Vinculum database

The aim is to provide complete and correctly structured information on all of the existing entails («vínculos», comprising both «morgados» and «capelas») in the Portuguese territories (excluding the “Estado da India”) from 1300 to until 1700, with lay familial administration. According to preliminary numbers, the database is expected to contain some 7000 entail institutions; the information and the documents to be found for each will vary greatly, ranging from simple mentions to having their very own archives, sometimes containing hundreds of documents. All kinds of documents produced/received by the entail will be inserted, although some especially important and rich will be privileged (namely foundation deeds, sentences, inventories, narrative documents). The database will include existent documents description, but also lost documents, whenever information from ancient inventories is considered suitable for use.