Religion
powerininEurope
Europe
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Religion and
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: Conflict
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1.1.Religione
Religioneeepolitica
politica––Europa
Europa I. Carvalho, Joaquim de
CIP a cura del Sistema bibliotecario dell’Università di Pisa
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Tumultuous Reading and Powerful Books:
Aspects of Counter Reformation Culture
in Portugal
Ana Cristina Araújo
University of Coimbra
Abstract
After the Council of Trent, cultural exchanges were extensive in the field of visual and
written communications. The writing system evolved as part of a wider social process. Illiterate people became enthusiastic about writing and seized on it as a means of
creating an anonymous language, collective and opposed to the mainstream political
culture.
In the religious sphere, the printing press became an “agent of change”. Devotional
books stressed the religious basis of political and civil obligations and strengthened
the social order. The redistributive nature of literature was clearly evident in the long,
boastful titles of works which promised marvels and miracles to the reader. Occupying
first place in the list of such magical publications and bestowing a special grace on its
buyers, were the certificates of the Bull of the Crusade, sold by the thousand for a small
sum determined by the income of the penitent sinner. There were also books which
provided alms and donated part of their profits to the absolution of the sinner. Hence,
there was a dual purpose to the purchase of such publications, pious and erudite on the
one hand and conscientious and charitable on the other.
Simultaneously, religious education raised a number of problems including the individualisation of reading and the establishment of new reading materials for beginners,
such as ABC books and catechisms which proliferated in all European countries.
Overall, the power of Catholicism was strengthened by the development of reading
communities based on religious books and miraculous symbols.
Após o Concílio de Trento, as trocas culturais mobilizam o campo da comunicação visual e
escrita. O sistema da escrita desenvolve-se no seio de um processo social aberto. O povo iletrado, atraído pelo poder da escrita, apodera-se dela, e, em certas ocasiões, cria uma linguagem
anónima, colectiva e contrária à normalização cultural e política da cultura dominante.
Na esfera religiosa, a imprensa escrita torna-se um “agente de mudança”. Livros devocionais acentuam a base religiosa das obrigações civis, fortalecendo a ordem social. O carácter
Religion in Politics
222
Ana Cristina Araújo
redistributivo da leitura é expressamente afirmado em títulos longos e abonatórios para
quem lê, os quais se desdobram em prodigiosas promessas e ofertas. No rol dos impressos
propriamente mágicos que, uma vez possuídos, conferiam graças especiais entravam, em
primeiro lugar, as certidões da Bula da Cruzada, distribuídas aos milhares, a troco de pequenas quantias proporcionais ao rendimento dos indulgenciados. No campo da literatura
espiritual, havia também livros que davam esmolas, ou seja, que destinavam, na declaração de privilégio que antecedia a licença de impressão, um montante da sua venda para a
redenção de cativos. Desta forma, se introduzia uma dupla motivação, piedosa e ilustrada
por um lado, escrupulosa e caritativa por outro, na aquisição do livro.
Simultaneamente, a educação religiosa remete para um conjunto vasto de problemas, como
sejam: a personalização da leitura e o estabelecimento de novos materiais de leitura para os
iniciados, como as cartilhas e os catecismos, numerosos em todos os países europeus.
À escala global, poder católico fortaleceu-se com o desenvolvimento de comunidades de leitura constituídas em torno de livros devocionais e símbolos prodigiosos.
Written voices: unaligned letters and disordered words
In the past, writing went hand in hand with an illiterate culture. It was present in the
workplace, on the doors of churches, in markets, hospitals and confraternities and
aroused curiosity in the most important public circles. Due to the forms and images
through which words were represented, they became more accessible to those who
had a vague idea of how to write letters, group syllables together and pronounce their
sounds. In a society with an astounding level of illiteracy1 public places were used to disseminate ‘tariffs’ and other official documents ordered by the royal and religious courts
and by local and central governments.
In these busier areas, the furtive appearance of anonymous notes calling for rebellion and
revolt were an insight into the extent of the disquiet and hidden protagonism of the illiterate. On many occasions when conflict broke out, villages and cities in the kingdom received
“little papers called pasquins”, as noted by Jerónimo Freire Serrão, in 16212. These nonconformist written voices, the author adds, “appear every day like decrees, on the pillories, on
the doors of royal manor houses, churches and other public places, to spread the news to
those to whom they are addressed, who cannot claim not to know of their contents”3.
