Milagre e devoção: o contributo das crônicas franciscanas para o estudo de imaginária devocional encontrada no Brasil (séculos XVI e XVII)

Abstract

The Franciscan chronicles stand out as sources for Brazilian historiography by preserving the memory of the Order of Friars Minor in the colonial context. Their narratives show aspects of the political, social and religious life of the friars, while they also contribute to fill the gaps left by the absence of documents in the archives of the Order in Brazil. This work focuses on the descriptions made by the chroniclers about the devotional images found in the Brazilian territory between the 16th and 17th centuries, with emphasis on the news that described miracles attributed to the sculptures. The goal is to establish a relation between the local imagination and the spaces the friars occupied (as convents and cities), to understand the connection between these divine manifestations and the Franciscan spirituality, the local culture and the faithful’s devotion, as well as to reflect on the impact they create in discourses about the Franciscan legacy in these chronicles