Réglement pour M.M. les directeurs et Répétiteurs des petits Séminaires. Manuscript in-4°. 1 blank sheet, 14 unnumbered pp. . [Followed by :] Réglement Pour MM. Les Directeurs et Professeurs des petits séminaires. Besançon. No place, no date [Besançon, early XIX century ?]. 9 unnumbered ruled pp. Contemporary fawn sheepskin rooted, flat spine decorated with gilt tools, nets and wheels, framed with gilt wheels and nets on covers, gilt nets on cuts.
Interesting Jesuit document on the development of regulatory instructions for the supervision of pupils in the minor seminaries of Besançon.
The first manuscript was the inspiration for the second, which was probably written later and by a different hand, although the paper of both manuscripts has the same watermark.
The first set of rules, written in a rather old-fashioned style, has been extensively corrected by another hand, in particular as regards the systematic replacement of the title of ‘repetiteur’ by that of ‘professeur’; the second set of rules, inspired by the first with numerous variants, dates from the Restoration period, when the binding was produced. It should be noted that article 4 on absences, article 6 on the ban on guest meals, article 9 on the ban on women eating in the refectory with the community, including the parents of the Director and the coaches, and part of article 10 on dishes and meals have been deleted.
The second regulation places considerable emphasis on problems of morality.
It warns against favouritism… and beyond: ‘They [the teachers] will be careful not to give them [the pupils] more tokens of friendship than to the others, making no attempt to seek them out at recreation or on walks, or to call them to their rooms’, and recommends monitoring any deviations: ‘We shall notice, as far as we can, those who, during recreation and walks, would usually like to be together to chat and play, and we shall try to find out the motives that lead them to get together, lest they be bad. ’ Similarly, in the classroom, ‘to avoid many inconveniences, and perhaps to prevent disastrous scandals between class or study neighbours, pupils must be expected to behave honestly and decently: that they do not come too close to each other, that they do not lean backwards, that they do not hold their hands under the table, &. One more important thing […] is to observe those who often go to the toilets, especially if they usually go in company, and to follow their movements with caution. – Getting up and especially going to bed – also require great care, lest some pupils get together in a way that is contrary to morality’. As for the dormitories, a note made it clear that ‘they would never grant permission for two students to sleep together’.
Some rubbing to the binding.
An interesting document on the religious education system in Franche-Comté in the early 19th century.
900 €