Clero - History Lab

Anonymous manuscript

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:33:46 +0000

Professor David Bernabé Gil analysed an anonymous document among the papers of the University of Orihuela, which he dated approximately 1780. This text is a charge against the liberalising measures that were being put in place in the time of Carlos III. In the fragment of the text cited, three aspects were pointed out which needed to be rectified in Spain and which free trade was aggravating. The first concerns the situation of agriculture, which the author states should be promoted as a pillar of the state. This is the most tangible example of the persistence of a certain type of thinking linked to physiocracy, which pointed to agriculture as the main wealth of kingdoms and states. At the same time, the situation of the peasants was pointed out, whose life was one of misery and indebtedness, a situation that had favoured the merchants who had used free trade to exploit them and leave them in a situation of prostration. The second maxim was to strengthen local arts and crafts. To this end, he proposed raising prices so that they could find a place in the market (local and foreign) without having to resort to imports. In this way, the author understands that imports, apart from weakening local industry, serve foreign interests, normally associated with states that are enemies of the monarchy and that would benefit from Spanish money. As for the last problem, he pointed out the need to cut back on the huge profits of the clergy and the nobility. These privileged groups benefited from free trade by being able to sell grain at a good price, so their wealth had to be curtailed by cutting their rents or imposing taxes on their land.

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Ash Wednesday sermon, number 51

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:33:35 +0000

The use of the word for preaching is an evangelical mandate that has been used throughout history to spread the message of Christianity. The importance of the word given to the Catholic side is of great importance, especially after the clergy had to adapt the biblical messages so that they could be understood by the population. From the beginning, the believer had been distanced from the book, and the only vehicle for the transmission of the message was the clergy. This led to the inclusion in the sermon of other types of motivations that structured the discourse and which did not always have to do with religious texts in the strict sense. On occasions, the adaptation of the text to the discourse was the platform for the clergyman in question to launch political or social slogans that were part of his interests. Religious like Gregorio Mayans or Felipe Bertrán tried to carry out reforms to improve the instruction of the clergy and, at the same time, to try to correct the behaviour of the faithful, who on many occasions disregarded the religious message to turn the meeting into a social event.

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Grammar studies in the rural world? A dangerous choice for the enlightened

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:33:29 +0000

During the Modern Age, grammar schools were usually established in the most populated and important towns in Spain. These studies constituted the intermediate education between the first letters and the university. In the province of Extremadura, these schools were mainly established in the municipalities which were the heads of the district, as well as in some villages with more than 300 inhabitants, as established by law: Villa del Campo (370 inhabitants), Santa Marta (400) or Villanueva del Fresno (450). The resource shown here is a fragment of the research carried out by Carmen Solano Macías and Agustín Vivas Moreno (see “source”). The authors rescue a writing by the learned Juan José Alfranca y Castellote, visitor of the Llerena district and oidor of the Royal Court, on the social inconvenience of establishing grammar schools in rural environments. The main reason he argues against the social reproduction strategy that families had to ensure the future of their offspring and their lineage: the introduction of some sons into the clergy. To be ordained as a priest, one first had to study grammar and, later, under the title and patrimony of a chaplaincy or pious work, they reached the state of priesthood. According to Alfranca’s enlightened conception, this phenomenon was harmful to the host people in that it nourished them with unproductive and ignorant individuals.

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