Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça

Item

Country

PT

Name of institution (English)

The National Archive of Torre do Tombo

Name of institution (official language of the state)

Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo

Language of name of institution

por

Contact information: postal address

Alameda da Universidade, 1649-010 Lisbon

Contact information: phone number

00351 210037100

Contact information: web address

http://antt.dglab.gov.pt/contactos/
https://digitarq.arquivos.pt/

Contact information: email

mail@dglab.gov.pt

Reference number

PT/TT/MSMALC

Type of reference number

Archival reference number

Title (English)

Monastery of Santa Maria of Alcobaça

Title (official language of the state)

Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça

Language of title

por

Creator / accumulator

Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça

Date(s)

1153/1833

Language(s)

lat
por

Extent

258 books and 142 bundles

Type of material

Textual Material

Physical condition

Satisfactory

Scope and content

The Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça fonds comprises various documentation related to or produced by this monastery in the centre of Portugal, including privileges and donations, confirmation of "mercês" (favours), royal letters, permits, papal bulls, abbess elections, "visitações" (visits), etc. However, most of the documentation is related to the monastery's properties and assets, as well as its administration: books of rural estates, emphyteusis contracts, sales and purchases, sentences, revenues and expenses, among other types of documents. These records mention the monastery's assets in Ataias, Cavalariça, Santarém, Golegã, Leiria, Campo de Valada, Torres Vedras, Valado, Maiorga, Lisbon, Elvas, Alcanede, Rio Maior, Porto de Mós, etc. Most of them came from the monastery's registry and are organised in bundles, but there are also a few documents of this type in books from the library, namely in the so-called "Dourados de Alcobaça" (Alcobaça Golden Books). Some of the records hold information about the Medieval Jewish communities from the centre of Portugal, especially Leiria, Óbidos and Torres Vedras. The following are examples of this kind of documentation.
From the "Dourados de Alcobaça":
Livro (book) 183 (PT/TT/MSMALC/L183), fol. 159v: "emprazamento" (emphyteusis contract) of a house owned by the monastery to Isaac da Batalha and his wife Aviziboa, Jewish residents in Aljubarrota, for 500 pounds per year and a hen to the monastery infirmary and its nurse. November 24, 1407. Digital copy available online.
Livro 14 (PT/TT/MSMALC/L014), fol. 16v: record related to the income of a rent that includes a reference to Bento Saçom, a Jewish merchant from Leiria who was then in Paredes, regarding a debt on the sale of some pieces of cloth from Castile. April 16, 1438. Other records related to this debt are in fols. 86 and 117v. Saçom was a supplier of cloth to Alcobaça, for the production of the monks' habits (fols. 124, 132v, 134). A digital copy of this book is available online.
Livro 14, fol. 220v: on September 17, 1437, Moisés de Abrantes, Abraão Baça, Isaac Tori, Daniel and José, Jewish shoemakers from Leiria, paid 1,800 pounds of part of the cost of some leather they bought from the monastery.
Livro 14, fols. 116, 117v, 171: references to Salomão Façam, a Jewish merchant from Leiria, who supplied soap to the monastery. 1438-1439.
Livro 3 (PT/TT/MSMALC/L003), fols. 62v-63: Samuel Benazo (or Abanazo), a Jew, renounced the ownership of some houses and a plot of land that he had in Pederneira (at present, in Nazaré). The houses had been built on the monastery property without its permission. In compensation, the Monastery of Alcobaça paid him 8,000 pounds and deducted a debt he had from the saddlery of Óbidos, of which he was the tenant. July 12, 1486.
Livro 5 (PT/TT/MSMALC/L005), fols. 35v-37: After a suggestion from Judas (Juda) Rico Homem (or Ricomem), a Jewish merchant, the Monastery of Alcobaça leased him in three lives a house in the Judiaria Velha (Old Jewish quarter) of Lisbon for 1,200 pounds and a couple of capons per year. The house was located next to the houses of Levi Vidas and Gabriel(?) Bem Crespo, also Jews. However, there were problems practically from the beginning. The monastery informed Judas Rico Homem that there had been a mistake on the price, so it was agreed that he would pay 2,000 pounds per year. Later, Isaac Pinto, a Jew from Évora, claimed the ownership of the house and charged Rico Homem and the monastery, as shown by Judas in a document of July 5, 1463. Judas Rico Homem ended up paying 30,000 pounds to Isaque Pinto for the charges to be withdrawn, under the condition of being reimbursed by the monastery (see PT/TT/MSMALC/1DP12/293 below). So, they made a new settlement on July 19, 1471, in which he committed to pay 800 reais per year until the monastery paid him back. When D. Jorge da Costa (later Cardinal of Alpedrinha) took the administration of the Monastery of Alcobaça, he accused Rico Homem of deceiving the monastery in regard to the rent and of destroying a balcony of the house. Therefore, he determined that Rico Homem should lose his rights to the houses. Rico Homem alleged that it was Isaque Pinto that had damaged the balcony and thus refused to appear before the apostolic judge. Then, he was condemned to lose the houses and his rights to them, and to pay 40,000 pounds for the balcony plus the cost of the sentence. He sent a letter of appeal to the Pope through the Bishop of Évora, who accepted it and ordered the cardinal to send his attorney to be heard with Rico Homem. Finally, the monastery and Rico Homem reached a friendly composition. Rico Homem committed to pay 1,000 pounds to the monastery, and the latter renounced the house and passed it on to Rico Homem and his heirs, under the condition of him waiving the amount of 30,000 pounds plus interest they owed him. Rico Homem bound, as a pledge of the 1,000 pounds, some houses he had on Rua de São Nicolau, in the Judiaria Velha, next to the houses of Jacob Toledano, Isaque Amado and Mosse Chichorro. October 7, 1488.
