The Inquisition Tribunal Notaries in the Archive of the University of Coimbra (1536-1755): Property and income for priestly ordination

Abstract

This paper is an initial approach to the socioeconomic roots of the Inquisition notaries (or notaries of the Secret), between 1536 and 1755. The aim of this work is to gain knowledge on the global income levels of these agents at the moment they were habilitated for the Holy Office.
To achieve this goal, one has gone through their qualifications de genere for priestly ordination, along with the respective dowry and property deeds, retrieved from the Archive of the University of Coimbra. One seeks to reply to these questions: these notaries to-be received the sacred order owning what? Were they dependent on third parties to create their dowries? Were there any influence or social networks developed based on this ownership?
The research lead on this corpus allowed one to conclude that, upon arrival to the Holy Office, these individuals were not wealthy but they lived with no financial struggle.