Inquisição de Lisboa
Item
Country
PT
Name of institution (English)
The National Archive of Torre do Tombo
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
por
Contact information: postal address
Alameda da Universidade, 1649-010 Lisbon
Contact information: phone number
00351 210 037 100
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
mail@dglab.gov.pt
Reference number
PT/TT/TSO-IL
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
Inquisition of Lisbon
Title (official language of the state)
Inquisição de Lisboa
Language of title
por
Creator / accumulator
Tribunal do Santo Ofício
Date(s)
1536/1821
Language(s)
eng
fre
heb
lat
por
spa
Extent
c. 19.143 storage units
Type of material
Textual Material
Physical condition
Good
Scope and content
This collection gathers the records of the Lisbon court of the Holy Office Tribunal. The oldest item of this collection is a book with denunciations given to the new tribunal, whose first records date from January 1537.
The jurisdiction of the Inquisition of Lisbon covered part of Portuguese continental territory and overseas colonies, except the Estado da Índia (State of India), which was under the jurisdiction of the Tribunal of the Inquisition of Goa (1560-1812). At present, the Inquisition of Lisbon collection includes a few documents from the Inquisition of Goa (mainly copies of some trials, confessions, and denunciations sent to Lisbon), whose records were almost completely destroyed after its extinction.
Punishing heresy was the primary mission of the Holy Office Tribunal, and the “Jewish heresy” (the observation of Jewish rituals and beliefs by Catholics) was its main target over centuries. Therefore, the Inquisition of Lisbon collection is a rich source of information on Portuguese New Christians (Jews converted to Christianity and their descendants) and the background of the Western Sephardic Diaspora. The oldest records also include information on Portuguese Jewish communities before the late 15th-century expulsion.
Aside from documentation related to the management of the tribunal and its relation with other Portuguese and Spanish inquisitorial courts, the Inquisition of Lisbon collection comprises many converso- and Jewish-related documents, which can be found in the following items: over 18,000 trials (most of them with accusations of “Judaism”), lists of autos-da-fé (“acts of faith”, cerimony of public penance), lists of people sentenced with forfeiture of assets (most of them conversos), lists of accusations of “Judaism”, confessions and accusations collected from other courts, books of “contraditas” (pleas of defense), “cadernos do promotor” (literally books of the prosecutor, which include accusations, confessions and other records related to heresy crimes, including Judaism), records of “visitações” (visitations, i.e. organised actions undertaken by the Inquisition to collect accusations and confessions in a specific region or place), a book with records on “judeus de sinal” (literally Jews with a sign, i.e. authorised Jewish visitors, usually from Morocco, who had to be registered with the Inquisition, displayed an identifying mark and remained in the company of an Inquisition official during their stay in Portugal), and several folders with miscellaneous records.
The collection's online catalogue provides detailed information on many of its items. The archive search engine (https://digitarq.arquivos.pt/asearch) enables research through several data fields: reference code, title, dates, scope and content, among others. The descriptions of the inquisitorial trials (PT/TT/TSO-IL/028) are, in most cases, complete and provide information on the case (date of prison, date of "auto-da-fé", sentence, among others) and the defendant's name, age, social status (including information on the defendant's "quality of blood", i.e., if the defendant was a New Christian and what was the defendant's share of "New Christian blood"), profession, birthplace, place of residence, marital status, and family (names of parents and husband/wife). This information can be searched in the online catalogue by filling in the fields “title” (name of the defendant) and “scope and content” (other data) of the search engine. The descriptions are only available in Portuguese.
The jurisdiction of the Inquisition of Lisbon covered part of Portuguese continental territory and overseas colonies, except the Estado da Índia (State of India), which was under the jurisdiction of the Tribunal of the Inquisition of Goa (1560-1812). At present, the Inquisition of Lisbon collection includes a few documents from the Inquisition of Goa (mainly copies of some trials, confessions, and denunciations sent to Lisbon), whose records were almost completely destroyed after its extinction.
