Permanent effects of the revival.
Thus during the ninth century and the first half of the tenth there arose, through the initiative of Charlemagne and Alcuin, a marked revival in education, and for several generations the cathedral and monastic schools enthusiastically fostered education and learning. Curricula were expanded, and many famous scholars appeared. While, owing to the weakness of Charlemagne’s successors and the attacks of the Northmen, learning gradually faded once more, intellectual stagnation never again prevailed. Through the revival of the great Frankish monarch, classical learning had to some extent been recalled to continental Europe from its insular asylum in the extreme West.
Graves,During the Transition(Macmillan, 1910), chap. III; Monroe,Text-book(Macmillan, 1905), pp. 274-279. Read also Gaskoin, C. J. C.,Alcuin, His Life and His Work(Clay, London, 1904), or West, A. F.,Alcuin and the Rise of Christian Schools(Scribner, 1892), and Mullinger, J. B.,The Schools of Charles the Great(Longmans, London, 1877).
Moslemism amalgamated in Syria with Greek philosophy and science, and the Moslem cities there became renowned for their learning.The masses of the Moslems were suspicious of the Greek learning, however, and those who had absorbed the Hellenized philosophy were driven from the Orient into Spain, where they founded Moorish colleges.The Moslems thus stimulated learning in the Christian schools, and introduced Aristotle once more, but, after bringing learning back, Moslemism itself reverted to its primitive stage.
Moslemism amalgamated in Syria with Greek philosophy and science, and the Moslem cities there became renowned for their learning.
The masses of the Moslems were suspicious of the Greek learning, however, and those who had absorbed the Hellenized philosophy were driven from the Orient into Spain, where they founded Moorish colleges.
The Moslems thus stimulated learning in the Christian schools, and introduced Aristotle once more, but, after bringing learning back, Moslemism itself reverted to its primitive stage.
The Hellenization of Moslemism.—One of the most important influences in awakening mediæval Europe was the revival of learning and education that came throughIlliteracy of early Moslemism.the advent of the Moslems. Mohammed, the founder of Moslemism, had been almost illiterate, and theKoran, or sacred book, was a curious jumble of Judaistic, Christian, and other religious elements with which Mohammed had become acquainted during his early travels. As long as this religion was confined to the ignorant and unreflecting tribes of Arabia, it served its purpose without modification. But when it spread into Syria and came in contact with Greek philosophy, in order to appeal to the people there, it had to be interpreted in Hellenistic terms, and during the eighth, ninth, and tenthcenturies, through the influence of the Nestorian scholars (see p. 46), the Mohammedans were engaged in rendering into Arabic from the Syriac, or from the original Greek, the works of the great philosophers, mathematicians, and physicians. The Mohammedan cities ofLearning of the Mohammedan cities of Syria.Syria soon became renowned for their learning. In them arose such scholars as Avicenna (980-1037), who wrote many treatises on mathematics and philosophy, and aCanon of Medicinethat remained authoritative for five centuries. Similarly, there grew up a society called the ‘Brothers of Sincerity,’ which in its course of study amalgamated the Moslem theology with Hellenistic philosophy.
Hellenized Moslemism in Spain.—But the masses of the Mohammedans were as suspicious of the Greek learning as the orthodox Christians had been, and toward the end of the eleventh century Hellenized Moslemism was driven from the Orient and found a refuge in Northern Africa and in Spain. Here the advanced Mohammedans became known as ‘Moors,’ and their works were destined to have a pronounced influence upon the Christians.Averroës and the Moorish colleges.There soon appeared such scholars as Averroës (1126-1198), who became the authoritative commentator on Aristotle for several centuries; and Moorish colleges were founded at Cordova, Granada, Toledo, and elsewhere. In these institutions, while learning was still at a low ebb in the Christian schools, were taught arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, astronomy, physics, biology, medicine, surgery, jurisprudence, logic, and metaphysics. Arabic notation was also introduced in place of the cumbersome Roman numerals and many inventions and discoveries were made.
Effect upon Europe of the Moslem Education.—These schools and colleges of the Moslems soon had their effect upon Christian education. Through their influence,Learning stimulated in Christian education.Raymund, Archbishop of Toledo, by the middle of the twelfth century had the chief Arabic treatises on philosophy translated into Castilian by a learned Jew, and then into Latin by the monks; and Frederick II had scholars render the works of Averroës into Latin. Such translations had, however, passed through several media—Greek, Syriac, Arabic, Castilian, Latin—and could not be at all accurate. But, stimulated by this taste of Greek learning, the Christians sought a more immediate version, and a half century later when the Venetians took the city of Constantinople, the works of Aristotle were recovered in the original and translated directly into Latin. Meanwhile the orthodox Mohammedanism had been coming to the front in Spain and overwhelming the Hellenized form, and it was left to Christian schools to continue the work of the advanced Moorish institutions. Moslemism had returned to its primitive stage, but it had helped bring back learning, especially the works of Aristotle, to Christendom. As the classical learning had been restored from the West during the revival of Charlemagne, it now returned from its refuge in the East through the coming of the Moslems.
