José João da Conceição Gonçalves Mattoso (22 January 1933 – 8 July 2023) was a Portuguese medievalist and university professor.
Biography Mattoso was born on 22 January 1933. He earned his doctoral degree in medieval history from the Catholic University of Leuven, in Belgium, in 1966 (with a thesis on the abbey of Pendorada - "L'Abbaye de Pendorada : des Origines à 1160"), while he was Benedictine monk at the Abbey of Singeverga. He returned to secular life in 1970, and taught at the University of Lisbon and at the New University of Lisbon. He was also a director of National Archives / Torre do Tombo.
Mattoso was recognised in Portugal and internationally as one of the most distinguished scholars of the history of medieval Portugal, and much of his scholarly work is largely devoted to that period. His works include, among others, "Ricos homens, Infanções e Cavaleiros" (on the medieval society), "Fragments of a Medieval Composition" (in response to the arguments of Antonio Borges Coelho), and "Identification of A country Essay on the Origins of Portugal (1096–1325)" (Vol. I - 'Opposition' vol. II - 'Composition'), with five editions constantly revised and updated between 1985 and 1995. Mattoso was awarded the Alfredo Pimenta prize of Medieval History, and the non-fiction Prize of Pen club for this work. He was also awarded the Fernando Pessoa Prize in 1987, among other important distinctions.
Mattoso acted as the scientific editor of a History of Portugal (1993–1995) in eight volumes.
José Mattoso died on 8 July 2023, at the age of 90.
Bibliography Le monarchisme ibérique et Cluny. Les monastères du diocése de Porto de l'an mille à 1200, 1968 As famílias condais portucalenses dos séculos X e XI, 1970 Beneditina Lusitana, 1974 Livro de linhagens do Conde D. Pedro, ed. crítica, 1980 Livros velhos de linhagens, ed. crítica por Joseph Piel e José Mattoso, 1980 A nobreza medieval portuguesa. A família e o poder, 1981; 1994 Ricos-Homens, infanções e cavaleiros. A nobreza medieval portuguesa nos sécs. XI e XII, 1982; 1998 Religião e cultura na Idade Média portuguesa, 1982; 1997 Narrativas dos Livros de Linhagens, selecção, introdução e comentários, 1983 Portugal medieval. Novas interpretações, 1985; 1992 O essencial sobre a formação da nacionalidade, 1985; 1986 Identificação de um país. Ensaio sobre as origens de Portugal, 1096–1325, 1985; 1995 O essencial sobre a cultura medieval portuguesa, 1985; 1993 A escrita da história, 1986 Fragmentos de uma composição medieval, 1987; 1990 O essencial sobre os provérbios medievais portugueses, 1987 A escrita da História. Teoria e métodos, 1988; 1997 O castelo e a feira. A Terra de Santa Maria nos séculos XI a XIII, em colab. com Amélia Andrade, Luís Krus, 1989 Almada no tempo de D. Sancho I (Comunicação), 1991 Os primeiros reis (História de Portugal - Vol. I) (Infanto-juvenil), com Ana Maria Magalhães, Isabel Alçada, 1993; 2001 A Terra de Santa Maria no século XIII. Problemas e documentos, em colab. com Amélia Andrade, Luís Krus, 1993 No Reino de Portugal (História de Portugal - Vol. II) (Infanto-juvenil), com Ana Maria Magalhães, Isabel Alçada, 1994; 2003 Coja, 1995 Tempos de revolução (História de Portugal - Vol. III) (Infanto-juvenil), com Ana Maria Magalhães, Isabel Alçada, 1995 O reino dos mortos na Idade Média peninsular, ed. lit., 1996 A Identidade Nacional, 1998; 2003 A função social da História no mundo de hoje, 1999 A dignidade. Konis Santana e a resistência timorense, 2005 D. Afonso Henriques, 2007 Levantar o Céu. Os labirintos da sabedoria, 2012 Naquele Tempo. Ensaios de História Medieval; 2009;2014
Distinctions National orders Grand Officer of the Order of Saint James of the Sword (10 June 1992)
References
External links José Mattoso at IPLB (portuguese lang)