Livro 1 (PT/TT/MSMALC/L001): this book contains the inventory of the assets of Monastery of Alcobaça in Leiria. Some of these assets were located in the Jewish quarter of Leiria. Therefore, it includes several references to Jews who lived there, as well as precious information regarding the location of the Jewish quarter.
From the monastery's registry:
PT/TT/MSMALC/1DP11/31: in 1269, the Monastery of Alcobaça exchanged an estate in Vale de Mend'Aires, in the outskirts of Torres Vedras, for an estate located near Lourinhã owned by a Jewish couple from Torres Vedras, Moisés and Aviziboa. This estate in Vale de Mend'Aires was later acquired by D. Sancha, the daughter of King Afonso III (PT/TT/MSMALC/1DP16/8).
PT/TT/MSMALC/1DP17/06: Abraão, a Jewish butcher, and his wife Dona Sol sold a house in Torres Vedras to a Christian named Pero Meogo. Among the witnesses were Isaac, a goldsmith from Lisbon, and Samuel, a notary from Leiria. March 26, 1283. A digital copy of this document is available online.
PT/TT/MSMALC/1DP19/37: Isaac, the rabbi of the Jewish community of Leiria, his wife Ana and his nephew Moisés renounced to houses in the Jewish quarter of Leiria. April 17, 1293.
PT/TT/MSMALC/1DP20/27: another Jewish couple, Josepe and Salva, acquired several properties — including a farm, an orchard and a vineyard — in the outskirts of Torres Vedras in 1297. Six years later, they sold these properties (PT/TT/MSMALC/1DP24/2). Both documents include signatures with Hebrew characters.
PT/TT/MSMALC/2M18/406: in 1299, D. Judas and D. Missol sold a vineyard with an olive grove in the outskirts of Torres Vedras, on behalf of Isaac Guedelha.
PT/TT/MSMALC/1DP23/08: in 1301, the clerk and the steward of Queen D. Beatriz owed 30 pounds and eight bushels of wheat to Samuel, the notary of the Jewish community of Torres Vedras.
PT/TT/MSMALC/1DP24/5: in 1304, Dona Rei, the widow of Salomão Lidiça, sold a piece of cropland in Martim Longo, in the outskirts of Óbidos, to a Christian lawyer from Óbidos. One of the witnesses of this instrument was Judas Toledão, grandson of Moisés Toledão from Torres Vedras.
PT/TT/MSMALC/1DP28/39: "emprazamento" (emphyteusis contract) of an estate in the outskirts of Monsaraz to Jufez Toledano. December 12, 1328. A digital copy of this document is available online.
PT/TT/MSMALC/1DP19/46: Santo, a Jewish blacksmith, lost a house in Leiria to the Crown by reason of a debt. June 3, 1394.
PT/TT/MSMALC/2M30/745: the Monastery of Alcobaça leased the incomes from cellars in Aljubarrota to a Jew named Jadim (or Jardim). September 3, 1410.
PT/TT/MSMALC/2M91, unnumbered document: Santo, a Jewish tailor resident in Pederneira, confirmed that he had received the payment due to work carried out to the Monastery of Alcobaça. February 25, 1437.
PT/TT/MSMALC/2M89, unnumbered document: letter of discharge given by D. Belhamim Almeredim, who was the tenant of the collection of the tithe of Alcobaça in 1447, to D. Gonçalo Ferreira, the abbot of Alcobaça, regarding the tax over several goods. July 5, 1448.
PT/TT/MSMALC/1DP12/293: Isaque Pinto, a Jewish resident in Lisbon, withdraws the charges he had on the monastery of Alcobaça and Judas Rico Homem, a Jewish merchant from Lisbon, regarding some houses in the Judiaria Velha, under the condition of the monastery paying him 30,000 pounds. Witnesses of this instrument were David Moscatel (Mocatell), a Jewish dyer, and Mayll Amado, both residents in Lisbon. The notary was Isaque Zarco, the notary of the Jewish "comuna" (commune) of Lisbon.
April 13, 1466. Confirmation of receiving the money from Judas Rico Homem on February 9, 1467. These documents are mentioned in the sentence in PT/TT/MSMALC/L005 summarised above.
PT/TT/MSMALC/1DP12/294: the Jewish merchant Mousem Sançom, another plaintiff of the demand against the monastery of Alcobaça and Rico Homem, also withdrew from the complaint. The document refers to other Jews who also had held part of the "foro" (emphyteusis contract) of the said houses in the past, namely Isaque Rondi (or Arrondi), his wife D. Lumbre and his daughter Lediça, the wife of Isaque Pinto. Witnesses of this instrument were Abraão Abrox and Judas Bixorda, residents in Lisbon, and Abraão Ben Faym, scribe and bookbinder, also resident in Lisbon. The notary was Abraão Manuel, the notary of the Jewish "comuna" of Lisbon. July 7, 1466. The document has an addition dated from February 4, 1467, in which Mousem Saçom confirmed that he had received from Judas Rico Homem and Isaque Pinto the amount due. Judas Negro, son of David Negro, and Isaac Penafiel, Jewish merchants from Lisbon, were witnesses.
Documents of this collection related to Jews from Leiria were published by Saul Gomes (2010).

