The second session of the Seminar in Medieval Studies (SEM) is to be presented by Arnaldo Sousa Melo.

This session analyses the different types of labour and working contracts as well as the associated forms of remuneration in effect in the great Portuguese royal shipyards of the 15th and 16th centuries, in particular the daily work; the annual contract and remuneration; and also fixed price working contracts.

Starting out with the study of concrete examples, especially the construction of the Monastery of Batalha but also including the Monastery of Jerónimos, among others. The study aims to characterise each of these types of contracts, their participants and application methods, which were often simultaneously in effect on the same site. The aim is to understand the motivations and logics of the choices of these various options within the overall organisation and general management of the construction site.

The SEM is organised by the Institute of Medieval Studies (IEM) of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, NOVA University (NOVA FCSH). This session takes place on Wednesday 7 February, and will be held in NOVA FCSH, Building ID, Room 1.05 (1st Floor), with free entrance.

Biographical note
PhD in History of the Middle Ages jointly awarded by the University of Minho and the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris). He has since devoted his studies to the society, economy and powers in the medieval city; including the history of construction. He is currently Senior Assistant Professor at the Department of History (ICS), University of Minho and researcher at LAB2PT, in the same university, and an associate researcher at LAMOP – Université de Paris 1 – Sorbonne.