Punishing heresy was the primary mission of the Holy Office Tribunal, and the “Jewish heresy” (the observation of Jewish rituals and beliefs by Catholics) was its main target over centuries. Therefore, the Inquisition of Lisbon collection is a rich source of information on Portuguese New Christians (Jews converted to Christianity and their descendants) and the background of the Western Sephardic Diaspora. The oldest records also include information on Portuguese Jewish communities before the late 15th-century expulsion.
Aside from documentation related to the management of the tribunal and its relation with other Portuguese and Spanish inquisitorial courts, the Inquisition of Lisbon collection comprises many converso- and Jewish-related documents, which can be found in the following items: over 18,000 trials (most of them with accusations of “Judaism”), lists of autos-da-fé (“acts of faith”, cerimony of public penance), lists of people sentenced with forfeiture of assets (most of them conversos), lists of accusations of “Judaism”, confessions and accusations collected from other courts, books of “contraditas” (pleas of defense), “cadernos do promotor” (literally books of the prosecutor, which include accusations, confessions and other records related to heresy crimes, including Judaism), records of “visitações” (visitations, i.e. organised actions undertaken by the Inquisition to collect accusations and confessions in a specific region or place), a book with records on “judeus de sinal” (literally Jews with a sign, i.e. authorised Jewish visitors, usually from Morocco, who had to be registered with the Inquisition, displayed an identifying mark and remained in the company of an Inquisition official during their stay in Portugal), and several folders with miscellaneous records.
The collection's online catalogue provides detailed information on many of its items. The archive search engine (https://digitarq.arquivos.pt/asearch) enables research through several data fields: reference code, title, dates, scope and content, among others. The descriptions of the inquisitorial trials (PT/TT/TSO-IL/028) are, in most cases, complete and provide information on the case (date of prison, date of "auto-da-fé", sentence, among others) and the defendant's name, age, social status (including information on the defendant's "quality of blood", i.e., if the defendant was a New Christian and what was the defendant's share of "New Christian blood"), profession, birthplace, place of residence, marital status, and family (names of parents and husband/wife). This information can be searched in the online catalogue by filling in the fields “title” (name of the defendant) and “scope and content” (other data) of the search engine. The descriptions are only available in Portuguese.
Archival history
After the extinction of the Inquisition in Portugal (1821), the records of the Inquisition Tribunal of Lisbon were deposited in the section of manuscripts of the Biblioteca Pública de Lisboa (Public Library of Lisbon), where they remained until 1823. In the following year, the Desembargo do Paço (Royal High Court) requested the vacancy of the Censorship warehouse in the Biblioteca Pública de Lisboa to reinstall the Censorship. King Pedro IV ordered the minister Marquis of Palmela to send the Desembargo do Paço’s consultation on the Censorship warehouse to the Viscount of Santarém, the chief guard of the Royal Archive of Torre do Tombo. Following the opinion of the Viscount, the Marquis of Palmela notified that the documents of the Conselho Geral (General Council) of the Holy Office and the Inquisition of Lisbon should be stored in the Torre do Tombo and its facilities expanded. After some resistance from Joaquim Ferreira Gordo, the chief librarian of the public library, a definitive order requiring the transition of the collections to the Royal Archive was issued on June 27, 1825. At the beginning of the following month, the Inquisition of Lisbon collection started to be incorporated into the Torre do Tombo.
In the 20th century, some items were occasionally reproduced on microfilm. In 2007, a project to digitise the entire collection began. Following the project Inquisição de Lisboa online (online Inquisition of Lisbon), the descriptive records of the whole collection became available online. Due to the poor conservation state of many documents, the tasks of restoration, description and digitisation of the collection lasted until 2014, when the curative intervention by the Conservation and Restoration Office was completed.
