“Priests shall keep schools in their towns and teach little boys freely.”“Priests ought always to have a school of schoolmasters in their houses and if any devout person wishes to entrust little ones to him for instruction, they ought to receive them willingly and teach them kindly.”[252]
“Priests shall keep schools in their towns and teach little boys freely.”
“Priests ought always to have a school of schoolmasters in their houses and if any devout person wishes to entrust little ones to him for instruction, they ought to receive them willingly and teach them kindly.”[252]
The teaching of the Church on the matter was consequently clear and explicit. The question next arises, to what extent did the parish priests in this country comply with the regulations of the Church. Rashdall is of the opinion that “it may be stated with some confidence that at least in the later Middle Ages the smallest towns, and even the larger villages possessed schools where a boy might learn to read and acquire the first rudiments of ecclesiastical Latin.”[253]The available evidence to support the contention that it was customary for the parish priests of the Middle Ages to keep school is admittedly slight, but it establishes clearly that it was regarded as a common practice for schools to be held in the various parishes. Thus, we learn inPhilobiblonof “rectores scholarum ruralium puerorumque rudium paedagogos.”[254]Roger Bacon[255]tells us that schools existed everywhere “in every city, castle and burg.”[256]Abbot Samson in speaking of the days of his boyhood at Diss in Norfolk says that he attended a school which was held there,[257]and John of Salisbury narrates that when he was a boy he went in company with other boys to a priest “ut psalmosaddiscerem.”[258]Then, again, an interesting passage, which supports our contention, occurs in the correspondence (usually assigned to a date between 1119 and 1135) which took place between Theobald of Etampes and an anonymous critic. The writer of this passage is supposed to be attacking a statement that there was a scarcity of secular clerks. He urges: “Are there not everywhere on earth masters of the liberal arts, who also are called clerks? You yourself, a nobody, are you not said to have taught as a master sixty or one hundred clerks, more or less? Have you not been a greedy seller of words to them, and perhaps have wickedly deceived them in their ignorance as you have deceived yourself? Where then, I pray, is this want of clerks of yours? For not to mention other parts of the empire, are there not nearly as many skilled schoolmasters in ... England, not only in boroughs and cities, but even in country towns, as there are tax collectors and magistrates?”[259]
One other important question still remains to be considered: when were definite school houses first erected? We have used the term “school” to describe the classes which were held in connection with the churches, but, as we have pointed out, these were for the most part merely classes in which a priest or a youthful clerk taught boys their “Donat.” These schools were usually held in some part of the church building. Shakespeare refers to this:—
“Like a pedant thatKeeps a school i’ the Church.”Twelfth Night.
Similarly, in theMemorials of Southwell Minsterit is recorded on the occasion of one of the visitations, that one of the clerks complained that the boys who were being taught made so much noise as to disturb the services which were in progress.[260]It is not until a school possesses a definite building of its own that it can be said to possess a real independent existence. This question is also of interest in connection with the conflicting claims to the title of being the “oldest public school in England” whichhave been set up. If we content ourselves with the definition of a school as “a class held in a church for the purpose of teaching Latin,” then the question of the relative antiquity of schools is that of the relative antiquity of churches, a question of comparatively little interest from the point of view of the history of education. We contend that we are on much firmer ground when we ask, when was the first building for specific school purposes erected in England. This is a question which still awaits investigation and can only be solved by one school establishing evidence to maintain the date of its first building and then waiting until its claim is overthrown by a school which can show a still more ancient origin. So far as we have been able to trace, the earliest record of a separate school building dates from about 1150 when Abbot Samson bought a stone house at Bury St. Edmunds and gave it for a schoolhouse.[261]We note also that about the same date, Wakelin of Derby and his wife Goda gave certain buildings in Derby “on this trust that the hall shall be for a school of clerks and the chambers shall be to house the master and clerks.”[262]It is highly improbable that these are really the first instances.
Choristers’ Schools.
It is necessary that we should add here some reference to schools for choristers. It is obvious that for the adequate rendering of divine service, the use of boys’ voices would be imperative, and consequently the need of providing instruction for them and of maintaining them would arise. The general rule was that the choir boys would be taught Latin by the master of grammar attached to the cathedral, and similarly music would be taught by the master of song.
The duty of the cathedral master of grammar in relation to the choristers is evidenced by various disputes which occurred. Thus at Beverley in 1312, the master of grammar refused to teach, without the payment of fees, more than seven choristers. The dean and chapter enquired into the“ancient customs” and reported that the grammar master was obliged to teach all the choristers freely.[263]
Again, at St. Paul’s, a similar dispute took place in the fourteenth century. Here, also, the dean and chapter investigated the matter, but their decision—though supporting the contention that the choristers were taught by the cathedral master of grammar—was that a certain payment was to be made to him for these services from the cathedral funds. The entry in the almoner’s register runs:—
“If the almoner does not keep a clerk to teach the choristers grammar, the schoolmaster of St. Paul’s claims 5/- a year for teaching them, though he ought to demand nothing for them, because he keeps the school for them, as the treasurer of St. Paul’s once alleged before the dean and chapter is to be found in ancient documents.”[264]
In addition to providing instruction, it was also necessary that the choristers should be lodged, clothed, and fed. Various devices to effect this seem to have been tried at various times. In some cathedrals, an arrangement was made with an individual to provide the necessary accommodation at an arranged charge;[265]in others, the duty of attending to the welfare of the choristers was assigned to the almoner.[266]Gradually it came about in some cathedrals,e.g.Wells, that the choristers were housed together. In 1459-60, Bishop Beckington of Wells drew up an elaborate code of statutes for the control and government of the Choristers’ School.[267]These statutes provided,inter alia, that the master of the choristers, who was to be learned in grammar and song, was to be appointed by the Chancellor. Latin was to be spoken in the house. Full details with regard to meals, discipline, and finance were also given.
