Archive documentary sources on the study of the district of canons in Salamanca in the Middle Age

Abstract

The district of canons in Salamanca was an exceptional urban area which was formed in the surroundings of the Cathedral from the end of the 12th century, after the secularization process that affected its Chapter, and which meant the end of the community life it had started with its Bishop since the restoration of its episcopal see in 1102. In this article, we have listed and analyzed the different documentary sources preserved in the Cathedral Archive of Salamanca and in the National Historical Archive and which have made it possible to locate and reconstruct the canonical topography of Salamanca. In the same way, the informative richness of these chapter sources has also allowed us to establish other essential aspects such as the explotation system, the regime of possession and preservation of this domestic architecture by the Cathedral Chapter, as well as looking into the effect that the construction of the New Cathedral of Salamanca had on this urban district.