In the 20th century, some items were occasionally reproduced on microfilm. In 2007, a project to digitise the entire collection began. Following the project Inquisição de Lisboa online (online Inquisition of Lisbon), the descriptive records of the whole collection became available online. Due to the poor conservation state of many documents, the tasks of restoration, description and digitisation of the collection lasted until 2014, when the curative intervention by the Conservation and Restoration Office was completed.
Administrative / Biographical history
The Holy Office Tribunal was officially established by the papal bull Cum ad nihil magis on May 23, 1536. Then, the royal court was settled in Évora. When the king moved to Lisbon in 1537, the Holy Office Tribunal followed him. The Inquisition of Lisbon was the only Inquisition court until 1541. Then, the courts of Coimbra, Évora, Porto, Lamego and Tomar were created. The latter three courts had short lives and were extinct in 1547 after the general pardon given by Pope Paul III to the New Christians and the following reorganisation of the Holy Office Tribunal.
The different territories of continental Portugal were under the authority of the courts of Lisbon (Central region), Coimbra (Northern region) and Évora (Southern region). The Inquisition of Lisbon also had jurisdiction over the Atlantic islands, Brazil and Portuguese territories in Western Africa. After the creation of the Inquisition of Goa in 1560, it took jurisdiction over the Portuguese territories in Asia and Eastern Africa.
The first Regiment of the Inquisition was only published in 1552. These by-laws were reviewed and collected in new regiments in 1613, 1640 and 1774. During the reign of King José, the Holy Office Tribunal became a royal court. It had already lost its primary target — the New Christians or conversos — after the decree that abolished the distinction between New and Old Christians in 1773. In addition, the censorship authority was transferred from the Holy Office to another secular tribunal, the Mesa da Consciência e Ordens. The Inquisition entered decadence and, in the sequence of the Liberal Revolution, the Cortes Gerais Constituintes (Parliament) extinguished the Holy Office Tribunal in 1821.
The different territories of continental Portugal were under the authority of the courts of Lisbon (Central region), Coimbra (Northern region) and Évora (Southern region). The Inquisition of Lisbon also had jurisdiction over the Atlantic islands, Brazil and Portuguese territories in Western Africa. After the creation of the Inquisition of Goa in 1560, it took jurisdiction over the Portuguese territories in Asia and Eastern Africa.
The first Regiment of the Inquisition was only published in 1552. These by-laws were reviewed and collected in new regiments in 1613, 1640 and 1774. During the reign of King José, the Holy Office Tribunal became a royal court. It had already lost its primary target — the New Christians or conversos — after the decree that abolished the distinction between New and Old Christians in 1773. In addition, the censorship authority was transferred from the Holy Office to another secular tribunal, the Mesa da Consciência e Ordens. The Inquisition entered decadence and, in the sequence of the Liberal Revolution, the Cortes Gerais Constituintes (Parliament) extinguished the Holy Office Tribunal in 1821.
Access points: locations
Access points: corporate bodies
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
The Inquisição de Lisboa is a subfonds of the Tribunal do Santo Ofício (Holy Office Tribunal) fonds. It is arranged into 40 series (among them, Processos (trials)), 101 maços (bundles) that are not incorporated into sections or series and are described as single or compound documents, and two sections: Ministros e oficiais (ministers and officers) and Juízo do Fisco (revenue office). The original numbering of the documents was maintained whenever indicated, or its restoration was possible.
Access, restrictions
Some documents are in poor conservation condition. However, the collection is almost entirely scanned and available online:
Finding aids
The Inquisition of Lisbon collection has two kinds of finding aids available for consultation: the "rosários", i.e. manuscript file cards that can be consulted in the archive Reference Room, and an online catalogue available online (Digitarq).
Printed catalogues and guides:
Printed catalogues and guides:
Links to finding aids
Existence and location of copies
Author of the description
Carla Vieira, 2021
Bibliography
Published primary sources
Linked resources
Filter by property
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| I. S. Révah | Existence and location of originals | |
| Portugal - Copied material | Existence and location of originals |
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo | Collections (official language of the state) |
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Tribunal do Santo Ofício | Scope and content |