At the present day, the headmaster of a school is not only responsible for teaching certain specified subjects butis also in general charge of the organisation, discipline and administration of the school. It is interesting to note that during the Middle Ages, the masters of grammar or of song taught the subjects entrusted to them and had no further duties. The idea of the organisation and disciplinary functions of the master seems to have been evolved from the necessity for exercising control over the choristers, but this duty was at first assigned to an officer distinct from the one who was exercising the teaching function. It was the custom at York, according to the Statutes of the Cathedral, which are dated 1307 but merely codified the customs which had prevailed since the eleventh century, to entrust the government of the choristers to the precentor.[268]The office of taking charge of the choristers developed more completely at other cathedrals. Thus at Lincoln in 1352, Ralph of Ergham was appointed “custos choristatum.” The preface to the record of the appointment shows that the function was that of a “canonicum supervisorem et custodem communitatis choristarum.”[269]
This custom of appointing a supervisor, as distinct from the schoolmaster, prevailed at the schools, other than schools for choristers, which were founded from time to time. Thus at Winchester, Eton, Acaster, and Rotherham—to name a few instances only—the responsible head of the institution was the provost, while the master of grammar was merely required to give instruction in the subjects assigned to him. The evolution of the schoolmaster as the superintending organiser and controller of an establishment belongs to a later date in English educational history. We must defer, for the present, a further consideration of this topic.
THE MONOPOLY OF SCHOOL KEEPING.
In studying the original sources from which we derive our knowledge of the educational development of this country, we find numerous references to alleged infringements of the monopoly of schoolkeeping claimed by the official schoolmaster. It is, therefore, necessary for us to consider the origin and nature of this monopoly.
The idea of monopoly in connection with trade and industry can be traced back to a very early date in the history of our country. To trace the origin and development of this idea generally, would not only be a valuable, but also an interesting contribution to our knowledge of our economic development. Here, we must content ourselves by limiting our investigation to the educational aspect. The earliest known instance of the claim to this monopoly dates from the eleventh century, and will subsequently be described. It is highly probable that the idea of the monopoly of keeping school in a prescribed area is of much more ancient date, as records, of necessity, only exist when some actual or threatened infringement of the monopoly necessitated recourse to some authority, who possessed the power of enforcing its observance.
A preliminary question naturally arises: if instruction was given gratuitously, why was there any need for the desire to possess this monopoly, why should not all comers teach school, if they so wished? A solution of this problem may be obtained from a consideration of that tendency for social exclusiveness which everywhere manifests itself. Even to-day, in this time of free education,parents, who can barely afford to do so, prefer to send their children to a fee-paying school for social reasons, even though the instruction given in the public free school may be given by better qualified and more efficient teachers than are to be found in the fee-paying schools. By analogy, we can reconstruct the situation in the eleventh and succeeding centuries. A knowledge of Latin was perceived, by this time, to possess value, and the boy who had received an education was recognised as being in a position to make his way in the world. We may, therefore, assume that some parents were prepared to make payments, in order that this education might be obtained. Where was this education to be gained? There were two possibilities. One was that the church schoolmaster might give supplementary attention to fee-paying pupils, or he might teach them separately, and outside the official time which the conditions of his appointment required. The other possibility was, that some other priest might come to the neighbourhood to set up school, and recompense himself by taking fee-paying pupils, leaving to the official schoolmaster only those pupils who were unable or unwilling to make payment for the instruction they received.
An elementary knowledge of human nature readily leads to the conclusion that the second alternative was not one to which the official schoolmaster would quietly consent. He would look upon the new-comer as an intruder, and would take such steps as were possible to prevent interference with what he claimed to be his monopoly of keeping school in his own district.
It is around this question of the monopoly of school keeping that the educational disputes of the Middle Ages mainly centre. The question is a difficult one because (1) this monopoly was not a matter of definite enactment either by Church or State; it simply evolved. (2) The authority by whose aid the monopoly could be enforced was not specified, and the absence of any definite regulating authority, and of any official pronouncements, led to many prospective schoolmasters setting up schools in promising localities. Sometimes this was accomplished without anyinterference,e.g.we find that at Rotherham a boy, who subsequently became Bishop of Lincoln, owed his early education to a schoolmaster who came to that neighbourhood to establish what would to-day be termed a “private school.”[270]This “private” schoolmaster was at times even welcomed. Thus at Beverley, which was afterwards notorious as the scene of some exciting disputes relative to the infringement of the monopoly of school keeping, we learn that “a certain scholar came there, wishing, as the place was full of clerks, to keep school there; and was received by the authorities of the church with unanimous approval.”[271]We must therefore conclude that the monopoly was not always rigorously enforced. It was only when a schoolmaster felt himself aggrieved and possessed energy, that action was taken in the matter.