Illiterate but not passive, the people became enthusiastic about writing and seized on it
as a means of creating a second language that was anonymous, collective and opposed to
the mainstream culture which controlled them and which, from a formal perspective,
emanated from all kinds of authorities including the king’s palace, the curia, monasteries, bishoprics, local courts and municipal powers. Reading, for the common people,
was a slow process of deciphering which, once assimilated, spread rapidly in the form of
rumours, news or passwords, expressing one or many ideas4.
Sometimes these texts were found stuck to walls, frequently with fresh bread dough,
in the form of “pasquins”. Made up of disordered letters, irregular words, short and
Aspects of Counter Reformation Culture in Portugal
223
confused phrases, the “pasquins” attracted everyone’s attention and caused uneasiness,
especially amongst magistrates and inquisitors. They revealed the aspirations of rebellious groups and bestowed a magical and rebellious character on the popular ritual of
learning to read. It is also known that in the Alentejo, the Beja Amendments (1639)
and political rebellions that set Moura against Philip II of Spain were carried out, “with
letter and substance” or in other words, through recourse to the “pasquins” and “abominable papers”, read, passed round or stuck to the insurmountable walls5. Other similar
examples can be cited but from our perspective what is important is that these disorganised letters, written in small instead of capital letters and in firm outlines by a “hand
without an owner”, with the intention of being read aloud, really did encourage the
inventiveness of old and new readers, whatever their level of literacy.
In the “Ancien Régime”, people would meet to read, deciphering the words aloud in
enigmatic voices, introducing new and different reasons for revolt into peaceful everyday life. Illiterate people with qualified spokespersons submitted to the war of the
“pasquins” armed with few weapons, that is to say, with distorted and imperfect words
that were, nevertheless, full of meaning.
In Santarém on a Sunday morning (27 March) in 1689 an insurrection was started by
papers attached to the doors of some of the village churches, “seen by some, each written on two half sheets in letters so large that they took up the whole page on which
they were written, one of which said ‘Long live Moses’ law’”. The reply, written so that
everyone could read and understand it, appeared the following morning when a “paper was posted on a cross, in a place called the ‘Citio’, by the main door of the church
of the Franciscan Order (which started with ‘six psalms’ and ended ‘we have to give’)
above which was a knife with a silver handle”6. Only the used sheet in this dual fixing
of “pasquins”, which was filled with capital letters and gave rise to the dispute between
Catholics and Jews, was preserved in the Inquisition’s enquiry.
The magic of writing: talismans and miracles
Contact with reading materials gained a new significance when the order of the alphabetical letters was, for other reasons, deliberately broken or changed. In this case, reading was reduced to a mysterious pondering over images and characters. This “miraculous experience”7 brought together words, syllables and letters that, above all, designed
messages. The poetry of the text lay in the marvel of understanding the graphic signs
organised as labyrinths, pyramids, crosses or other visual devices.
As is well known, the academics of the 1600s, faithful to the Baroque literary style,
promoted and circulated acrostics, anagrams, puzzles, lipograms, rhopalic verses and
amulet texts8. But one did not need to be an academic and, far less, literate to read,
possess and own a text in the form of a cross covered in enigmatic initials as a relic. An
illustrative, easily memorised phrase was sufficient to decipher the cross and reveal the
spiritual meaning of the text. Virtual in content, the written amulet did not require the
training or literacy needed for other types of reading.
Religion in Politics
224
Ana Cristina Araújo
Fig. 1
Anonymous, handwritten, 18th century, Biblioteca General de Universidade de Coimbra, ms.
338.
In their own way, the illiterate also constructed magical graphics in manuscript
texts that combined short formulae – quotations from the Bible, hagiologic onomasticons, prayers, conjuration etc. – with grotesque drawings and images. The
two representations, interpreted together, were similar to amulets or talismans9. Although rare, some papers containing both manuscript and printed amulet texts can
be found in documents from the 17th century and in the legal procedures of the
Portuguese Inquisition. In the latter case they were frequently compiled as proof of
witchcraft10.
