European studies blog

Exploring Europe at the British Library

16 July 2014

The best days of their lives: going to school in Spain in 1761.

The Jesuits don’t always get a good press, but we Hispanists owe them a great debt: many university libraries inherited their collections of early books from the libraries of the Jesuit schools which came into state hands when the Order was expelled from Spain in 1767.

The Jesuits famously prided themselves on the importance of Education, Education, Education: ‘give me a boy until the age of seven…’.  And in the early modern period Jesuit education was very highly regarded: Lope de Vega, Quevedo and Calderón were old boys of the Colegio Imperial in Madrid.

The Reales Seminarios de Nobles were a series of Jesuit-run schools for the sons of the nobility.

Title-page of 'Constituciones del Real Seminario de Nobles ... de Calatayud' with an ink-stain on the lower marginTitle-page of Constituciones del Real Seminario de Nobles de la Purissima Concepcion de Calatayud (Calatayud, 1761) RB.23.a.36026(1); I hope nobody got into trouble for spilling the ink.

This little book, recently purchased, gives a snapshot of life in the Real Seminario de Nobles of Calatayud (Aragon, north-eastern Spain), founded in 1752. In 1761 there were 81 pupils in place, ‘from all over Spain, and some from the Indies’, aged from 7 to 16.

‘Each boy shall bring clothes, underwear, towels and handkerchiefs suited to his cleanliness’; ‘a little book of Christian doctrine, a wig box, a brush, an inkwell and books and instruments according to his faculty.’ In school they wore clothes from home, but they also had a uniform for street wear: ‘the uniform is to be military, black, with a small wig and sword’.

What about food, glorious food? ‘In the morning, chocolate’ [presumably drinking]; ‘at midday, meat, soup or rice, varying every day, stew (cocido, with chickpeas) and dessert; in the afternoon,  fruit of the season; for supper, salad raw or cooked, or soup; stew (guisado) and dessert’. The Seminary took care of sewing the boys’ clothes (but not patching). There were servants to make the boys’ beds, sweep the floors, bring them lights, cut their hair and dress their wigs.

The timetable is laid down. Up at 6, wash and do hair. 6.30: prayers. 7.15: breakfast and [private] study [in silence]. 8.00: classes, followed by study in their rooms ‘except for those who are studying dance’. 11.30: While the mathematicians, rhetoricians, grammarians and youngest boys have lunch, the philosophers will argue until they have their lunch at 12.

After lunch: games, and for some music or dancing lessons.

Afternoon: 1.15: visit chapel, then study in their rooms. 2.00: classes. 4.15: snack (merienda), games, dancing. 5.30: rosary. 5.45: prayers  and then talks and walks. 8.00: Supper for those who had lunch at 11.30; the philosophers will exercise till supper. After supper: recreation (in winter, in the lighted kitchen; in summer, in the room with the heater [brasero]). 9.30: spiritual reading, examination of conscience, and bed.

In vacation, more time is given to Christian Doctrine, ‘Galateo’ (presumably a courtesy book in the tradition of Della Casa), geography, history, writing letters and practising handwriting.

Though educated by the Church, these boys were to be men active in the world: hence the social accomplishments of dancing and courtesy and the importance of being well-bewigged.

And all this in Latin.

Barry Taylor, Curator Hispanic Studies

References

Francisco Aguilar Piñal, ‘Los reales Seminarios de Nobles en la política ilustrada española’, Cuadernos Hispanoamericanos, no. 356 (febrero 1980), 329-49.  PP.7613.pm




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