II.—The Provision of Schools.
The question of the provision of schools by monasteries is a matter of considerable controversy. Turning first to the continental custom, we note, on the one hand, that the decree of the Council of Aix-la-Chapelle of 817 provided that “schola in monasterio non habeatur nisi eorum qui oblati sunt”[146]; and, on the other hand, that there is the incontrovertible case of the school in connection with the monastery of Bec, conducted first by Lanfranc and later by Anselm.[147]In addition, reference might also be made to the hostel maintained at Cluny, at the expense of the monastery, for clerks of noble birth who attended the schools in the town.[148]It is not suggested that any general conclusion as to the existence of external monastic schools can be drawn from these instances, but it does establish the point that the decree of the Council of Aix-la-Chapelle alone cannot be considered as sufficient evidence that, after the ninth century, the monasteries ceased to interest themselves in the provision and maintenance of schools.
Turning next to this country, we find that schools for the inmates of the monasteries and for their prospective members were instituted as a matter of course. This point is so generally admitted as not to call for specific evidence in its support.[149]The question at issue is: did the monasteries in England make any provision for the education of external pupils? We are not concerned here with the further question why they should interest themselves in the subject; our only task is to enquire whether or not they actually did so. To summarise the main evidence to support the statement that some of the monasteries took an interest in the provision of schools, we may note that there existed a secular school inconnection with the Abbey at St. Albans, and that among the famous headmasters of this school were Geoffrey of Maine[150]and Neckham[151]; a cell in connection with the monastery of St. Albans was in charge of a monk who kept school[152]; the Abbot Samson of Bury St. Edmunds gave an endowment towards the payment of a master of a secular school at Bury,[153]and provided a hostel in connection with the school[154]; schools existed on two of the manors belonging to St. Edmund’s Abbey to which the Abbots appointed the masters.[155]Schools were also supported by monasteries at Evesham, Bruton, and other places.[156]In those cases in which monastic orders took the place of secular canons, they continued the work of their predecessors,e.g.at Waltham,[157]at Huntingdon,[158]at Canterbury,[159]and at Christ Church, Twinham.[160]
The conclusion seems to be that monasteries directly provided schools for their own members only within the walls of the monasteries, and that, when opportunity occurred and necessity demanded, they also undertook the responsibility of providing schools in their neighbourhood for all who might care to attend. As is shown by the appointments at Bury St. Edmunds, in those cases in which the monasteries were in charge of schools, the masters appointed to these schools were men of high intellectual attainments. This is what would naturally be expected when the mental calibre of some of these Norman abbots is considered; thus, Warin[161]was a master of the University of Salerno,[162]John de Cella, his successor,[163]was a master of Paris, and is described as “in Greek, esteemed a Priscian, in verse an Ovid, in Physic, a Galen”[164]; and the Abbot Samson, the hero of Carlyle’sPast and Present,was at one time the “magister scolarum” at Bury St. Edmunds.[165]
III.—The Writing of Books.
Though a full consideration of this topic would serve to illustrate the intellectual activities of the monasteries, yet such a discussion lies outside the scope of our investigation. For our purpose a brief reference only is necessary, merely to illustrate the point that interest in educational matters was continued in the monasteries, and to mention that we owe to the monkish scribes most of the material that is available at the present time for the reconstruction of the historical development of this country. As representative writers of the eleventh and twelfth centuries may be mentioned William of Malmesbury, Orderic Vitalis, Henry of Huntingdon, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Florence of Worcester, Simeon of Durham, Roger Wendover, Matthew of Westminster, and Eadmer of Canterbury.
SOME TERMS IN DISPUTE.
It is inevitable that confusion of thought occurs in dealing with any department of knowledge, unless there is a general agreement as to the meaning to be assigned to the terms which are employed. With the possible exception of Economics, Education suffers more than any other science from the ambiguous use of terms. Consequently it is advisable, at this juncture, to indicate the sense in which some of the terms frequently used in this thesis are understood. This is particularly necessary because the terms we propose to consider are often used in a sense different from that in which, in our opinion, they were employed in medieval times. We have selected the following for consideration—School, Free, Grammar, Song, Writing, and Reading.
School.
When the term “school” is employed to-day, it is usually taken to mean the “school-house,”i.e.the building in which the work of the school is carried on. It must, however, be emphasised that in medieval times a school-house was an “accident.” Specific buildings for teaching purposes were a comparatively late development in the history of schools. The term “school” considered etymologically means “leisure,” and probably the modern idea of school developed from the fact that the leisure time to whichσχολὴspecially related was that which was given up to discussion. A second stage of development is reached when the term isrestricted to organised school. The essential idea of a school at this stage is that of a master and his scholars. The master might be a man of over seventy years of age and his pupils men of middle age (as was probably the case in the school conducted by Archbishop Theodore), or the master might simply be a youth, and his pupils a few village children learning their letters, as would be the case in the schools taught by the youths preparing for the priesthood in the house of the parish priest; in each case the term “school” was equally applied and considered equally appropriate. The place where the school was held was a matter of indifference. It might be held in the open air, in the cloisters of a monastery, in some part of a collegiate church, or possibly in some more suitable place. Then, too, the school might be held at regular intervals or it might simply meet occasionally. Briefly we may say that the conception of “school” was in a state of flux, and merely implied that a master and pupils met together for purposes of instruction.