Graves,During the Transition(Macmillan, 1910), chap. V; Monroe,Text-book(Macmillan, 1905), pp. 331-334. For a further account of Saracen education, see Coppée, H.,History of the Conquest of Spain by the Arab-Moors(Little, Brown, Boston, 1881),especially bk. X; Davidson, T.,The Brothers of Sincerity(International Journal of Ethics, July, 1898), and Draper, J. W.,History of the Intellectual Development of Europe(Harper, 1875), vol. I, chaps. XI and XIII, and vol. II, chaps. II and IV.
Scholasticism was a peculiar method of philosophic speculation in the later mediæval period. At first, scholastic philosophers held that faith must precede reason, but eventually reason itself tended to become the means of testing the truth.Scholastic education was organized in the monastic and episcopal schools, and consisted in the limited learning of the times, systematized on the basis of Aristotelian deduction. Scholasticism was extreme in its discussions, but it tended to rationalize the Church doctrines.
Scholasticism was a peculiar method of philosophic speculation in the later mediæval period. At first, scholastic philosophers held that faith must precede reason, but eventually reason itself tended to become the means of testing the truth.
Scholastic education was organized in the monastic and episcopal schools, and consisted in the limited learning of the times, systematized on the basis of Aristotelian deduction. Scholasticism was extreme in its discussions, but it tended to rationalize the Church doctrines.
The Nature of Scholasticism.—One of the movements that most tended to awaken the mediæval mind, especially during the latter part of the Middle Ages, was the development of the Church philosophy known asNot a set of doctrines, but a peculiar method.‘scholasticism.’ This movement does not indicate any one set of doctrines, but is rather a general designation for the peculiar methods and tendencies of philosophic speculation that became prominent within the Church in the eleventh century, came to their height during the twelfth and thirteenth, and declined rapidly the following century. The name is derived fromdoctor scholasticus, which was the title given during the mediæval period to the authorized teachers in a monastic or episcopal school, for it was among these ‘schoolmen’ that the movement started and developed. Its most striking characteristicsare the narrowness of its field and the thoroughness with which it was worked.
The History of Scholastic Development.—The history of scholasticism belongs properly to the field of philosophy, but its influence in bringing on the Renaissance and its effect upon education make a brief consideration of its development necessary here. It began as an effort to vanquish heresy in the interest of the Church dogmas, which until late in the Middle Ages it had not generally been necessary to explain. Even then it was assumed that the Church was in possession of all final truth, which had come to it by Divine revelation, and was in harmony with reason, when fully understood. It was, therefore, the aim of the earlier schoolmen to show howAnselmthese doctrines were consistent with each other and in accordance with reason. At first, as with Anselm (1033-1109), it was held that faith must precede reason, and where reason was incapable of penetrating the mysteries of revealed doctrine, it must desist from its efforts. But the conviction gradually gained ground that human reason is reliable and that truth can beand Abelard.reached only through investigation. Abelard (1079-1142) declared that the only justification of a doctrine is its reasonableness, that reason must precede faith, and that it is not sinful to doubt.
A new epoch for scholasticism dawned in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries through contact with the Greek philosophy of the Moors in Spain and the subsequent recovery of some original treatises of Aristotle (see p. 67). For a time the Church endeavored to suppress the great philosopher, but, failing to do so, soon utilized his works for its own defense, and even made reason identical withAristotle, whose authority was not to be disputed. A group of most prominent schoolmen arose, and, as a result of the discussions of Aquinas (1225-1274), DunsAquinas, Scotus, and Occam.Scotus (1274-1308), and William of Occam (1280-1347), it came to be held that truth is established by thefiatof God, and that ecclesiastical dogmas are, consequently, not matters of reason, but purely of faith. As a result of this breach between revelation and reason, there arose two types of truth, and a tendency to choose that type which was supported by reason.
Scholastic Education.—The schoolmen were thus throughout attempting to rationalize the teachings of the Church, and to present them in scientific form. AsAim,an education, scholasticism aimed also at furnishing a training in dialectic and intellectual discipline that should make the student both keen and learned in the knowledge of the times. The scholastic course of study, which was given at first in the monastic and episcopal schools and later in the universities, consisted in thecontent,beliefs of the Church and the limited learning of the times arranged in a systematized form largely on the deductive basis of the Aristotelian logic. This knowledge could all be grouped under the head of philosophical theology. The best illustration of the formal and dogmaticand method.way in which these doctrines were usually presented can be found in theSententiæof Peter the Lombard (1100-1160) and theSumma Theologiæof Aquinas (1225-1274), which were the standard texts of the day upon theology. The work of Aquinas has four main parts, under each of which is grouped a number of problems. Every problem is concerned with some fundamental doctrine, and is further divided into severalsubtopics. After the problem has been stated, first the arguments and authorities for the various solutions other than the orthodox one are given and refuted in regular order, then the proper solution with its arguments is set forth, and finally, the different objections to it are answered in a similarly systematic way. Peter the Lombard’s work has a like arrangement.
