MedCrafts: Crafts regulation in Portugal in Late Middle Ages (14th-15th centuries)
Project status
ongoing
Execution period
2018-2021
REF
PTDC/HAR-HIS/31427/2017
Main research unit
Lab2PT
Additional research units
Centro de História da Universidade de Lisboa, Centro de História da Sociedade e da Cultura, CIDEHUS, CITCEM, Instituto de Estudos Medievais
Main institution
Universidade do Minho
Participating institutions
Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Universidade de Coimbra, Universidade de Évora
Principal investigator
Arnaldo de Sousa Melo (UMinho)
Team member of the CH-ULisboa
Hermenegildo Fernandes (ULisboa)
This project intends to study the regulations of craft guilds activities in late medieval Portugal (14th and 15th centuries), through the analysis of the statutes of several Portuguese cities and towns, from different regions, in a comparative perspective. The project intends to promote an integrated vision of the regulation systems and the social practices, placing them in their social, economic, legal and political contexts, focusing namely on the relations between craftsmen and public authorities. Through the analysis of those regulations, control and its social practices we intend to further understand and characterize the reality of craft guilds and craftsmanship activities in medieval Portugal. The focus on the regulations and control seems to be the best starting point to study craft guilds realities. Through the study of craft guilds regulation and control, one can understand other aspects of the craft guilds and industrial activities, namely its organization and production structures, and its spatial location.