We may point out here that it would assist in clear thought if the use of the term “school” could be restricted to those cases in which the erection of a school-house constituted a definite and objective sign of the existence of a school, and to employ the term “class” for such gatherings of teacher and pupils as were held otherwise. If this suggestion could be adopted investigations into the origin of schools would become much more definite and valuable. To illustrate this statement, we may consider the statement in Bede, that Sigebert in 631 “instituit scolam, in qua pueri litteris erudirentur.”[166]What does this phrase precisely mean? If the statement had been that Sigebert founded a monastery or a church, then we should not be in any doubt on the matter. We have not been able to trace in any edition of the writings of Bede any interpretation of “scola,” as the various editors take it for granted that its meaning is not in dispute. Thus Bright in dealing with the passage in Bede we have quoted, assumes that a school existed at Canterbury in connection with the monasteryof SS. Peter and Paul, and that the school which Bishop Felix established at the wish of King Sigebert was probably attached to the primitive East Anglian Cathedral which had been erected at Dunwich, then a town on the Suffolk coast, but now annihilated by the sea.[167]But neither at Canterbury nor at Dunwich would a specific building for the school be provided. Consequently the phrase from Bede, which is an important passage in the history of English educational history, simply means that certain priests, who had obtained some experience in the art of teaching, were specifically assigned the duty of teaching the Latin language in classes held in the church buildings, to those who might care to attend.
We have not found it possible in this thesis to distinguish carefully between a “class” and a “school.” We are obliged to content ourselves with indicating the danger that exists of reading into the medieval use of the term school the meaning commonly applied to the term at the present time.
Grammar.
The term “grammar” gradually superseded that of “letters” as the specified purpose for which schools were founded. So far as England is concerned, the first occasion on which the actual words “scola grammatice” occur, is in a document of the latter half of the eleventh century.[168]The term became more common in the thirteenth century owing to the necessity of distinguishing grammar schools from the “schools” of the higher faculties in the universities. “The first actual use of the term ‘grammar school’ in English appears to be in 1387A.D.when John of Trevisa, translating from the Latin of Ralph Higden’s ‘Polychronicon,’ mentions a ‘gramer scole’ held at Alexandria.”[169]By the fourteenth century therefore the phrase “grammar school” had entered into ordinary colloquial speech.
But what does this term “grammar” exactly denote? On the plinths of the right bay of the great west doors ofChartres Cathedral are to be found statues of the Seven Liberal Arts. With reference to these statues, Dr. Clerval in his work on “Chartres, sa Cathédrale et ses Monuments,” writes:—
“Les autres cordons représentent les sept Arts libéraux qui ornaient l’esprit de la Vierge symbolisés chacun par une femme portant les attributs de chaque science, et par un homme, le corypliée de cette science, assis devant un pupître, avec plume, canif, encre, éponges, règles. Ainsi au bas du premier cordon de droite, c’est la Musique frappant trois cloches avec un marteau, et dessous Pythagore. Au second cordon à gauche en bas, c’est la Dialectique, portant un lizard subtil et un sceptre, et dessous Aristotle; puis la Rhétorique, discourant, et dessous Ciceron; la Géométrie avec un compas, et dessous Euclide; l’Arithmetique (en redescendant) avec un livre, et dessous Boèce ou Pythagore; l’Astronomie regardant le Ciel et portant un boisseau, et dessous Plotonée, portant une lunette; enfin la Grammaire, assise, menaçant de verges deux jeunes écoliers lisant à ses pieds, et au-dessous Priscien ou Donat. Ces représentations des Arts très curieuses sont les plus anciennes avec celles de Laôn. Elles s’expliquent à Chartres par les écolâtres de cette Eglise, spécialement Thiery, auteur de l’Heptabuclion, vers 1140.”[170]
This passage may assist us in determining the meaning assigned to Grammar as one of the Seven Liberal Arts. It suggests that everything which was not music, eloquence, logic, mathematics, astronomy, geometry, was grammar,i.e.nearly the whole of the humanities; or, in other words, the study of grammar was synonymous with the study of “letters” so far as the term was then understood.
In actual practice, however, grammar did not possess this connotation. This was due to the fact that a study of letters was not possible until a mastery of Latin had been acquired, and consequently it resulted that the term “grammar school” was applied to denote a place in which instruction was given in “Donat” or “Priscian.” Donat was a Roman rhetorician who wroteArs Grammaticaabout the middle of the fourth century. His grammar was the most generally used elementary text-book on the subject. In its abbreviated form, which was the one in common use, it only consisted of eight or nine pages. Priscian was a grammarian who flourished in the earlypart of the sixth century, and who published, about 526, hisInstitutiones Grammaticae, a most elaborate and systematic treatise on Latin grammar. For over a thousand years Priscian’s work was regarded as the leading and authoritative text-book on the subject.
