This special issue of Tempo explores the libraries of religious orders in the Iberian worlds during the early modern period, from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Through catalogues, inventories, and other documentary sources, it examines the intellectual cultures, reading and writing practices, and circulation of knowledge that shaped these collections. The dossier also considers their connections to broader transformations in Catholic thought across the Iberian kingdoms and their overseas territories.

Guest editors

Rodrigo Bentes Monteiro (Universidade Federal Fluminense) and Fabián R. Vega (Universidad Complutense de Madrid).

Journal

The special issue will be published in Revista Tempo, the journal of the Department of History at the Universidade Federal Fluminense. The journal is ranked Q2 in Scimago and is indexed in SciELO, Scopus, RedALyC, Latindex, and other databases.

The proposal has already been approved by the journal’s editorial board and the special issue is scheduled for publication in the first issue of 2028.

Abstract

The special issue will focus on libraries belonging to religious orders, both conventual and missionary, between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries in the Iberian kingdoms and their overseas territories. Through the study of catalogues, inventories, and other documentary sources, we seek to explore the intellectual culture of these spaces, reading and writing practices, and their relationship with broader trends in Catholic thought.

This proposal consists of a special issue devoted to the libraries of religious orders between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, encompassing both conventual and missionary collections in the Iberian kingdoms and the overseas possessions across the four corners of the world. Through the analysis of catalogues and inventories, contributors will explore aspects such as the intellectual culture of monasteries, convents, colleges, missions, and professed houses; the reading and writing practices that developed within these institutions; and the relationship between religious collections and their broader social environments, including cities, rural fields, and mission settlements among Indigenous peoples. The perspective adopted in this issue will enable scholars to compare collections, identify similarities and differences among them, and assess their relationship to Catholic and Thomistic orthodoxy — particularly in the aftermath of the Council of Trent. The proposal builds upon the growing availability of digitized archival sources, catalogues, and inventories of historical libraries, which has greatly expanded access to documentation and opened new possibilities for analysis and cross-referencing—highlighted the importance of religious collections within the book culture of the Early Modern world. For both Spanish and Portuguese America, the study of lettered culture within religious institutions and its role in the training of elites remains a field that deserves further historiographical attention — as to date, scholarship has traditionally focused on the libraries of great nobles and other prominent individuals. A library is a magical world in which printed books and manuscripts provide access to countless others across a wide range of fields, spanning the sacred and the secular. Studying libraries makes it possible to verify the appropriation of ideas, the formation of intellectual and spiritual identities, and the ways in which religious lettered culture engaged with the major currents of Early Modern thought, whose influence often defied the boundaries of time.

Evaluation

The journal Tempo uses a double-blind peer-review system for every article submitted. Therefore, the dossier editors have no influence whatsoever over whether an individual article is accepted or rejected. However, prospective contributors are welcome to discuss their article proposals with the editors in advance by sending an abstract of up to 950 characters, including spaces. They may write to [email protected] and [email protected].

Submission guidelines

The journal’s author guidelines are available online. For a submission to be accepted by the journal, it must strictly comply with the character limits established for the main text, abstract, and keywords, as well as with the journal’s citation guidelines for bibliographical and documentary sources, among other requirements. Articles may be submitted in Portuguese, Spanish, English, or French. Only submissions by authors holding a doctoral degree will be considered, including in cases of co-authorship.

Proposals for articles for the special issue “Labirintos de ideias” must be submitted exclusively through the journal’s online submission system, with the ORCID of each author and all other required identification details, by 30 April 2027.

The journal’s editors will then begin the evaluation process and, for articles that are accepted, the subsequent revision process. If the number of articles accepted for the special issue exceeds the planned limit (five articles, or exceptionally six), the special issue editors will be responsible for selecting the final contributions. Accepted articles that are not selected for the special issue may be published as regular articles in another issue of the journal.

We have attached the full call for papers for the special issue.