There will be a few articles following about education. These will be focused on medieval, Renaissance and Elizabethan education. It is necessary to know what these individuals were taught to better understand what they understood and the methods by which they came about knowledge. This is important for medieval and Renaissance treatises as I have discussed in my fencing blog (https://afencersramblings.blogspot.com/2020/06/old-learning-for-old-treatises.html), but is also essential for a greater understanding and appreciation of all texts of the period.
Cheers,
Henry.
Elizabethan Education
“The main form of school was the
Petty School. This provided education from the age of 5. Education in Petty and
Grammar Schools was very formal. Lessons tended to concentrate on learning the
reading and writing of Latin, the Bible and Histories. At 14 children could
progress to University. Here they could specialise in a wider range of
subjects.”[1]
When
education is discussed about an era, it is necessary to note whether this is
formal education or not. What has been described above is formal education,
primarily for boys. Access to education was not as it is now; the terms and
ideas were quite different. “Public
education refers to going out to school, as opposed to being tutored at
home. It does not mean they are paid for out of public funds.”[2] This
was a class- and gender-divided system and these divisions will be discussed as
they have an impact on the purpose of the education.
Class
“Education in Elizabethan England
was provided for the children of the wealthy. Literacy rates increased during
the Elizabethan era. Schooling began in the home and was continued through
Petty Schools, Grammar Schools and Universities.”[3]
Education was
paid for by the parents or some benefactor who wanted to see the child
educated. Children of Upper and Middle Class families would certainly be
educated definitely in Petty Schools, and also sometimes in Grammar Schools. Only
the wealthy could afford to be sent to university. The nobility were different
again.
“Elizabethan Education was
generally for boys of the Upper and Middle Classes. However, Upper Class girls,
often members of the Nobility were also given and education.”[4]
The members
of the nobility were certainly educated, in this case both boys and girls were
educated, but they did not attend public schools as other classes did, “noble
children get their education at home, from private tutors.”[5] These
tutors would serve for the noble children’s education all the way up through
Grammar School equivalents, so that they were prepared to go to university, at
least the boys did. Here, even in noble families there was a gender division;
in general, females were not educated outside the home.
Gender
There was certainly a gender gap.
The female’s role was seen to be in house-duties, so there was no reason for
them to be educated outside the house. “In general, only boys go to school. A
girl's education is accomplished at home, although it usually includes reading
and arithmetic.”[6]
Some noble families extended their female’s education. Female queens were a
notable exception to this rule. Some girls did attend Petty School, but, “Girls
did not attend Grammar Schools and were not allowed to go to University.”[7] It
was seen as unnecessary. In the queens’ case private tutors were, once again,
employed. The gender and class gaps were there for a purpose.
Purpose
“Education for all children in
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries depended on the financial standing and
social class of the family. The main purpose of education was to teach children
appropriate behaviour for their social class and to make them useful members of
society.”[8]
Here,
education has not changed throughout history. Its purpose has always been to
produce citizens which were useful to the state in which they were educated.
There was little point in educating an individual above their station because
they would never need the knowledge and so it was considered a waste of money, it
may also lead them to think above their station. The educational process
started at home. “The basic principles of childhood and education would be
started in the home.”[9] Here,
conversational English was taught along with essential socialisation. The more
rigid education started with the Petty School.
Petty School
“The most elementary level of
schooling is called petty school. You
learn to read and write in English and do sums, but the main idea is to get you
into grammar school.”[10]
Most of the
classes who were educated, gained education in Petty Schools and these schools
became more popular and were encouraged by the Tudors during their years. For
some, graduating Petty School would be the end, for others, this was the
beginning of their formal training, a preparation for what was to come in
Grammar School.
“The most elementary level of
education was conducted for boys aged between 5 and 7 at what was called a '
Petty School '. These lessons and general education were conducted not in a
school but in the house of the teacher. The word ' petty ' probably derives
from the French word ' petit ' meaning little or small.”[11]
The modern
reader could assume that these Petty Schools were more like our modern
pre-schools but they are actually more like our primary schools. Here, the student
would gain their general education. The subjects were not particularly broad,
partly due to the focus of the education and partly due to the teachers.
“These Petty schools were usually
run, for a small fee, by a local, well-educated housewife, and were therefore
also referred to as ' Dame Schools '. At the ' Petty School ' or ' Dame School
' the boy's education would consist of being taught to read and write English,
learn the catechism and also learn lessons in behaviour.”[12]
These
teachers were not qualified in any sense of the word, but they were educated
enough to teach English, catechism, and lessons in behaviour. These schools
were focused on the essentials. They were supported by the Tudors because they
enabled more people to read the new Bible which was published in English. The
teacher’s methods were relatively effective and have been left for us to
examine.