We may also note here that classical Latin literature was rarely used for school purposes. This was the result of the attitude of the early Christian Fathers towards these writings. We have previously pointed out that this classical literature was closely associated with pagan beliefs and practices, and consequently was not regarded as suitable for introduction into classes taught by Christian priests. Even as late as 1518, the statutes of Dean Colet prescribed that the books to be studied in his school were to be the works of such “auctours Christian as lactantius prudentius and proba and sedulius and Juvencus and Baptisa Mantuanus.”
This analysis will help us to realise that when the term “grammar school” is used with reference to the schools of Medieval England, what is generally meant is a class in which elementary instruction was given in “Donat,” and in the power of speaking Latin. If advanced work was attempted, then Priscian would be studied and the works of “Christian authors” read.
Free.
We next pass to consider the term “free”—an epithet which usually accompanies the expression “grammar school” and which has given rise to a certain amount of controversy. A special meaning was given to this term in 1862 by Dr. Kennedy, headmaster of Shrewsbury School, in a paper which he submitted to the Public Schools’ Commission and which was published by them. This special meaning was that the term “free” denoted a “school free from the control of a superior body,e.g.a chapter, a college, a monastery.” He advances the following arguments in support of his contention.
(1) “Most of the schools being then gratuitous, such a fact would hardly have been chosen to give the distinctive title of these schools.”
(2) “That free school is in Latin ‘schola libera’ and that ‘liber’ appears never at any period to be used by itself to mean gratuitous.”[171]
(3) “That whatever franchise or immunity was denoted by the word, it would, according to ordinary usage, be an immunity for the school or its governors, not for the scholars.”
(4) “That the nearest analogies are ‘free town,’ ‘free chapel,’ and that these mean free from the jurisdiction of the sheriff and of the bishop respectively.”
(5) “That the imposition of some charge (e.g.admission and quarterages) was not at all compatible with the title of free school.”[172]
On the other hand, Mr. Leach maintains that the average school of the period did charge fees and that the schools which were described as “free” grammar schools were those in which no tuition charges were made.[173]He quotes the case of the Newland Grammar School which was founded under licence in mortmain of 1445-6 for “an honeste and discrete preste beinge sufficiently lerned in the arte of gramer to kepe and teche a grammer scole ther half-free for ever; that is to saie to take of scolers lernynge grammer 8d. the quarter and of other lernynge lettres and to rede, 4d. the quarter, within a house there called the chauntrie house or scoole house.”
In replying to the suggestions of Dr. Kennedy we would point out that the nature of the control exercised by bishops, monasteries or colleges over schools is so slight as to be practically non-existent. Consequently, to make the fact of such freedom the distinctive epithet of such schools seems scarcely to be warranted. Moreover, these “free” schools were founded as a general rule either by bishops personally or by ecclesiastical persons or by persons in the closest sympathy with the existing ecclesiastical system. It is highly improbable that they would deliberately foundan institution which was to be “free” from association with the Church.
A similar criticism applies to the contention advanced by Mr. Leach. As Dr. Kennedy points out, the official schools of the Church were gratuitous from the time of their origin. Then, as we shall show in a subsequent chapter, the schools in which fees were charged were as a general rule those which may be classed as “private adventure” schools. Payment of fees in Church schools is probably due to the custom which would naturally arise that boys would make offerings to their teachers at certain times,[174]and that in course of time this custom would become an unwritten law. The point we wish to emphasise here is that the official schools of the Church were always “free schools” in the sense of being free from payment. This was such a generally well-known and recognised fact that no need existed to apply the term “free” as the distinctive epithet for the purpose of distinguishing between one grammar school and another. In other words, our contention is that all the Church schools were “gratuitous” whether or not they were described as free schools.
It is therefore necessary for us to advance another hypothesis to account for the use of the term, and we suggest that the term “free” means “open to all comers,”i.e.that admission to the school was not restricted to any particular social grade or to those who were preparing for any particular profession or to those who were living in any particular locality. A free school, in fact, denotes a public school. The following reasons in support of this suggestion may be advanced.
