Abstract:
Between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the leading ecclesiastical authorities from Portugal and Castile started to invest, more regularly, in the production of pastoral works in order to promote the teaching of basic lessons on the rudiments of Christian faith. Aiming to deal with a portion of the lessons contained in such documents, this paper targets the advices and admonitions elaborated in this time to avoid the evils resulting from the excesses of speech. More precisely, the purpose of this present study is to examine how the important persons of the church expected to constrain the Christian faithful who spoke loudly in the mass, reviled their peers, lied to the others and who did not recognize the importance of silence for the ennoblement of the soul.
Keywords:
Portugal and Castile; 14th and 15th centuries; the limits of speech.