These objects, which had protective properties and/or potential miraculous effects,
rarely survived the time when they were produced. In an anonymous fragment of manuscript from the 17th century the explanation for a series of cryptic initials laid out
in the shape of a cross is entitled, rather elaborately: “Explanation on the efficacy of
a Christian amulet”. In this text the capital letters, separated by full stops, alluded to
Aspects of Counter Reformation Culture in Portugal
225
the cross of the patriarch, S. Benedict, and it was used for the protection of people and
animals11.
A more complex variant of the amulet texts were the countless flyers of “Miraculous
Prodigies” that associated images and printed evocations with saints, cults and miracles12. These flyers were given away or sold in their thousands and although their intention was of a spiritual nature, they did not always accurately reflect the spirit of the
Counter Reformation. The images were too free and their promises produced uncontrollable effects. Moreover, as the printed object was appropriate for illiterate people,
the book of devotions circulated beyond the traditional circle of readers.
Borrowing and reading aloud introduced the question of the invisible enlargement of
the community of readers13. In a society where oral communication predominated, if
one or a few people could read, this was enough for the text to be shared between small
crowds. In other words, if a small portion of the population was literate, this was sufficient for the benefits of the reading culture to spread to the agents of the oral culture14.
In this respect, it may be recalled that the modern confraternities formed public reading according to their own rules and, in some cases, religious texts alluding to the title
or patron of the brotherhood were compulsory15. In this and in other similar situations,
access to printed materials was ex visu et ex audito.
There is no question that in early modern societies not all adults who read regularly knew
how to write16. It is also evident that whilst on the one hand, the assembling of a library
revealed the existence of reading and an ability to read, this did not always mean that the
material and intellectual level of the printed materials it contained accurately reflected
this ability. In order to illustrate this problem, we provide the following example. In 1621,
following the publication of a Decree in the Coimbra district of the Inquisition, readers
in the region of Lamego were forced to list the books they owned. In the Inquisition files
there are 99 lists of private libraries registering 1125 volumes, both printed and handwritten, in the possession of individuals from different social classes residing in the rural
surroundings of Lamego17. In the case of the smaller collections (where one title was declared), almost half the readers did not know how to write the respective list although
they claimed to be readers and in some cases were capable of scribbling their signatures.
The owners of the fifteen lists were men. As a group, these solitary readers entertained
themselves with ABC books, catechisms, papal bulls and prayer books.
Magical initiations into the world of reading and writing
These three categories help explain the logic behind the development of many small,
private Portuguese libraries. For those individuals who had been recently introduced to
writing, it was difficult to resist the magic of books which offered benefits in this world
and the next.
Let us look first at the ABC books and catechisms. In addition to teaching reading,
these attractive and illustrated books also provided religious knowledge. They were
Religion in Politics
226
Ana Cristina Araújo
Fig. 2
Writing in the form of a cross (acrostic), in J. Pereira Velozo, Desejos Piedodos de Huma Alma Saudosa,
Lisbon 1688.
written in the local language and, in grammatical terms, showed how to form syllables,
write words and read texts, always supplemented by very elementary visual aids18. These
schoolbooks used visual elements as didactic aids to understanding the basic elements
of the language and the texts used in the Catholic educational system19.
The oldest example of the Catechism to learn how to read with prudence doctrines and
the first ten commandments of the law with its counterparts (1534) was later updated
with the first “grammars” of the Portuguese language which also contained two parts:
the first, a short section with an introduction to reading and a second longer one with
religious texts that aimed to provide simultaneously reading practice and nourishment
for the soul20.
To unveil the mystery of letters and plumb the depths of the journey to salvation, the
Church in the Counter Reformation aimed to promote literacy amongst the rural population by handing out catechisms to those who did not know how to read or write. The
criteria for deciding when to distribute these printed materials is unknown, but there
are reasons to believe that they were given out, during certain periods, in huge quantities. The first 16th-century edition of the catechism from the Jesuit Marcos Jorge was
distributed by the thousand by Cardinal D. Henrique. According to the Order’s historian, Baltazar Teles, “And so that everyone would know soon, the honourable prince
Aspects of Counter Reformation Culture in Portugal
227
ordered these treatises to be distributed throughout the Kingdom free of charge and
funded by his own royal assets, so that everyone could have a copy”21.