(1) Certain schools of the period were necessarily restricted. Thus, only those who were destined for the monastic life were allowed to attend the monastery schools; the almonry schools were confined to those who gained admission to them, and were not open to all who wished to attend; some of the cathedral schools also were open only to specified classes of persons.[175]
(2) As the general idea of the period was that each parish was self-sufficing and concerned with its own parishioners only afreeschool would mean one available for the public generally. Each town regarded every non-burgess of that town as a “foreigner,” and freedom of trade was only allowed to townsmen. Each parish had a responsibility for its own poor; the claim to burial in the churchyard was limited to actual parishioners. This same idea passed on to educational matters. Thus, an entry in the York Episcopal Registers of June 1289 states that the schools of Kinoulton were to be open to parishioners only, “all other clerks and strangers whatsoever being kept out and by no means admitted to the school.”[176]
(3) The term “public” school gradually becomes a substitute for “free” school. Thus, in the “Acte for the due Execution of the Statutes against Jesuits, Seminaries, Preists, Recusants, etc.,” there is a specific reference to “publike or free Grammer Schools.”[177]
(4) The warrant granted in 1446 to Eton College not only provided that it should have a monopoly of teaching grammar within a radius of ten miles, but specifically stated that the school should be open “to all others whatsoever, whencesoever and from whatever parts coming to the said college to learn the same science, in the rudiments of grammar, freely.”[178]This extract clearly shows a different attitude from that specified in (2) above. We may consequently regard the institution of “free” grammar schools as marking a stage in the policy of breaking down the barriers which separated parish from parish and township from township.
We now proceed to consider a special case to test these various suggestions. A school founded by the citizens at Exeter in the sixteenth century was expressly described in the statutes of the school as a “Free Grammar School.” But the same statutes proceed to decree that
“one month after Michaelmas yerely ... everyone that is admitted ... shall pay unto the schoolemaister of the said schoole for the tyme beinge as followeth, viz every childe of any ffreeman of the said city sixe pence, every childe of any inhabitant of the said city that is not ffree of the said City Twelve pence, and every Childe of any strangers Two shillinges respectively.”[179]
We consequently plainly see that a school might be a “free” school and yet charge fees. On the other hand, our contention that “free” denotes “public,”i.e.open to all comers is supported by this extract which also shows incidentally that the idea that the school was one for citizens only was but slowly disappearing.
Song.
A discussion of the term “song” has become necessary, because of a tendency to regard a song school as the elementary school of the Middle Ages. This position has been strongly taken up by Mr. Leach and has been adopted by all writers who rely upon him. Apparently the only evidence for this opinion is an incident arising out of a misunderstanding between the master of grammar and the master of song with which Mr. Leach has dealt fully in hisHistory of Warwick School.[180]As a result of this dispute, the dean and chapter of the Collegiate Church decided upon a specific enumeration of the duties of the two masters. The master of grammar was to have the “Donatists” and “scholars in grammar or the art of dialectic, if he shall be expert in that art,” whilst the master of song was to be allowed to “keep and teach those learning their first letters and the psalter.”[181]
The “Donatists,” as we have shown, were those who were receiving the most elementary lessons in Latin. To “learn a Donat” had passed into colloquial speech as the equivalent of acquiring the elements of knowledge of any subject. If the decision at Warwick had been that the master of grammar was to have taught the scholars “Priscian,” and the master of song to have taught them“Donat,” then the inference might legitimately have been drawn that the master of song was the elementary schoolmaster. Since, however, Latin was the only subject of instruction at a Grammar School, and as the elements of Latin Grammar were to be taught by the master of grammar, it would seem as if Mr. Leach was in error in regarding the song school as the elementary school of the period.
The two subjects, which were taught in the various schools held at this time, were Latin and Music, and, wherever possible, separate masters for these subjects were appointed. To attempt to estimate the relative importance of these subjects from a social point of view, is to expose one’s self to the charge of snobbishness. Latin and Music alike were taught because of the fact that they were of outstanding importance in connection with the worship of the Church. Thus one of the events recorded by Bede, as obviously an event of great importance, was the visit paid by the Abbot of St. Martin’s, Rome, for the purpose of teaching song to the monks at the Northumbrian monasteries[182]and to all others who cared to resort there for instruction. Bede also tells us that when Bishop Putta was temporarily without an episcopal charge he devoted his time to the teaching of music.[183]
We wish, therefore, to emphasise that the song schoolmaster was not the elementary schoolmaster of the middle ages. The duty of the master of song, as set out in the Statutes of Rotherham College, was to teach the art of music and “presertim in plano et fractu cantu secundum omnes modos et formas ejusdem artis.”[184]Song occupied a prominent place in the curriculum of the schools of the middle ages and it probably exercised a greater refining influence upon the nation than is commonly realised. The abolition of the schools of song was not the least disastrous of the effects of the Reformation in this country, and it is of considerable significance that the recent Royal Commission into University Education in Wales recommendsthat steps should be taken for the greater encouragement of the study of music, not only within the university itself but also in the schools of the Principality.
One other point may also be mentioned here. It was a very frequent occurrence for the same master to be responsible for the instruction both in grammar and in song. Thus, in 1385, the same master was appointed “ad informandos pueros tam in cantu quam in gramatica,”[185]in 1440, a master was appointed “ad informandos pueros in lectura, cantu et gramatica,”[186]and in 1426, there is a record of an appointment of a master for “scola lectuali et cantuli.”[187]
Reading.
