The accounting records of the Monastery of Silos throughout the eighteenth century: the accumulation and management of its patrimony in the light of its accounts books

Abstract

This article firstly presents the sophisticated bookkeeping system used by the Benedictine monks of the Monastery of Silos (Spain) during the eighteenth century, the procedures for which were set down in the Constitutions of 1701 of the Congregation of Saint Benedict of Valladolid. In the light of these regulations and the bookkeeping records that are still preserved to this day at the monastery, the activities that sustained the economic life of the monastery and led to the accumulation of its patrimony are examined. The study includes an itemized breakdown of the different types of income: capital rents, rents from land and livestock, ecclesiastical dues, and retributions for religious services. Similarly, the use made of the financial flows arising from the income is also analysed and a summary of the results is presented for the period under analysis (1694–1801), which sheds light on the role of the monastery as an administrator of its assets and its rights. Both sections lead to a set of conclusions reflecting on the contributions, attributes and functions of the accounting procedures in use at the time, as well as on the role of this institution as an economic and social agent with an interest in preserving the privileges and assets it had acquired while continuing to intervene in economic affairs.

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