An Index of the manuscripts in the Royal Library of Dom João V at the Paço da Ribeira

MS 1 018 preserved in the General Library, University of Coimbra

Abstract

This manuscript, preserved in the General Library of the University of Coimbra, is significant for being the only catalogue which has been traced to date of the collection of manuscripts in the magnificent Royal Library of the Paço da Ribeira in Lisbon, created by the Braganza monarch Dom João V (reg. 1706-1750). The library sited on the lower piano nobile of the “Torreão”, was destroyed in the earthquake of 1755. The article examines the history and content of this important document, as well as giving a detailed technical analysis. We have concluded that MS 1 018 was compiled between around 1738 and 1742 by four different hands according to a well co-ordinated system. We have not been able to identify the individual royal librarians who were involved in writing the entries, nor to use the system they devised to re-construct the overall organisation of the Royal Library. The manuscript is known to have entered the library of the Academia Liturgica Conimbricense (1747-1767), housed at the monastery of Santa Cruz, but further research is still needed to clarify when and why this happened.