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Country
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PT
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Name of institution (English)
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The National Archive of Torre do Tombo
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Language of name of institution
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por
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Contact information: postal address
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Alameda da Universidade, 1649-010 Lisbon
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Contact information: phone number
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00351 210037100
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Contact information: web address
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http://antt.dglab.gov.pt/contactos/
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https://digitarq.arquivos.pt/
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Contact information: email
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mail@dglab.gov.pt
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Reference number
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PT/TT/OCCT
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Type of reference number
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Archival reference number
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Title (English)
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Order of Christ and Convent of Tomar
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Title (official language of the state)
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Ordem de Cristo e Convento de Tomar
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Language of title
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por
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Creator / accumulator
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Ordem de Cristo e Convento de Tomar
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Date(s)
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1128/1837
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Language(s)
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por
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lat
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Extent
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333 books and 114 bundles
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Type of material
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Textual Material
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Physical condition
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Good
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Scope and content
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This fonds comprises documentation from the Knights Templer, the Order of Christ and the Convent of Tomar, including records related to the churches of the Order of Christ, property and financial records, sentences and privileges, inventories of estates, and "comendas"(benefits), provisions and appointments of clerics, accounting books, etc. A few references to Jews and Jewish quarters can be found in these records, particularly in those related to properties belonging to the Order of Christ in the 15th and early 16th centuries. The first document of bundle 66 (PT/TT/OCCT/E/001/66.01), which is the fragment of an inventory of the assets of the Order of Christ in Castelo Branco, mentions the "judiaria" (Jewish quarter) of Castelo Branco. On March 9, 1408, Friar Manuel Vasques de Vilela, knight of the Order of Christ, and João Esteves, servant of D. Lopo Dias de Sousa, arrived in Castelo Branco with a letter from the above-mentioned D. Lopo Dias de Sousa, master of the Order of Christ, as well as "mordomo" (steward) and chief chamberlain of Prince Duarte, with instructions to visit all properties of the Order of Christ in the city. Among the Order's assets in Castelo Branco, there was a cellar in the Jewish quarter in possession of Afonso Fernandes Coronel(?) and Fernando Anes.
Bundle 80, entitled "Prazos" (Emphyteusis contracts), includes the donation of the church of Conceição in Lisbon and its properties to the Order of Christ on May 27, 1502 (no. 21). Among these properties, there were two houses in Rua do Poio, Vila Nova, parish of Madalena, in Lisbon, leased to a Jewish man named Chelriz Cidreira. The houses were located alongside the street that headed to the "sinagoga grande" (large synagogue). Cidreira paid a rent of 2,210 reais (currency) and two hens. The record mentions other houses, also next to Poio, Vila Nova, leased to Afonso Álvares, on behalf of Manuel Álvares, son of Guedelha Qualite(?), for 1,078 reais. Therefore, Manuel Álvares would have been a converso, possibly one of the Jews who were baptised after the expulsion decree.
This fonds also contains extracts of records from the Inquisition Tribunal of Tomar, some related to New Christian defendants (mç. 64, unnumbered document, fols. 100-100v (1544); mç. 65, unnumbered document, fols. 350-372 (1543)).
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Archival history
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Before the annexation of the Masters of Military Orders to the Crown, the "forais" (city charters) of the Order of Christ had already been incorporated into the Royal Archives. At present, they are part of the Gavetas collection.
In 1791 and 1792, the Mesa da Consciência e Ordens (Board of Consciousness and Orders) sent to the Torre do Tombo the chancery books of the Order of Christ covering the reigns of King João III (1521-1557) to King João V (1706-1750), as well as part of the reign of King José I (1750-1777). In 1816, other 27 books entered the Torre do Tombo, and more 22 books in 1820. In 1826, the clerk of the Order of Aviz sent 21 books to the Torre do Tombo, of which 13 belonged to the Chancellery of the Order of Christ. Nine other books from the reign of King Pedro IV were received at the archive in 1833.
After the extinction of the religious orders, the property records of the Convent of Tomar were transferred from the Torre do Tombo to the Public Treasury in 1837. These records and other documents in possession of the Direcção Geral dos Próprios Nacionais (General Directorate of National Assets) ended up returning to the Torre do Tombo in 1863, following an order from the Ministry of Finance. Some documents considered necessary for the national registry remained in the Próprios Nacionais and were only gradually transferred to the Torre do Tombo after the 1860s. A part of the documentation was generically designated as Ordem de Cristo (Order of Christ) and another part as Convento de Tomar (Convent of Tomar). In 1912, the documentation that had remained in the Biblioteca Nacional (National Library) was transferred to the Torre do Tombo.
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(source: Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo online catalogue)
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Administrative / Biographical history
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The Knights Templar was created in Jerusalem in 1119 with the mission of protecting the pilgrims of the Holy Land. The Order entered Portugal in 1127. Countess D. Teresa bestowed Fonte Arcada in Minho, northern Portugal, to the Order and, one year later, the Castle of Soure as well, under the condition of helping conquer land from the Moors.
The number of properties of the Knights Templar increased in the following years, granted as rewards for military aid during the so-called "Reconquista" (Christian Reconquest). In 1160, the Templars settled in Tomar. Two years later, Gualdim Pais, Grand Master of the Order, founded the Convent of Tomar. After the extinction of the Knights Templar in 1312, King Dinis of Portugal negotiated the creation of a new order that would inherit the Templar's assets in Portugal. In 1319, the Order of Christ was canonically instituted in Santarém. The new Order would follow the rule of St. Benedict, and the rights of visitation and correction were given to the abbot of the Monastery of Alcobaça. The first statutes were drawn up in Lisbon in 1321. However, five years later, King Afonso IV confirmed new statutes. Then, the Order of Christ settled in the Castle of Castro Marim in southern Portugal. In 1357, its headquarters were transferred to the Convent of Tomar.
Throughout the 14th century, the Order of Christ became progressively directed at serving the interests of the king. For that matter, its involvement in campaigns in North Africa and the spiritual direction of Portuguese colonised countries were exemplary.
Dom Manuel, later King Manuel I, was the governor and perpetual administrator of the Order of Christ from 1484 to his death in 1521. His successor, King João III, became the second administrator.
In 1531, Pope Clement VII confirmed the reform carried out in the Convent of Tomar by Friar Anthony of Lisbon and granted him the power to draw up rules and statutes to be approved by the Apostolic See. In 1551, the bull "Praeclara clarissimi" of Pope Julius III imposed the annexation "in perpetuum" of the Masters of the Military Orders to the Crown. The Mesa da Consciência e Ordens, created in 1533, was charged with their administration.
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(source: Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo online catalogue)
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System of arrangement
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The fonds is divided into nine sections following functional criteria. The books of "Chancelarias Antigas" (Old Chancelleries) of D. Maria I, D. João VI, D. Pedro IV, Infanta D. Maria and D. Miguel contain a specific numbering.
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Author of the description
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Inês de Sá and Teresa Oliveira, 2021.
