maria helena da cruz coelho & maria do rosário morujão ed to be buried.24 Amongst archbishops, bishops, and canons of cathedrals, it was very common to choose members of their own chapters (particularly those members holding dignities) or the prelates of their dioceses.25 It was also common for the responsibility for the execution of the will to be entrusted to the chapter as a whole, which after the testator’s death would determine amongst themselves who should carry out the duty.26 In addition to ecclesiastics, family members of the testator were also frequently chosen as executors, especially those closest to them: a spouse, siblings, children, or nephews. Others can be traced to the testators’ clientele, or to their upbringing – in both instances, people whose proximity was equally great – or yet from the social or professional group to which they belonged. For brevity, only the most interesting or significant examples will be presented here. In a will written in Coimbra in November 1348 – a few months after the arrival of the Black Death in Portugal27 – the testator, a notary, named his wife as the first executor, to act jointly with his son and a nephew. However, anticipating the possibility of the executors dying before fulfilling their mission, he listed several possible substitutes: a parish priest, a brother, any surviving member of his lineage, or, as a last resort, the prior and clerics of a collegiate church in the city. Another curious case is that of Teresa Rodrigues, the wife of a notary from Lisbon.28 In her will (1396), she elects to be buried at a monastery 283 24 Two examples: Paio Gonçalves, in 1235, demands to be buried at the monastery of St George in Coimbra and appoints the respective abbot as executor (Gomes 2022b); Teresa Rodrigues, the wife of a notary of Lisbon, chooses, in 1396, to be buried at the monastery of the Holy Trinity and appoints the provincial of that Order as her first executor (Ferreira 2018). 25 Some examples: in 1228, Estêvão Soares da Silva, archbishop of Braga, entrusted his successor and the chapter of his see with realising his last wishes (Morujão 2010, doc. 1.10). In 1260, Julião Fernandes, bishop of Porto, chose the dean, the cantor, and two canons of the chapter (Morujão 2010, doc. 7.4). In 1318, the bishop of Coimbra Estêvão Eanes appointed the dean and three archdeacons of the cathedral as executors (Morujão 2010, doc. 2.48). 26 In 1271, João Paris, canon of Braga, appointed as executor the chapter of Braga, which should choose two canons amongst them for this purpose (Morujão 2010, doc. 1.31). 27 His name was João Lourenço and his will was published by Coelho 1980. 28 Ferreira 2018; this is the Teresa Rodrigues mentioned above in note 24.
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