Promoted by the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage/ Monastery of Alcobaça in partnership with the Institute of Medieval Studies, the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, NOVA University, in the context of effectively achieving the strategic goal of positioning the Monastery of Alcobaça as a benchmark reference for the study and dissemination of the history and the spiritual and temporal heritage of the Cistercian Order, this second cycle of conferences corresponding adopts the core goal of disseminating the most recent research findings about the Monastery of Alcobaça library manuscripts, both from the material and content point of view, their contextualisation in the life of the Monastery, the abbots and monks, as well as the articulation prevailing in documentation produced over several centuries.

It is the intention of this second cycle “Manuscritos de Alcobaça II – materialidades, temas e problemas” (Manuscripts of Alcobaça – materialities, topics and problems) , similar to the first, to bring the general public closer to this vast and complex heritage which constituted a fundamental facet of the identity of the Cistercian monastic community of Alcobaça.

This initiative also integrates into the IEM’s research lines and one of its main missions: the promotion of research to a wide range of audiences, research that leaves the academy and, without losing its scientific rigour, undergoes dissemination through promoting the heritage that belongs to all of us but which, for reasons related to its fragility and conservation, is less accessible to the general public.

This second cycle, under the scientific coordination of Catarina Fernandes Barreira, takes place during 2018 at the Monastery of Alcobaça, on 9 March, 13 April 11 May, 15 June 14 July and 29 September. All sessions start at 15:00 and there is free admission.