O início da rede de familiares do Santo Ofício português: elementos para o seu estudo

Abstract

Based on a variety of documents, the text aims to study the beginnings of the network of familiars of the Holy Office, as these origins are not well understood but shaped their sociological profile and the way their role within the institution was defined. It combines qualitative and quantitative methodologies and uses comparison, particularly with the Castilian Inquisition, for various analytical purposes. The study concludes that the network began informally and that it was only later (in the 1560s–1580s) that the familiars began to have appointment letters recorded in the provision books of each tribunal. The text explains the reasons why, at this stage, the Portuguese Inquisition preferred to have craftsmen as familiars rather than individuals from middling or higher social groups.