Behaviours and procedures used by construction agents of ordinary buildings in Portugal during the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern period: rules, regulations and controls

This article aims to present the main behaviours and procedures used by construction agents of ordinary buildings in Portugal, during the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern period, highlighting the rules and regulations in force and the controls applied. The construction agents considered are developers, builders and supervisors, that is, respectively, property owners, master masons and carpenters, and municipal and guild officials responsible for verifying and supervising the construction activity. More concretely, it focuses on the builders’ hiring types; on the regulations established by supervisors for the builders’ activity in terms of price-fixing for services and building materials, and in access to the profession; on the supervisors’ control during construction according to the legal norms defined by municipal ordinances and guild regulations; and on the administrative procedures established by the supervisors for the previous control to be fulfilled by developers and builders. For this purpose, it is used a set of documental sources, from several towns, institutions and nature, given the scarceness that characterises this historical domain, furthermore when the aim is to focus on the construction of ordinary buildings.