The Convent of Lorvão and its patronage of urban parishes in Coimbra during the Middle Ages

The Convent of Lorvão held the right of patronage over about two dozen parish churches, distributed over several dioceses. This situation implied that the conventual community had the ability to recruit a group of clerics that guaranteed the spiritual and temporal administration of those churches under its tutelage. This article examines the exercise of Lorvão’s right of patronage over two collegiate churches in Coimbra during the Middle Ages (10th-15th centuries). From a definition of the concept of the right of patronage and an exposition of the organization of collegiate communities, this article moves on to analyse the exercise of the right of patronage of Lorvão. Questions problematized include the institutional and financial implications of patronage and highlights elements of the ecclesiastic network of recruitment of the prebendaries presented by the Convent, whilst taking account of clashes with the interests of the bishop

Administration (probate law · Dozen · Exposition (narrative · Middle Ages · Historical Education and Society · Medieval and Early Modern Iberia · Medieval Iberian Studies