“Elementary school teachers were
largely untrained and, as historian David Cressy notes, many “were little more
than child-minders.” Some, however, took a more professional approach and
recorded their techniques for posterity. Their teaching methods consisted
mainly of repetitive oral drills, with children encouraged to associate sounds
with shapes and figures.”[13]
There was a
lot of repetition of letters and words to ensure that the student remembered
them. To ensure that the student was getting the right sort of education, there
was a religious and moral aspect which was always introduced into the study of
the language.
“In these schools the curriculum
usually covered the basics of the English language. They also taught the
principles of the church, something called Catechism. This is similar to Bible
studies. Petty / Dame schools also taught children about standards of expected
behaviour. This was important because of the changes made by the Religious
Settlement.”[14]
The religious
changes which had happened under Henry VIII and then had been reinforced under
Edward VI and Elizabeth I were such that the Bible was written in English a new
English Church had been formed and the students at school had to learn all of
the necessary elements of church studies to have the correct behaviour. Further,
there was a moral aspect which was enforced in these teachings. They used a
writing aid to copy their letters from when practicing which reinforced the moral
and religious aspects taught.
“Here they learned their ABCs
using a hornbook, a paddle-shaped piece of English oak with a paper or
parchment alphabet protected by transparent horn laminate. And because one of
the purposes of Elizabethan education was to create a new generation of good
Anglicans, the hornbook also contained the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, and
sometimes the Ten Commandments.”[15]
The education
was sanctioned in purpose by the state to produce the kind of citizens that
they wanted. Education allowed more of the population to read the Bible in
English and thus become better citizens through the Anglican Church. The Tudors
focused on having as many of their English citizens able to read and write in
English to ensure the prosperity of their nation. Writing was something which
was not taught until later in the school program.
“Writing was taught later in
petty school, mainly as a means of reinforcing reading skills. Penmanship was a
complicated process that required mastery of papers, rulers, inks, penknives,
and goosefeathers, all alien to students who did not grow up with such
materials in their homes. It was also a messy business—and not an easy
proposition for clumsy little hands. Children would begin by imitating written
letters, syllables, and words they had learned orally until they could
reproduce them without following a copy. Oddly (to us, at least), one thing Ben
and his peers would not have been
encouraged to write was their names. In fact, according to Cressy, “none of the
educators of pre-industrial England recommended children to learn to write
their own names… since [personal names] did not conform to the rules of
spelling that the teachers were trying to instill.” So when Renaissance people
were unable to produce a signature, it did not necessarily mean that they were
illiterate.”[16]
Shakespeare
has been presented as having several different signatures with several
different spellings of his name. He has to be the most well-known poet and
play-wright of the Elizabethan era and credited with having a significant
impact upon the English language. Clearly, he was not illiterate. The focus was
on words other than individual names. Names did not conform to rules of
spelling, as indicated. Shakespeare’s noted friend Ben Jonson attended Grammar
School, due to a patron’s gift. Many others were not so fortunate.
Grammar School
“Somewhere between the ages of
eight and eleven, boys graduated to grammar school. Very few Elizabethan girls
progressed beyond petty school, although those in the middle and upper classes
sometimes continued their education at home. In Jonson’s case, he made the leap
at only seven, thanks to a benefactor who secured him a spot at Westminster
School. ... Jonson’s patron remains unknown, it is recorded that his first
teacher was William Camden, who was not only one of the leading schoolmasters
of his day but also an eminent linguist, historian, and author.”[17]
Grammar
School was not for everyone. For some, it was not affordable, for others it was
not necessary, due to their future occupation. The gifted students would
progress to Grammar School along with those of whom it was required for them to
assume their roles in society. While this school could be compared to the
modern secondary school, there were some differences noted, aside from
attendance and age.
“The Children of Noble birth were
invariably taught by tutors at home but, from the age of 7 to 14, children of a
lower standing went to Grammar Schools - the most common institute for
Elizabethan education during the Elizabethan period. Many schools were financed
by the local Guild.”[18]
Guilds would
finance schools because they would benefit from the graduands of those schools.
Where the Guild assisted a citizen, they could pay the Guild back in favourable
mention and other benefits. This was especially the case for the emerging
Middle Class which was becoming more and more economically-powerful. Further,
their members could be educated at these schools, thus benefiting the Guild in
a direct sense. These schools did not have the same comforts of modern schools.
