Urban Players with Rural Interests. The Craftsmen of Coimbra and the Study of their Property in the Late Middle Ages

The craftsmen of Portugal encapsulate a vivid portrait of the urban dynamics of the Middle Ages and ancien régime embodying both urban sensibilities and contemporary social practices. The workers in the manufacturing industries of leather, metal, textiles, and pottery occupied a large part of medieval Coimbra, developed business networks, and fostered important social and economic dynamics. Craftsmen will be examined as holders of capital and both movable and immovable property, as well as usufructuaries of ecclesiastical property in Coimbra, both in the peri-urban ring and in the hinterland. The following questions will be posed: What property did they hold? Where was it located? How did they purchase or inherit it? How did they exploit it? How did they make it profitable? To whom did they transfer it? In answering these questions, the craftsmen of Coimbra and its role in the relationship between city and countryside will be described. Rather than draw definite conclusions, the goal is to achieve a broad base of knowledge that allows a comparison between Coimbra and other cities, where craftsmen played an equally important role.