Its Value and Influence.—As a whole, the work of scholastic education has been underestimated. It hasIt systematized Church doctrines, and liberated philosophy from theology.been urged that it ruined all spiritual realities by its extreme systemization of religion, that it dealt with mere abstractions, and that it indulged in over-subtle distinctions and verbal quibbles. But the scholastic arguments were not as purposeless or absurd as they seem. For example, the celebrated inquiry of Aquinas as to the number of angels that could stand on the point of a needle is simply an attempt to present the nature of the Infinite in concrete form. It is the characteristic of reasoning beings to analyze, compare, abstract, and classify, and while scholasticism may have carried its abstractions, hair-splittings, and scientific terminology to an extreme, it performed a great service for knowledge. It found a confused mass of traditional and irrational doctrines and practices, made them systematic, rational, and scientific, and greatly assisted accuracy in thinking. The discussions of the schoolmen resulted in liberating philosophy from theology, and, without intending it perhaps, scholastic education aided the cause of human reason against dogmatism and absolute authority. It greatly stimulated intellectual interests, produced the most acute and subtle minds of the age, and helped to prepare the way for the Renaissance.
Fig. 9.—The temple of wisdom.An allegorical representation of the mediæval course of study reproduced from theMargarita Philosophicaof Gregorius Reisch, Freiburg, 1504. Donatus (elementary grammar) on the first floor; Priscian (advanced grammar) on second; Aristotle (logic), Cicero (rhetoric), and Boethius (arithmetic) on the third; Pythagoras (music), Euclid (geometry), and Ptolemy (astronomy) on the fourth; Pliny (natural history) and Seneca (ethics) on the fifth; and Peter the Lombard (theology) on top.
Fig. 9.—The temple of wisdom.
An allegorical representation of the mediæval course of study reproduced from theMargarita Philosophicaof Gregorius Reisch, Freiburg, 1504. Donatus (elementary grammar) on the first floor; Priscian (advanced grammar) on second; Aristotle (logic), Cicero (rhetoric), and Boethius (arithmetic) on the third; Pythagoras (music), Euclid (geometry), and Ptolemy (astronomy) on the fourth; Pliny (natural history) and Seneca (ethics) on the fifth; and Peter the Lombard (theology) on top.
Graves,During the Transition(Macmillan, 1910), chap. VI; Monroe,Text-book(Macmillan, 1905), pp. 292-313. For a good account of allThe Great Schoolmen of the Middle Ages(Hodder, London, 1881), see the work of Townsend, W. J.; for the beginnings of scholasticism, Mullinger, J. B.,The University of Cambridge(Longmans, Green, 1888), vol. I, pp. 47-64; for the life and influence of Abelard, Compayré, G.,Abelard(Scribner, 1893), chap. I; McCabe, J.,Abelard(Putnam, 1901); and Rashdall, H.,The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages(Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1895), vol. I, chap. II.
Universities began to spring up toward the close of the Middle Ages. Through local conditions, a course in medicine arose at Salerno; in civil and canon law at Bologna; and in theology at Paris. Bologna became the pattern for numerous universities in the South; and Paris for many in the North.Popes and sovereigns granted privileges by charter to the various universities. The term ‘university’ originally signified a ‘corporation’ of students and teachers, and the students were usually grouped according to ‘nations.’ The teaching body was divided into four or five ‘faculties.’The course in arts included the seven liberal arts and portions of Aristotle; in civil and canon law, theCorpus Juris Civilisof Justinian and theDecreeof Gratian respectively; in medicine, the treatises of Greek and other medical writers; and in theology, mostly theSententiæof Peter the Lombard. The texts were read and explained by the lecturers, and a practical training in debate was furnished.While the courses and methods were narrow and formal, the mediæval university contained the germ of modern inquiry and did much to foster independence of thought and action.
Universities began to spring up toward the close of the Middle Ages. Through local conditions, a course in medicine arose at Salerno; in civil and canon law at Bologna; and in theology at Paris. Bologna became the pattern for numerous universities in the South; and Paris for many in the North.
Popes and sovereigns granted privileges by charter to the various universities. The term ‘university’ originally signified a ‘corporation’ of students and teachers, and the students were usually grouped according to ‘nations.’ The teaching body was divided into four or five ‘faculties.’
The course in arts included the seven liberal arts and portions of Aristotle; in civil and canon law, theCorpus Juris Civilisof Justinian and theDecreeof Gratian respectively; in medicine, the treatises of Greek and other medical writers; and in theology, mostly theSententiæof Peter the Lombard. The texts were read and explained by the lecturers, and a practical training in debate was furnished.