It is not easy to arrive at a decision as to the meaning of the term “reading school.” The books which were read were probably the service books of the Church, and these, of course, were written in Latin. Is it possible that a reading school would be a class in which boys were taught to read Latin only, whilst in a grammar school they would not only be taught to read Latin but also to speak it? Sometimes the references to be found to schools seem to lead to the conclusion that “reading schools” and “grammar schools” were but different terms for one and the same school. Thus, the entries in various Chapter Act Books contain references to appointments to schools of grammar, side by side with references to schools of reading as if the meaning in each case was the same,e.g.at Howden in 1394, a master was appointed “ad informandum pueros in lectu et cantu,” and again in 1401, “in lectura et cantu.”[188]Sometimes the nature of the reference leads to the conclusion that the term “reading” denoted a lower grade of instruction in Latin than did the term “grammar,”e.g.at Northallerton a master was appointed, in 1456, for the purpose “ad informandos pueros in lectura et gramatica.”[189]The recordof a previous appointment in 1440 was, that the master was responsible “ad informandos pueros in lectura, cantu et gramatica.” As the evidence is so scanty, it scarcely seems possible to arrive at a definite conclusion, though the probability appears to be that the use of the term “reading” implies that the work of the school was not carried on to so advanced an extent as it was when “grammar” was used as the descriptive term.
Since the topic of elementary education has been mentioned and as it is obvious that elementary instruction must of necessity have been arranged for, we may here consider briefly how this would be effected. We suggest that, as a general rule, there would be found some clerk or other in minor orders attached to every church who would be prepared to give this instruction. In course of time express provision for elementary instruction seems to have been made. Thus at Brecon, the A B C was taught to young children by the chaplain of the college[190]; at the collegiate church of Glasney the founder, Bishop Goode of Exeter, provided that the bellringer was to receive “40s. yerely as well for teachynge of pore mens children there A B C as for ryngynge the belles”[191]; at Launceston, a benefaction existed for the purpose of paying “an aged man chosen by the mayor to teche chylderne the A B C.”[192]
Writing.
Three distinct stages in the meaning to be attached to this term can be traced. Originally it was a specialist craft, as only the skilled man would be able to write out the charters which were required and to copy the manuscripts which were so highly esteemed. In Saxon days there were two distinct styles of writing in this country, the Canterbury style and the Lindisfarne style. The Roman mission introduced the Canterbury style of writing. The characteristics of this style were that the Roman uncials were adopted but with the addition of some local peculiarities. The Canterbury psalter,[193]which is now in the British Museum, is an example of the workof this mode. The Lindisfarne style had a greater influence upon our national handwriting, as, with certain modifications of its half-uncial characteristics, it was the recognised English style until a new fashion of writing was introduced from Gaul about the end of the tenth century.[194]The next stage in the evolution of writing is connected with its practical value as a means of communication and for business purposes. Now it is known as the “scrivener’s art.” We can trace the appointment of masters to teach writing for this purpose in this country from the fifteenth century. Thus, of the three masters appointed to the college of Acaster in 1483, one was to teach grammar, the second, song, “and the third to teche to Write and all suche thing as belonged to Scrivener craft.”[195]The third stage in the evolution of writing is reached when ability to write is considered to be one of the earliest of the school tasks to be undertaken, and when writing is considered indispensable for all intellectual progress. This stage was reached about the time of the Renaissance. We stop at this point because a further consideration would carry us outside the limit of our task.[196]Our only purpose has been to show that the establishment of a writing school in any place in the Middle Ages did not mean the establishment of an elementary school as the term is understood to-day. As a matter of fact, the first elementary schools, in the modern sense, cannot be traced further back in England than to the establishment of the charity schools of the seventeenth century. Preparatory schools, of course, are much older, but not elementary schools.
ORGANISATION OF EDUCATION BY THE SECULAR CLERGY.
In a previous chapter we have pointed out the nature of the work of the monasteries in connection with the educational development of this country. Important as this work was, yet it did not influence the country as a whole to any appreciable extent, as each monastery concerned itself only with those matters which affected its own interests or the interests of the order to which it belonged. The secular clergy were more in touch with the ordinary life of the people, and it is through their work that we trace the beginnings of an organised system of education.
Though the Norman Conquest effected a distinction between Church and State, yet it did not involve any change in the existing ecclesiastical system, and as education at this period was inseparable from religion, neither was any radical change effected in educational development. The Norman contribution to religion was threefold: it brought the Church in this country into closer connection with the Church in the continental countries; it stimulated the activities of the Church; and it appointed to the chief administrative posts men who were foreigners but who were also, in many cases, men of ability and energy. The effect of this upon the educational development was, that there gradually emerged a definite and systematic educational organisation, and it is in this fact that we find the distinctive Norman contribution to educational progress.
This organisation consisted of:—
(a) The establishment of Schools of Theology in connection with Cathedral Churches.