“Elizabethan classrooms were big
drafty spaces, often converted from chapels; they were noisy and dirty,
freezing in winter, and dark at both ends of the school day. Pupils furnished
not only their own writing paper, notebooks, quills, and sharpening knives, but
were also expected to contribute fuel to stave off the chill and candles to see
their way through long hours of study.”[19]
Such a
situation, it could be assumed, would not be beneficial for the students and
their studies might suffer. The same conditions also produced students who were
willing to endure the conditions to achieve their end. Such conditions for
study make modern ones seem rather comfortable in comparison. The curriculum
was heavily based around Latin.
“Teaching techniques relied
heavily on memorization and recitation. Students were expected to become
proficient in Latin, as it was the language of the educated throughout Europe.
The curriculum was conservative, because most of the teachers had received
their education in the old system, which concentrated on rhetoric.”[20]
The medieval
systems of teaching which had preceded it still held their sway hence the
influence of rhetoric being present and also that Latin was still the language
of the educated throughout Europe. The curriculum was focused around the
learning of Latin and its correct grammar. Writing was based on reading of
Latin passages. “A grammar school pupil’s first order of business was learning
Latin; his second was avoiding the birch.”[21] Corporal
punishment was prevalent in these schools and was expected for any infraction.
“Latin is also the language of
international affairs, and men of affairs are expected to be able to
communicate in it. Or employ someone who does. Anyone who wants to make his way
in the world must have at least a working knowledge of Latin.”[22]
Latin was the
common language amongst the European nations so it was the language of
international affairs, and also commerce. This is one of the reasons that it
was emphasised in these schools. The students in these schools were expected to
be the leaders and it was necessary to learn Latin to do this. “A textbook,
‘Lily’s Latin Grammar’ had been authorised for use in Grammar Schools during
the reign of Henry VIII.”[23] This
same textbook followed through and was used in the Elizabethan period for the
same purpose.
Other Latin texts were used as
secondary sources. “Plautus, Terence, and Seneca as classical sources. Any
history, literature, or drama is mainly a vehicle for illustrating the
grammar.”[24]
There were other subjects learnt at Grammar School, but these subjects were
learnt around the core of Latin and used as a method of learning Latin. Latin
is the gate-key language to further learning and learning was based in the
humanities.
“The function of the grammar
school is to prepare you for university,
where courses are conducted in Latin, even after the Reformation. Music, modern
languages, and science are irrelevant.”[25]
The Grammar
School is concerned with the interactions with people, but based upon ancient
texts, so history, literature and drama are substantially more important as
they explain the world in context with other people and how they should act.
There is a subtle sense of social education within the teaching. The early part
of teaching was performed by older pupils known as “Ushers” to the younger
ones.[26] In
this early stage, the student would find their foundations in Latin and learn
all of the important aspects of reading and writing in this language.
“Between the ages of 7 and 10
boys would have spent their early childhood being taught by Ushers, a junior
master or senior pupil at the Grammar School. The boys first learnt the rudiments
of Latin with the assistance of the Tudor text-book known as Lily's Latin
Grammar - using the horn-book and the alphabet as a tool and the basis of
Elizabethan education. This short introduction to grammar and education,
compiled by William Lily, had been authorised by Henry VIII as the sole Latin
grammar textbook to be used in education and schools. In 1558 a child's speller
was written in England as spelling consistency gradually emerges. This period
of Elizabethan education would have followed a set routine”[27]
In the teaching
by the “Ushers” would seem like the actual teachers were moving some of their
responsibilities to others. If it is examined from another perspective, the
“Ushers”, in teaching of the younger students reaffirm their knowledge of the
subjects by having to teach them to the younger students. Through teaching,
they can find out any elements in their knowledge which needed work. The actual
teachers were known as “Masters”.
“Following this [“Ushers”]
teaching moved to ‘Masters’ who were what we would call teachers. Lessons
continued to look at different elements of the Latin and English curriculum.
Religious Education was also important, especially so considering the Religious
Settlement and changes to church practises that followed. Mathematics was
taught, mainly arithmetic. Schooling continued to teach the need to respect
ones superiors and the church.”[28]
The “Masters”
were what would now be considered actual qualified teachers. The “Ushers” were
not, they were merely senior students who took the opportunity to practice
their knowledge on the younger students. “Unlike petty school teachers, grammar
masters were expected to have gone to university and all were required to pass
the Queen’s muster.”[29] The
“Masters” were qualified teachers and so would take the students through the
senior years of their instruction. This part of the curriculum had a particular
focus, being to ensure that the knowledge of Latin was solid and so was their
moral knowledge. After this, the student should be ready to face the world, either
to assume an occupation, or move to university.
