Abstract: In the Russian historiography the School for Noble Maidens in Saint Cyr which was established by the second wife of Louis 14th in 1684 have not been an object of special research. Up to 1917 in the tsarist Russia the school was mentioned in the context of detailed researches related to the history of the female education in Russia. The first and leading researcher of the history of the female education in Russia and specifically of the first female school is Russia was Elena Osipovna Lihachëva (1836 – 1904). Her four volumes fundamental work “Materials about the history of the female education in Russia (1086 – 1880)” published in 1895 was the first research on the problem and covers an immense historical period – from 1086 till 1880. Her research is based fully on archive
documents. Another researcher of the Russian education of similar rank is Nikolay Cherepnin whose object of research was the first state high schools for noble maidens known as Smolni Institute. He published four volumes of 2082 pages, the last volume was only of archive documents. He followed and analyzed the history of the school from its establishment to 1914. The two researchers mentioned the School for Noble Maidens in France and rejected the idea that the Saint Cyr School was a prototype of Smolni Institute for Noble Maidens in Sankt Petersburg. After 1917 nothing was written about the first in Europe state high school for noble maidens because of ideological reasons. Our research is based mainly on the writings of the two Russian scholars. We followed how the idea of the female education originated in Europe and tried to identify the external factors which contributed for the idea to be realized in practice. We analyzed the reasons which influenced Louis XIV to establish the school and the history of the school – its statute (aims, conceptions, approaches), the educational content and system. We outlined the Enlightenment ideas that formed the basis of the educational system in Saint Cyr and followed how they have been realized in the specific practice under the direct supervision of Madam Maintenon (the second wife of Louis 14th). We discussed the problem how the idea of caste state female education developed into a basis of mass public female high schools in France and Europe.
(Full article in Bulgarian language)
KEAC-BSR 