Trajetórias, dinâmicas familiares e ação do santo ofício sobre a família “Vale” de Vila Real (1595-1747)

Abstract

The present work analyzes the inquisitorial processes of the members of the Vale family from Vila Real who were imprisoned by the institution between the years 1595 and 1747. This temporal scope respectively encompasses the dates of the family's first and last imprisonment. From these, a series of discussions are conducted regarding family sociability, the Crypto-Judaism practices that occurred within their households, the influence that the persecutory actions of the Holy Office had on their lives, and the sentences they received. The focus of each of the chapters is to discuss the Holy Office's impact on the Vale family, portraying the nuances that these individuals experienced over the years, as well as heretical practices and strategies they employed to live according to their beliefs in a context of intense surveillance and persecution. This thesis is, above all, a work that demonstrates resistance to religious intolerance and the persecutory actions of the Holy Office on the part of a family that, even amidst conflicts, was concerned with protecting themselves through the law (appealing to attorneys to employ all allowed maneuvers to prove their innocence), through prayer (via fasting and Judaizing prayers), and through action (organizing the efforts of free relatives in support of those who were imprisoned).