Over recent years, the study of the Cistercian scriptoria has produced new knowledge and perspectives. The research Project Cistercian Horizons (PTDC/ART-HIS/29522/2017) seeks to elucidate the case of Portugal and place it within this European historiographical current through an analysis of the scriptorium of the Abbey of Alcobaça from the end of the 12th to the beginning of the 16th century. 

One of the main Project objectives involves the correlation and assimilation of recent studies concerning Cistercian scriptoria, books, and libraries. In particular, special focus is afforded the material qualities of Cistercian Liturgical Books both in their codicological aspects, where binding methods frequently denote idiosyncratic indications of provenance, and also in identifying pigments used in the development and mixing of coloured inks. A parallel function of the Project comprises an examination of Cistercian Liturgy and its ritual performance in the monastic space in the context of the all-embracing Cistercian ideal of Liturgical uniformity in dialogue with local adaptations of, and departures from, that model aspiration. 

The project Cistercian Horizons along with the Institute of Medieval Studies (IEM Nova FCSH), the Centre for Religious History Studies (CEHR UCP), the Monastery of Alcobaça (Direção Geral do Património Cultural) and the National Library of Portugal, is organising the International Congress “Cistercian Horizons”, which will take place via Zoom on 29 and 30 September, and 1 October this year (2022). 

In harmony with the parameters of the Project, the main themes of the Congress will be: 

  • Monastic Space and Liturgy, 
  • Alcobaça and the Cistercian Rule, 
  • Music and Liturgy, 
  • Books and Libraries, 
  • Binding, and 
  • Pigments, Colour, and Illumination. 

The forthcoming Congress will present the results achieved under the Cistercian Horizons Project in relation to the liturgical codices of the Abbey of Santa Maria de Alcobaça, the most important male monastery in Portugal, in the hope of stimulating discussion around the originality of production in Alcobaça and its influence on other Cistercian houses, and in anticipation of an open discussion, in a multidisciplinary forum, of the research carried out by the investigatory teams within the Project.  

The congress will be by zoom, free of charge, but it is necessary to register, using this form or through the email cbarreira@fcsh.unl.pt.