Literacy among the rural population of the Goriška brda in the nineteenth century

Abstract

The first school in the Goriška brda was founded at Kojsko in 1826 and in other places after 1850. Until then, and even afterwards, illiteracy was highly prevalent in the area. The population of the Goriška brda area was predomi-nantly rural and as such engaged in crafts strictly as a complementary activity. In the poorest social strata, all family members were required to work to make survival possible. Unable to obtain the costly schooling, they could not afford to learn reading and writing skills. In the first half of the nineteenth century, only wealthy families could provide their first-born sons with education to become their successors. The few families of large estate owners and officials in the area also schooled their daughters. Most children received their education from private tutors and girls attended an Ursuline school in Gorica. Only talented pupils pursued further education at Gorica’s normal school. The high social status that literate individuals enjoyed in the community was reflected, among others, in their occupying high positions or the offices of mayor, councillor, church caretaker or in serving as sworn witness to property inventory and witness to last wills and testaments.