Colegiada de Santa Justa de Coimbra
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/CSJTC
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
Collegiate of Santa Justa of Coimbra
Title (official language of the state)
Colegiada de Santa Justa de Coimbra
Language of title
por
Creator / accumulator
Colegiada de Santa Justa de Coimbra
Date(s)
1201/1775
Language(s)
por
Extent
4 books and 37 bundles
Type of material
Textual Material
Physical condition
Good
Scope and content
The Colegiada de Santa Justa de Coimbra fonds comprises documentation related to or produced by this collegiate. It includes donation letters, deeds of sale, exchanges, "emprazamento" and "aforamento" (emphyteusis contracts), sentences, wills, among other records concerning the estate and activity of the church of Santa Justa in Coimbra.
Among these records, there is some scattered information on the Jewish community of Coimbra. Two examples are the following:
Maço (bundle) 6, doc. 147-1: document from November 22, 1418, in which two Jews, Mestre Abraão, a surgeon, and Rabbi Fraim, are mentioned as witnesses of a payment made by the Collegiate of Santa Justa to the Monastery of Rates.
Maço 15, doc. 291: sentence from April 26, 1457, against a Jewish goldsmith named Faym that obliged him to pay the tithes and other contributions to the parish of Santa Justa, as his workshop was located there. This decision ended up extending to all the Jewish community settled in the parish of Santa Justa.
Among these records, there is some scattered information on the Jewish community of Coimbra. Two examples are the following:
Maço (bundle) 6, doc. 147-1: document from November 22, 1418, in which two Jews, Mestre Abraão, a surgeon, and Rabbi Fraim, are mentioned as witnesses of a payment made by the Collegiate of Santa Justa to the Monastery of Rates.
Maço 15, doc. 291: sentence from April 26, 1457, against a Jewish goldsmith named Faym that obliged him to pay the tithes and other contributions to the parish of Santa Justa, as his workshop was located there. This decision ended up extending to all the Jewish community settled in the parish of Santa Justa.
Archival history
In 1848, following the law of June 16 and the instruction of September 17, the assets and incomes of all collegiates in Portugal were applied to the maintenance of seminaries. Another law on December 27, 1849, determined that the documents of the collegiates should be stored in the registry of the seminary that received their assets and incomes. By virtue of these laws, the archive, assets and incomes of the Collegiate of Santa Justa de Coimbra were transferred to the seminary of Coimbra. In 1862, another order of the government determined that the documents dated before 1600 should be incorporated into the Torre do Tombo. Thus, the records of the Collegiate of Santa Justa that were stored in the seminary of Coimbra were transferred to the Torre do Tombo in the following year. Some of these records, as well as others from extinguished religious institutions, were included in the so-called "Colecção Especial" (special collection). Between 1938 and 1990, the documents of this collection were gradually reorganised with the aim of recreating the original fonds. The documents were chronologically ordered and gathered into bundles of 40 documents each, which were numbered sequentially. At the end of the 1990s, the organisation by the locality where the respective church was originally located was replaced by an arrangement by diocese.
Administrative / Biographical history
The Collegiate of Santa Justa de Coimbra was created around 1152, when the church was donated by the Crown to the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine. Some of the first records are from 1175, when several proprieties were bought by the Collegiate. These acquisitions were an important step for the establishment of the Collegiate, as it needed revenues to ensure the livelihood of its members. Its statutes were written at the end of the 13th century or at the beginning of the 14th century. The Collegiate was under the jurisdiction of the bishopric of Coimbra.
The collegiates were communities of clerics and laymen with the mission of ensuring the religious cult in churches. They were headed by a prior and composed of a number of "raçoeiros" (literally, who received a ration), who were generally clerics but, exceptionally, also included a few laymen. The "raçoeiros" carried out liturgical functions, such as taking part in the choir and praying for the worshipers who had left donations to the collegiate, among others. The "prioste", which was chosen among the "raçoeiros", had the function of managing the collegiate's assets and distributing its incomes.
The Collegiate of Santa Justa had one prior and twelve “raçoeiros”. There are no records mentioning that the prior kept half of the income for himself as in other collegiates, presumably because it was a small collegiate. Most likely, the revenue was split equally between all the members, even though the prior could sometimes receive a larger portion.
In 1848, most collegiates were extinguished by the Liberal government, especially those that were not able to subsist on their income only. A few years later, the parish of Santa Justa was annexed to the parish of Santa Cruz. It lost its collegiate privileges in 1866.
The collegiates were communities of clerics and laymen with the mission of ensuring the religious cult in churches. They were headed by a prior and composed of a number of "raçoeiros" (literally, who received a ration), who were generally clerics but, exceptionally, also included a few laymen. The "raçoeiros" carried out liturgical functions, such as taking part in the choir and praying for the worshipers who had left donations to the collegiate, among others. The "prioste", which was chosen among the "raçoeiros", had the function of managing the collegiate's assets and distributing its incomes.
The Collegiate of Santa Justa had one prior and twelve “raçoeiros”. There are no records mentioning that the prior kept half of the income for himself as in other collegiates, presumably because it was a small collegiate. Most likely, the revenue was split equally between all the members, even though the prior could sometimes receive a larger portion.
In 1848, most collegiates were extinguished by the Liberal government, especially those that were not able to subsist on their income only. A few years later, the parish of Santa Justa was annexed to the parish of Santa Cruz. It lost its collegiate privileges in 1866.
Sources:
Access points: locations
Access points: corporate bodies
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
Each bundle contains around 40 documents. Each type of storage unit (books and bundles) has a specific numbering.
Access, restrictions
No restrictions, except for records in poor condition.
Finding aids
Unpublished finding aids available in the archive:
"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).
"Inventário dos pergaminhos e códices pertencentes às Colegiadas de São Bartolomeu, de São Cristóvão, de São Tiago, de São João de Almedina, de Santa Justa, de São Pedro, do Salvador, todas de Coimbra, recolhidos no Seminário Episcopal desta cidade que, em virtude do Decreto de 2 de Outubro de 1862 e Portaria de 9 de Julho de 1863, foram transferidos para o Arquivo da Torre do Tombo, em 15 de Setembro de 1863" (Inventory of parchments and codices belonging to the collegiates of São Bartolomeu, São Cristóvão, São Tiago, São João de Almedina, Santa Justa, São Pedro, and Salvador, all in Coimbra, collected by the seminary of this city, that were transferred to the Arquivo da Torre do Tombo on September 15, 1863). (L 288).
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|---|---|---|
| Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo | Collections (official language of the state) |