RECENT PORTUGUESE PUBLICATIONS
BULLETIN 44

February 2005

 
 PART VIII:

Paleography

 
See also item 4.

36. COSTA, Avelino de Jesus da. Album de paleografia e diplomática portuguesas. Vol. I: Estampas [all published to date]. Coimbra: Faculdade de Letras da Universidade, 1990. Lge. folio (35 x 24.5 cm.), orig. prtd. wrps. 312 illus. ISBN: none. $125.00

Fifth edition of this handbook for students of Portuguese diplomatics and paleography, "muito melhorada". It has been augmented with 8 more documents in Portuguese; also, the photographs of 10 of the specimens have been enlarged, and 43 other photographs have been retaken and cleaned up for greater legibility. There are 290 specimens from 189 B.C. to A.D. 1792, as well as 7 from the papal chancery (A.D. 1179-1741) and 22 royal seals from ca. A.D. 1100-1815.

The earlier editions were apparently printed in very limited numbers and with very poor reproductions. We have never seen a copy of an earlier edition. Since the work first appeared in 1942 a volume of transcriptions has been promised, but never published. According to the preface of this edition, the transcription is now "quase concluida," and will be published as volume II of this set.

 
37. OLIVEIRA MARQUES, A.H. de, João José Alves Dias and Teresa F. Rodrigues. Album de paleografia. Lisbon: Estampa, 1987. Folio, orig. wrps. with d.j. xiii, 305, (1) pp., including 158 photographs. Some soiling and minor staining to front cover. ISBN: none. $150.00

A manual for university students and scholars learning to read early documents in Portuguese. The authors concentrate on scripts of the more difficult periods, so that while there are only 8 examples from the thirteenth century and 18 from the fourteenth, there are 30 from the fifteenth century, 49 from the sixteenth, and 43 from the seventeenth. The remaining 10 are from the eighteenth century. The documents were chosen with regard to the interest of their content as well as their script. Each is reproduced in a good photograph, with the transcription on the facing page (preceded by the date and place, a brief summary of the content, and its current location). This book is an invaluable aid for those who want to learn not only how to tell whether a document in horrible cursive script is right side up, but how to read it once it is pointing in the right direction.

Oliveira Marques is one of the most respected historians and medievalists in Portugal. His introduction explains the symbols and methods used in the transcriptions, and the rationale behind them. Alves Dias is also a leading and highly respected historian.

This essential reference tool and teaching manual has been out-of-print for a number of years. We have one copy in stock.