27 June 1214

The will of D. Afonso II, King of Portugal between 1211 and 1223, is one of the most important documents in the history of Portugal, as it is the first Portuguese State document in Portuguese.
Dated 27 June 1214, the original document – a parchment measuring 245 x 495 mm – is currently kept in the Torre do Tombo National Archives in Lisbon.

The will of D. Afonso II, whose author was one of the notaries of the Court, contains an autographic signature and documents the early Portuguese production and writing tradition transmitted by the Royal Chancellery (the department responsible for writing, validating by affixing the royal seal and issuing all written acts of the King of Portugal and which was headed by the King’s Chancellor).

There are also two other copies of the will of D. Afonso II, one in Latin which belonged to the notarial office of the Monastery of Alcobaça, and which is in the National Archives of Torre do Tombo, and another which was sent to the Archbishop of Toledo and which is in the archives of Toledo Cathedral.

Source: National Archives of Torre do Tombo