While the courses and methods were narrow and formal, the mediæval university contained the germ of modern inquiry and did much to foster independence of thought and action.
The Rise of Universities.—A most important effect upon subsequent education came through the foundation of the mediæval universities. These institutions grew out of the old cathedral and monastic schools, but found their models largely in the liberal and professionalcourses of the Moorish colleges. In general,In general a product of all that was best in the Middle Ages.they came into existence through the many broadening influences of the later Middle Ages. Their rise was intimately connected with the stimulus of the Moslem presentation of Greek philosophy and science, with the interest in dialectic and theological discussions, which led to the development of scholasticism, with the reaction from ‘otherworldliness’ resulting from the ideals of chivalry, and with the growth of cities and wealth, and the consequent emphasis upon secular interests and knowledge (see chap. xi). However, while they were all more or less the product of the same factors, no two sprang from exactly the same set of causes, and special conditions played a part in the evolution of each university.
The Foundation of Universities at Salerno, Bologna, and Paris.—The oldest of these institutions, that at Salerno, near Naples, was simply a school of medicine,Causes of the medical school at Salerno.and originated through the survival of the old Greek medical works in Southwestern Italy, and through the attraction of the mineral springs and salubrity of this particular place. By the middle of the eleventh century Salerno was well known as the leading place for medical study. It was, however, never chartered as a regular university, although in 1231 Frederick II recognized it as the school of medicine for the university he had created at Naples some seven years earlier.
On the other hand, Northern Italy became known as a center for the study of Roman law. The cities here, inOrigin of the courses at Bolognaorder to defend their independence, were led to study this subject, and endeavored to find some special charter, grant, or edict from the old Roman emperors upon which to base their claims. Several northern centers werein civil lawrenowned for their investigation of the Roman civil law, but early in the twelfth century Bologna became preëminent through the lectures of Irnerius. By him the entireCorpus Juris Civilis, a compilation of Roman law made by eminent jurists in the sixth century at the command of the emperor Justinian, was collected and critically discussed. Influenced by this example, a monk of Bologna, named Gratian, undertook to codify all edicts and formulations of popes and councils in a convenient text-book. TheDecreeof Gratian, which resulted, was almost immediately recognized as the authority upon the subject, and canon law came to be studiedand canon law.here with the same thoroughness as civil law. The university at Bologna was regularly chartered by Frederick Barbarossa in 1158, probably as a recognition of the services of its masters in support of his imperial claims, and faculties of arts, medicine, and theology were established at various times. It was thus the first real university, and its reputation soon became widespread.
Next in order of foundation came the university at Paris, which was by far the most famous of all. TheDevelopment of liberal arts and theology at Paris.special interest here, as in this part of Europe generally, was dialectic and scholasticism. The university grew out of the cathedral school at Notre Dame, which had acquired considerable reputation under the headship of William of Champeaux, Abelard, and Peter the Lombard, but it was not until 1200, after canon law and medicine had been added to the liberal arts and theology, that it received complete recognition by the charter of Philip Augustus.
Bologna and Paris as the Models for Other Universities.—Salerno, as we have seen, was not a real university,and it did not reproduce its type; but Bologna, and even more Paris, became the mother of universities, for many other institutions were organized after their general plans. At Bologna the students, who were usually mature men, had entire charge of the government of the university. They selected the masters and determined the fees, length of term, and time of beginning. But in Paris, where the students were younger, the government was in the hands of the masters. Consequently, new foundations in the North, where Paris was the type,‘Master-universities’ in the North, but ‘student-universities’ in the South.usually became ‘master-universities,’ while those of the South were ‘student-universities.’ During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries it became fashionable for the authorities, civil and ecclesiastical, to charter existing organizations or to found new institutions on one of these two plans, and by the time the Renaissance was well started about eighty universities had been established in Europe. Not all of these foundations were permanent, however, for some thirty have, in the course of time, become extinct, and those which remain are much changed in character.
Privileges Granted to the Universities.—From the time of the earliest official recognition of the universities, a large variety of exemptions, immunities, and other special privileges were conferred upon the organizations or upon their masters and students, by the charters of popes, emperors, kings, and municipalities. The students of the universities were in many instances taken underProtection and autonomy.the immediate protection of the sovereign, and were allowed to be tried in special courts of their own, independent of civil jurisdiction, and to possess complete autonomy in all their internal affairs. Generally masters, students,and their retainers alike were relieved from all taxation and from military service. Likewise, universities wereimmunity from taxation and military service, and right to license masters and to ‘strike’.granted the right to license masters to lecture anywhere without further examination (jus ubique docendi), and the privilege of ‘striking’ (cessatio), when university rights were infringed. If no redress were given in the latter case, the suspension of lectures was followed by emigration of the university to another town. This could easily be done, since none of the mediæval universities had buildings of their own, and there was no need of expensive libraries, laboratories, and other equipment.
