Remnants of Jewish Culture in the trials of Évora and Coimbra Inquisitions (16th century)

The first trials of the Portuguese Inquisitions are an important source for discovering traces of Iberian Jewish culture at the end of the 15th century. In fact, many of these converts were born as Jews and were only baptized, adults. Others, although born Christian, are also very close to these converts who lived within an "authorized" Jewish culture, as they were their children, grandchildren, or close relatives and friends. They were accused of Jewish practices and "beliefs" normally practiced in a more restricted and wider community. The most interesting is that in addition to the standard accusations, such as not eating pork or not working on Saturday - which is often removed from the Monitórios - the accusations and confessions within the trials reveal other traits of this Jewish culture, ranging from attitudes towards death, prayers, healing practices, and others. In this communication, I try to reveal a picture of the most relevant testimonies about "what comes from an officially banned world", but which remains in the memory and perpetuation of certain practices and customs. The chosen material comes from the Évora and Coimbra Inquisitions, whose material is still, for the most part, not digitized, and therefore more difficult to access.