Pillory of Arcos de Valdevez

The Pillory of Arcos de Valdevez (Portuguese: Pelourinho de Arcos de Valdevez) is a 15th-century sculpted stone column with symbolic political, administrative and judicial significance, located in the civil parish of Arcos de Valdevez (Salvador), Vila Fonche e Parada, municipality of Arcos de Valdevez.

Pillory of Arcos de Valdevez
Pelourinho de Arcos de Valdevez
A view of the pillory in the Praça do Município
General information
TypePillory
Architectural styleManueline
LocationArcos de Valdevez (Salvador), Vila Fonche e Parada
Country Portugal
Coordinates41°50′46.6″N 8°25′5.3″W
OwnerPortuguese Republic
Technical details
MaterialGranite

History
A view of the torus and steps of the pillory
A detail of the pillory

On 4 March 1476, the title of Viscount of Vila Nova de Cerveira was bestowed on D. Leonel de Lima, by King D. Afonso V.[1] Over time Lima became the signeurial master of Arcos de Valdevez.[1]

The group is Manueline in style, architecturally, but also because of the ornamental elements identifying regal heraldry.[2] It is also important to highlight the inscription, authored by João Lopes-o-Velho, who was active in northern Portugal and Galicia, between the 16th century and about 1559.[2] Although there is no clear date, it is frequently referred to as dating from 1531 (António Matos Reis, 2000), suggesting its late Gothic and Manueline influences.[2]

The settlement of Valdevez was, until the 12th century, the seat of the territory of Ribeira-Lima, due to its strategic position between northern Portugal and Galicia.[2] During the Middle Ages, the local administration began to concentrate in Arcos, which was (as its name implies) founded near the old bridge crossing the Vez River.[2] There were some authors that referred to its first foral, issued by D. Afonso Henriques in 1129, but the only document was the Manueline letter.[2] King D. Manuel issued the first foral (charter) to the town, resulting in the later-construction of the pillory, by master stonemason João Lopes.[1][2]

Until 1700, the pillory was in the centre of the municipality, but was transferred to Valeta, a site on the bank of the Vez River.[1][2] During its "stay" in Valeta it was the centre of community life, with stories of young girls who washed clothes near the site, play or date, with a few notes transcribing:[1]

Pelourinho da Valeta / vai-te deitar e dormir, / não sejas alcoviteiro / das criadas de servir
Pillory of Valeta / you will lie down and sleep, / do not pander / the maids to serve

By 1706, the area was known as the settlement of the Viscounts of Vila Nova da Cerveira.[1] In the square of the municipality, was a golden pillory, which was moved to the nearby riverbank.[1][2] This site had a judge, three aldermen and prosecutor, six judicial notaries, a judge for orphans, clerk, bailiff, two porters, municipal clerk, and some officers presented by King and others by the Viscount.[1]

From the Memórias Paroquiais (dated 20 April 1758), abbot Miguel de Sousa described that the parish was part of the comarca of Valença.[1] It had 135 neighbours and approximately 480 residents.[1]

By the initiative of the municipal president, Pedro Pereira de Sousa e Brito, in 1895 the pillory was placed in its current location.[1]

Architecture

The pillory is situated in an isolated, urban position, in the historical centre of the town, in a square that is at a lower level then the southern facade of the parochial church. Nearby are two stone bunks.[1][2]

The pillory is a granite structure, composed of a shaft on a four-step quadrangle, with small torus and shaft.[2] A thick column comprising three smaller, addorsed columns, surmounted with frieze and caption:[1][2]

IOANS / LOPEZ / MEFEZ

The capital is in the form of a bowl, with three shields of Portugal, interspersed with oval frames and surmounted by three rods.[1][2] The three rods replicate the same alignment of small columns converge to an armillary spheres. Another, larger, decorates the group.[1][2]

References

Notes
  1. Noé, Paula (1992), SIPA (ed.), Pelourinho de Arcos de Valdevez (IPA.00002221/PT011601340005) (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal: SIPA – Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitectónico, retrieved 5 September 2016
  2. IGESPAR, ed. (2016), Pelourinho de Arcos de Valdevez (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal: IGESPAR - Instituto Gestão do Patrimonio Arquitectónico e Arqueológico, retrieved 5 September 2016

Sources
  • Almeida, Carlos Alberto Ferreira de (1987), Alto Minho (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal
  • Aurora, Conde d' (1959), Roteiro da Ribeira Lima (in Portuguese), Porto, Portugal
  • Capela, José Viriato (2005), As freguesias do distrito de Viana do Castelo nas Memórias Paroquiais de 1758 (in Portuguese), Braga, Portugal: Casa Museu de Monção/Universidade do Minho
  • Cardoso, Nuno Catarino (1935), Pelourinhos do Minho e Douro (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal
  • Chaves, Luís (1938), Os Pelourinhos (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal
  • Chaves, Luís, Os Pelourinhos do Distrito de Viana do Castelo (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal
  • Costa, António Carvalho da (Padre), Corografia Portugueza… (in Portuguese), I, Lisbon, Portugal: Valentim da Costa Deslandes
  • Crespo, José (1981), "Pelourinhos", Cruzeiros Forcas in Cadernos Vianenses (in Portuguese), Viana do Castelo, Portugal, 6, pp. 97–112
  • Gomes, José Cândido (1899), Terras de Valdevez (in Portuguese), Arcos de Valdevez
  • Malafaia, E.B. de Ataíde (1997), Pelourinhos Portugueses - tentâmen de inventário geral (in Portuguese), Lisbon, Portugal: Imprensa Nacional/Casa da Moeda
  • Sousa, Júlio Rocha e (2001), Pelourinhos do Distrito de Viana do Castelo (in Portuguese), Viseu, Portugal
  • Reis, António Matos (2000), Ponte de Lima no tempo e no espaço (in Portuguese), Ponte de Lima, Portugal
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