The university statutes of D. Manuel (c.1503) and the “ark” of the study. Administration and university finance in the reign of D. Manuel I

Abstract

This article aims to study the finances of the Portuguese general study, at the time of D. Manuel I (1495-1521), an objective that is part of a wider research on the economics and finances of the Portuguese university in the medieval and modern period, corresponding to the postdoctoral dissertation of the author, who, in turn, follows the collective research developed by the Oeconomia Studii project. The results to be here presented originates from a concrete source: the statutes of D. Manuel on university reform, dating from the early sixteenth century (c.1503), involving diversified variables. They include, among others: salaries of teachers and officials; expenses with university acts; buildings and other constructions; subsidies and supplies; costs of liturgical celebrations; fines, etc. These measures stand for phenomena related to the university policies of the king and associated with the daily life of the members of the corporation.