El papel del clero en el cambio dinástico en Portugal (1378-1388)

Abstract

Spanning the last years of Fernando I’s reign to the Anglo-Castilian agreement (1388) which concluded the Iberian period of the Hundred Years War, this article provides an in depth analysis of the role of the Portuguese clergy during the initial years of the Western Schism. Based on (Portuguese and non Portuguese) official chronicles, combined with documents from the royal Portuguese and Papal chanceries, the paper tackles the subject by taking a critical approach to the official historiographical interpretation and by considering the final decisions taken by the Crown. All the protagonists of the Portuguese Church are identified and classified by social category. The actions of the high ecclesiastical echelons, of the secular and regular clergy, and of the military orders are studied, as well as the political support (or opposition) they received.