the archbishop of Lisbon when the abbot position was vacant, until the election of the new abbot. In 1459, the pope dispensed the monastery of being visited by the Cistercian order's head and the abbot of participating in the general chapter in France. Since then, and particularly after D. Jorge da Costa (the future Cardinal of Alpedrinha) became the first secular abbey in 1475, the monastery entered a recession. In 1519, cardinal-infante D. Afonso and king Manuel began the reformation of the monastery. However, despite these efforts, when the abbey of Clairvaux visited it in 1532, Alcobaça continued in decline. The reformation continued in the following years. The cardinal-infante D. Henrique, who succeeded his brother D. Afonso, was responsible for the organisation and dynamisation of the abbey after 1540. During his government, the position of abbot ceased to be lifelong and became triennial.
After a King Sebastião's charter, the congregation was renamed as Congregação de Santa Maria de Alcobaça. The abbot of Alcobaça became the General Abbot of the congregation in Portugal, which became independent of Cister.
The activity of Alcobaça's scriptorium, its library, and the monk's dedication to teaching reflected the community's dynamics. Since the second half of the 13th century, Alcobaça's monks founded schools of Latin, Logic, and Theology, where the religious trained but which were also open to external students. After the foundation of the College of Espírito Santo de Coimbra in 1550, the monastery's courses were directed to internal training. At the end of the 16th century, Alcobaça had its own printing house.
In 1833, the monks left the monastery. In the following year, convents, monasteries, religious colleges, hospitals, and houses of male orders were dissolved. Alcobaça Monastery's assets, including its library, were incorporated in the Próprios da Fazenda Nacional (national treasury).
Access points: persons, families
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
Records are arranged sequentially.
Access, restrictions
The collection is digitalised and available online.
Finding aids
A catalogue in files can be consulted in the Rare Book and Manuscript Reading Room (3rd floor).
Existence and location of originals
Author of the description
Carla Vieira, 2021
Published primary sources
Linked resources
Filter by property
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Fundo Rivara | Existence and location of copies | |
| Livraria de mão de Santa Cruz de Coimbra | Existence and location of copies |
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal | Collections (official language of the state) | |
| Biblioteca Pública Municipal do Porto | Collections (official language of the state) |