“From chancery records and the inquirições (a land survey not dissimilar to the Domesday Book) to politically promoted historical narratives in the vein of Froissart or even Walsingham, this class aims to provide a general introduction to the written documentation of medieval Portugal available, mostly of a royal origin. We will be reading a selection of sources — in Latin and translated vernacular — in view of discussing social, political and cultural topics of Portugal in comparative terms against their Iberian and European contexts.”
A documents pack accompanies this seminar and is available upon request from current.graduates@history.ox.ac.uk.