The question of the authority by whom the question of an alleged infringement could be ultimately settled, was not definitely prescribed. Was the ultimate appeal to be to the chancellor of the diocese, to the patron of the school, to the bishop, to the archbishop, or to the pope? Were such cases to be dealt with, first of all, in an inferior court and then an appeal to be made to a higher court in the event of an unsatisfactory verdict being obtained? We shall be assisted in answering these questions if we consider the origin of the right of keeping school.
Originally, as we have seen, it was an unwritten custom of the Church that the parish priest should keep school. When there was the possibility that pecuniary advantage could arise through the keeping of a school, then it appears that this duty became a privilege and was formally expressed, in some cases, in a deed. In other words, in founding a church, a patron bestowed upon it not only certain lands and tithes, but also the right to keep school. Thus, at a date between 1076 and 1083, Robert Malet, who founded the conventual church of Eye, gave to the church “scholas ejusdem villae.”[272]Similarly, when Ilbert of Lacey founded the Church of St. Clement in his castle,C. 1080, he “dedicavit ipsam ecclesiam, cum scolis de Kirky et Pontefracti.”[273]
It is in this connection that we encounter one of the first disputes relating to the question of monopoly. The question was this, if a new church was established in a particular area, did the erection of this new church diminish the educational rights of the parent church as well as its spiritual rights? We may put the matter in another way by asking whether the patron of a church possessed the power of alienating the monopoly of school-keeping possessed by that church.
Roger, who became Earl of Warwick in 1123, apparently thought that the patron did possess this right. He bestowed the right of holding schools in Warwick upon the Collegiate Church of St. Mary’s, thus alienating the right from the Church of All Saints’, Warwick, which had previously possessed it. The authorities of All Saints’ desired to protest against this alienation and to preserve their rights. To what authority was this appeal to go? No information is available of the whole course of the struggle, but apparently the matter was ultimately referred to the king; for we find that a deed was issued by Henry I. to the bishops of Worcester and Gloucester, to Roger, Earl of Warwick, and to all the barons of Warwickshire, stating the king’s command that the Church of All Saints’, Warwick, was to retain the schools of Warwick as it had possessed them in the reign of Edward the Confessor.[274]
This decision is a most important one. It is a recognition by the state of the monopoly possessed by a particular church, and, in addition, it establishes the principle that the enforcement of this monopoly was a matter of temporal and not of spiritual jurisdiction.
Whether as the result of this decision or not we have now no means of determining, but the fact remains that many churches seemed to have been in doubt as to whether they possessed, or did not possess, this right of monopolyof school keeping. To resolve this doubt, appeal seems to have been made to the king, and a number of documents still exist which show the decision that was arrived at. Thus Henry I. confirmed to St. Oswald’s, Gloucester, the monopoly of school-keeping in that city,[275]to the priory of Huntingdon the monopoly of Huntingdonshire,[276]to the priory of Dunstable the monopoly of schools in that town.[277]Even as late as 1446, there was a grant of the monopoly of school-keeping to Eton College.[278]
The principle which seems to be established in these cases is that, when a dispute arose as to the monopoly right of keeping school in a particular area (apart from merely keeping an unlicensed school) the Crown alone possessed the power of deciding the dispute, and that when it was desired to establish an official school in any area, in addition to the existing schools, it was necessary to obtain the consent of the Crown.
This practice continued for several centuries. Thus in 1446, on the petition of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London, Henry VI. ordained that there should be five schools in London, viz. in connection with the Churches of St. Paul, St. Martin, St. Mary-le-Bow, St. Dunstan, and St. Anthony, respectively.[279]
In the following year, another petition was sent to the king asking for four additional grammar schools in London, which were to be established in connection with the churches of St. Andrew’s, Holborn, St. Peter’s, Cornhill, All Hallows, and with the Hospital of St. Thomas. The reasons why the establishment of these schools is asked for are interesting, “forasmuche as to the Citee of London is the communeconcours of this lond, wherein is gret multitude of younge peple, not only borne and brought forthe in the same Citee, but also of many other parties of this lond, som for lake of Scole maistres in their oune Contree for to be enfourmed of gramer there, and som for the grete almesse of Lordes, Merchaunts and other, the which is in London more plenteously doon, than in many other places of this Reaume, to such pouere Creatures as never shuld have be brought to so greet vertu and connyng as thei have, ne hadde hit ben bi the means of the almes aforesaid.”[280]They therefore ask that, in connection with the churches we have enumerated, they should be allowed “to create, establishe and sette a persone sufficiently lerned in gramer to hold and exercise a scole in the same science of gramer, and it there to teche to all that will lerne.”[281]The king assented to this petition “so that it be doone by thadvyse of the Ordinarie, otherelles of the Archebishope of Canterbury for the tyme beyng.”
