Bidspirit auction | Regimento dos Familiares do Santo

Regimento dos Familiares do Santo Ofício - HOLY OFFICE (Portuguese Inquisition). Regulations for the Familiars of the Holy Office. N.p. [Portugal]: n.p., n.d. [18th century]. 1 bifolium (4 pp.); 280 mm tall. Single-column setting; large woodcut initial at opening; printed on both sides; wide margins; minor handling and tiny edge nicks, a very clean copy. Regulations laying down the status and duties of the familiares —lay auxiliaries of the Inquisition—requiring good conduct and secrecy; forbidding misuse of privileges; ordering attendance before the Holy Office when summoned; cooperation with commissioners and inquisitors; assistance in arrests, custody of prisoners and goods, and delivery of the “preço” (seized monies/fees) to the proper officers; detailed rules for inventories, receipts and expenses; and penalties for non-compliance. An administrative instrument of the Portuguese Inquisition, seldom preserved separately, documenting the tribunal’s local network in the early modern period.