(b) The recognition of the Chancellor of the Cathedral as the head of the “Education Department” of the diocese.
(c) The establishment of Grammar Schools and Song Schools in connection with Collegiate and Parochial Churches.
Except for the recognition of the Chancellor as the responsible head of the educational aspect of the work of the Church, the post-Conquest educational arrangements did not essentially differ from the pre-Conquest arrangements. There was a real continuity of educational effort from the days of the introduction of Christianity. The main difference is that, after the Conquest, the educational arrangements seem to be more definite and more effectively organised.
We now proceed to consider, in turn, the various parts of the educational organisation which we have enumerated.
(a)Schools of Theology.
As we have already shown, it had been the custom of the Church from the earliest date to establish schools of theology in connection with the more important centres in which the work of the Church was carried on. With the progress of time this custom crystallised into law. We must emphasise that these schools of theology existed before canon law definitely refers to them. Canon law enactments on education simply mark the transition from a voluntary to a compulsory condition. The first definite ecclesiastical enactment relating to schools of theology dates from 1179.[197]This was repeated in 1216 when Innocent III., in general council, decreed that in every metropolitical church a theologian should be appointed “to teach the priests and others in the sacred page and to inform them especially which are recognised as pertaining to the cure of souls.”[198]
The custom of establishing schools of theology in connection with cathedral churches was common to all those countries in which the Church had made progress. The Church of France had gained special fame in this respect, and the reputation of its schools had extended throughout the civilised world. Among the celebrated continental schools of this period may be mentioned Tourney, under Odo, Chartres, under Fulbert and Bernard Sylvester, Paris, under William of Champeaux, and Bec, which became famous under the mastership of Lanfranc and enhanced its reputation under Anselm. The fame of these schools became so great that they attracted scholars to them both from this country and from other parts of the continent of Europe. John of Salisbury, who was one of the scholars who went from England to France for the purpose of obtaining the best education available at the time, has left us in his writings a valuable account of the mode by which such an education was gained. He tells us that he went over to France whilst he was still a youth,[199]and studied first at Paris, under Adelard and Alberic, then at Chartres, under Richard the Bishop and William of Conches. Subsequently he returned to Paris to continue his studies under Robert Pullus and Simon of Poissy successively. Among other Englishmen, of whom records remain that they went to France for their education, may be mentioned Adam du Petit Pont, who afterwards became Bishop of St. Asaph, Alexander Neckham, the famous Latinist, and Samson, the celebrated Abbot of St. Albans.
It may also be interesting to note here, as indicative of the social grade from which the majority of the students of the time came, that they found it necessary whilst they were in France to find some means of self-support. Thus, both John of Salisbury and Adam du Petit Pont maintained themselves by teaching private pupils, whilst Samson was supported by the sale of holy water, a method which seems to have been at the time a favourite one for providing an exhibition fund for poor scholars.[200]
So far we have shown that the immemorial custom of the Church as well as the express decree of Canon Law required that the various metropolitical churches at least should provide schools of theology. We have also seen that this custom was widely prevalent in France. We still have to consider whether the practice prevailed in this country. It is necessary for us to point out here, that the evidence must necessarily be indirect and that the fact that evidence is lacking must not be regarded as establishing that schools of theology did not exist in cathedral cities. It is only when some dispute arises or some special incident occurs that we find references,e.g.that a well-known churchman was educated at a particular school, or that a particular official was in charge of the school at a specified time, which assist us in drawing the conclusion that theological schools existed. If these incidents had not occurred then we should not possess any knowledge of the existence of the school. Again, we know that large numbers of clergy were ordained at the appointed seasons, by the bishops of the Church. Thus in the first year of the episcopate of Bishop Stapledon of Exeter,[201]539 were ordained to the first tonsure, 438 acolytes, 104 sub-deacons, 177 deacons, 169 priests; in the diocese of York in 1344/5, there were ordained 1,222 persons, of whom 421 were acolytes, 204 sub-deacons, 326 deacons, and 271 priests.[202]Now these clergy must have received systematic education, and it is a legitimate inference that most of them received their education in this country.
We may next proceed to consider the evidence which is available of the existence of the schools of theology. We know there was a school of theology at York because Thomas, who became Archbishop of York in 1108, and who had previously held the position of Provost of the Collegiate Church, in Beverley, was educated there.[203]We also know, incidentally, that there existed a school of theologyin connection with St. Paul’s Cathedral because it is referred to in a deed which is dated about 1125.[204]Similarly, we know that a school of theology existed in Lincoln because the vicar of a Lincolnshire parish was directed to attend the school there to learn theology for a period of two years.[205]
This evidence, which is all incidental and merely the outcome of special circumstances considered in conjunction with the general custom of the Church and the requirement of Canon Law leads us to maintain that schools of theology existed at most, even if not all, of the Cathedral Churches of the period.
(b)The Educational Function of the Chancellor.
