wills and testamentary executors in medieval portugal In the wills of bishops and canons of cathedrals, there is sometimes the instruction for a copy to be registered in a book, the nature of which varied. In 1228, the archbishop of Braga Estêvão Soares da Silva ordered his last will to be included in the book from which the lectio was daily read in the cathedral, so it could be read on the anniversary of his death.61 In 1271, João Paris, a canon of the same cathedral, also asked for a copy of his will to be included in the book of wills of the cathedral, kept under the care of the respective chapter, the corpus of which he instituted as his heir.62 And indeed, the copy can still be found in one of those volumes today.63 A final example dates from 1296 and concerns Fernando Martins, treasurer of Évora.64 Fernando ordered that, once opened, his will be copied into the books of the churches and monasteries to which he left his properties, and from which he required prayers be sung for his soul. Reaching this point, a summation is due. The analysis of the available corpus has clarified some aspects of the subject, but many others require further investigation. de Braga, caixa 1, n. 48 and Archivo de la Catedral de Toledo, Z. 4, B. 6). The second, from 1218, was published by Ventura, Matos 2010, doc. 226; only one exemplar survived (ANTT, Cabido da Sé de Viseu, Documentos Régios, maço 1, n. 9) The third and last one, from 1221, has been published by Sousa 1739, pp. 34–36; to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no original has survived. 61 Morujão 2010, doc. 1.10. Original quotation: “Item mando quod istud meum testamentum statim post apertionem ipsius scribatur in illo libro in quo cotidie legitur lectio in capitulo ut semper habeatur pro manibus et possit legi in die anniversarii mei”. 62 Morujão 2010, doc. 1.31. Original quotation: “Et instituo heredes meos capitulum Bracarensem tali modo quod lecto isto testamento eligantur duos de canonicis quos viderint fidedignos ad executionem mei testamenti faciendam qui faciant testamentum meum scrib[er]i in Libro Testamentorum”. 63 Arquivo Distrital de Braga, Livro I dos Testamentos, n. 35, fols. 29v–30v (the copy is not complete). 64 Morujão 2010, doc. 3.1. Original quotation: “Et mando quod executores istius testamenti mei quando fuerit apertum scilicet Susanna Martini soror mea et Dominicus Laurencii quos rogo ut exequatur meam voluntatem faciant scribi in libris dictarum ecclesiarum et dictorum monasteriorum qualiter ego dicta herdamenta eisdem legavi et illa que ibi pro anima mea debent fieri”. 292 Conclusion
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