The historical importance of the manuscripts of the Public Libraryof Évora. The example of the correspondance of D. Manuel do Cenáculo (1724-1814)

Abstract

The Public Library of Évora has a rich and important collection of manuscripts assembled by its founder, the Archbishop D. Manuel do Cenáculo and cataloged by Cunha Rivara in the nineteenth century. A substantial part of this collection includes the bibliographic heritage of the founder and the correspondence sent to him by several national and foreign personalities. Nevertheless, part of the correspondence fund is not included in the Correspondence Catalogue that Armando Guzmão assembled. The current work examines two codices of unpublished letters that were not cataloged and were, thus, far unknown to the researchers. The letters were sent to the Archbishop Cenáculo between 1772-1803, by Joaquim Sá, Regius Professor of Latin at the College of Nobles of Lisbon and, by Alexandre Manuel, Secretary of the Royal Censorship Bureau. This work aims to highlight the historical importance of this kind of primary source, namely the documentary value to understand the political conjuncture at the end of ancient regime, the educational reforms of the government of Pombal, the censorship of books and cultural events, everyday life and mentalities in the eighteenth-century Portugal.