Due to the current pandemic, this conference had to be postponed.

The illuminated Romanesque Bibles preserved in Portuguese institutions remain, today as in the Middle Ages, manuscripts of great importance. Apart from their religious dimension, as sacred books, they are also works of unquestionable cultural and artistic interest. This is undoubtedly a cultural heritage of particular significance and has justified its study over time. This is to be further advanced by the set of initiatives announced here – Exhibition, Conference and Catalogue -, which we decided to identically entitle: “Produção e circulação da Bíblia em Portugal. Itinerários dos manuscritos iluminados românicos” (The Production and Circulation of the Bible in Portugal). Itineraries of Romanesque illuminated manuscripts is designed to highlight the profile of these codices and underline their importance through different approaches emphasising the production and circulation of texts and artistic models as well as their usage by the monastic communities to which they belonged.

The proposal to contrast Romanesque codices with some very particular editions from later periods seeks to identify some of the changes made to the Bible throughout almost a millennium. Practically exclusive to monastic spaces in the 12th century and through the early decades of the following century when, apart from their liturgical use, these works were, in some cases, only ever displayed under very special circumstances, the Bible then gradually began to play new roles and reach new readers, particularly after the appearance of printed editions in the mid-15th century, diversifying its usage and universalising access to the texts.

Within the scope of this same initiative, there is the exhibition “A Bibliotheca iluminada – Produção e circulação da Bíblia em Portugal. Itinerários dos manuscritos iluminados românicos” (The Illuminated Library – Production and circulation of the Bible in Portugal. Itineraries of illuminated Romanesque manuscripts).

Organisation: Institute of Medieval Studies (IEM – FCSH/NOVA), in partnership with the Centre of Religious History Studies (UCP – CEHR)

Organising Commission:
Luís Correia de Sousa (IEM – FCSH/NOVA) – luis.sousa@fcsh.unl.pt
Maria Adelaide Miranda (IEM – FCSH/NOVA) – mmac@fcsh.unl.pt
Maria Filomena Andrade (UAb; UCP – CEHR ; IEM-FCSH/NOVA) – maria.andrade@uab.pt
Paulo Fontes (UCP-CEHR) – pfontes@ucp.pt
Rita Mendonça Leite (UCP – CEHR) – ritamendoncaleite@ucp.pt

Scientific Commision:
José Augusto Ramos (FLUL)
José Meirinhos (FLUP)
Luís Correia de Sousa (IEM – FCSH/NOVA)
Maria Adelaide Miranda (IEM – FCSH/NOVA)
Maria Filomena Andrade (UAb; UCP-CEHR ; IEM-FCSH/NOVA)
Paulo Fontes (UCP – CEHR)
Rita Mendonça Leite (UCP – CEHR)

Institutional Contacts:
IEM – Institute of Medieval Studies
NOVA – Faculdade de Ciências Sociais and Humanas,
Almada Negreiros College, 3rd Floor, Gabinete 320
Campus de Campolide, 1070-312 Lisbon
Telephone: +351 918 832 068
IEM – Ricardo Cordeiro – iem.geral@fcsh.unl.pt
CEHR– Pedro Feliciano – cehr.ft@ucp.pt

Support: National Library of Portugal