André de Gouveia (1497 – 9 June 1548) was a Portuguese

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

and

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

during the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

Biography

André de Gouveia became one of the first Portuguese to study in the

Collège Sainte-Barbe The Collège Sainte-Barbe () is a former college in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. The Collège Sainte-Barbe was founded in 1460 on Montagne Sainte-Geneviève ( Latin Quarter, Paris). It was until its closure in June 1999 the "oldest ...

, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, which was then directed by his uncle

Diogo de Gouveia Diogo de Gouveia (c. 1471, Beja - 8 December 1557, Lisbon), known as Diogo de Gouveia, the Elder to distinguish him from contemporary homonyms such as his nephew, was a leading Portuguese teacher, theologian, diplomat and humanist during the Rena ...

. After attending six years in ''Maîtrise des Arts'' he earned a degree as doctor in

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

, and simultaneously, began teaching at the college. Starting in 1530, due to the many diplomatic missions that kept his uncle away, André was entrusted by him with the direction of the Collège. As an adept of the most advanced religious ideas, André de Gouveia bent Saint Barbe into the Humanist ideals. There in 1531 he appointed regent Nicolas Cop. After Cop's contested inaugural address as rector of the university in 1533, he was appointed rector of the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

for the college of arts (

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

), introducing new rules for transparency and fairness among all disciplines, but soon departed. He left to take charge as principal of the College of Guienne, in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

. He had been invited by the municipal authorities, and was given full freedom to modernize the old college. On arrival, Gouveia proclaimed that he would not recognize differences of creed in staff and pupils, many of whom showed sympathy to the new doctrines of the

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

. There, in 1539, Gouveia welcomed

George Buchanan George Buchanan (; February 1506 – 28 September 1582) was a Scottish historian and humanist scholar. According to historian Keith Brown, Buchanan was "the most profound intellectual sixteenth-century Scotland produced." His ideology of re ...

, appointing him professor of Latin. Gouveia's stay at the College of Guienne lasted until 1547, attracting students like

Étienne de La Boétie Étienne or Estienne de La Boétie (; ; 1 November 1530 – 18 August 1563) was a French magistrate, classicist, writer, poet and political theorist, best remembered for his friendship with essayist Michel de Montaigne. His early political trea ...

and

Michel de Montaigne Michel Eyquem, Seigneur de Montaigne ( ; ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), commonly known as Michel de Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularising the the essay ...

, who later in his ''Essays'' described Gouveia as " ...behind comparison the greatest principal in France." The fame of the teaching -mainly grammar, classical literature, history and philosophy - was such that, in 1552, Italian scholar and physician Julius Caesar Scaliger sent his sons to the college, including Joseph Justus Scaliger. André de Gouveia returned to Portugal at the invitation of King John III, accompanied by a group of foreign teachers, to head the new College of the Arts at the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; , ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The university ...

. In this group were Diogo de Teive,

, Jerónimo Osório, Nicolas de Grouchy, Guillaume Guérante and Élie Vinet, who came to be decisive for the disclosure of contemporary research of

Pedro Nunes Pedro Nunes (; Latin: ''Petrus Nonius''; 1502 – 11 August 1578) was a Portuguese mathematician, cosmographer, and professor, probably from a New Christian (of Jewish origin) family.Leitão, Henrique, "Para uma biografia de Pedro Nunes: O ...

. However, Gouveia did not remain for long in office as president of the college, as he died in June 1548. Rivalry between the secular trends of the new "Bordeaux" teachers, and the more orthodox method of the "Parisian" school headed by Diogo de Gouveia led several teachers, including George Buchanan, to face the Inquisition: Gouveia kept numerous contacts with European scholars and Portuguese businesses when he was in France. At odds with his uncle Diogo, André was suspected of

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

. He left a few written texts. In particular, his views are represented in regulations of the College of Guienne, published by Elie Vinet in 1583 under the title ''Schola Aquitanica''. André de Gouveia was brother to humanist and teacher

António de Gouveia António de Gouveia (c.1505 – March 1566) was a Portuguese humanist and educator during the Renaissance. Gouveia was born in Beja. After graduating in Paris he taught at the Collège de Guyenne in Bordeaux, and then at Toulouse, Avignon, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gouveia, Andre De 1497 births 1548 deaths People from Beja, Portugal Portuguese Renaissance humanists Rectors of the University of Paris University of Paris alumni University of Coimbra people 16th-century Portuguese people Portuguese expatriates in France