“Between the ages of 10 and 14
boys leave the Ushers to be taught by the Masters in the following lessons.
·
Latin to English translations
·
Literature including the works of the great
classical authors and dramatists, such as Ovid, Plautus, Horace, Virgil, Cicero
and Seneca
·
Occasionally the study of Greek
·
Religious education continued
The lessons that the “Masters”
taught were thought essential for the student to either progress toward
university or to succeed in their position in society. The literature in its
reading instilled certain values in the student while reinforcing their
knowledge of Latin. Such literature gave the student problems to consider and
moral questions to examine. These were presented alongside religious education
which was also considered essential for the proper functioning citizen.
School Day and Discipline
“Elizabethan Life at school was
quite strict. During summer the school day started at six o'clock in the
morning and finished at five o'clock in the evening. There was a two hour break
at midday. Because of the dark nights the hours changed during the winter and
school started at seven and finished earlier at four o'clock. The school week
consisted of a five full days and a half-day on Thursday which continued for
between 40 to 44 weeks of the year. This meant that the school boys spent at
least 2,000 hours in school – more than double the current school hours.”[31]
In comparison
to their Elizabethan counter-parts the school-boy of the modern era has little
to complain about in regard to the school hours. Nor can there be any complaint
about the amount of hours worked during that period. Five and a half days in
this account makes the typical modern Western school week look pale in
comparison. Further the actual hours themselves starting at such early hours
and ending at such late ones is of note. The day itself was detailed.
“The school day begins at 7:00am
in winter or 6:00am in summer. After prayers, they work till about 9:00 when
they are permitted breakfast, then they work till 11:00. Dinner is from 11:00
to 1:00. The school day ends at 5:00 or 5:30pm.”[32]
When the
above discusses “dinner” it is talking about what some might call “lunch”.
Considering there is a break taken into account for “breakfast” in the early
part of the day defines the day as starting quite early, thus before breakfast
was actually had. Then there is the long stretch until the end. These are
rather large blocks of work and the prime subject of concern was Latin.
“students were drilled in Latin
grammar—memorizing, reciting, translating from English to Latin and back again,
and copying classical authors. ... Facility in Latin was considered a requisite
skill for educated Elizabethans and, in the upper forms, was the only language
spoken in the classroom.”[33]
Other
subjects were primarily learnt as a consequence of learning Latin, because the
primary texts that were used were written in Latin. The same texts these days
are now translated for our convenience into English, making them easier to
read. Latin has lost its place as the international language of discourse and
commerce, but in the Elizabethan and earlier periods, it was essential. The
Grammar School was focused on teaching Latin.
“Discipline was strict, and often
involved beatings. In the lower forms boys studied Latin grammar and
vocabulary; in the upper forms, they concentrated on the poetry and prose of writers
such as Ovid, Martial, Catullus, and even the contemporary Latin of such
writers as Sir Thomas More.”[34]
Discipline
was considered to be an essential part of the learning process. The student
would learn their correct method and how to act as a member of society through
strict discipline. This discipline was corporal in nature, “students must have
their education beaten into them, like their manners and deportment. Parents
tend to support this theory.”[35] Corporal
punishment existed not only in the school setting but also at home, so this was
a continuation of this discipline, such discipline was used to instil hardiness
into the student. Punishments were frequent and for the simplest of
infractions. “Punishments for lateness, speaking English or not concentrating
were common. These punishments included use of the cane.”[36] These
punishments were designed to instil the right things into the student, thus
punishing them for wrong-doings, swiftly and often with the use of the cane.
Such beatings would have been unheard of in the modern system, but considered
essential in the Elizabethan.
“The school boys were expected to
converse in Latin at all times in order to improve their spoken fluency in the
language and any boy caught speaking English at school was punished. The
punishments were fierce and fifty strokes of the cane was not an uncommon
occurrence.”[37]
After Grammar School
Once the
student had survived the long hours and beatings of Grammar School, there was
the possible prospect of university, “At 14 University was available to those
boys who could fund such study.”[38] Much
like some privately-funded university systems in the modern world, the student
or some patron had to fund the student’s entrance and process through
university, and most simply could not afford it, or did not see the need for
it.
“The future after grammar school
for most boys was apprenticeship: they were bound to a master as to a father;
and the master, in turn, was responsible for the boy's clothing, food, shelter
and training. After seven years of apprenticeship, the boy could become a
journeyman and work for wages. It was possible--but rare--for boys of poorer
families to attend university through a scholarship or financing from a wealthy
patron.”[39]
A student who
went to Grammar School, would likely leave Grammar School educated and start
apprenticeship under the tutelage of another of the future occupation, there
was little social flow upward. For those whose occupation required the
knowledge which was taught at university, they were sent to university, usually
paid for by their parents or by some patron who saw potential in the
individual, needless to say those of the lower classes rarely went to
university. It is most interesting to look at Ben Jonson’s story as an example
situation.
