saul antónio gomes tivators of the language. Even chroniclers, such as the father of Portuguese historiography Fernão Lopes, use clauses that (as mentioned) correspond to formulas recognizable in the testamentary acts of common public notaries.45 Let us conclude. The analysis of the wills of the kings of Portugal from the first dynasty reveals, in terms of textual composition, continuities with and respect for the writing traditions of the royal chancellery before the second half of the 13th century. With King Denis there was a change, with the transfer of the writing of royal wills to notaries or general notaries, who wrote them in Portuguese, but enriching them from a stylistic and literary point of view. The 14th century cultivated a new, modern ars dictandi, favouring the country’s vernacular language and cultivating more expressive and creative writing models. But whether among the wills of the 13th century, with their clauses relating to the “pax et tranquilitas” of the royal family and the kingdom, or those of the 14th century, where the issue of succession is very detailed, we can appreciate that the Portuguese royal will, combining diplomacy and history, expresses an evident political and legal significance. They also include symbolic diplomatic meanings, whose detailed analysis, however, deserves another opportunity. 253 45 Coelho 2001, pp. 93–140.
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