Sem o diabo no corpo. A negação da possessão na Inquisição Portuguesa (séculos XVII e XVIII)

Abstract

This article investigates the inquisitorial records of cases of demonic possession in Portugal, in the Modern Period, seeking to interpret the criteria by which one episode was considered authentic and another was considered fraudulent. Based on a critical analysis of the procedures of officials of the Holy Office, the article establishes the assumptions, more practical than theoretical, through which demonic possession was accepted or denied by religious authorities in Portugal. The results of the investigation establish dialogues with similar realities in other European contexts and with recent attempts in historiography to understand the criteria of veracity (and falsity) typical of the Modern Period, through which individuals evaluated everyday and extraordinary events, mundane and spiritual realities.