This edition of the “Entail of the Month” presents the Póvoa estate, established by Vicente Afonso Valente in the 14th century. In 1336, this Lisbon Cathedral Bishop entailed all his rights and properties in Póvoa and appointed his brother, the knight Lourenço Afonso Valente, as the first administrator.

We know of this bond today from the copy of the Vicente Afonso Valente’s will, made in 1538 and currently in the custody of the Municipal Museum of Vila Franca de Xira.

As the centuries passed, the properties of this estate was integrated into the patrimony of other noble families, such as the Castelo Branco or the Lencastre (Casa de Figueiró) households, interchanged by means of matrimonial alliances. In all cases, the objective persisted of avoiding the dispersion of assets and ensuring a binding succession.

The Póvoa entailed estate disappeared a long time ago even if it is still today possible to easily verify the influence this bond had on the territory, whether its definition or its urban landscape, as evidenced by the Quinta da Piedade Palace, in Póvoa de Santa Iria, or in the collective memory of many Póvoa residents.

To find out in more detail the succession of events and personalities that marked the history of this entail, visit the page with all the information about this Entail of the Month. You can also find out about the other entails that have been made available at: https://www.vinculum.fcsh.unl.pt/entail-of-the-month.

Please think about contributing to this initiative by making suggestions for future entails of the month and any details you may be able to provide. To this end, please contact the project at: vinculum@fcsh.unl.pt.

The VINCULUM project is funded by the European Research Council (ERC) and led by Maria de Lurdes Rosa, Professor of NOVA FCSH and researcher at the Institute of Medieval Studies, awarded the first ERC Consolidator Grant to a Portuguese researcher in the field of History.