The same procedure was even adopted in the seventeenth century. Owing to a dispute having arisen between the Master of the Grammar School at Exeter and the City Authorities, the latter appealed to the bishop, that he might license an additional master of grammar in the city, as had previously been done. The bishop did not consider that the special circumstances warranted him in taking the step desired by the civic authorities. As they failed to obtain their request, they appealed to the Crown in Council for permission to establish and maintain an additional school in the city, a request which was finally granted in 1631.[282]
A consideration of these cases enables us to understand why it was not possible, until comparatively recent times, to establish schools except by the consent of the Crown. Thus, in the reigns of the Tudor and Stuart sovereigns, a number of schools were established, but only by royal authority. When we come to consider the case of theChantry Schools, we shall find that a number of schools were founded, but even in these cases the consent of the civil and of the ecclesiastical authorities was obtained. A licence to establish the school would be necessary, as well as a licence in mortmain.
The confirmation of the monopoly right of keeping school to a particular church practically meant that the patronage of the mastership of the school was vested in the authorities of that church. This patronage could be transferred, but the proceedings in such a case were of a civil, and not of an ecclesiastical character. This is similar to the procedure involved in the transfer of the right of patronage of an ecclesiastical benefice to-day. The procedure is purely civil and entirely outside the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical authorities. If there is any dispute as to the rightful power of patronage, the dispute must be settled in the civil courts. One of the earliest recorded cases of the transfer of the patronage of a school is that of Gloucester School. We have seen that Henry I. confirmed to St. Oswald’s Church, Gloucester, the right of keeping school in that city[283]; in 1137 Henry II. confirmed the transference of the patronage of the mastership of the school from St. Oswald’s Church to the Canons of Llanthony Abbey; and this transference was again confirmed by King John in 1199.[284]The fact that the settlement of disputed right of patronage of schools was a matter for the secular courts, is clearly brought out by a prohibition issued by the Courts in 1343.[285]This document runs: “The King to the Registrar and commissaries of the Court of Canterbury greeting—whereas the pleas relating to the patronage of grammar schools on our kingdom of England belong especially to our Crown and dignity and (whereas) the Abbot and Convent of Beaulieu are bringing before you in the Court Christian, as we have been informed by many, William Pipard, Clerk, relative to the patronage of the grammar schools of Ferendon—we forbid you to entertainthat plea in the ecclesiastical court, such pleas belonging especially to us and to no other in this kingdom.”[286]
We have quoted this document in full, because Mr. de Montmorency instances it to support his contention that there existed a collision between Church and State in matters relating to education. He also maintains that this same document shows that the state “controlled the administration of educational foundations.” Mr. de Montmorency is in error here. When a vacancy arises in the incumbency of any parish to-day, of which the patronage is not in the hands of the bishop himself, it is possible that a dispute might arise as to the right of presentation. In such a case, the bishop would naturally refer the matter to his legal advisers. It would always be open for any interested party to stay such proceedings and to let the matter in dispute be determined by the High Court. It could hardly be seriously maintained that such action illustrates a collision between church and state in this country.
After a patron had appointed a master to a particular school, that master possessed the monopoly of keeping school in the prescribed area as long as he held the mastership of the school. No other school was allowed to be kept except with the consent of the master of the school. If any individual attempted to establish a school without such consent, then it was open to the schoolmaster to take the necessary steps to end this infringement of his monopoly.
One of the earliest cases of this character, of which records still exist, dates from 1138. Apparently some unlicensed schools had been set up in some parts of London. The schoolmaster of St. Paul’s reported the matter to the Bishop of Winchester (who was acting as Bishop of London during a vacancy in the see). The Bishop consequently issued a writ, in which sentence of excommunication was passed against all those who should continue to keep school in the city of London without the permission of Henry, the schoolmaster.[287]Other cases are recorded in the BeverleyChapter Act Book,[288]one of which may be taken for illustrative purposes. It seems that in 1304 Thomas of Brompton was the recognised master of the school of grammar in connection with the collegiate church at Beverley. An attempt was made by an unauthorised person to set up a school.[289]The schoolmaster reported the offender to the chapter; the chapter determined that if the offence was continued, then the intruding schoolmaster would be,ipso facto, excommunicate and that the chapter clerk was to announce, every Sunday, the fact of such excommunication.
There is no real evidence that there was any ground of appeal against such a sentence of excommunication. Only one instance of an appeal having been made is on record. It seems that a dispute as to the right of keeping school arose at Winchester, and that the party dissatisfied with the verdict carried the case to Rome. It has not been found possible, so far, to trace the result of the appeal.[290]
One of the most important of the cases in which an alleged infringement of monopoly took place, is the “Gloucester School Case,” which has come to be regarded as the leading case on the subject. Briefly, the facts are: the prior of Llanthony, as patron of the schools at Gloucester, had appointed John Hamlyn to the mastership of the school. A priest named Thomas More, who had previously been “scolemaster atte Herford,” set up an unlicensed school at Gloucester. Hamlyn therefore took action against More but, instead of bringing the defendant before a spiritual court, as had previously been customary, he brought the action in the Court of Common Pleas, and the case was tried before the Lord Chief Justice and two other judges.
The considered decision of the court was, that it was not an offence against the Common Law of England to keep a school. If an offence had been committed, it was anoffence against ecclesiastical law, and that consequently the remedy was to be found in the ecclesiastical courts.[291]
The significance of this case was that the monopoly of school keeping was partly broken down. Henceforth, anyone who did not fear ecclesiastical censure and excommunication might keep school, if he so desired. The practical effect of the decision was slight since, as we have seen,[292]the monopoly right of keeping school was granted to Eton College thirty years later.
