From Administrative Officer to Financial Agent: Evolution of the Position of Beadle in the Portuguese Studium Generale (1309-1537)

Abstract

The medieval university, as a cultural institution par excellence and an essential vehicle for the intellectual production and development of Europe at that time, consisted of several academic bodies, among them the officials, responsible for the administration and university bureaucracy. For this reason, we propose to study one of the most important officers of the medieval university: the beadle. In this article, we propose an analysis of the characteristics (academic formation, recruitment methods, careers lengths, remuneration mechanisms, service to the crown and church) and the evolution of the functions of this position in the Portuguese university, between 1309 (corresponding to the first moment in which the beadle appears documented) and 1537 (year of the definitive relocation to Coimbra), emphasizing the transformations that would give the mentioned post an economic and financial dimension, as well as a high degree of responsibility in the preservation of the material sphere of the university.

Keywords

• bedel
• universidade
• idade média
• portugal