Miguel Aguiar
FCSH, Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Portugal), Instituto de Estudos Medievais, Research Fellow - Vinculum, Entailing perpetuity
I'm a PhD researcher at NOVA FCSH, working on an ERC-funded project focusing on entails, a fundamental social formation in medieval and early modern Portugal. I obtained my PhD in 2021 (Universities of Porto and Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne). My research path has always been driven by large-scale questions such as: How and why did medieval and early modern aristocracies manage to endure? What are the fundamental structures, practices and cultural representations that explain their social reproduction? What's the role of the church in this process? In recent years I have published and presented my work internationally on topics such as chivalry and kinship. In the coming years, I intend to continue my research on the interaction between the aristocracy and the ecclesia, in a broad chronological approach.
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Este artigo apresenta uma investigação em torno das dívidas da aristocracia portuguesa entre os séculos XIV e XVI. Procura conciliar sequência cronológica com contextualizações mais abrangentes, importantes para compreender a evolução do grupo, e com questões de ordem heurística, tais como as tipologias documentais, as instituições produtoras de informação e os fundos arquivísticos para recolher materiais para responder às perguntas da investigação. Articulando descrição e problematização, propõe-se pensar as formas de crédito e dívidas em que os diferentes quadrantes do grupo aristocrático estavam envolvidos não tanto através de uma perspetiva binária de riqueza/ruína (que também poderia ser historicamente válida), mas como mecanismos possibilitadores do alargamento de recursos e de «aquecimento» das relações sociais
Este artículo presenta una investigación sobre las deudas de la aristocracia portuguesa entre los siglos XIV y XVI. Busca conciliar una secuencia cronológica con contextualizaciones más amplias, importantes para comprender la evolución del grupo, y con cuestiones heurísticas, tales como las tipologías documentales, las instituciones productoras de información y los fondos archivísticos necesarios para recolectar materiales que respondan a las preguntas de la investigación. Articulando descripción y problematización, se propone reflexionar sobre las formas de crédito y deuda en las que los diferentes sectores del grupo aristocrático estaban involucrados, no tanto desde una perspectiva binaria de riqueza/ruina (que también podría ser históricamente válida), sino como mecanismos que posibilitaban la expansión de los recursos y el «refuerzo» de las relaciones sociales.
[pt] Este artigo tem como objetivo discernir os mecanismos de transmissão do património da aristocracia curial portuguesa no final da Idade Média, procurando articulá-los com a capacidade de reprodução social do grupo. Para tal, propõe-se a utilização de duas categorias distintas. Por um lado, a sucessão, aplicada ao conjunto de bens indivisíveis; por outro lado, a herança, sobre a qual se impunha uma repartição igualitária entre os herdeiros. Embora distintas, as categorias são complementares, e a sua articulação é essencial para compreender a reprodução social da aristocracia. A sucessão engloba progressivamente as principais bases senhoriais do poder da aristocracia, enquanto a herança permite alimentar um conjunto de relações determinantes para o grupo, designadamente a «espiritualização» de parte da fortuna, e a negociação de alianças matrimoniais através da formação de dotes que reiteravam os laços sociais. Ambas as categorias encarnam funções essenciais para o grupo construir a sua coesão e assegurar a manutenção do seu perfil simultaneamente senhorial e curial.
This article tries to explain the theoretical and methodological principles of our PhD project, whose purpose is to understand the role played by some kinship practices and representations (kinship terminology, alliance and patrimonial and symbolic transmission) in the process of aristocracy’s social reproduction.
articulação da ideologia cavaleiresca em Portugal. Importa também ponderar o surgimento dos símbolos e dos rituais da cavalaria enquanto autoimagem dos diferentes quadrantes da aristocracia: dos infantes, da alta nobreza ou dos cavaleiros propriamente ditos. Num plano mais lato, este estudo tem como objetivo refletir acerca da importância da cavalaria para a coesão mas também para a renovação do grupo aristocrático.
This article aims to research the relationship between the Portuguese medieval aristocracy and chivalry in its various dimensions, i.e. as a social category and as an ideology that would eventually typify the dominant groups in the medieval social hierarchy. The role of militates/
knights both in the 12th-13th and later in the 14th-15th centuries will also be an important issue to be addressed. In this case, the polysemy of these social groupings and their evolution through the different phases of Portuguese chivalric ideology will be of great importance to the discussion. Furthermore, the emergence of chivalric symbols and rituals as self-images of the aristocracy –such as infants, high nobility or knights themselves– will be considered for this matter. In a much broader sense, this study aims to reflect upon the role of chivalry in the cohesion and renovation of aristocratic groups.
