THE CONNECTIONS AND CIRCULATION OF BOOKS BETWEEN THE THIRD FRANCISCAN ORDERS IN THE PORTUGUESE EMPIRE OVER THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY

Abstract

The great production and diffusion of religious books during the Modern Age denoted to this bibliography a relevant paper in that period. In addition to their numerical expressiveness, religious works indicated a wide range of concerns and intentions, in order to attend to different situations and needs of both members of the Church and of the faithful. This literature guided mainly the religious practices within lay associations, such as brotherhoods, confraternities and Third Orders, whether in the Kingdom or in Portuguese America. From the concept of community of readers, coined by Roger Chartier, it is verified the relevance of the printed works among the Franciscan third brothers. Thus, through the reading, paleographic transcription, and analysis of the documentation produced by the Third Franciscan Orders of Braga (Portugal) and São Paulo (Brazil), throughout the eighteenth century, it was observed the circularity of religious books among similar institutions, as well as the uses destined to these works in the conformation of rites and religious practices.