Included in the list of magical leaflets which, once obtained, granted a special pardon
or grace to the penitent, were the certificates of the “Bull of the Crusade”, which were
blessed papers containing images of saints, novenas and liturgical prayers distributed
by the thousand in exchange for small sums proportional to the income of the penitent
sinner. In the mid-17th century, the Court had printed 800.000 leaflets of the “Bull of
the Crusade” of all kinds, 350.000 written on flyers and 40.000 summaries and privileges. One hundred years later, an identical number of benefits yielded 81 “contos de
reis”22.
The privilege of printing the leaflets was consecrated by the Court Regiment of the Bull
of the Crusade on 19 May 1634. The decrees posted on the doors of churches and the
public announcements of the publication of the Bull of the Crusade made by vicars in
their parishes helped publicise the pardons, which were renewed annually by Rome. In
addition to this, in the 17th century an extensive specialist literature on moral theology,
systematically enlarged and standardised the range of situations covered by the edict. In
Portugal, amongst other authors, Lourenço Pires de Carvalho, the General Commissioner of the Bull of the Crusade, published the Epítome das Indulgências e Privilégios
da Bula da Cruzada in 1696 with this aim in mind. In the 17th century, the increased
provision of these spiritual favours was accompanied by specialisation – granting pardons for a larger number of moral offences. In other words, the tendency to accumulate
offences was sanctioned by expectations of the suspension or partial annulment of the
various degrees of sin and blame. According to this philosophy, sinners could take the
summary of the printed edict signed by the General Commissioner, sign it, keep the
paper in a safe place for a year and, in return, make a donation to the respective charity
based on their income.
The sacred and miraculous nature of writing came back into evidence through the propagation of the so-called “nóminas”, “manuscripts half way between prayers and psalms
that were worn in contact with the body and from which remedy and protection could
be expected”23. In this sense, risks of a spiritual nature were covered by a real system
of forgiveness of sin. The fear of eternal damnation and the uncertainty of salvation
were at the root of other entertaining-magical-religious forms of spiritual composition,
such as the drawing involving printed papers that became very popular in the 17th and
18th centuries. Other flyers, printed on one side only, explained how these “lotteries
of the souls” as they were known, worked. A paper with a number was drawn from a
box, which matched another number in a corresponding list of meritorious works and
hagiological benefits divided into weeks and months of the year. When the corresponding number was found, the devotee was given a deposit note registering the spiritual
benefit and the respective printed blessing24.
These, and other forms of magical absolution through printed graces distributed for
charity, were widespread. In 1725, the periodical “Gazeta de Lisboa” advertised the free
Religion in Politics
228
Ana Cristina Araújo
Fig. 3
Writing organized from the capital letter I. (IESUS), in J. Pereira Velozo, Desejos Piedosos de Huma
Alma Saudosa, Lisbon 1688.
distribution of a recently launched booklet called Lotaria feliz handed out at the “Music Press”, according to the conditions mentioned in the prologue. The exact nature of
the donation is unknown, as we did not manage to find a single issue of the work. It is,
however, probable that all readers were awarded a magical-religious prize that would revert to the church in the form of a collection. The Resgate das Almas booklets were also
distributed in churchyards – in S. Sebastião da Pedreira, in April 1756, according to
the news in the “Gazeta de Lisboa” – discussing the “easy way” to pray for the deceased,
or in other words, training the faithful to communicate with the life beyond, in terms
deemed convincing and profitable.
On a spiritual level, the distributive nature of literature was clearly expressed in the long,
boastful titles of works which promised marvels and miracles to the reader. Thus, the advertisement printed on 14 October 1756 in the “Gazeta de Lisboa”, regarding a booklet
that was sold at a stand in Largo do Rato (following the 1755 earthquake, the Santa Isabel
parish where the aforementioned stand was located provided fertile land for the development of many precarious, makeshift homes) – said that “in this area you will find a book on
The art of a good death, or daily devotion to the Mother of God, useful for all spiritual matters
and very useful in achieving a happy death, with prayers to all the saints for each the day of the
year, by the Jesuit priest Manuel dos Anjos, protector of Our Lady of the Good Death”.
