PTDC/ART-HIS/29522/2017

Research Unit: IEM-NOVA FCSH 
Participant Institutions: LAQV REQUIMTE, NOVA FCT; Laboratório Hércules, University of Évora 
Associated Institutions: CEHR-UCP; National Library of Portugal; DGPC/Mosteiro de Alcobaça 

Lead Researcher: Catarina Fernandes Barreira 
Assistant Lead Researcher: Conceição Casanova 
Research Team: Catarina Fernandes Barreira (LR), Conceição Casanova (Co-LR), Ana Lemos, Catarina Pereira Miguel, Catarina Tibúrcio, Gonçalo Melo da Silva, João Luís Inglês Fontes, Jonathan Wilson, Luís Miguel Rêpas, Maria da Conceição Oliveira, Maria Filomena Andrade, Paula Cardoso, Paulo Catarino Lopes, Rita Araújo, Rita Castro and Zuelma Chaves. 
Consultants: José Francisco Meirinhos and Teresa Maria Gonçalves Quilhó Marques dos Santos 
Duration: 2018-2021 

In recent years, the study of Cistercian scriptoria has produced new knowledge and perspectives: this project seeks to discuss and place the Portuguese case within the European historiographic framework through the study of the scriptorium of the Monastery of Alcobaça between the late 12th century and the 16th century. The objectives include the study and dating of the illuminated liturgical manuscripts from the Alcobaça scriptorium, a corpus made up of 50 codices. This interdisciplinary approach seeks, on the one hand, to study the manuscripts and their materiality (characteristics of the illuminated decoration, study of the pigments and binding structures) and, simultaneously, to study the liturgical contents (in articulation with the Cistercian orientations and the influence of the local context) between the late 12th and early 16th centuries. 

The choice of this type of manuscript stems from its purpose: they were the most important documents produced by monastic scriptoria, essential to the daily celebrating of mass and that organised the lives of religious communities. In Alcobaça, a significant number of these manuscripts survived to the contrary of other abbeys, which opens up new perspectives in terms of the scope for dating them with greater precision and consequently characterising the evolution in the production materials and techniques for scriptorium codex over the course of four centuries. 

This seeks to extend the broader case study in terms of the broader context of European Cistercian cultural production and answer new questions: what was the role of Alcobaça in the global European context? Was the liturgy practiced in Alcobaça identity based or did it follow the Cistercian model? Is there any artistic identity to Alcobaça in terms of its illuminated production and the ornamentation of these religious manuscripts within the aesthetics and materiality of the French context, especially its mother-house, Claraval? Are the original Alcobaça bindings specific to this location or do they display common features with other abbeys? How do these codices evolve in terms of their content and materiality? What influences permeate this scriptorium? The responses to these questions shall enable new insights into the illuminated manuscripts produced or acquired by Alcobaça. 

The LR and team members, with experience in the production of knowledge for academia and its dissemination and the transfer of knowledge to non-specialist publics, deploy the competences necessary to the implementation of this project. This highlights the priority attributed to networking and participation in Cistercian study networks over recent years. The results will be published in specialist international journals, with peer review, and presented at national and international conferences and as well as in an open access database. The working plan includes an exhibition, the publication of a book and an international congress. The knowledge transfer strategies count on the direct participation of two fundamental institutions, BNP and the Monastery of Alcobaça. 

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