1701. Carta não autógrafa de Maria Solteira, pseudónimo de Maria Ferroa, para o bispo de Coimbra [D. João de Melo].

Private letter dictated by Maria Solteira, pseudonym of Maria Ferroa, to the bishop of Coimbra [D. João de Melo].

The author asks for advice from the bishop of Coimbra, since her family got her a fiancé but she does not want to marry him, due to the vows of chastity that she has made.

These two letters are found in the process of marriage of Maria Ferroa, resident in Folhadosa, and António Nunes da Costa, resident in Torroselo. After she had decided to be a nun and live in chastity for the rest of her live, her parents started putting some pressure on her so that she would get married with the young António Nunes da Costa. She protested and, also because her confessor, the local priest Manuel Gil de Figueiredo, was not certain of what to do, she decided to ask for advice from the bishop of Coimbra, D. João de Melo. oThe bishop then sent the vicar and archpriest of Ervedal, António Nunes Álvares, to ascertain the situation and talk to the local people in search of the truth. One of these letters (PSCR1555) that were sent to the bishop was dictated to her confessor by Maria Ferroa, since she could not write. The other one (PSCR1556) was written by the vicar of Ervedal, giving some news about a conversation that he had had with the young lady. It was later concluded that she had vowed to remain chaste without understanding the full meaning of this. Therefore, the vows were not considered, and the young couple could get married.