Archival history

After the abolition of religious orders and monasteries in Portugal, decreed by the Liberal government in 1834, it was decided that the records of these institutions would be incorporated in the National Archive of Torre do Tombo. However, the transference of the documents from the Monastery of Santa Maria of Alcobaça extended over time. In 1865, some documents belonging to the monastery that were under the custody of the Direcção Geral dos Próprios Nacionais (General Directorate of National Assets) were transferred to the Torre do Tombo. The process of relocation lasted at least until 1912.
Some of the Monastery records were incorporated in the Coleccção Especial (Special Collection), together with documents from other religious orders, monasteries, convents and other ecclesiastic institutions considered of particular importance. Between 1938 and 1990, this collection was reevaluated and its records were gradually incorporated into other fonds in an effort of recreating the original fonds. The documents were chronologically ordered and organised into bundles of 40 documents each. In the late 1990s, the geographical arrangement was replaced by an organisation by religious institution. At present, each convent, monastery and order have its own fonds.
In 1996, some "Códices Alcobacençes" from the Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça fonds were sent to the Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal (National Library of Portugal). However, the National Archive of Torre do Tombo holds microfilmed copies of these codices.
(source: Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo online database)

Administrative / Biographical history

The Cistercian Monastery of Santa Maria of 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 later built. The construction works began in 1178 but were suspended after the Muslim incursions in 1184 and 1195. The arrival of more monks from Clairvaux encouraged the restart of the constructions, and thus the monastery was habitable in 1222. The church was completed in 1223 and consecrated 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. In 1475, when the abbot position was vacant, Pope Sixtus IV, by the bull "Ad perpetuam", granted the management of the Monastery of Alcobaça to the Archbishop of Lisbon until the election of the new abbot. In 1459, the Pope exempted the monastery from being visited by the head of the Cistercian order and the abbot of participating in the general chapter in France. Since then, and particularly after D. Jorge da Costa became the first secular abbot in 1475, the monastery entered in recession. In 1519, Cardinal-Infant D. Afonso and King D. Manuel I began the reformation of the monastery. In spite of these efforts, when the abbot of Clairvaux visited the monastery in 1532, its decline was still apparent. Yet, the reformation continued in the following years. Cardinal-Infant D. Henrique, who succeeded his brother D. Afonso, was responsible for the development and organisation of the abbey after 1540. During his government, the position of abbot ceased to be lifelong and became triennial.
Following a charter from King D. Sebastião, 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 from Cister.
The activity of the scriptorium of Alcobaça, its library and the monk's dedication to teaching reflected the community dynamics. Since the second half of the 13th century, the monks of Alcobaça founded public schools of Latin, Philosophy and Theology. The religious were trained in these schools but they were also open to external students. After the foundation of the College of Espírito Santo of Coimbra in 1550, the monastery's courses were directed for 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 extinguished. The assets of the Monastery of Alcobaça, including its library, were incorporated into the Próprios da Fazenda Nacional (National Treasury).
(source: Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo online database)

Access points: locations

Aljubarrota (Portugal)
Leiria (Portugal)
Lisbon (Portugal)
Lourinhã (Portugal)
Monsaraz
Óbidos (Portugal)
Torres Vedras (Portugal)

Access points: subject terms

Portuguese Medieval Jewry
Jewish quarter
Land
Taxation
Trade and commerce
Legal matters
13th century
14th century
15th century

Access points: document types

Property records
Religious orders records

System of arrangement

This fond is divided into one subfonds, one section and separated bundles and books. The subfonds gathers documents from the College of Nossa Senhora da Conceição of Alcobaça and the records are arranged chronologically. The section comprises four codices from the Monastery's library.