A problem in connection with this question of monopoly arose in Lincoln in 1407-9. There were two recognised schools in Lincoln; the general grammar school attended by the children of the citizens, and to which the choristers formerly went for their instruction in Latin, and the school of the choristers. In course of time, the choristers’ school ceased to confine itself to the study of music and added Latin to its curriculum. For some reason or other, this school also attracted outside scholars. The Mayor and Corporation, as representatives of the citizens of Lincoln, objected;[293]ultimately the matter was settled by a compromise; the teachers of the choristers were to be allowed “to teach grammar to the choristers and to the commoners with them, also to the relations of the canons and vicars of the church or those living at their expense and charity or dwelling in their family,” provided that a nominal acknowledgement of the rights of the master of the City Grammar School was made each term.[294]
Another problem arose out of the competing claims of the master of song and of the master of grammar. The master of song apparently maintained that he was as much an official master as the master of grammar, andprobably considered himself quite as competent as his colleague to give lessons in Latin. This problem seems to have been particularly acute at Warwick, and so the authorities of the collegiate church made careful enquiries as to the ancient customs on the matter, and ultimately found that the Latin master alone possessed the right of taking classes in Latin. As a concession, they allowed the master of song to take paying pupils in the “first letters” and the psalter.[295]
The grammar master was not alone in his desire to enforce the monopoly of school keeping in his subject; the master of music was equally tenacious of his prerogative. Thus in 1305, the song master of Lincoln Cathedral complained to the Cathedral Chapter that the Parish Clerks of the city were teaching music to the boys in their churches without his permission, and he charged them with holding “adulterine schools to the prejudice of the liberty of the mother church.” The chapter compelled the offenders to swear, “holding the most Holy Gospels, that they will not henceforward keep any adulterine schools in the churches, nor teach boys song or music without license from the schoolmaster.”[296]
In bringing this chapter to a close, we might quote from the statutes of St. Albans Grammar School, which were confirmed by the Abbot of St. Albans, in 1310, the section which deals with this question of monopoly. It is there stated that “the master for the time being shall annul, suppress, destroy, and eradicate all adulterine schools within our territory or jurisdiction, by inhibiting ... under pain of excommunication, any persons from resorting to or presuming to keep any schools without the will and assent of the master of our Grammar School within our aforesaid jurisdiction.”[297]
Though the privilege of school keeping was highly prized and stoutly defended, yet it has now passed into oblivion. This was effected, not by express decree eitherof law court or of state, but simply because the instruction in Latin, which was offered by these schools, ceased to be in demand. Two forces contributed to produce this result, the Reformation, and the increasing use of the vernacular. The Reformation brought to an end the number of appointments in connection with the Church for which a knowledge of Latin was a necessary qualification; and consequently the demand for grammar schools diminished. The increasing employment of the vernacular caused Latin to drop out of use as the language of commerce and the medium of written communication.
THE APPOINTMENT AND TENURE OF MASTERS.
We now proceed to consider questions connected with (a) the appointment, (b) the tenure, (c) the remuneration, and (d) the judicial functions of schoolmasters.
(a)The Appointment of Masters.
We may distinguish between schools in connection with (1) monasteries, (2) collegiate churches, (3) parishes, (4) chantries and gilds.
I.Schools in Connection with Monasteries.
It is significant that in the monasteries, the position of schoolmaster does not seem to have been definitely recognised. Thus, in the list of the officers and obedientaries of Evesham in the thirteenth century, for example, there is included the prior, sub-prior, third prior, and other “custodes ordinis”; the precentor, sacrist, chamberlain, kitchener, cellarers, infirmarer, almoner, warden of the vineyard and garden, master of the fabric, guest master and pittancer; but there is no mention of a “magister scolarum.” We have not been able to discover any instance of a monk, who was pensioned at the time of the dissolution, and who was described as acting in the capacity of a teacher at that time.
Occasionally we come across references to the “masterof the novices.”[298]An account of the Novices’ School at Durham has been preserved.[299]The school was held in the “weast ally” of the cloisters both in the morning and in the afternoon. The scholars attended for a period of seven years, during which time they received food and clothing. If they were “apte to lernynge ... and had a pregnant wyt withall” they were then sent to the University to study theology; otherwise they were kept at their books in the monastery until they were considered ready for ordination. The Novices’ School at Durham was taught by the eldest learned monk in the monastery. At Canterbury the school was under the charge of the “Magister ordinis,” and at Abingdon under the “Instructor juvenum.”[300]The need for the instruction of the novices was reiterated by the General Benedictine Statutes of 1334, which provided that a secular priest was to be appointed to teach grammar when a monk was not available for the purpose.