In the field of literature on preparation for death, there were also books that provided
contributions to charity. One of the countless editions of Mestre da vida que ensina
Aspects of Counter Reformation Culture in Portugal
229
viver e morrer santamente (1731), by the Dominican priest João Franco, provided, in
the declaration of the privilege that preceded the printing licence, a share of the book’s
sales for the redemption of prisoners. It therefore introduced a dual motive for buying
the book: religious and educational on the one hand, scrupulous and charitable on the
other. This should be underlined, since it shows that rational requirements for personal
reading were not the only factors influencing readers’ choices25.
In addition to this, any masterpiece would stand out in the immense mass of mediocre
works of common inspiration, whether elaborately and skilfully produced or not. Therefore, the issue here goes beyond the discussion of how popular or not certain texts were, in
that the ordinary printed texts also suited the tastes, needs and enjoyment of the literate
elite26. On the other hand, segments of the population who were not identified in terms
of education or, in other words, those who were more or less anonymous, were involved in
the production and demand for printed objects. It was not by chance that one of the greatest Portuguese writers of the 17th century, D. Francisco Manuel de Melo, included in his
Hospital das Letras “embarrassed poets”, anonymous authors of “two thousand repugnant
manuscripts”, which had not had the privilege of being printed, and those without printers
who wanted to publish lines and odd stanzas that could be heard recited in the streets27.
Yet in order to better clarify the issue of mass culture in the 17th century and in the first
half of the following century, we have a precious note from the censor and first great Portuguese bibliophile Diogo Barbosa Machado and reliable indications regarding the number
of reprints of some of the more widely accepted titles. In the first case, the fortune of short
texts is proven, some of which were abridged versions of longer works, whilst others were
written for educational and entertainment purposes, targeting a wide range of readers.
In the mid 1700s, Diogo Barbosa Machado acknowledged that these leaflets, known as
cheap literature, “grew at this time with amazing fertility and their publication gained
considerably from the common people”28. Thus, in the middle of the 17th century, dozens
of unknown authors ensured the dissemination of astrology, calendars and farming advice
in booklets of approximately 20 pages, sold at prices between 4 and 10 réis and which,
due to inflation, were later sold for 20 réis in the middle of the 18th century. Sold in
their hundreds and thousands by the blind, who competed with book shops for the trade
in printed texts, forecasts, almanacs and other similar works represented an important
chunk of the cheap literature available. Yet there were also other short texts – fantastic and
witty reports, oddities, scandals, intrigues and reports of crimes and punishments29.
At the same time, religion, linked to daily life, inspired countless texts of various lengths,
written to combat disease, bad weather and all kinds of misfortunes. The demand for
this type of spiritual prescription, restoring short hagiographic stories and helping people confront life’s crises and problems, was assured. Father Luís Cardoso – the great
force behind parochial questionnaires in the 18th century, which were the origins of
the planned Dicionário Geográfico Português, of which only two volumes were ever published – was well aware of the success of such publications. He therefore compiled and
had printed, in 1727, a curious book called Receita Universal, ou breve noticia dos santos
especiais advogados contra os achaques, doenças, perigos e infortúnios.
Religion in Politics
230
Ana Cristina Araújo
Fig. 4
Acrostic in the form of a pyramid, in J. Lopes Cierra, Panegirico fúnebre, s.d. (18th century).
Conclusion
Overall, the power of the Catholic church increased with the development of reading
communities based on books filled with visual representations and miraculous symbols. The most popular and complex variants of printed religious texts were the countless flyers of “Miraculous Prodigies” associated with images and printed evocations to
saints, cults and miracles.
In Portugal, as in Spain, “the exuberance of religious feeling”, a characteristic of Baroque culture, encouraged a dialogue between the elite and the common people alike
with these printed objects30. The predominance of ascetic literature in monastic and
private libraries corresponded to a model of literacy ruled by the authority of the Holy
Scriptures, involving repetitive reading and recurring meditation on moral topics,
which were considered fundamental to the salvation of believers.
Aspects of Counter Reformation Culture in Portugal
231
The religious book served as the standard authority on values, behaviour and ritualised
conventions. However, through the mass reading of religious texts, other psycho-sensorial communication mechanisms with God and the saints were explored. The truths
of faith proliferated through images, symbols and magic formulae and led to complex
forms of literature.
The less educated and more popular basis of written culture indicates that in the past
there was a much clearer perception of printed objects and their role in society.