Access, restrictions

Some documents available online. The originals of these documents are not available for consultation.

Finding aids

Unpublished finding aids available in the Torre do Tombo:
Félix, Emília da Piedade Carvalho. "Mosteiro de Alcobaça. Catálogo dos documentos régios", caixas (boxes) 1-3 (C 289 A 1, C 289 A 2, C 289 A 3)
Garcia, António Manuel and Roberto Augusto da Costa Campos. 1865. "Relação dos documentos pertencentes ao extinto Mosteiro de Alçobaça, que em virtude das Portarias de 26 de Novembro de 1863 e 24 de Agosto de 1864, são transferidos do cartório da Direcção Geral dos Próprios Nacionais para o Arquivo da Torre do Tombo" (Inventory of documents belonging to the former Monastery of Alcobaça that, after the ordonnaces of November 26, 1863, and August 24, 1864, were transferred from the registry of the Direcção Geral dos Próprios Nacionais to the Archive of Torre do Tombo). (C 289).
"Inventário dos cartórios recolhidos da Biblioteca Nacional em 1912" (Inventory of the registries collected from the National Library in 1912). (L 283), fols. 4-4v.
"Índice (inventário) dos livros de diversos conventos, ordens militares e outras corporações religiosas guardadas no Arquivo da Torre do Tombo" (Inventory of books from diverse convents, military orders and other religious organisations kept in the Archive of Torre do Tombo), "Conventos Diversos" (Diverse convents), caderno (booklet) 1 (Ajuda to Avis). (C 268), fols. 5-224.
"Inventário das Corporações Religiosas, desintegrado da antiga Colecção Especial em 24 de Julho de 1978" (Inventory of the Religious Organisations extracted from the Colecção Especial on July 24, 1978). (L 208), pp. 1-2.
"Mosteiro de Alcobaça: 2ª incorporação" (Monastery of Alcobaça: second incorporation). Inventories of bundles 1 to 67, 1066-1299 (C 289 B 1); 1300-1326 (C 289 B 2); 1327-1339 (C 289 B 3); 1340-1350 (C 289 B 4); 1351-1364 (C 289 B 5); 1365-1379 (C 289 B 6); 1380-1387 (C 289 B 7); 1388-1394 (C 289 B 8); 1395-1402 (C 289 B 9); 1403-1412 (C 289 B 10); 1413-1423 (C 289 B 11); 1424-1432 (C 289 B 12); 1433-1438 (C 289 B 13); 1439-1449 (C 289 B 14); 1450-1456 (C 289 B 15); 1457-1467 (C 289 B 16); 1468-1478 (C 289 B 17); 1479-1499 (C 289 B 18); 1500-1526 (C 289 B 19); 1527-1565 (C 289 B 20); 1566-1833 (C 289 B 21); undated documents (C 289 B 22).
"Relação de documentos vindos da Direcção-Geral dos Próprios Nacionais, em 14 de Maio de 1894" (Inventory of the documents coming from the Direcção-Geral dos Próprios Nacionais on May 14, 1894). Topographic organisation: A-L. (C 278), fols. 22-45.

Links to finding aids

https://digitarq.arquivos.pt/details?id=1458834

Bibliography

Barbosa, Pedro Gomes. 2013. “A Comunidade Judaica de Torres Vedras, Durante a Idade Média (Algumas Notas).” In Judiarias, Judeus e Judaísmo, 65–71. Lisbon; Torres Vedras: Colibri ; Câmara Municipal de Torres Vedras; Instituto Alexandre Herculano.
Gomes, Saul. 1993. “Os Judeus de Leiria medieval como agentes dinamizadores da economia urbana.” Revista Portuguesa de História 28.
Gomes, Saul António. 1997. “Leiria e a Tipografia Judaica Dos Ortas.” Estudos Orientais 6: 221–35.
Gomes, Saul. 2013. A Comunidade Judaica de Coimbra Medieval. Coimbra: INATEL.
Silva, Manuela Santos. 2014. “Óbidos, a sua Judiaria e os seus Judeus nos séculos XIII a XV.” Cadernos de Estudos Sefarditas 12–13: 91–104.
Tavares, Maria José Pimenta Ferro. 1982. Os judeus em Portugal no século XV. 2 vols. Lisbon: Universidade Nova de Lisboa.

Published primary sources

Gomes, Saul António. 2010. A comuna judaica de Leiria das origens à expulsão: introdução ao seu estudo histórico e documental. Série monográfica Alberto Benveniste 2. Lisbon: Universidade de Lisboa.

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Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo Collections (official language of the state)