Identificação de um país: ensaio sobre as origens de Portugal, 1096-1325. Imprensa Universitaria, 45 & 46.

Lisbon, Estampa, 1991.. 2 volumes. 8°, original illustrated wrappers. As new. 459 pp., (2 ll.); 330 pp., (2 ll.). Maps and charts. *** Winner of the Prémio de Historia Alfredo Pimenta and the Prémio de Ensaio do Pen Club. The first edition appeared in 1985, the second in 1986, and the third in 1988.José [João da Conceição Gonçalves] Mattoso (born Leira, 1933), outstanding medieval historian and university professor, recognized in Portugal and internationally as one of the most distinguished scholars of the history of medieval Portugal. Much of his scholarly work is largely devoted to that period. He was for 20 years a Benedictine monk, living in the Abbey of Singeverga, Belgium, under the name Frei José de Santa Escolástica Mattoso. During this time he received an undergraduate degree with a major in history, followed by a doctorate in medieval hitory from the Catholic University of Louvain. Returning to secular life in 1970, he taught at the Universidade de Lisboa and at the Universidade Nova, serving as director of the Torre do Tombo from 1996 to 1998. He is the author of an extensive bibliography.***