Educar as crianças para a monarquia católica

This research analyzes the representations of educational practices aimed at girls, based on the text by Fr. Luís dos Anjos, entitled “Garden from Portugal, is given news of some Saints, & other women illustrious in virtue, which will be born, or will live, or are buried in this Kingdom, and their conquests” (1626). The publication, intended for the lay public, publicizes the lives of holy and illustrious women with the didactic objective of providing examples for women, according to Catholic ideals. The representations, by establishing a dialogical relationship with the practices, allow us to reflect on female education, even in a context of scarcity of formal instruction for this gender. To this end, the context of the author and the internal logic of the document were evaluated, since any representation does not directly correspond to reality. The emphasis on religious retreat as an ideal of feminine perfection is noted, with emphasis on obedience, silence, chastity, humility, mortification and other qualities. However, in the work of Frei Luís dos Anjos, the childhood of the women portrayed is rarely mentioned, which is related to the changes in the conceptions of childhood and the role of this stage in the constitution of holiness. Formation is characterized by religious education, with literacy education almost non-existent. Thus, at the beginning of the 17th century, formal education did not occupy a prominent place among educational practices for girls, focusing mainly on domestic and private activities.