Revisiting D. Gomes e Anes epistolography

Abstract

The recent edition of the Carteggio (epistolary) of Abbot Gomes Eanes, from the Monastery of Saint Mary of Florence, serves as a pretext to revisit the unsuccessful reform project of the Benedictine Order in Portugal, along with the abbot’s participation in the attempts, supported by kings João I (r. 1385 – 1433) and Duarte (r. 1433 – 1439), to foster ecclesiastical reform in the Portuguese realm. A project in which the Portuguese kings, the Abbot of Florence, and the Abbot of Alcobaça take important roles, along with the Archbishop of Braga, showing different perspectives on religious reform, the resources used to the attempt to introduce Benedictine observance and the obstacles due to a tense relation between the Portuguese monarchs and the Church. In the end, it aims to contribute to the discussion on the historical dynamics linked to the search for religious renewal in the late Middle Ages, its connection to broader networks of personal relations and the circulation of people and texts, as well as the various forms of resistance to such movements.