E mostrarom duas arcas hua vaçia e na outra andavam cartas: monastic fonds as family archives in de Middle Ages

Abstract

For the Middle Ages, before the constitution of private archives of manor houses - which occurs, for the most important part, during the fifteenth century - researchers of family history have to resort, in addition to the royal funds, mainly to monastics funds. It was in these that the diplomas concerning the members of the founding or protective families of the different monasteries were kept. I intend, therefore, through the analysis of a few examples, to highlight the importance of some document types, such as wills or letters of partition, not only to collect information about the individuals concerned, but also to record the transmission of several assets throughout the generations.