Institutions studied
The basis for this research is the documentation of two monasteries, which will be briefly presented here:
a)
They date back to the Middle Ages and were only extinguished at the end of the Ancien Régime.
b)
Both have been subject to internal reform processes.
c)
The medieval documentation of these two monasteries has not been preserved.
As classified national monuments, the two buildings are under the responsibility of the Direção Regional de Cultura do Norte. The board of directors of this institution and the team members of this project are working together very closely:
— To share the knowledge acquired and to improve the results obtained.
— To reach a wider audience than the scientific community for the science produced by this project.
— To disseminate the knowledge acquired to local communities, by promoting dissemination activities and promoting access to training, education and learning for the population, especially those who do not live in the large urban areas of Portugal.
The Monastery of
São Salvador de Grijó
Founded in 922, it adopted the Augustinian rule at the end of the 10th century and later became the most important house of the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine in northern Portugal. In 1536, it followed the Joanine reform and joined the Congregation of Santa Cruz, transferring the existing community to a new monastery built on the Serra do Pilar (in Vila Nova de Gaia). However, the community returned to Grijó in 1566. In 1770, it was definitively extinguished, and its lands were annexed to the Mafra Monastery.
The Monastery of
Santo André de Rendufe
Although the date of its foundation is unknown, it is certain that it was already home to a community of Benedictine monks in 1090. In 1567, after the death of its last commendatory abbot, the Order of Saint Benedict took possession of the monastery. It was abolished in 1834 as part of the "general ecclesiastical reform" carried out by the Portuguese government.