We have previously shown that the bishop of a diocese was originally personally responsible for the preparation of those candidates whom he subsequently ordained. With the progress of time and the increase in the duties of the episcopate, it was impossible for the bishop to undertake the personal responsibility for this work, and consequently a tendency arose for it to be entrusted to a member of the collegiate body associated with him. In the case of a secular bishop, a member of the Cathedral body was appointed. This officer was definitely known as the “Scholasticus,” and it was his recognised duty to read theology with approved students.
We are able to trace the existence of a “scholasticus” in connection with the English cathedrals from an early date. Thus we learn that when Thurstan, Archbishop of York, visited the Pope at Blois in 1120, he was accompanied by “duo archidiaconi ecclesiae nostrae et scholasticus.”[206]We also know that a “scholasticus” existed inconnection with St. Paul’s, London, because the expression “magister scolarum” occurs in a deed whose date is assigned to c. 1110.[207]
In course of time the term “chancellor” was substituted for that of “scholasticus,” probably because the schoolmaster was the most highly educated member of the cathedral staff and was therefore the most suitable person to entrust with the care of the cathedral seal and with the dispatch of the official letters of the cathedral body. This statement is definitely established by the statutes of the Church of York, which date from 1307 but which are regarded by their editor as existing from 1090 at least. On page 6 of these statutes it is stated that “Cancellarius, qui antiquitus magister scolarum dicebatur, magister in theologia esse debet, et juxta ecclesiam actualiter legere.” The same change of term can be traced at St. Paul’s, London. One of the witnesses to a deed dated about 1205 who describes himself as Chancellor is the same person who, when acting in a similar capacity at an earlier date, described himself as “magister scolarum.”[208]
We must remember that this change of designation did not involve any essential change in his duties or in the functions he discharged. The qualification required of the Chancellor as previously of the Schoolmaster was, that he was to be a “master in theology.”[209]His duty was that he was to teach theology either by himself or by a suitable substitute[210]to all students who cared to present themselves. If the Chancellor became lazy (as there is a general tendency to become when men lose their ideals and no pecuniary inducement to energy exists) then, apparently, in some places, a custom arose for other persons to keep schools of theology for prospective priests in return for payment, whereas the Chancellor was expected to admit students to his classes without theimposition of any fee. The Church resolutely set itself against this custom of charging fees for instruction, and by a synod held at Westminster in 1138 decreed that “si magistri scholarum aliis scholas pro pretio regendas locaverint, ecclesiasticae vindictae subjaceant.”[211]
In order to benefit by the school of theology conducted by the Chancellor, it would be necessary that the pupil should have received a sufficient knowledge of Latin. It is highly probable that many of the clerks who were attracted to a school of theology for the purpose of continuing their studies would not have studied Latin to the extent necessary to profit by the course given. In consequence, a demand would arise for teachers of Latin. Now it is an accepted rule of Economics that whenever a demand for a particular commodity exists, then an attempt to meet the demand is forthcoming. Since scholars were to be found in a cathedral city who wished for instruction in Latin, and since other clerks were to be found there who considered themselves capable of giving such instruction and who were desirous of taking private pupils, it is only natural to conclude that the holding of Latin schools in order to meet the demand became common.
But the danger of such a practice soon became evident. It is highly probable that many who would attempt to earn an income by professing to teach pupils Latin, were incapable of doing so. To meet this contingency, the custom arose that the Chancellor should grant a licence to those whom he considered capable of acting as teachers.
This is an event of the very first importance in the history of Education, because it is the first separate recognition of the teaching profession in England. In addition, the custom led indirectly to the rise of the university system. The custom continues, even to the present day, because the degrees in Arts and Theology in our oldest universities are in reality merely licences issued by the Chancellor of the University to teach those subjects.
We may also note that the necessity for the recognition of qualified teachers was imperative not only in the interestsof the scholars, but also in the interests of the Church itself, as it had become customary to require that priests who were in charge of parishes, and who were discovered at episcopal or archidiaconal visitations not to be sufficiently learned, should return to their cathedral city in order to pursue a further course of study.[212]Such priests would certainly require more individual attention than they would secure at the ordinary school of theology.
In course of time, apparently, some chancellors saw in this granting of licences to teach to approved teachers an opportunity of exacting fees. The Church opposed this practice. In 1160 Canon Law prescribed that “For licence to teach nothing shall be exacted or promised; and anything exacted shall be restored and the promise released.”[213]Pope Alexander III.[214]wrote to the Bishop of Winchester requiring him “strictly to prohibit for the future any exaction or promise of anything from anyone in your diocese.”[215]This was again repeated in 1170 by the Canon Law of that year.
