Portuguese Communications in the Middle and Modern Ages

In 1998, the Portuguese Communications Foundation signed a protocol with the University of Coimbra for the development of academic research into the history of communications, from the times predating the institutionalisation of the Postmaster-General in Portugal, at the dawn of the 16th century, down to the present day. In the past, Portuguese historiographers have paid scant attention to the subject of communications, particularly communications as they occurred in more far-off times. In the manner of Godofredo Ferreira, the leading exponent on the study of this subject, modern-day Portuguese historians have generally paid some attention to itineraries, mediaeval travels and travellers, or transporters in the form of muleteers, and have studied peripheral issues related to the global communications system. Older or more recent studies from abroad, providing greater detail on this chapter in man’s day-to-day life in society, do not appear to have had much impact in Portugal. It is probably no exaggeration to claim that such a situation is not unrelated to the complexity of the research involved. This general lack of earlier studies explains the project members’ hesitation about the means to be used in conducting their research and even more so their uncertainty about the specific results to be obtained, despite their great enthusiasm for the subject. We considered that the most productive means would be for researchers, in studying the sources, to apply the research techniques that they normally used within their specialised subject areas, which have already been dealt with in solid, wide-ranging studies. The advantages in terms of research were unquestionable. In the absence of specific sources enabling the study of communication systems and agents in the Middle Ages, the widest range of documentary sources would have to be consulted. Total familiarisation with these sources would be the best method, as information on the circulation of messages is occasionally very subtle, indirect and fleeting. Prior knowledge