Cabido da Sé de Lamego

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

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

Contact information: email

mail@dglab.gov.pt

Reference number

PT/TT/CSLM

Type of reference number

Archival reference number

Title (English)

Cathedral Chapter of Lamego

Title (official language of the state)

Cabido da Sé de Lamego

Language of title

por

Creator / accumulator

Cabido da Sé de Lamego

Date(s)

1130/1892

Language(s)

por
heb

Extent

218 books and 101 bundles

Type of material

Textual Material

Physical condition

Good

Scope and content

The Cabido da Sé de Lamego fonds comprises records produced by the Cathedral Chapter of Lamego, in northern Portugal. It includes deeds of purchase, sale and exchange of properties, contracts, royal letters and privileges, donations, papal records, byelaws and regiments, inventories, burial records, lists of patronages and several other types of documents.
Among this volume of documentation, it is possible to find some unexpected documentary evidence on the history of the Jewish presence in Medieval Portugal. It is the case of fragments of Hebrew manuscripts that were discovered in the bindings of two books of this collection. One is a parchment containing a part of the Book of Esther in Hebrew that was used to bind the book of deeds (Annotations of Lopo Rodrigues, 1508) (PT/TT/CSLM/015/L174). See description and Portuguese translation in Tavares (1982). The other Hebrew fragments are in paper and were reused to fill the binding of another book of deeds from the early 16th century (PT/TT/CSLM/015/L175). They date from the 15th century and are parts of a rabbinical discussion on economic matters and a treaty about usury. See the description of these fragments in Moita (2017).
Besides these Hebrew fragments, a book containing records of wills, deaths and chantries instituted in the Cathedral of Lamego from 1224 to 1556, contains a mention to a Jew named Abraão Menáem, who died in Lamego in 1470 (PT/TT/CSLM/005/L047).

Archival history

The documentation of this fonds was transferred from the Cathedral Chapter of Lamego to the Torre do Tombo in 1916. José Joaquim de Ascensão Valdez, delegate of the Inspecção das Bibliotecas Eruditas e Arquivos (Inspectorate of the Learned Libraries and Archives), collected the documentation from the Cathedral Chapter and took it to the archive together with descriptions of the records, which formed the inventory of the Cathedral Chapter of Lamego, at present integrated into the fonds with the signature L 295. A few other documents were incorporated into this fonds presumably from the so-called Colecção Especial (Special Collection), which aggregated ecclesiastic documentation from several provenances preserved at the Torre do Tombo. However, it is still unknown the provenance of the books 209 to 215 of the Cabido da Sé de Lamego fonds. Bundle number 1 and books 61 and 62 were removed from this fonds and integrated the Seminário Episcopal de Jesus, Maria e Ana de Lamego fonds (PT/TT/SEL), also part of the Torre do Tombo collection. In 1982, the "Livro de registo de despesas do Cabido" (Books of records of the Chapter's expenses), dated from 1654 was transferred to the Torre do Tombo and numbered (PT/TT/CSLM/028/L216).
In 2002, other acquisitions were made. One was a book of a bishop entitled “Livro de registo de D. Manuel de Noronha, bispo de Lamego” (Book of records of D. Manuel de Noronha, Bishop of Lamego) dated from 1554 to 1561 (PT/TT/CSLM/028/L218). The other was a parchment with three emphyteusis contracts from 1447 that was integrated in bundle 6 of “Compras, vendas, escambos, partilhas e contratos” (Sales, purchases, exchanges, partitions and contracts) series, with the number 42 (PT/TT/CSLM/001/0006/00042).
The descriptions of the records that are currently in the Torre do Tombo online database were mainly written from the existing finding aids or the summaries written on the back of the documents.

Administrative / Biographical history

The Cabido da Sé (Cathedral Chapter) of Lamego was a corporation or community of ecclesiastics who advised the bishop on the governance of the diocese and also held many functions within the see, such as sing daily in the choir, develop the school of the church, manage the Cathedral Chapter goods and properties, replace the bishop when he was not present, and many others.
The origins of the Cathedral of Lamego date back to the 6th century, during the rule of the Visigoths. When the Muslims took over the territory the diocese was extinguished. The Cathedral of Lamego was restored in 1071. The bull "Apostolicae sedis" of March 23, 1102, bestowed the administration of the dioceses of Viseu and Lamego to the Cathedral of Coimbra. The Bishop of Coimbra remained the head of both dioceses until 1147, when both sees started having their own bishop again. The building of the Cathedral was most likely built a few years later. The fact that, from 1199 to 1393, Lamego was under the jurisdiction of the archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela was a source of conflict between the King of Portugal, the King of León and Castille and the clerics.
The area of control of the Cathedral of Lamego was relatively consensual. However, after 1403, when the lands of Ribacoa came under its jurisdiction, a conflict broke out with the diocese of Guarda. With this incorporation, Lamego held up to 180 parishes under control.
The number of members of a Chapter varied depending on the importance of the Cathedral, its incomes and needed functions. The Cathedral Chapter of Lamego included a deão (dean), who functioned as the president, and a chanter, responsible for the liturgy and Divine Office of the See. The incomes of the diocese were divided into three parts: one was for the bishop and two for the Chapter.
Throughout the years, many people gifted and donated goods and lands to the See and the Cathedral Chapter and sponsored the erection of chapels. In the first centuries, the Portuguese kings held patronage over some lands in the area but those slowly started being incorporated into the jurisdiction of the See of Lamego. Over the centuries, the bishop and the Chapter funded new constructions on the Cathedral, including a bell tower, a new facade, and a clock on the church tower.

Access points: locations

Access points: subject terms

Access points: document types

System of arrangement

This fonds is organised in 39 thematic series. The records of some series are arranged by chronological order.

Access, restrictions

No restrictions, except for records in poor condition or available in digital format.

Finding aids

Unpublished finding aids available in the Torre do Tombo:
"Inventário do Cabido da Sé de Lamego" (Inventory of the Cathedral Chapter of Lamego). February 1996. (L 295).
"Inventário alfabético-cronológico de séries do Cabido da Sé de Lamego" (Alphabetic-chronological inventory of the Cathedral Chapter of Lamego series). (L 295 A).
Published finding aid:

Links to finding aids

Author of the description

Inês de Sá, 2021

Bibliography

Published primary sources

Item sets

Linked resources

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is part (item) of
Title Alternate label Class
Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo Collections (official language of the state)