Cet article a pour objectif d’analyser la guerre de croisade conduite par le royaume du Portugal en Afrique du Nord, depuis le début du XVe siècle jusqu’au XVIe. Notre approche sera divisée en deux parties. Dans la première, nous analyserons la construction rhétorique et historiographique menée par la couronne portugaise. Ce processus, concrétisé notamment par la production chronistique sur l’histoire du royaume, voulait surtout souligner le caractère essentiel de la guerre contre l’Islam pour la définition de l’identité du Portugal, mettant l’accent sur la nécessité du maintien des théâtres de guerre au Maghreb. Dans la seconde partie, nous chercherons à analyser (dans la plupart des cas à travers des indices indirects) la réception de cette « vision officielle » par l’aristocratie guerrière, en essayant de comprendre dans quelle mesure les valeurs, les pratiques et les motifs véhiculés par la couronne furent ou non assimilés par la généralité des hommes d’armes qui formaient les garnisons des forteresses d’Afrique du Nord.
This article seeks to analyse the Portuguese crusading efforts in North Africa, from the beginning of the fifteenth to the sixteenth centuries. Our approach will be divided in two parts. In the first, we analyse the rhetoric and historiographical construction made by the Portuguese crown. This process, embodied in chronicles that recounted the kingdom’s history, sought to underline the vital importance of the war against Islam to Portugal’s identity, and emphasized therefore the necessity of being predisposed to maintain the war effort in Maghreb. In the second part, we try to analyse (mostly through indirect evidence) how the warrior aristocracy received this “official vision”. We will attempt to understand in which measure the values, the practices and motifs publicized by the crown were or not assimilated by the men of arms who formed these stronghold garrisons.
This article aims to analyse Gomes Eanes de Zurara’s chronicles, considering not only form and style, but also the message regarding the general purposes of the text. Chronicles were seen as “nobles' mirrors” based on chivalric principles, which functioned as a way of shaping aristocracy’s behaviour, while simultaneously defining the competitivity amid that social group. Nonetheless, these texts can also be analysed as pieces of ‘propaganda’ on behalf of the crusade in North Africa, validating and reinforcing internally and externally the zeal and eagerness of this same movement.
Este artigo apresenta uma investigação em torno das dívidas da aristocracia portuguesa entre os séculos XIV e XVI. Procura conciliar sequência cronológica com contextualizações mais abrangentes, importantes para compreender a evolução do grupo, e com questões de ordem heurística, tais como as tipologias documentais, as instituições produtoras de informação e os fundos arquivísticos para recolher materiais para responder às perguntas da investigação. Articulando descrição e problematização, propõe-se pensar as formas de crédito e dívidas em que os diferentes quadrantes do grupo aristocrático estavam envolvidos não tanto através de uma perspetiva binária de riqueza/ruína (que também poderia ser historicamente válida), mas como mecanismos possibilitadores do alargamento de recursos e de «aquecimento» das relações sociais
Este artículo presenta una investigación sobre las deudas de la aristocracia portuguesa entre los siglos XIV y XVI. Busca conciliar una secuencia cronológica con contextualizaciones más amplias, importantes para comprender la evolución del grupo, y con cuestiones heurísticas, tales como las tipologías documentales, las instituciones productoras de información y los fondos archivísticos necesarios para recolectar materiales que respondan a las preguntas de la investigación. Articulando descripción y problematización, se propone reflexionar sobre las formas de crédito y deuda en las que los diferentes sectores del grupo aristocrático estaban involucrados, no tanto desde una perspectiva binaria de riqueza/ruina (que también podría ser históricamente válida), sino como mecanismos que posibilitaban la expansión de los recursos y el «refuerzo» de las relaciones sociales.
[pt] Este artigo tem como objetivo discernir os mecanismos de transmissão do património da aristocracia curial portuguesa no final da Idade Média, procurando articulá-los com a capacidade de reprodução social do grupo. Para tal, propõe-se a utilização de duas categorias distintas. Por um lado, a sucessão, aplicada ao conjunto de bens indivisíveis; por outro lado, a herança, sobre a qual se impunha uma repartição igualitária entre os herdeiros. Embora distintas, as categorias são complementares, e a sua articulação é essencial para compreender a reprodução social da aristocracia. A sucessão engloba progressivamente as principais bases senhoriais do poder da aristocracia, enquanto a herança permite alimentar um conjunto de relações determinantes para o grupo, designadamente a «espiritualização» de parte da fortuna, e a negociação de alianças matrimoniais através da formação de dotes que reiteravam os laços sociais. Ambas as categorias encarnam funções essenciais para o grupo construir a sua coesão e assegurar a manutenção do seu perfil simultaneamente senhorial e curial.
This article tries to explain the theoretical and methodological principles of our PhD project, whose purpose is to understand the role played by some kinship practices and representations (kinship terminology, alliance and patrimonial and symbolic transmission) in the process of aristocracy’s social reproduction.
articulação da ideologia cavaleiresca em Portugal. Importa também ponderar o surgimento dos símbolos e dos rituais da cavalaria enquanto autoimagem dos diferentes quadrantes da aristocracia: dos infantes, da alta nobreza ou dos cavaleiros propriamente ditos. Num plano mais lato, este estudo tem como objetivo refletir acerca da importância da cavalaria para a coesão mas também para a renovação do grupo aristocrático.
