How were treasures in Toledo cathedral's sacristy stored and recorded?

What is it about?

I begin by analysing travellers' descriptions of Toledo cathedral's sacristy and its contents between the 1490s and early 18th century. I then consider different kinds of records from the medieval period (mainly inventories), and evidence for the embellishment of the sacristy beyond a mere storage space. Finally I consider a series of inventories, now scattered between Toledo and Madrid and largely written in the 14th century. I explore how they were drafted (were they partially copied from earlier inventories? Do they reflect verbal processes?), and how this relates to the cupboards and spaces of the sacristy (ie, were they opening one cupboard/chest at a time, and how were objects organised within these? Why did they subsequently seek to organise the inventories in alphabetical order). Understanding these processes is critical if we wish to use inventories to fully understand the objects they describe.

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Photo by Regös Környei on Unsplash

Photo by Regös Környei on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Toledo was one of the wealthiest and most powerful cathedrals in Europe, with a spectacular treasury. Very few institutions in Europe can match it for the number of surviving treasury objects, or the fullness of the records relating to them. This essay not only analyses and transcribes some of these records for the first time, it also sheds light more broadly on the processes implicated in the creation of inventories, and on their potential to help us understand taxonomies and structures of knowledge.

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