Abstract

FERNANDES, Fátima Regina. Vasco Martins de Sousa and the behetrías in Portugal. Temas Mediev. [online]. 2005, vol.13, pp.107-123. ISSN 0327-5094.

The analysis of  Portuguese high nobility during the low Middle Ages, using the prosopographic methodology, results in conclusions rich in potential topics. The case of Vasco Martins de Sousa, a member of the oldest and most important lineage in the Portuguese  kingdom, allows us to study the theme of the behetrías in Portugual, in the light of a specific case. We will analyse the specificities of its relation to the king and the general laws, bearing in mind that the king is the owner of a patrimony  that involves important portions,  whose juridical nature we can classify as behetrías. The analysis of the chancellery and cronical sources enables us to confront the juridical model, generic, with a particular case, resulting in conclusions which demonstrate the specificities of power and  collections to which were subject those who owned this kind of patrimony in Portugal at the end of  medieval times.

Keywords : Behetrías; Señorialización; Prosopografía; Nobleza medieval.