Collection of 40 Historical Documents of the Portuguese Inquisition, Lisbon, Coimbra, and Evora: 1612-1749

39 pamphlets (quartos of various paginations) + 1 bifolio (12 1/8 x  8 3/8 in.; 310 x 213 mm). 38 of the pamphlets uniformly bound in modern marbled paper over board, most with year gilt-stamped on cover; 1 earlier paper wrapper. Bifolio stengthened at fold; lightly soiled. Housed within a blue/white florentine scroll portfolio.

Edward Glaser, Portuguese Sermons at autos-da-fé: Introduction and Bibliography, in Studies in Bibliography and Booklore 2 (1955), pp. 53-78 and 96; Alfonso Cassuto, Bibliografia dos sermões de Autos-da-Fé impressos. Coimbra: Tipografia da Atlantida, 1955.

 

While the torture, trials, and gathering of testimony by the Inquisition were conducted in complete secrecy, the auto da fé ceremony itself was held with great pomp in a principal church or central square, in the presence of the chief dignitaries and great crowds. Notwithstanding the gruesome punishments and often the violent deaths of the condemned, the central feature of the autos-da-fé was the delivery of a vituperative sermon by a preeminent cleric. In Portugal, between the years 1612 and 1749, seventy of these auto da fé sermons were published in a uniform quarto format; the present lot comprising thirty-nine volumes of sermons, represents a majority of these. In addition, separate lists of the names of those condemned (listas) were also printed. Scarcer even than the printed sermons, the lista from 1749 is included in this lot as well. 

Perhaps most noteworthy is the sermon delivered by the archbishop of Cranganore on Sept. 6, 1705 at the great auto-da-fé held at Lisbon. Striking for the violence of its language, it was the proximal cause for Haham David Nieto of London's Respuesta al Sermon, a masterpiece of polemic in its own right.

The following list enumerates the 40 items comprising the lot:

1)      Coimbra 1612 (1618): Glaser 1; Cassuto 1a, p. 9.
2)      Evora 1616: Glaser 3; Cassuto p. 24 no. 2.
3)      Coimbra 1618: Glaser 5; Cassuto no. 1, pp. 22-23.
4)      Coimbra 1618: Glaser 6 (*).
5)      Coimbra 1619: Glaser 8; Cassuto no. 3, pp. 10-11.
6)      Coimbra 1620: Glaser 9(*).
7)      Lisbon 1621: Glaser 10; Cassuto no. 3, p. 25.
8)      Evora 1624: Glaser 14; Cassuto no. 4, pp. 25-26.
9)      Coimbra 1625: Glaser 15; Cassuto no. 6, p. 12.
10)   Coimbra 1627: Glaser 18; Cassuto no. 7, p. 13.
11)   Evora 1627: Glaser 19 (*).
12)   Evora 1630: Glaser 23; Cassuto no. 8, p. 28.
13)   Evora 1637: Glaser 28 (*).
14)   Lisbon 1642: Glaser 32; Cassuto no. 8, pp. 37-38.
15)   Evora 1644: Glaser 33; Cassuto no. 11, pp. 29-30.
16)   Lisbon 1654: Glaser 37; Cassuto no. 10, pp. 38-39.
17)   Lisbon 1660: Glaser 38; Cassuto no. 11, pp. 39-40.
18)   Evora 1662: Glaser 39; Cassuto no. 13, pp. 30-31.
19)   Lisbon 1664: Glaser 41; Cassuto no. 12, pp. 40-41.
20)   Evora 1664: Glaser 40 (*).
21)   Evora 1670: Glaser 43; Cassuto no. 15, p. 31.
22)   Evora 1672: Glaser 45; Cassuto no. 16, p. 32. [NLI]
23)   Coimbra 1673: Glaser 46; Cassuto no. 9, p. 14.
24)   Lisbon 1673: Glaser 47; Cassuto no. 14, p. 42.
25)   Coimbra 1682: Glaser 48(*).
26)   Lisbon 1683: Glaser 49.
27)   Coimbra 1694: Glaser 51; Cassuto no. 12, pp. 15-16.
28)   Coimbra 1699: Glaser 53; Cassuto no. 14, pp. 16-17.
29)   Lisbon 1705: Glaser 55; Cassuto no. 16, p. 43.
30)   Lisbon 1706: Glaser 56; Cassuto no. 17, pp. 47-48.
31)   Lisbon 1707: Glaser 58; Cassuto no. 18, p. 48.
32)   Evora 1710: Glaser 60; Cassuto no. 17, pp. 32-33.
33)   Lisbon 1713: Glaser 61; Cassuto no. 20, pp. 49-50.
34)   Coimbra 1713: Glaser 62.
35)   Lisbon 1714: Glaser 63; Cassuto no. 21, p. 51.
36)   Coimbra 1718: Glaser 64; Cassuto no. 18, pp. 19-20.
37)   Coimbra 1720: Glaser 65; Cassuto no. 19, p. 20.
38)   Coimbra 1726: Glaser 66; Cassuto no. 20, pp. 20-22.
39)   Coimbra 1727: Glaser 67; Cassuto no. 21, pp. 21-22.
40)      Lista das Pessaos... Lisboa em 16. De Novembro de 1749. 2 leaves.

Items marked by (*) may have one or more leaves reproduced in facsimile.

Glaser = Edward Glaser, Portuguese Sermons at autos-da-fé: Introduction and Bibliography, in Studies in Bibliography and Booklore 2 (1955), pp. 53-78 and 96.

Cassuto = Alfonso Cassuto, Bibliografia dos Sermues de Autos-da-Fé impressos. Coimbra: Tipografia da Atlantida, 1955.