Through such special rights the universities obtained great power and became very independent. Soon the liberty allowed to students degenerated into recklessness and license, and they became dissipated and quarrelsome.Wandering students.This is especially seen in the life of the so-called ‘wandering students,’ who migrated from university to university, begging their way, and were shiftless, rollicking, and vicious. The one compensating feature of such degeneracy was their production of jovial Latin and German songs to voice their appreciation of forbidden pleasures and their protest against restraint.
Organization of the Universities.—The termuniversitas, or ‘university,’ did not imply originally, as often claimed since, an institution where ‘everything’ is taught,The ‘university’ a corporation.but it was used of any legal corporation, and only in the course of time was it limited to an organization of masters and students. The phrasestudium generalewas also often used of a university, to indicate a school where the students from all parts of civilization were received, and to contrast it with astudium particulare, which was confined to pupils of a limited neighborhood. The formationThe nations,of a university had been preceded by the organization of ‘nations,’ or bodies of students grouped according to the part of Europe from which they came, but these nations soon began to combine for the sake of obtaining greater privileges and power. Every year each nation chose acouncilors,‘councilor,’ who was to represent it and guard its interests. On the side of the masters, the university became organized into ‘faculties,’ of which there might be at least four,—arts, law, medicine, and theology; and eachfaculties, deans, and rector.faculty came to elect a ‘dean’ as its representative. The deans and the councilors jointly elected the ‘rector,’ or head of the university.
Course in the Four Faculties.—The course of study to be offered by each faculty was largely fixed by papal decree or university legislation during the thirteenth century.Arts.The course in arts, which occupied six years, included the texts on the liberal arts mentioned for the monastic schools (seepp. 56f.) and several of the treatises of Aristotle, as rapidly as they were recovered. In the law course,Corpus Juris Civiliswas the authorized textLaw.for civil law, and theDecreeof Gratian for canon law.Medicine.The faculty of medicine utilized the Greek treatises by Hippocrates (c. 460-375 B. C.) and Galen (c. 130-200 A. D.), theCanonof Avicenna (see p. 66), and the works of certain Jewish and Salernitan physicians. TheTheology.students of theology put most of their time upon the four books of Peter the Lombard’sSententiæ(Fig. 9), although theBiblewas studied incidentally.
The Methods of Instruction.—The training of a mediæval student consisted not only in acquiring the subjects mentioned, but in learning to debate upon them. The acquisition of the subject-matter was accomplishedLectures.through lectures, which consisted in reading and explaining the text-book under consideration (Fig. 10). Beside the text itself, the teacher would read all the explanatory notes, summaries, cross-references, and objections to the author’s statements, which often quite overshadowed the original, and might even add a commentary of his own. The passage was read slowly and repeated whenever necessary. The whole exercise was carried on in Latin, which had to be learned by the student before coming toDebates.the university. The training in debate was furnished by means of formal disputations, in which one student, or group of students, was pitted against another (Fig. 11). In these contests, which also were conducted in Latin, not only were authorities cited, but the debaters might add arguments of their own. Thus, compared with the memorizing of lectures, debating afforded some acuteness and vigor of intellect, but by the close of the fifteenth century it had become no longer reputable. The aim came to be to win and to secure applause without regard to truth or consistency.
Examinations and Degrees.—At the close of the course, the student was examined in his ability to define and dispute; and if he passed, he was admitted to theMaster or doctor.grade of master, doctor, or professor. These degrees seem originally to have been about on a par with each other, and signified that the candidate was now ready toBaccalaureate.practice the craft of teaching. The baccalaureate was at first not a real degree, but simply permission to become a candidate for the license to teach. During the thirteenth century, however, it came to be sought as an honor by many not intending to teach, and eventually became a separate degree.
The Mediæval Universities:Fig. 10.—The lecture.Fig. 11.—The disputation.
The Mediæval Universities:Fig. 10.—The lecture.Fig. 11.—The disputation.
The Value and Influence of the University Training.—Obviously the mediæval universities had most of the defects of their times. From a modern point of view, theMeager and authoritative,content of their course of study was meager, fixed, and formal, and the methods of teaching were stereotyped and authoritative. They largely neglected the real literature of the classical age, and permitted but little that savored of investigation or thinking. Yet the universities were a product of the growing tendencies that later burst the fetters of mediævalism. They were a great encouragement to subtlety, industry, and thoroughness, and their efforts toward philosophic speculationbut somewhat productive of inquiry and freedom.contained the germs of the modern spirit of inquiry and rationality. They were even of immediate assistance in promoting freedom of discussion and advancing democracy, and to their arbitration were often referred disputes between the civil and ecclesiastical powers. Thus they aided greatly in advancing the cause of individualism and carrying forward the torch of civilization and progress.
