The regiments of the episcopal courts of Evora in the political and religious context of the sixteenth century

Abstract

For the knowledge of the process of application of the Tridentine principles in the Portuguese case, it is important to analyze its repercussion in the episcopal legislation of the time and the structure of the diocesan administration that was then designed. This text analyzes the structure and contents of the regiments of the episcopal courts of Évora of 1535 and 1598, inserting the production of these documents in the political and religious context of the time. From them, it shows the extension and the complexity of the central diocesan administration throughout the sixteenth century and the greater requirement for the production of written records that would strengthen the control of information about the community of believers, lay and ecclesiastical people.