Notes
J.P. Magalhães, Ler e escrever no mundo rural do Antigo Regime. Um contributo para a História da alfabetização e da escolarização em Portugal, Braga 1994 and F.R. Silva, A alfabetização no Antigo Regime. O
caso do Porto e da sua região (1580-1650), in “Revista da Faculdade de Letras – História”, II série, 3, pp.
101-163.
2
J.F. Serrão, Discurso Politico da excellencia, aborrecimento, perseguição e zelo da verdade. Em que tambem
se tracta das causas e razões porque Deus castigou este reyno, e da misericordiosa lembrança que d’elle teve
na restituição d’el-rei D. João IV, Lisbon 1647, p. 134.
3
Serrão, Discurso Politico da excellencia, aborrecimento, perseguição e zelo da verdade cit, p. 134.
4
A. Castillo Gómez, Entre public et privé. Stratégies de l’ecrit dans l’Espagne du Siècle d’Or, in “Annales,
HCS”, 2001, 4-5, pp. 803-829 and, J. S. Amelang, El vuelo de Ícaro. La autobiografía popular en la Europa Moderna, Madrid 2003.
5
With reference to the revolts, see A. Oliveira, Movimentos sociais e poder em Portugal no século XVII,
Coimbra 2002. For an assessment of the importance of these papers, see G. M. Matos, Panfletos do
século XVII, in “Anais”, Portuguese History Academy, 1946, 10, pp. 41-53; and F. Bouza, Portugal no
tempo dos Filipes. Política, Cultura, Representações (1580-1668), preface by A. M. Hespanha, Lisbon
2000.
6
Institute of National Arquives. Torre do Tombo (IANTT), Lisbon Inquisition, liv. 258, Cadernos do
Promotor, pp. 293r and 304 v.. cit. in R. Marquilhas, A Faculdade das Letras. Leituras e escrita em Portugal no século XVII, Lisbon 2000, pp. 55-57.
7
A. Hatherly, A Experiência do Prodígio. Bases teóricas e antologia de textos visuais portugueses dos séculos
XVII e XVIII, Lisbon 1983.
8
Hatherly, A Experiência do Prodígio cit.
9
In Western culture, the tradition of the written amulet dates back to the Hebrew tradition. At the
dawn of Christianity, Jews wore amulets in the shape of small scrolls on which they wrote Old Testament verses. They normally carried these amulets with them, sometimes stuck to their arms. The word
talisman, on the other hand, which is Arab in origin, signifies an object that guarantees protection or
transmits special powers.
10
Marquillas, A Faculdade das Letras cit., pp. 60-62; R. Marquillas, Orientación mágica del texto escrito, in
A. Castillo Gómez (ed.), Escribir y leer en el siglo de Cervantes, Barcelona 1999, pp. 111-128.
11
Coimbra University General Library (BGUC), Ms. 2559. See the same text followed by an explanation
in the Lisbon National Library (BNL), Colecção Pombalina, Cod., 130. With reference to these documents, see Hatherly, A Experiência do Prodígio cit., pp. 243, 280.
12
BNL, L. 593 A – Single sheet, printed in Lisbon in 1641, by A. Alvarez.
13
The importance of the community of readers, the idea that nobody reads a book in the same way and
that a single reader can have multiple experiences of reading the same work at different times, are aspects constantly highlighted by Roger Chartier in his vast bibliography on the history of books and
1
Religion in Politics
232
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Ana Cristina Araújo
reading. This is illustrated in P. Bordieu, R. Chartier, La lecture: une pratique culturelle, in R. Chartier
(ed.), Pratiques de la Lecture, Paris 1985, pp. 267-294; R. Chartier, A ordem dos livros, trans. L. Graça,
Lisbon 1997; and R. Chartier (ed.), As utilizações do objecto impresso (Séculos XV-XIX), trans. I. Boavida, Lisboa 1998.
J. Goody, The domestication of the savage mind, Cambridge 1973.
A. C. Araújo, A morte em Lisboa. Atitudes e representações (1700-1830), Lisbon 1997, pp. 324-330;
Id., Corpos sociais, ritos e serviços religiosos numa comunidade rural. As confrarias de Gouveia na Época
Moderna, in “Revista Portuguesa de História”, 2002, 35, pp. 273-296.
