O cartório e a memória medieval do Mosteiro de São Salvador de Grijó: as linhas de investigação

Abstract

Regardless of its objective of guaranteeing the correct exercise of its management and administrative functions, an institution's archive is the place of excellence for the preservation of writing. The preservation results in the construction of a memory. Therefore, we question how the Monastery of S. Salvador de Grijó used its archives to manage and administer its assets and to build its memory, knowing that memory has a key instrument for its preservation, which is writing. Why did the Monastery of Grijó kept its diplomas during the Middle Ages? We don't have any inventories of the medieval archives of Grijó, but there are records of copies that help us answer this question, namely the Baio-Ferrado cartulary, drawn up in the monastery in the 12th century, and the Livro Preto de Grijó, drawn up in the Royal Chancery in 1452. These copies are a consequence of their relationship with the royal power, serving not only as management tools but also as instruments for building the institution's written memory.