TY - BOOK AU - Coelho,Maria Filomena TI - Truth through testimonies: the Inquiries of Afonso II (Portugal, 1220) PY - 2024///. N1 - 68 N2 - ‪The Inquiries of 1220 in Portugal turn out to be valuable instruments of monarchical and ecclesiastical power based on the voice of witnesses that were vassals or subjects. The way these voices were modulated during the inquiry and later on in the hands of the scribes of the royal chancery allows us to conceive the potential of evidence produced through legal processes for the promotion of political scenarios. This article analyzes the quality of the testimonies and their evaluation capacity for judging as essential condition for the establishment of a credible truth through their oral statements in front of the boni homines. It is about recognizing the expertise of witnesses who create or strengthen links, often by merging territorialities, communities and allegiances. Therefore, it is not so much a matter of considering the facts as a totality–which is alien to juridical perspective–but of (re)constructing reality by a method which might warrant its verisimilitude.‪ UR - https://shs.cairn.info/journal-medievales-2024-1-page-27?lang=en ER -