Inquisição e bigamia: disciplinamento e transgressões de cristãos velhos portugueses julgados pelo Tribunal do Santo Ofício (Lisboa, século XVII)

Abstract

The objective of this research is to analyze the perceptions, beliefs and social practices of Portuguese Old Christian men and women, who resided in the city of Lisbon and its surroundings, and became bigamists in the 17th century. We intend to analyze the motivations that led those Old Christians to ignore the matrimony sacrament, with attention to their beliefs and lifestyles decades after Portugal accepted the Trento Council Decrees. This work is part of a greater reflection on the impact of the Trento Council on Modern Portugal, by means of investigating some aspects of the reforms idealized by this Council, more specifically those concerning the matrimony sacrament and its transgression through bigamy, as well as the process of “disciplinization” of this society. As such, the principal sources utilized in this research are the Inquisition Trials of bigamist Old Christians judged by the Tribunal of the Holy Office of Lisbon in the 17th century, in addition to consulting complementary sources of normative character, like the Trento Council Decrees, the Rules and Regulations of the Portuguese Inquisition (“Regimentos da Inquisição de Portugal”), and the Synod Constitution of the Archbishopric of Lisbon of 1640.