The exhibition titled ‘José Mattoso — Making History, Rethinking the Archive’ is an initiative designed to guide the public through the scientific journey, work, and impact of Professor Mattoso both in the area of History and archives, as highlighted by his roles as a historian, director of Torre do Tombo, and head of the Instituto Português dos Arquivos (IPA), stated João Luís Fontes, a curator of the exhibit, in a statement.
The exhibition also showcases a more personal aspect with letters and the typewriter used by Mattoso, explained João Luís Fontes, historian at the University of Lisbon.
Open to the public from April 22 to June 27, the exhibition is organized around two core themes: ‘Making History’ and ‘Rethinking the Archive,’ with a focus on the setting where it is installed.
João Luís Fontes commented that the exhibit highlights the combination of these elements, presenting documents primarily from the medieval period, which were central to José Mattoso’s reflective work on transforming the perspectives of medieval Portuguese history.
Another section concentrates on his tenures as the director of Torre do Tombo and the founder and first director of IPA in 1988, discussing his dedication to renewing and modernizing archival work, including description instruments and procedures, and integrating Portuguese archivistics into the international practice.
The exhibition also includes a small section featuring documents from José Mattoso’s personal archive, held at Torre do Tombo, showcasing correspondence with notable medievalists and cultural figures along with his youthful research notes from his time as a Benedictine monk, added João Luís Fontes.
As a monk, Mattoso completed his undergraduate and doctoral theses on the Benedictine monastery in Pendurada and the adoption of the Benedictine rule by many monasteries in the County of Portugal, particularly in the Porto diocese, significantly influencing communal life.
Mattoso sought to understand how his religious order established itself so extensively in northern Portugal, involving numerous monasteries, placing this within the context of social and political history, analyzing patrons, connections with noble families, and the king, integrating monastic history into the broader social narrative.
His extensive notes, including documentation, architectural sketches, and details of Romanesque monuments, are part of the collection preserved at the Archaeological Field of Mértola in Baixo Alentejo.
In Portuguese historiography, Mattoso’s work marks a clear paradigm shift in understanding History, commented the curator to Lusa.
Mattoso was part of a generation that significantly innovated medieval historiography, alongside historians A. H. Oliveira Marques and Iria Gonçalves, yet he introduced a wholly different view of the past, particularly in his work ‘Identificação de Um País,’ noted João Luís Fontes from the University of Lisbon, adding that Mattoso’s ‘History of Portugal’ became a ‘best-seller’ in the 1990s.
Mattoso’s novel perspective broke away from the nationalist and patriotic exaltation often found in traditional history, choosing instead to explore the kingdom’s entirety, its social structures, territorial imposition, and power relations. This approach was aligned with the ‘New History’ movement already spreading in other nations.
His work transformed history from a mere chronology of significant events to a study that endeavored to understand the lives of men and women across time and certain territories, encompassing far more dimensions than often considered by traditional history.
Mattoso introduced diverse topics such as representations, culture, mental categories, health, and disease, perspectives on the body and life, experiences of death, and witchcraft, aspects not often included in official, nation-celebrating history but crucial for comprehensively understanding the past, concluded João Luís Fontes.
The curatorial team for the exhibition includes Amélia Aguiar Andrade, Bernardo de Vasconcelos e Sousa, and Luís Filipe Oliveira, aside from João Luís Fontes.
José Mattoso stressed that History invites us to embrace its discomforts and derive some benefit from them. More than exalting the Fatherland, he highlighted the importance of relationships among Portuguese people during an interview.
Mattoso’s historiographic work debuted in 1968 with ‘Les Monastères de la Diocèse du Porto de l’an mille à 1200,’ followed by ‘As Famílias Condais Portucalenses – séculos X e XI’ in 1970, a theme revisited in 1981 with ‘A Nobreza Medieval Portuguesa. A Família e o Poder.’ ‘Religião e Cultura na Idade Média Portuguesa’ was published in 1982.
In 1985, Mattoso released ‘Portugal Medieval,’ and the following year his seminal work, ‘Identificação de um País’ (two volumes), received the Alfredo Pimenta Prize and the P.E.N Club Essay Prize in 1986. His 2020 publication, ‘História Contemplativa,’ offers a reflective critique on History.
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