Mosteiro de São Bento da Avé-Maria do Porto
Item
Country
PT
Name of institution (English)
The National Archive of Torre do Tombo
Name of institution (official language of the state)
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
Contact information: email
mail@dglab.gov.pt
Reference number
PT/TT/MAMP
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
Monastery of São Bento da Avé-Maria of Porto
Title (official language of the state)
Mosteiro de São Bento da Avé-Maria do Porto
Language of title
por
Creator / accumulator
Mosteiro de São Bento da Avé-Maria do Porto
Date(s)
1033/1880
Language(s)
lat
por
Extent
21 books and 54 bundles
Type of material
Textual Material
Physical condition
Satisfactory
Scope and content
This fonds contains documentation related to or produced by the Monastery of São Bento de Avé-Maria in Porto. It is divided into four subfonds and eleven series. The subfonds correspond to the monasteries under the custody of São Bento da Avé-Maria: São Cristóvão of Rio Tinto, Santa Maria of Tarouquela, Salvador of Tuías and Salvador of Vila Cova de Sardim. The series are organized by topics related to the administration of the monastery: 1) Papal bulls, briefs and ecclesiastic privileges; 2) donations; 3) "padroado" (patronage); 4) inventories of proprieties; 5) "prazos" (emphyteusis contracts); 6) sentences; 7) records from the Monastery of Cucujães; 8) income and expenses; 9) "almotaçarias" (weights and measures inspection); 10) "correições do couto" (local justices); and 11) various documents.
The sub-fonds of the Monastery of São Cristóvão de Rio Tinto contains a document (PT/TT/MAMP-MSCRT/001/0006, unnumbered document in envelope 1390-1399) from August 21, 1390, which mentions a Jew named Lambroso, resident in São João da Pesqueira (northeastern Portugal) and attorney of Pero Lourenço de Távora, who was mandated to charge all debts owed to D. João, former Bishop of Porto. Lambroso declared that he had received from the abbess of the monastery of Rio Tinto, an amount of money and cereals to pay for the bishop's debt.
An unnumbered document in PT/TT/MAMP/011/0002 (maço 2, envelope 1389-90) contains a letter by King Fernando I to the Chief Rabbi regarding the payment of an amount to Rodrigo Eanes de Sá, dating from January 27, 1374. This document was transcribed and published by Pedro Pinto (2017).
The sub-fonds of the Monastery of São Cristóvão de Rio Tinto contains a document (PT/TT/MAMP-MSCRT/001/0006, unnumbered document in envelope 1390-1399) from August 21, 1390, which mentions a Jew named Lambroso, resident in São João da Pesqueira (northeastern Portugal) and attorney of Pero Lourenço de Távora, who was mandated to charge all debts owed to D. João, former Bishop of Porto. Lambroso declared that he had received from the abbess of the monastery of Rio Tinto, an amount of money and cereals to pay for the bishop's debt.
An unnumbered document in PT/TT/MAMP/011/0002 (maço 2, envelope 1389-90) contains a letter by King Fernando I to the Chief Rabbi regarding the payment of an amount to Rodrigo Eanes de Sá, dating from January 27, 1374. This document was transcribed and published by Pedro Pinto (2017).
Archival history
In 1535, the Monastery of São Bento de Avé-Maria of Porto received records from different monasteries. The majority of these records probably came from the Monasteries of Rio Tinto or Tarouquela. Almost all documents of the Monastery of Tuías were destroyed. In 1582, the records of the Monastery of Cucujães were also transferred to São Bento de Avé-Maria. Part of the documents preserved at the Monastery of São Bento de Avé-Maria were included in the Colecção Especial (Special Collection). This collection was created after the extinction of the monasteries and religious orders in Portugal in 1834, and the subsequent decision of the Liberal government to transfer their records to the Torre do Tombo. Then, the Colecção Especial gathered documents 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 organisation was discarded and replaced by an organisation by religious institution. At present, each convent, monastery and order has its own fonds, as is the case of the Monastery of São Bento da Avé-Maria. This project led to the publication of the inventory Ordens monástico-conventuais, coordinated by José Mattoso and Maria do Carmo Jasmins Dias Farinha.
Sources:
Administrative / Biographical history
The Monastery of São Bento da Avé-Maria in Porto was founded by King Manuel I with the aim of gathering nuns of rural Benedictine monasteries together. The monastery was built on lands handed over by the Bishop of Porto. The construction works started in 1518 and were completed in 1527 or 1528. In 1536, the nuns began to live in the building. They came from the monasteries of São Cristóvão of Rio Tinto, Salvador of Tuías, Salvador of Vila Cova das Donas and Santa Maria of Tarouquela. In 1596, as established by the Benedictine congregation, the monastery started receiving a substantial part of the income of the Monastery of São Martinho de Cucujães. In 1834, monasteries and convents were extinguished in Portugal by the Liberal regime. However, the female monasteries were allowed to remain open until the death of the last nun. Thus, in 1892, the last nun of the Monastery of São Bento da Avé-Maria died and the monastery was closed. Its assets were transferred to the Crown.
Access points: locations
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
The records of each series are arranged by both chronological and thematic criteria.
Access, restrictions
Some documents are available online. The originals of these documents are not available for consultation.
Finding aids
Unpublished finding aids available in the Torre do Tombo:
"Inventário das Corporações Religiosas, desintegrado da antiga Colecção Especial, em 24 de Julho de 1978" (Inventory of Religious Organisation extracted from the former Colecção Especial on July 24, 1978) (L 208).
"Relação de documentos do Convento da Avé-Maria do Porto" (Catalogue of documents of the Convent of Avé-Maria of Porto). (L 287).
Published finding aids
Links to finding aids
Author of the description
Inês de Sá and Teresa Oliveira, 2021
Linked resources
Filter by property
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo | Collections (official language of the state) |