A. Petrucci, F.M.G. Blay (eds.), Escribir y leer en Occidente, València 1995 and A. Viñao Frago, Leer y
escribir. Historia de dos prácticas culturales, México 1999.
IANTT, Coimbra Inquisition, liv. 21, fl. 71r.
F. Castelo-Branco, Cartilhas quinhentistas para ensinar a ler, in “Boletim bibliográfico e Informativo
– Fundação Galouste Gulbenkian Centre for Educational Research”, 1971, 14, pp. 109-152.
For a comparative approach to Protestant culture, S. Michalski, The Reformation and the visual arts. The
protestant image question in Western and Eastern Europe, London - New York 1993; M. Praz, Studies in
Seventeenth-Century Imagery, Rome 1974, 2 vols, and P. Matheson, The Imaginative world of the Reformation, Edinburgh 2000. Methodological problems are discussed, with an additional bibliography, in
M. Moster, De geschiednis van lezen en schrijven – een nieuwe vorn van cultuurgeschiedenis, in “Theorische Geschiedenis”, 1996, XXIII, pp. 129-144, J. Dillenberger, Images and relics. Theological perceptions
and visual images in 16th century Europe, Oxford 1999 and S. Ehrepreis, Reading materials and visuality: religion and education models of early modern Europe, in J. P. Paiva (ed.), Religious ceremonials and
images: power and social meaning (1400-1750), Coimbra 2002, pp. 303-313.
The same methodology inspired João de Barros, Grammatica da Lingua Portuguesa, Lisboa 1540.
B. Teles, Chronica da Companhia de Jesus na Provincia de Portugal e do que fizeram nas conquistas deste
Reyno os religiosos que na mesma provincia entraram, nos annos em que viveu Sancto Ignacio de Loyola.
Parte I. Na qual se contem os principios d’esta província no tempo em que a fundou e governou o P. M.
Simão Rodrigues, Lisbon 1645, p. 375.
F. Almeida, História da Igreja em Portugal, vol. II, Oporto-Lisbon 1968, pp. 246-247.
F. Bouza, Corre manuscrito. Una historia cultural del siglo de oro, Madrid 2001, F. Bouza, Cultura escrita
e história do livro: a circulação manuscrita nos séculos XVI e XVII, in “Leituras. Revista da Biblioteca
Nacional – O Livro antigo em Portugal e Espanha séculos XVI-XVIII”, 2001-2002, 9-10 p. 84 and
Marquilhas, A Faculdade das Letras cit., pp. 73-74.
V. Villa-Moura, O Azar no céu ou a loteria das almas no século XVIII, in “Revista Lusitana”, 1911, 14, pp.
292-295.
A. C. Araújo, A morte em Lisboa. Atitudes e representações (1700-1830), Lisbon 1997, pp. 174-179.
On this subject, see R. Chartier, Lectures et lecteurs dans la France d’Ancien Régime, Paris 1987 and P.
Burke, A Cultura Popular na Idade Moderna. Europa 1500-1800, trans. D. Bottmann, S. Paulo 1990.
D.F.M. Melo, Apólogos dialogais. II. O escritório avarento. O hospital das letras, P.S. Braga (ed.), Coimbra
1999, p. 77.
D.B. Machado, Biblioteca Lusitana, Histórica, Critica, e Chronologica, Lisboa 1759, t. IV, prologue s.n.
D.R. Curto, Literatures de large circulation au Portugal (XVIe-XVIIIe siècles), in R. Chartier, H.J. Lüsebrink (eds.), Littératures populaires et imprimés de large circulation en Europe, XVIe –XIXe siècles, Paris
1996, pp. 299-329; R. G. Capelo, Profetismo e Esoterismo. A arte do prognóstico em Portugal (séculos
XVII-XVIII), Coimbra 1994; and J.L. Lisboa, Papéis de larga circulação no século XVIII, in “Revista de
História das Ideias”, 2000, 20, pp. 131-147.
A.W. Prieto, Libros y Lectura en Salamanca. Del Barroco a la Ilustración 1650-1725, Salamanca 1993,
p. 52 and J. A. Maravall, La Cultura del Barroco, Barcelona 1975.
Aspects of Counter Reformation Culture in Portugal
233
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