Multinormativity Emerges From Multilevel Governance. Uses of the Council of Trent in Examinations for Ecclesiastical Benefices in 19th-Century Brazil

I analyse how the Council of Trent was employed in cases of examinations for ecclesiastical benefices in 19^th-century Brazil, relying on sources from the Council of State and the Congregation of the Council. Considering the Church within a scenario of multinormativity and multilevel governance, I argue that the interactions for the resolution of ordinary problems conveyed – and even catalysed – different interpretations of legal norms, depending on the agents interacting and the normative conventions adopted. In the case of Imperial Brazil, I suggest the uses of Trent shifted from a convention of amalgam to a convention of separation, with significant nuances.