1655 Escala em Coimbra: Um jovem jesuíta entre o Ocidente e o Oriente

Abstract

In the letter published here, a young Jesuit priest educated in the colleges of the Society of Jesus in Brabant gives a detailed account of life in the College of Jesus in Coimbra, where he stayed for a few months in 1655, on an unscheduled stopover during his journey between Europe and the Far East. Inácio Hartoghvelt description offers us a guided tour of the spaces of the Society of Jesus in Coimbra (Colégio de Jesus, Colégio das Artes, Quinta de Vila Franca), allowing us to look at the buildings from the inside, giving us the opportunity to glimpse the nearly two hundred occupants in their daily activities. Inácio constantly compares the Coimbra college with those in Brabant, emphasizing the Spartan austerity in Coimbra. Some aspects provoke the author astonishment, revealing also his admiration and respect when he realizes that this stopover in Coimbra was the best preparation for the difficulties that awaited him in his mission to China.