“Jonson left Westminster [Grammar
School] when he was about sixteen but, without a scholarship, was unable to go
on to university—a circumstance that rankled for the rest of his days.
Education was one way to lay claim to being a gentleman (being well-born was
the other). So unlike Christopher Marlowe, who attended Cambridge University on
scholarship, Jonson was unable to pursue that route to upward mobility. He
nonetheless built on the strong roots of his early schooling, continuing to
educate himself throughout his life, and becoming one of England’s greatest
dramatists, a highly respected man of letters, and eventually the recipient of
honorary degrees from both Oxford and Cambridge.”[40]
Ben Jonson’s
situation demonstrates how a university education, as gained by Christopher
Marlowe gained an individual social status. Jonson, on the other hand, was not
able to go to university due to lack of a scholarship or patron, and thus
studied independently gaining his honorary degrees, and gaining respect in the
process. Education if it was afforded was one way that an individual could
break through to another social class and improve an individual’s situation. While
education reinforced some social values it offered the opportunity to break
free, thus aspiring to become something more as the humanists of the age would
have wanted.
[1] Moorhouse,
D. (2019) “Education and Leisure” in SchoolsHistory.org.uk, https://schoolshistory.org.uk/topics/british-history/elizabethan-era/education-and-leisure/,
[accessed 13/2/2020]
[2]
Ros, M. (2008) “What Every Schoolboy Knows” in Life in Elizabethan England, www.elizabethan.org/compendium/54.html,
[accessed 13/2/2020]
[3]
Moorhouse (2019)
[4]
Elizabethan-era.org (2017) “Elizabethan Education” in Elizabethan Era, www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-education.htm,
[accessed 13/2/2020]
[5]
Ros (2008)
[6]
ibid.
[7]
Moorhouse (2019)
[8]
Internet Shakespeare Editions (2011) “The education of boys” in Life and Times,
https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/SLT/ideas/education/boys.html#alternative,
[accessed 13/2/2020]
[9]
Elizabethan-era.org (2017)
[10]
Ros (2008)
[11]
Elizabethan-era.org (2017)
[12]
ibid.
[13]
Lyon, K. (2019) “Elizabethan education and Ben Jonson’s school days” in
Shakespeare & Beyond, https://shakespeareandbeyond.folger.edu/2019/09/03/ben-jonson-school-elizabethan-education/
[accessed 13/2/2020], Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, USA
[14]
Moorhouse (2019)
[15]
Lyon (2019)
[16]
Ibid.
[17]
ibid.
[18]
Elizabethan-era.org (2017)
[19]
Lyon (2019)
[20]
Internet Shakespeare Editions (2011)
[21]
Lyon (2019)
[22]
Ros (2008)
[23]
Moorhouse (2019)
[24]
Ros (2008)
[25]
ibid.
[26]
Moorhouse (2019)
[27]
Elizabethan-era.org (2017)
[28]
Moorhouse (2019)
[29]
Lyon (2019)
[30]
Elizabethan-era.org (2017)
[31]
ibid.
[32]
Ros (2008)
[33]
Lyon (2019)
[34]
Internet Shakespeare Editions (2011)
[35]
Ros (2008)
[36]
Moorhouse (2019)
[37]
Elizabethan-era.org (2017)
[38]
Moorhouse (2019)
[39]
Internet Shakespeare Editions (2011)
Bibliography
Elizabethan-era.org (2017) “Elizabethan Education” in
Elizabethan Era, www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-education.htm,
[accessed 13/2/2020]
Internet Shakespeare Editions (2011) “The education of boys”
in Life and Times, https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/SLT/ideas/education/boys.html#alternative,
[accessed 13/2/2020]
Lyon, K. (2019) “Elizabethan education and Ben Jonson’s
school days” in Shakespeare & Beyond, https://shakespeareandbeyond.folger.edu/2019/09/03/ben-jonson-school-elizabethan-education/
[accessed 13/2/2020], Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, USA
Moorhouse, D. (2019) “Education and Leisure” in SchoolsHistory.org.uk,
https://schoolshistory.org.uk/topics/british-history/elizabethan-era/education-and-leisure/,
[accessed 13/2/2020]
Ros, M. (2008) “What Every Schoolboy Knows” in Life in
Elizabethan England, www.elizabethan.org/compendium/54.html,
[accessed 13/2/2020]