Graves,During the Transition(Macmillan, 1910), chap. IX; Monroe,Text-book(Macmillan, 1905), pp. 313-327. Standard works on the universities in general are Laurie, S. S.,The Rise and Early Constitution of Universities(Appleton, 1886), and the more complete and accurateUniversities of Europe in the Middle Ages(Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1895), by Rashdall, H. For a brief source account of the privileges, courses, methods, and student life of universities, see Norton, A. O.,Readings in the History of Education; Mediæval Universities(Harvard University, 1909), or Munro, D. C.,The Mediæval Student(Longmans, Green, 1899). For the history of individual universities, see Compayré, G.,Abelard and the Origin and Early History of Universities(Scribner, 1893); Lyte, H. C. M.,A History of the University of Oxford(Macmillan, 1886); Mullinger, J. B.,University of Cambridge(Longmans, London, 1888); and Paulsen, F.,The German Universities(Macmillan, 1895; Scribner, 1906).
Owing to the weakness of the regular sovereignty after Charlemagne’s day, the feudal system sprang up, and by the middle of the twelfth century it had developed a code of manners known as chivalry.Out of this there arose a training for knighthood in religion, honor, and gallantry. Before becoming a knight, the boy was early trained at home, then at some castle, first as ‘page,’ and later as ‘squire.’This chivalric education produced many contradictory results, but it tended to refine the times and to counteract ‘otherworldliness.’
Owing to the weakness of the regular sovereignty after Charlemagne’s day, the feudal system sprang up, and by the middle of the twelfth century it had developed a code of manners known as chivalry.
Out of this there arose a training for knighthood in religion, honor, and gallantry. Before becoming a knight, the boy was early trained at home, then at some castle, first as ‘page,’ and later as ‘squire.’
This chivalric education produced many contradictory results, but it tended to refine the times and to counteract ‘otherworldliness.’
The Development of Feudalism.—The mediæval education thus far described has had to do mostly with the schooling of the ecclesiastical and other select professional classes. Quite a different type of training was that given the knight. This has generally been known as the education of chivalry. Chivalry is a name for the code of manners in usage during the days of the feudal system. By this system is meant an order of society and government that gradually grew up in the Middle Ages alongside the regular political organization, and when, under the successors of Charlemagne, the monarchyDependence upon a powerful neighbor became a regular form of government.became weak, tended to be substituted for it. Under feudalism small landowners and freemen lacking landhad come to depend upon some powerful neighbor for protection, and even to seek from him a dependent tenure of land. Then, in time, the lords acquired a species of sovereignty over their tenants, and by the tenth century there had come to be a great social gulf between the nobility, who owned the land and lived in castles, and the peasantry, who tilled the soil and supported them. The only serious business of the former was fighting with spear, sword, or battle-axe, in their own quarrels or those of their feudal superiors. To prepare for this warfare, mock combats may occasionally have been engaged in as early as the tenth century (Fig. 12).
The Ideals of Chivalry.—But by the middle of the twelfth century, when the old heroic age had lapsed into an age of courtesy, with extravagant devotion to women and romantic adventure as its chief ideals, these encounters were organized into a definite species of pastime called ‘tournaments,’ and soon degenerated into mere pageantry. Hence the rules of chivalry became fixed and formal, and the art of horsemanship and the management of the lance and spear were developed and settled. TheReligion, honor, and gallantry.ideals of knightly conduct and education could then be stated as ‘service and obedience’ to God, as represented by the organized church, to one’s lord, or feudal superior, and to one’s lady, whose favor the knight wore in battle or tournament. The three ruling motives of chivalric education were, therefore, held to be ‘religion, honor, and gallantry.’
The Three Preparatory Stages of Education.—There were three periods in the preparatory training of a knight.Training (1) at home,First, until the child was seven or eight, he was trained in religion, politeness, and physique at home by his mother.After this he became a ‘valet’ or ‘page’ at the home of a(2) as a page,nobleman, who was generally his father’s feudal superior. Here he performed personal duties for his lord and lady, and his education was conducted mostly by the latter. He learned the game of chess, acquired the etiquette of love and honor, and was taught to play the harp and pipe and to sing, to read and write, and to compose in verse. Outside the castle, the pages were trained in running,andwrestling, boxing, riding, and rudimentary tilting (Fig. 14). In the third stage, at fourteen or fifteen the youth(3) as a squire.passed to the grade of ‘squire,’ and, while he still attended the lady and carved the meat or handed around the viands for the guests, his chief service was to the knight and his training came through him. He slept near him at night, groomed his horses, kept his armor and weapons in condition, and attended him at the tournament or upon the battlefield. Through this service the squire himself was practiced in all the warlike arts. Toward the close of the period the embryo knight also chose his lady-love, and learned to write verses and dance. When the squireThe knighting.became twenty-one, he was knighted with many religious ceremonies. After a season of fasting, the candidate entered the church in full armor and spent a night in vigil and holy meditation. In the morning he confessed, had his sword blessed upon the altar by the priest, and took an oath to defend the church, protect women, and succor the poor. He then knelt before his lord, who laid his own sword upon the candidate and dubbed him knight.
