Inquisição de Coimbra
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-IC
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
Inquisition of Coimbra
Title (official language of the state)
Inquisição de Coimbra
Language of title
por
Creator / accumulator
Tribunal do Santo Ofício
Date(s)
1541/1821
Language(s)
heb
lat
por
spa
Extent
11,317 storage units
Type of material
Textual Material
Physical condition
Satisfactory
Scope and content
This collection gathers the records of the Coimbra court of the Holy Office Tribunal, whose jurisdiction covered Central and Northern Portugal. The collection includes records regarding the organisation and management of the court (in particular, documentation regarding the court officers and financial management), correspondence, by-laws, and documentation related to its activity as a "tribunal of faith", whose primary mission was the preservation of the Catholic orthodoxy and the punishment of heresy. The "Jewish heresy" (the observation of Jewish rituals and beliefs by Catholics) was the main target of the Holy Office Tribunal over centuries. For this reason, this collection is a rich source of information on New Christians (Jews converted to Christianity and their descendants) living in Central and Northern Portugal and those who left the kingdom for other territories, including destinations where Jewish worship was allowed or at least tolerated. Thus, this collection also contains rich information on Western Sephardic communities, especially in records regarding defendants who, in the past, had lived as public Jews abroad. The oldest records also include precious information on the Portuguese Jewish communities before the late 15th-century expulsion and forced conversions. Among the more than 10,000 trials included in this collection, most concern individuals accused of "crimes of Judaism". Further information regarding this topic can be found in other series included in this collection, including lists of defendants, 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 defence), "cadernos do promotor" (literally books of the prosecutor, which collect 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), visits to foreign vessels, among several other 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-IE/021) are, in most cases, complete and provide information on the case (date of prison, date of "auto da fé", sentence, and others) and the defendant's name, age, social status (including the information on "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 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-IE/021) are, in most cases, complete and provide information on the case (date of prison, date of "auto da fé", sentence, and others) and the defendant's name, age, social status (including the information on "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
A royal order of July 31, 1824, ordered the transference of the Holy Office's registry offices to the Torre do Tombo. The archive of the Tribunal of Coimbra was then stored in the Censorship warehouse in the Biblioteca Pública de Lisboa (Public Library of Lisbon). However, the transference process lasted for a few years. On May 4, 1836, Queen Maria II gave orders to gather the documents of the extinct Inquisitions and transfer them to the Archive of Torre do Tombo. It is believed that the documentation was transferred immediately, as it was already in the Torre do Tombo on June 21.
Some items were occasionally reproduced on microfilm in the 20th century. Currently, a project to digitise the entire collection is underway. Some items are already available online.
Some items were occasionally reproduced on microfilm in the 20th century. Currently, a project to digitise the entire collection is underway. Some items are already available online.
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 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 following 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 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 following the Liberal Revolution, the Cortes Gerais Constituintes (Parliament) extinguished the Holy Office Tribunal in 1821.
Access points: corporate bodies
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
The Inquisição de Coimbra is a subfonds of the Tribunal do Santo Ofício fonds. It is arranged into 38 series (among them, the Processos (trials) series) and two sections: Ministros e oficiais (ministers and officers) and Juízo do Fisco (revenue office). The original numbering of the documents was maintained whenever possible.
Access, restrictions
Some documents are in poor conservation condition and are not available for consultation. The ongoing digitalisation process may prevent some items from being consulted.
Digital copies of some documents are available online:
Digital copies of some documents are available online:
Finding aids
The Inquisição de Coimbra 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 (Digitarq).
Printing catalogues and guides:
Printing catalogues and guides:
Links to finding aids
Existence and location of copies
Author of the description
Carla Vieira, 2023
Bibliography
Published primary sources
Linked resources
Filter by property
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| I. S. Révah | Existence and location of originals | |
| Collectie Joshua Mozes Levy Maduro | 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 |