The Musical Manuscripts from the Monastery of Belém. The Exploration of an Unknown Hieronymite Tradition

The aim of the BELÉM project is to explore the liturgical and musical manuscripts from the Monastery Santa Maria de Belém in Lisbon ordered by King Manuel I of Portugal (1469-1521) for the friars of the Order of Saint Jerome. The methodology is based on the idea of taking as a starting point, not the manuscripts, but the oldest books printed by the Order. In fact, the printed books have the advantage of containing the official centralised liturgy approved by the General Chapter of the Order. The idea of centralisation and standardisation is very important for the understanding of monastic orders. In fact, the monasteries of a centralised Order followed the liturgical practices approved by the Mother house. However, manuscripts could include some local features. This is rare for widely disseminated Orders such as the Cistercians, the Dominicans, or the Carthusians, but it happens with the Order of Saint Jerome.