The ceremony of homage and the governance of the Portuguese Empire (15th-18th centuries)

Abstract

The present work aims to analyze the importance of the homage and oath of fealty ritual in the Portuguese Empire, notably in Portuguese America, between the 17th and 18th centuries. A ceremony of medieval origin, the preito e menagem was adapted as an important legal instrument for transferring power by the Portuguese monarchy. In this way, we intend to investigate the permanences and transformations in the ceremonial in the transition from the Middle Ages to the Modern Age.