The Effects of Chivalric Education.—Such was the training of the knight in the ‘rudiments of love, war, and religion.’ It contained many apparent anomaliesand contradictions, and every virtue seems to have beenCourage, but cruelty;balanced by a correlative vice. The knights were recklessly courageous in battle, but their anger was ungovernable and their cruelty extreme. A great self-respectself-respect, but pride;was supposed to characterize the true knight, but this often reacted into an overweening pride. Likewise, while the knights were rated largely according to their liberalityliberality, but extravagance; and other anomalies.and hospitality, these virtues degenerated into a great love of display and extravagance beyond measure. Again, although great respect for womanhood was inculcated, not much consideration could be expected by the woman beneath a certain rank. Similarly, the knightly word of honor, if accompanied by certain forms, would be held sacred, but should these forms be omitted, a decided breach of faith was not uncommon. As a whole, however, the chivalric training had a beneficial effect upon the society of the times. It helped to organize the turmoil and to refine the barbarism of mediæval Europe, and was an effective instrument in raisingCounteraction of otherworldliness.the position of women. Moreover, while this peculiar training was artificial and worldly, by that very tendency it did much to counteract the ‘otherworldly’ ideal of monasticism and the general asceticism of the period. It encouraged an activity in earthly affairs and a frank enjoyment of this life, and thus helped to develop a striking characteristic of the Renaissance.
Graves,During the Transition(Macmillan, 1910), chap. VII; Monroe,Text-book(Macmillan, 1905), pp. 284-291. Detailed descriptions of the stages of chivalric training can be found inCornish, F. W.,Chivalry(Sonnenschein, London, 1901) (Macmillan, 1908); Furnival, F. J.,Early Education in England (Forewords to The Babees Book, Early English Text Society, Original Series, vol. 32); and Mills, C.,The History of Chivalry(Lea and Blanchard, Philadelphia, 1844), vol. I, chaps. I-V, and vol. II, chap. VII. An ingenious, but uncritical reconstruction of the life of a knight in story form, is found in Gautier, L.,Chivalry, chaps. V-XX.
The Education of Chivalry:Figs. 12 and 13.—Preliminaries and termination of a combat.Fig. 14.—Boys playing tournament with a ‘quintain,’ or dummy opponent.(Reproduced from Strutt,Sports and Pastimes of England.)
The Education of Chivalry:
Figs. 12 and 13.—Preliminaries and termination of a combat.
Fig. 14.—Boys playing tournament with a ‘quintain,’ or dummy opponent.
(Reproduced from Strutt,Sports and Pastimes of England.)
In the later Middle Ages the commerce of Europe was greatly increased. Soon the towns received a large impulse from serfs that flocked into them, and before long an influential ‘burgher class’ arose.There also sprang up merchant and craft gilds, which afforded an industrial training through apprenticeship, and a more formal education through ‘gild schools.’ As the gilds merged with the town, these institutions became ‘burgher schools,’ and afforded a practical education in reading, writing, and reckoning. Various ‘adventure,’ ‘chantry,’ and other schools were also absorbed by the burgher schools.Thus these institutions came to represent the educational interests of the industrial classes, and paved the way for the civic control of education.
In the later Middle Ages the commerce of Europe was greatly increased. Soon the towns received a large impulse from serfs that flocked into them, and before long an influential ‘burgher class’ arose.
There also sprang up merchant and craft gilds, which afforded an industrial training through apprenticeship, and a more formal education through ‘gild schools.’ As the gilds merged with the town, these institutions became ‘burgher schools,’ and afforded a practical education in reading, writing, and reckoning. Various ‘adventure,’ ‘chantry,’ and other schools were also absorbed by the burgher schools.
Thus these institutions came to represent the educational interests of the industrial classes, and paved the way for the civic control of education.
The Rise of Commerce and Industry.—A most important influence in producing a transition from the mediæval to modern times is found in the increase of commerce during the later Middle Ages. From the Roman days down, trade had never died out in Western Europe, especially Italy, despite the injuries wrought by barbarian invasions, as the nobles had always needImpulse caused by Crusades and desire for luxuries.of luxuries, and the Church of articles of utility in its services. But the demand for vessels and transports during the Crusades, and the desire for the preciousstones, silks, perfumes, drugs, spices, and porcelain from the Orient afterward, gave a tremendous impulse to commercial and industrial activity. The people of Europe began to think of what articles others outside their own little groups might want in exchange for these luxuries, and to strive to produce such commodities. They also undertook themselves to make some of the new articles, such as light and gauzy cotton and linen fabrics, silks, velvets, and tapestries. Thus the means of communication between the European states was greatly facilitated, new commercial routes and new regions were opened, geographical knowledge was increased, navigation was developed, maritime and mercantile affairs were organized, manufactures and industries were enlarged, currency was increased, and forms of credit were improved. All this tended toward a larger intellectual view and a partial dissipation of provincialism and intolerance.
