Notes for the Study of Everyday Life in Madeira: Love and Lust (1618)

Abstract

This paper intends to achieve two objectives: the first one is to showcase the possibilities of judicial narratives – denunciations and confessions – as sources for an “History of Everyday Life”; the second one is to provide some notes for the study of everyday life of Madeiran people in the 17^th century. Serving as this study’s starting point are the cases regarding love and lust that were presented before Francisco Cardoso do Tornéo, the inquisitor responsible for the second visitation of the Tribunal of the Holy Office to Madeira in 1618. Thus, with depositions on bigamy, heretical propositions, sodomy, solicitation and superstitions, one can delve into an analysis of the people involved, their space, actions, and mental framework in an attempt to examine the multiple facets of everyday life in the archipelago of Madeira in the early 17^th century.

Keywords:

History of Everyday Life; Inquisitorial Visitation; Bigamy; Sodomy; Solicitation; Heretical Propositions; Superstitions; Archipelago of Madeira; 17^th Century.