Two charters, seven days

King Manuel I granted Cabeceiras its foral on 5 October 1514 and Vadym, now Abadim, its charter on 12 October. Seven days separate the documents: the territory’s administrative history passes through more than one place.

Why revise the charters? The Torre do Tombo exhibition explains the broader setting: complaints concerned dues, outdated currencies and weights, and old texts that were difficult to interpret. The Manueline reform sought to review these documents. The local dates of 1514 belong to that wider movement; they do not mean the settlements began to exist that year.

The work also required recording and preservation. The same exhibition describes preparation in triplicate: one copy for the municipal council, another for the holder of the rights and another for the Torre do Tombo. This general explanation helps show why an administrative document could have several copies. It does not identify the whereabouts of each copy of the two local charters here.

On 5 October 2024, Casa do Tempo hosted a discussion of the charter’s 510th anniversary with José Viriato Capela and Porfírio Correia. The municipal report recalls both documents and their importance for administrative organisation. The commemoration opens a door to history; it does not replace reading the charters themselves.

A place’s age differs from the date of a document about it. A charter may change or clarify rules in a place already inhabited and active. When you encounter 1514 in a local history, ask whether it refers to the settlement, its rules or the way we commemorate them today.