The appointment to the scholastic posts within the monastery would naturally be in the hands of the abbot or prior.[301]
There exists evidence that schools for the education of the laity existed in the neighbourhood of most, even if not all, of the greater monasteries. Thus, prior to the thirteenth century, such schools may be traced at Reading, Dunstable, Huntingdon, Bedford, Christchurch (Hants.), Thetford, Derby, Gloucester, Waltham, Bury St. Edmunds, Colchester, Leicester, Cirencester, Lewes, Battle, Arundel, Lancaster, Chesterfield, Bruton, Winchcombe, Malmesbury, and other places in which a monastery is known to have existed. In many of these cases we are able to trace that the appointment of the “magister scolarum” was in the hands of the abbot. Thus the statutes of the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds state that:—
“The collation of the schools of St. Edmunds belongs to the abbot in the same way as the collation of Churches.... The schools indeed in the manor of Mildenhall and ofBeccles are by law to be conferred by those in whose custody the manors are. And it is to be noted that when the ‘rector scolarum’ is to be removed he ought to be given notice, by the person who appointed him, before Whitsuntide. If, on the other hand, the master wishes to retire, he is bound to give like notice to the person who appointed him.”[302]
A third class of school (which will be described in a subsequent chapter) in connection with the monasteries was the Almonry School. The appointment of the “grammar master” at these schools was usually in the hands of the almoner of the monastery, but the appointment had to be approved of by the Chancellor or Archdeacon who was acting as the head of the educational administration of the diocese.[303]
II.Schools in connection with Collegiate Churches.
More definite information is available when we pass to consider the appointments of masters of the schools in connection with collegiate churches. Here, as we have seen, the chancellor (who was previously the schoolmaster) was the responsible head of the education in the diocese. It was his duty to appoint a master of grammar in connection with the cathedral church, and not to allow any other teacher to keep school within the city without his consent.[304]Sometimes the chancellor seems to have taken no steps to make the appointment, possibly because the remuneration of the master came partly out of the benefice of the chancellor. A letter is still extant which was written to the chancellor of York Cathedral in 1344 informing him that unless he took immediate action in making the appointment of a master, he would be liable to punishment.[305]
The general procedure in making an appointment to the master-ship in grammar of a school, in connection with a collegiate church, was that the chancellor should select the man whom he considered suitable and submit his name to the dean and chapter. The appointment was completed by the dean and chapter admitting the nominee of the chancellor to the position.[306]
We have not been able to trace any appointments of a song schoolmaster.[307]The procedure would probably be similar except for the fact that the nomination would be in the hands of the precentor instead of the chancellor.[308]
In the case of those cathedral churches which were served by monks, there would not, of course, be a “chancellor.” In such cases, the appointment of the “magister scolarum” was made by the bishop. Thus we read of Archbishop Peckham, during a vacancy of the see of Norwich, appointing a master to Norwich School.[309]The first available record of an appointment to the mastership by a bishop of Norwich dates from 1388; after this date the Norwich Chapter Act Book records a continuous stream of such appointments. In Canterbury, which was also a monastic cathedral, the appointment of the schoolmaster was similarly in the hands of the archbishop.[310]
III.Schools in connection with Parishes.
We have used the term “parish” here to denote those districts which were served by a vicar or rector, and not by a college of clergy. The appointments to the parochial church schools, unless arrangements were made to thecontrary, were made by the patrons of the church itself. In some cases the patrons would be the bishops,[311]in others the dean and chapter of a collegiate church[312]; in others again, the patronage would be in private hands, whilst in other cases a monastery might have the power of nominating.[313]We must remember that when a parish was subdivided the power of keeping a school did not pass to the new parish, but continued to be the prerogative of the parent church, and that consequently the patrons of the new church did not possess the right of nominating a master of grammar to keep a school in connection with the newly-founded church.[314]
Disputes occasionally arose in connection with the exercise of this right of patronage. It would seem as if the chancellor of the diocese,[315]in the case of a secular cathedral, and the “magister scolarum” in the case of a monastic cathedral, claimed the right of makingallthe schools appointments in their respective dioceses. Records are still available of the action which was taken in various cases to attempt to enforce this claim. We will briefly describe two of these cases, one of which was due to the action taken by the chancellor of a secular collegiate church, the other to the action taken by a “magister scolarum” in a city served by a monastic cathedral.
Taking first the case of the chancellor of a secular collegiate church, we note that the prior and convent of St. Catherine’s by Lincoln were the patrons of Newark Church. In 1238 there occurred a vacancy in the school. The patrons of the church took the necessary steps to fill the vacancy. The chancellor of Southwell Minster maintained that the power of nomination was “ex officio” vested in him. Both parties appealed to the pope. The result of the action was, that the power of making the nomination to the school was declared to be the right of the patrons, but that the admission of thenominated master to the position was to be effected by the chancellor.[316]
Turning next to the claim of the “magister scolarum” in connection with a monastic cathedral we note that the Norwich Chapter Act Book records a similar dispute. The prior and convent of Coxford were the patrons of the church of Rudham by Coxford. On a vacancy in the mastership of the schools occurring in 1240, the patrons proceeded to make the necessary appointment. The “magister scolarum” brought an action in the bishop’s court to prevent this, as he claimed that he possessed an “ex officio” right to make the nomination. The decision of the court was that the power of appointing the master of the school belonged to the patrons of the church.
We may note here that the authority who possessed the power of determining disputes relating to patronage of schools does not appear to have been definitely prescribed. In the first of the two cases we have referred to here, the authority of the pope was invoked, in the second, the authority of the bishop, whilst records are available of other cases, in which a writ of prohibition was obtained with the view to the case being heard in the king’s court.[317]
IV.Schools established in connection with Chantries, Gilds, etc.