This article aims to research the relationship between the Portuguese medieval aristocracy and chivalry in its various dimensions, i.e. as a social category and as an ideology that would eventually typify the dominant groups in the medieval social hierarchy. The role of militates/
knights both in the 12th-13th and later in the 14th-15th centuries will also be an important issue to be addressed. In this case, the polysemy of these social groupings and their evolution through the different phases of Portuguese chivalric ideology will be of great importance to the discussion. Furthermore, the emergence of chivalric symbols and rituals as self-images of the aristocracy –such as infants, high nobility or knights themselves– will be considered for this matter. In a much broader sense, this study aims to reflect upon the role of chivalry in the cohesion and renovation of aristocratic groups.
Cet article a pour objectif d’analyser la guerre de croisade conduite par le royaume du Portugal en Afrique du Nord, depuis le début du XVe siècle jusqu’au XVIe. Notre approche sera divisée en deux parties. Dans la première, nous analyserons la construction rhétorique et historiographique menée par la couronne portugaise. Ce processus, concrétisé notamment par la production chronistique sur l’histoire du royaume, voulait surtout souligner le caractère essentiel de la guerre contre l’Islam pour la définition de l’identité du Portugal, mettant l’accent sur la nécessité du maintien des théâtres de guerre au Maghreb. Dans la seconde partie, nous chercherons à analyser (dans la plupart des cas à travers des indices indirects) la réception de cette « vision officielle » par l’aristocratie guerrière, en essayant de comprendre dans quelle mesure les valeurs, les pratiques et les motifs véhiculés par la couronne furent ou non assimilés par la généralité des hommes d’armes qui formaient les garnisons des forteresses d’Afrique du Nord.
This article seeks to analyse the Portuguese crusading efforts in North Africa, from the beginning of the fifteenth to the sixteenth centuries. Our approach will be divided in two parts. In the first, we analyse the rhetoric and historiographical construction made by the Portuguese crown. This process, embodied in chronicles that recounted the kingdom’s history, sought to underline the vital importance of the war against Islam to Portugal’s identity, and emphasized therefore the necessity of being predisposed to maintain the war effort in Maghreb. In the second part, we try to analyse (mostly through indirect evidence) how the warrior aristocracy received this “official vision”. We will attempt to understand in which measure the values, the practices and motifs publicized by the crown were or not assimilated by the men of arms who formed these stronghold garrisons.
This article aims to analyse Gomes Eanes de Zurara’s chronicles, considering not only form and style, but also the message regarding the general purposes of the text. Chronicles were seen as “nobles' mirrors” based on chivalric principles, which functioned as a way of shaping aristocracy’s behaviour, while simultaneously defining the competitivity amid that social group. Nonetheless, these texts can also be analysed as pieces of ‘propaganda’ on behalf of the crusade in North Africa, validating and reinforcing internally and externally the zeal and eagerness of this same movement.
This article seeks to present the main ideas of my master thesis, which should be presented in June 2016. The referred investigation has a set of essential questions that should design the work: what was the importance of chivalric ideals in late medieval Portugal? What was the meaning of those ideals? How the discourses about chivalry were structured? There was any connection between those ideas and D. Afonso V ruling 'program'?
The ritual of dubbing to knighthood assumed since an early stage a capital importance, given that it was the necessary step to become a knight. This article will focus on this ceremony, dividing its analysis in two main parts. First, it will try to understand the different meanings of the ritual on the selected period. On the second part, the aim is to focus on the ritual itself, trying to describe how it was processed and analyzing the simbology of each step. As sources, this study uses chronicles, genealogical literature, legislative compilations, chivalric treatises and diplomatic documents. Throughout the text, there will be a comparative view with the rest of the Iberian kingdoms and also with other European regions.
This dissertation has by goal the study of chivalry and knightly ideology in Portugal during the XV century, and it's oriented according to some fundamental questions: which values and ideals used to characterize the knightly ideology? Was there any hierarchy between them? How important was this ideology during the XV century in Portugal? To attempt to answer to this group of questions, the dissertation uses a diverse group of sources: chronicles, legislation, chapters of cortes, correspondence exchanged between the members of the royal family, letters of coats of arms and gravestones' epitaphs. The dissertation's structure divides itself in three chapters. On the first, we discuss the polisemy associated with the terms chivalry and knight in Portuguese sources. On the second, we analyze the theoretical conception of chivalry, namely about its origin, functions in society and the values which should guide it. On the third, we look to analyze some aspects of the chivalry's experience, such as jousts, tournaments and pas d’armes made in Portugal, the importance of the crusading spirit to the knighthood ideology, and the meaning of chivalry to the royalty and to the several sectors of the aristocracy.