Development of Cities and the Burgher Class.—The most noteworthy consequence of this industrial andContributed to the growth of cities,commercial awakening was the growth of towns and cities. There was little town life in Western Europe during the Middle Ages before the twelfth century, as the old Roman towns had, through the invasions of the Germans, largely disintegrated, and but few new organizations had sprung up in their place. While some towns still existed in Italy and Southern France, most of the people of Europe lived in the country upon feudal estates. These little communities were largely isolated and independent of the rest of the world. They produced among themselves all that their members needed, and little or no money was necessary for their crudeforms of exchange. Their life was unbroken in its monotony, there was little opportunity for them to better their condition, and their industries were carried on in a perfunctory and wasteful fashion. But with the growth of commerce and population, these serfs began to find it more profitable to work in the towns and compensate the lord of the manor with money rather than work, and the lords, in turn, found it of advantage to accept money in lieu of services, especially as many of them had been impoverished by the Crusades. Great bodies of serfs flocked to the towns, and new centers sprang up around the manorial estates and monasteries as manufactures, trades, and commerce increased.
Feudalism thus began to be threatened as early as the twelfth century, and within a hundred years the extinction of serfdom was assured. The people soon rebelled against the rule of their lords and either expelled them altogether or secured from them for a monetary consideration a charter conferring more liberal rights and privileges. By these charters, the lord agreed to recognize the gild of merchants, and to permit the people to govern themselves. As industries, trade, and commerceand to the development of a burgher class.continued to develop, the craftsmen and merchants grew rapidly in wealth and importance. They were soon enabled to rival the clergy in education, and the nobility in the luxury of their dwellings and living. They began to read, and books were written or adapted for their needs. The ‘burgher class’ came to have a recognized position by the side of the clergy and nobility; and the king, in order to retain their support, was forced to take counsel with them. This development of industry and commerce, growth of town and city life, and riseof a ‘third estate’ is one of the most noteworthy changes of the late Middle Ages.
The Gilds and Industrial Education.—Such a new social attitude naturally gave rise to new forms of education. An informal type of training soon sprang up in connection with the development of ‘gilds.’ Besides the original gild of merchants, through which the town had presented a united front and gained its privileges, separate gilds for the various crafts had been established in each town. These craft gilds were the sole repositories of the traditional lore of the vocations, and became the chief channel for transmitting it. While their number and variety differed in each town, all the gilds sought to prevent anyone who had not been regularly approved and admitted to the corporation from practicing the trade he represented. In consequence of this attempt at regulation, industrial training in the craft of each gild grew up through an apprenticeship system. This was provided upon a domestic basis. The ‘apprentice’ entered the household of his ‘master,’ and learned the craft under his direction (Fig. 15). The time necessary for this varied greatly in different crafts. For example, in Paris it took two years to learn to become a cook, eight years anStages ofembroiderer, and ten years a goldsmith. While the apprentice received no wages during this period, he was(1) apprenticeunder the protection of the gild, and might appeal to the organization against ill-treatment or defective training.(2) journeyman, and (3) master.At the end of his apprenticeship, he became a ‘journeyman’ and could earn wages, but only by working for a master, and not through direct service for the public. After an examination by the gild, which might include the presentation of a ‘masterpiece,’ or sample of hiswork, the journeyman eventually became a master. In other ways, the organization regulated and protected its craft. In order that journeymen and masters might not become too numerous, all masters, save those on the governing board of the gild, were forbidden to take more than one apprentice. The methods of practicing each trade and the hours to be devoted to it each day were specified, and the handiwork of each man carefully scrutinized. In many instances, the gild put its own stamp upon good work, and might often seize products that it considered defective.
Gild Schools.—In this way there grew up a species of industrial education, with three definite stages in its organization and with inspection at every point.A more formal means of education was instituted through priests of the gilds and endowments.Before long, too, the gilds developed a more formal means of education. The existing ecclesiastical schools did not altogether meet the needs of the gilds, and they undertook the establishment of additional institutions for this purpose. Where the gilds had retained one or more priests to perform the necessary religious offices for their members, before long they also utilized these functionaries to keep a school for the benefit of their own and sometimes other children in the town. Later, endowments were furnished especially for a priest to teach school, or an amount sufficient for the purpose was paid out of the common funds of the gild. Some of these gild schools, like ‘Merchant Taylors’’ of London, or the Grammar School at Stratford-on-Avon, where Shakespeare was educated (Fig. 16), still survive as secondary institutions. Many instances, too, are recorded where the members of a certain gild were appointed trustees of a school established by an individual, and were grantedthe right of appointing and dismissing the master, admitting the pupils, managing the property, and formulating statutes. In some such fashion Colet later vested the management of the famous St. Paul’s school (see p. 118) in the gild of mercers.