In the latter part of the Middle Ages a number of schools were established in this country by means of endowments. These endowments were usually associated with the foundation of gilds or chantries. The special point we are interested in here is that in such cases arrangements were made for the requisite appointments to be effected when the need arose. Thus the ordinancesand statutes in connection with the foundation of the grammar school at Wotton-under-Edge[318]prescribe that “the master of the school was to be presented by Lady Berkeley during her life, and afterwards by Sir Thomas Berkeley and his heirs male, whom failing by Sir John Berkeley her second son, and his heirs male, whom failing by the lord of the manor of Wotton.”[319]As a result of this more definite determination of the right of appointment, disputes relating to the exercise of patronage no longer arose.[320]
(b)The Tenure of Mastership.
We find a difficulty in dealing with the question of the tenure of the masterships of the various schools because of the scarcity of evidence and of its conflicting character. Thus, in the Lincoln Chapter Act Book, there is a record that the dean and chapter in 1327 appointed six masters to as many schools in the diocese.[321]In the following year the same men were reappointed and this reappointment continues year after year until 1335, when notices of the appointments of schoolmasters cease. It would therefore appear as if the custom in the diocese of Lincoln was that the masters were appointed for one year only but that if their character and conduct were considered satisfactory they would be reappointed.
In the diocese of York the masters seem to have been appointed for three years. Thus there is a record that at Beverley Collegiate Church, in 1306, the master was appointed to the school for that period[322]; in 1320 there is a record of a similar appointment.[323]It is expressly stated in the note of an appointment made in 1368, that the customary tenure of schools in the diocese of York was three years and that under special circumstances this period might be extended to five years.[324]
In course of time the nature of the tenure changes.The first change which we have traced occurred in 1368 when the master appointed was stated to be allowed to retain his appointment until he obtained another benefice. The reason for this change is stated to be the scarcity of priests due to the mortality occasioned by the plague. The triennial tenure was again in vogue in 1426,[325]but in 1486 a departure occurs, as the schoolmaster appointed in that year was to hold his office “durante vitae,” if he so wished.[326]
A further change of tenure took place in 1575 when the master was appointed to hold office “durante beneplacito Decani et Capituli.”[327]
In the schools which were founded in the sixteenth century and later it began to be common to draw up statutes and ordinances for the administration of the schools. It was usual in these school statutes to refer to the tenure of the mastership. Thus the statutes of Newark School[328]provide that the master at the time of his admission to his post, should be thus instructed:—
“Sjr, ye be chosen to be maister and preceptour of this scoole and to teche chyldern repayring to the same not onely good literature, gramer and other vertuous doctrine but also good maners accordyng to the ordynance of Master Thomas Newark. Wherefore we doe ascertayne you that this ys a perpetual roome of continuance upon your good demeanour and dutie in this scoole.”[329]
In making the appointment for life, the founder of Newark School adopted a practice which was different from the common one. Thus William of Wykeham, Waynflete, and Colet, all made the masters of the schools founded by them removeable at will. In fact, Colet arranged that the mastership of St. Paul’s was merely to be renewed from year to year.
(c)Remuneration of Masters.
We are faced with another difficult question when we proceed to consider the question of the remuneration ofmasters. This problem is one about which contradictory opinions have been held owing to the fact that it is disputed whether or not the education given in the schools of the Middle Ages was free education. It is indisputable that the original schools of the Church were entirely free and that the schoolmaster was remunerated by sharing equally with the other priests in the common fund of the Church. The transition from free education to fee paying education may be said to date from the time when the schoolmaster became the chancellor. The chancellor continued to draw his share of the revenue of the Church, but no express provision was made for the maintenance of the schoolmaster whom the chancellor appointed.[330]
It was probably due to this neglect that the council of 1179[331]decreed that a benefice should be bestowed upon a master so as to enable him to teach the “clericos et scholares pauperes” gratis. This decree was repeated in 1200[332]and 1215.[333]It has not been found possible to trace the appointment to sinecure benefices, subject to the condition that the incumbent of such benefice should hold a school, as the record of the appointment would not also record the condition. We may safely assume that this was done in some cases, as the custom even prevails to-day.[334]
In course of time, the master of a school derived a certain amount of his remuneration from the fees which he received from his pupils. This originated in a natural custom that pupils should make some voluntary offering to those who taught them. Thus, the enactment of 1200, which decreed that “presbyteri per villas scholas habeant, et gratis parvulos doceant” also practically enacted that voluntary contributions on the part of the relations of the pupils would be permitted. It is not difficult to conceive that this custom of voluntary offering would develop into one of compulsory payment.
The terms used to describe these voluntary offerings are somewhat strange,e.g.“cock penny,” “potation penny,” “nutt money.” “Cock pennies” were gratuities given to the schoolmasters in connection with the almost universal custom of cock-fighting which took place in schools on Shrove Tuesday. William Fitzstephen[335]gives an account of the practice, stating that “each boy in the school brings a fighting cock to his master, and the whole of that forenoon is given up to a holiday to watch the cock-fights in the school.” Cock-fighting was prohibited in St. Paul’s School by Colet’s statute of 1518, but the custom seems to have continued at the Manchester Grammar School until 1815.[336]“Potation pennies” were gratuities made when a feast was provided, whilst “nutt money” was the term applied to the gifts made to the schoolmasters at Michaelmas.
