As representações da inquisição nos discursos historiográfico de Alexandre Herculano e literário de José Saramago

Abstract

This doctorate thesis investigates the representations of the Inquisition and the implications of this institution for Portuguese society, based on two types of discourse: the historiographical and the literary. With regard to the historiographical discourse, an analysis was performed on the literary work History of the Origin and Establishment of the Inquisition in Portugal, by Alexandre Herculano, published in three volumes between the years of 1854 and 1859, which focuses on the first half of the Sixteenth century, the period of the emergence and consolidation of the Holy Office in the Portuguese kingdom – serving the interests of the Crown and, above all else, the Portuguese clergy of the time. Regarding the literary discourse, a study was carried out on the literary work Baltasar and Blimunda, by José Saramago, published in 1982, which focuses on the government of Dom João V, in the Eighteenth century, with all the pomp of his megalomaniacal reign, during the Inquisition. Through conducting this investigation, the objective is to invest in the discussion of various genres of dialogue and discourse, regarding the writing of History and Literature, discerning the critical task of the intellectual in general, either in the historiographical scope, or in that of literary production.