The notaries and their clients in the Alto Alentejo region during the Late Middle Ages (15th-16th centuries): mobility and circulation patterns

The study of Portuguese medieval notarial activity already boasts a solid body of bibliographical work. Nonetheless, there are still geographical areas and methodological approaches that remain to be explored in detail. This article aims to introduce a new interpretative approach to the subject by attempting to reconstruct the patterns and trends of mobility observed among notaries and their clients in the region today known as Alto Alentejo during the second half of the 15th century and the first quarter of the 16th century. This will be carried out with the data provided by the letters of royal pardon recorded in the royal chancelleries of D. Afonso V (1438-1481), D. João II (1481-1495), and D. Manuel I (1495-1521), in articulation with the chapters of the Cortes meetings, and, finally, in the legislative and normative texts in force during this chronological period.