In some cases, these offerings were regarded as a natural part of the remuneration of the schoolmaster. Thus the ordinances of Hartlebury Grammar School prescribe that “the schoolmaster shall and may have, use and take the profits of all such cock-fights and potations, as are commonly used in schools and such other gifts as shall freely be given them.”[337]In other cases, an effort was made to put an end to the custom. Thus the Coventry Grammar School statutes state that “there shall not be any other or more Potations in any one yeare ... than one yearely.”[338]
In addition to these optional payments, certain other payments gradually became recognised which in course of time were known as “entrance money” (because the payment was made when the pupil was admitted to the school), “quarterages” (payments made at the beginning of each term), “breaking up money” (similar payments made at the end of term). These payments did not become common until the sixteenth century—a period which is outside the time with which we are dealing; consequently, it will not be necessary for us to deal more fully with the questionhere. The record of the chantry founded at Newland by Richard Gryndour, however, may be referred to.[339]At the school which the chantry priest was required to teach, he was entitled to charge “scolers lerning gramer, 8d. the quarter, and of others lerning to rede, 4d. the quarter.”[340]As instances of other types of payments to schoolmasters we may quote the regulations of Ipswich Grammar School where it was prescribed in 1476-7 that those attending the grammar class should pay 10d., the psalter class 8d., and the primer class 6d. each quarter.[341]A reduction in these terms appears to have been made for the sons of burgesses living in Ipswich who were to pay “8d. a quarter ... and not above.”[342]Again, the statutes and ordinances of the Boteler Grammar Schools,[343]described as aFreeGrammar School, prescribe that “it shall be lawfull to the schoolmaster to take ... four pennys by-year that is to say in the Quarter next after Christmas A cock penny and in any of the three other Quarters in the year one Potation Penny.”[344]The deed of 1414 which recorded the wishes of Bishop Langley with regard to his foundation at Durham, stated that “diligenter instruere et docere pauperes qui dem gratis pro Deo, si hoc ipsi vel parentes sui pro amore Dei humiliter petierint, ab illis autem, qui se vel amicos suos scolares voluerunt recipiendo stipendia moderata in aliis scolis grammatice vel cantus solvi consueta.”[345]
The custom of providing an endowment for the support of the school and its master, as distinct from the maintenance of scholars, dates from an early period. The earliest definite instance in this country, which has been so far traced, occurred C. 1190 when Abbot Samson endowed “the schoolmaster who for the time being taught in the town of St. Edmunds” with half the revenues of a rectory.[346]The next available instance is the record atWells of a house being given to the schoolmaster there, for the time being, together with the prebend of Biddenham as an endowment.[347]Endowments gradually become increasingly numerous as will be exemplified in detail when we deal with the foundation of chantries and other charitable institutions.
(d)Judicial Functions of Schoolmasters.
By the ordinance issued by William the Conqueror, the separation of the civil and the ecclesiastical courts was effected. As a result, it came about that those who were entitled to the “benefit of clergy” claimed that disputes in which they were concerned, should be dealt with in the ecclesiastical courts. Possibly it is by an extension of this principle that it was claimed that cases in which the scholars of a particular school were concerned, should be considered to be under the jurisdiction of the schoolmaster of that school. The evidence available is not sufficient to enable us to decide the extent to which this custom prevailed, but a study of the powers of jurisdiction possessed by the schoolmasters of Salisbury, Cambridge, St. Albans, and Canterbury will assist us to determine its general character.
The respective jurisdiction of the Chancellor and the Sub-dean of Salisbury was decided in 1278 when it was provided that the chancellor “ad cuius officium pertinet scolas regere” should deal with all disputed matters (with the exception of questions of immorality) in which his scholars were implicated, whilst the sub-dean was to exercise jurisdiction in all matters in which the priests of the city were concerned.[348]
A similar decision was arrived at by the Bishop of Ely in 1276, when he sought to define the respective jurisdiction of the “Magister Glomerie,” the Chancellor of Cambridge University, and the Archdeacon of Ely.[349]The judicial powers of the Master of St. Albans School wereset out in detail in the school statutes of 1309.[350]It is interesting to note that the master could be assisted “by the secular arm, invoked if need be for the special purpose.”
The Canterbury schoolmaster possessed considerable powers of jurisdiction in matters in which his scholars were concerned, and there is evidence that some of these schoolmasters did not hesitate to use their powers when necessity arose. John Everard, “Rector scolarum civitatis Cantuariensis” in 1311, in particular, was keen on asserting his authority. The claim, which he maintained that he possessed, was investigated by a special commission of clerics and laymen, who reported in his favour. To prevent him from exercising his authority, an appeal was made to the Court of King’s Bench. The schoolmaster continued vigorously to press the recognition of his powers of jurisdiction and ultimately the authority he claimed was upheld.[351]
We cannot generalise from these instances, but it is unquestionable that some schoolmasters possessed special powers of acting in a judicial capacity in cases in which their pupils were involved.