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INTRODUCTION
The Archive of the Collegiate Church of Lluc (ACL) is the historical archive of the sanctuary of the Virgin of Lluc; it is one of the most important historical resources in Mallorca.
The core of the collection is made up of around 1000 parchments, the oldest of which dates from 1244, and around 6000 papers, as well as 4000 files of more modern documents and other manuscripts, books and other items.
IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS
Outstanding amongst the archives are a 14th century Codex of the “Llibre de franqueses i ordinacions” and an Order of Service, also 14th century, which was used in the sanctuary.
We can see an early reference to the popular devotion to the Virgin of Lluc in a parchment from 1273, in which the owner of nearby farmland complains about the large number of pilgrims. Also in the archive are sworn statements from witnesses of various miracles attributed to the Virgin of Lluc, dated 1640. The latter was used by Dr Rafel Busquets as the basis for his book “The Discovery and Miracles of the Marvellous Figure of Our Lady of Lluc” (1684).
The 153 volumes of the Priory collection, along with the administration records, represent a primary source for the study of the socio-economic history of the sanctuary, and to some extent of Mallorca as a whole.
The musical archive contains 163 scores which have been used by the Blauets, the majority from the 18th century. The archive has been catalogued by the Centre for Musical investigation of the Seu of Mallorca.
CONSERVATION
The present day condition of the archive can mainly be attributed to the work of Father Rafel Juan Mestre (1908-1989) who was Curator of the archive for 36 years, cataloguing the ancient manuscripts and rescuing many documents which were in grave danger of disintegration.
Currently the University of the Balearic Islands is collaborating in the re-cataloguing by computer, a modern reading room has been created in a 15th Century Gothic room, and the archive itself has been moved to more modern storage facilities.
Finally, an agreement on the restoration of the documents was recently signed by the sanctuary, Banca March and the autonomous government. This will be carried out in the workshops of the Archive of the Kingdom of Mallorca.
PUBLIC ACCESS
The ACL is open to researchers, with the terms and conditions normal to any archive. It can usually be visited from Monday to Friday, at a time previously agreed with Father Gabriel Segui i Trobat, the curator. He can be contacted by telephone on 971 871 525 or by email on arxiu@lluc.net
Los instrumentos para la consulta son un catálogo de manuscritos, un fichero topográfico y un fichero por materias (inacabado). El archivo ofrece también los siguientes servicios: internet, fotocopiadora, microfilmación, microfijación, digitalización, lector de microfilms y lámpara de Wood.
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