The duty of the Chancellor in the granting of licences was defined more rigidly by the Fourth Lateran Council of 1179. At that Council it was enacted that the Chancellor should grant, without fee of any kind, a licence to teach to every and any person who was qualified to act as a teacher. The decree laid down that “the seller of a licence to teach or preventer of a fit person from teaching is to be deprived of his benefice.”[216]
The Chancellor is consequently the head of the educational work of the diocese. He is required to prepare all clerks who desire to offer themselves for ordination, to supervise the studies of all incumbents whose education has been found to be defective, and he has also the responsibility of passing judgment upon the abilities of these who are desirous of acting as teachers and of granting certificates to teach to those of whom he approves.
(c)The Grammar Schools.
We have seen in a previous chapter that it had been the custom of the Church from the earliest times to establish schools in connection with the various churches. Just as in course of time schools of theology which had previously been customary, were made the subject of express ecclesiastical enactment, so, too, the holding of Grammar Schools was also definitely prescribed. Thus in 1215, Innocent III. decreed that in connection with “every cathedral or other church of sufficient means” masters were to be appointed who were to be able to teach theology and Latin respectively.[217]These masters were to be remunerated out of the common fund of the cathedral church. If, however, the revenues of the Church did not permit of this, then provision was to be made for the remuneration of the grammarian out of the funds of some other church of the city or diocese.[218]At the risk of exposing ourselves to the charge of repetition, we must reiterate that this enactment did not indicate a new departure on the part of the Church or constitute a decree for the establishment of schools. The provision of facilities for education in any locality practically dates from the foundation of a church in that locality. The value of this enactment is twofold: it indicates the considered mind of the Church towards education, illustrating still further, that the Church realised the importance of education and recognised it as her duty to make provision for it; and in the second place it would act as a stimulant to those dioceses or centres in which the ecclesiastical authorities had not been sufficiently alert to their responsibilities and duties. The Lateran Council of 1179 had not only decreed that “in every cathedral church a competent benefice shall be bestowed upon a master who shall teach the clerks of the same church and poor scholars freely,” but it had also enacted that it was the duty of the Church to provide free education “in order that the poor, who cannot be assisted by their parents’means, may not be deprived of the opportunity of reading and proficiency.”[219]
Since then the immemorial custom of the Church and Canon Law alike required that schools should be established in connection with the various churches, we have next to consider a narrower problem, to what extent was this requisite complied with in this country.
In this connection we must first of all note the difficulty of finding the necessary evidence. The schools were not a separate foundation but an integral part of the work of the Church. All that can possibly be done is to collect references which will justify us in the inference that schools were carried on in connection with the different churches. Complete evidence for the whole of the educational work of the Church will never be forthcoming. We can only hope to obtain representative evidence and then to submit that this was typical of the general work of the Church, and consequently to maintain that wherever a church, or at any rate a collegiate church, was found, there a master of grammar would also be found.
There is abundant evidence that schools existed in the cathedral cities of England practically from the date of the foundation of these cathedrals.[220]Turning next to collegiate and parochial churches we note that prior to the close of the thirteenth century, schools have also been traced in connection with the church at Bury St. Edmunds,[221]Waltham,[222]Warwick,[223]Pontefract,[224]Hastings,[225]Christ Church, Hants,[226]Beverley,[227]St. Albans,[228]Thetford,[229]Huntingdon,[230]Dunstable,[231]Reading,[232]Bristol,[233]Derby,[234]Bedford,[235]Northampton,[236]Marlborough,[237]Newark,[238]Southwell,[239]Kinoulton.[240]In addition to these instances, we learn quite by accident, as it were, of six schools in the diocese of Lincoln, viz. Barton, Partney, Grimsby, Horncastle, Boston, and Grantham.[241]
The cumulative effect of all this evidence, we venture to think, is that it establishes the suggestion that the Church of England was not negligent of the custom of the Catholic Church and made the requisite provision for the establishment of schools in connection with her churches.
It is also important to remember that a school of song was also established in connection with the various churches, as well as a school of grammar. There does not appear to be any express decree to this effect, but there is abundant evidence of the common existence of such schools,e.g.at London,[242]York,[243]Lincoln,[244]Beverley,[245]and Warwick.[246]The master of song was not licensed by the Chancellor, but by the Precentor, the official of the Cathedral body who was in charge of the musical part of the services.[247]
Up to this point we have considered mainly the provision for education made by the collegiate churches where it would be possible for a definite person to take charge of the teaching of grammar. But schools were not limited to these churches. On the contrary, the priest in charge of practically every parish church would be expected to keep school. This was a part of the traditional custom of the Church, a custom that was enforced, as we have seen by the Council of Vaison,[248]the canons of Theodulf,[249]and the so-called canons of King Edgar.[250]
Passing to the period with which we are more immediately concerned in this chapter, we find the requirement that parish priests should keep school reiterated by CanonLaw “ut quisque Presbyter, qui plebem regit, clericum habeat, qui secum cantet, et epistolam et lectionem legat, et qui possit scholas tenere, et admonere suos parachianos, ut filios suos ad fidem discendam mittant ad Ecclesiam: quos ipse cum omni castitate erudiat.”[251]The Council of Westminster, held in 1200, also decreed that:—