Abstract

The present article presents some results of an ongoing research on the medieval notary public of Porto, Portugal, from the 13th to the 15th century. We begin by drawing a theoretical framework, including an approach to medieval legislation about the notarial activity, focusing not only on the juridical acts written by these notaries public, but also on their cultural background, language, clientele, juridical techniques and jurisdiction. The information extracted from the notarial acta drawn up, the diverse typology of documents and commercial references, helps us to understand a little more about this particular group of individuals: our intention is to know who were the notaries public in Porto and their socio-professional status, their kinship and the extension of their assets, identify their clientele networks and connections to the royal and city council power, and determine their role in the urban hierarchy.