Education of the Middle Ages Essay

Education, as we tell apart it today, did non exist in the Middle Ages. Illiteracy was dominant among the population. Scribes were the expulsion to the rule. performes were the main source of know takege and disciplineing. Real interest in erudition grew along with the development of towns. The towns officials needed to be educated. At the like clip a need for legal institutions was created and so started the university phenomenon. Modern education was on its bureau. There were few schools in the Middle ages, so every unriv every last(predicate)ed had limited education. redden the Lord of the Manor was often unable to read or write. near of the first schools were Cathedral schools. As well as Parish, Monastic, and Palace schools. hither quite a little noticeed a particular role in society. by nature the primary job was training the clergy in their professional duties as priests of the Christian people. The bishop was the head of the complex and he had a staff of priest to stand by him with the several of the diocese. These skills that were taught here were reading, singing of hymns, church convictionfulness, writing of documents and the performing of Church duties and sacraments.An example of educating for a specific role in life were the Knights who had learn how to fight with sundry(a) weapons so that they could fight for their king. The common people, however, had no way of being educated other than going a monastic school. However, if they did this, they had to donate their property to the church. The people who went to this school later become monks or nuns. They had to describe three important laws chastity, obedience, and the law or the lord if not followed they would be thrown out of the monastery.Most monasteries had a rule of silence monks could not talk which other except for a short period of time. During meals one monk might read shed light onages from the bible while the others mediated. Even though monks lives seem to be so ha rd it was the best place to go for a good education for anybody from a king to a friar (Monasteries 488-499). Women took part in monastic life by living in a convent under a direction of an abbess. Known as nuns, they wore naive clothes and wrapped a white cloth called a wimple around their facet and neck.They alternated prayer with spinning, weaving, and embroiling items such(prenominal) as tapestries and banners. They also taught needlework and the healthful use of herbs to daughters of nobles (Couglin A6). Although monks and nuns lived apart from society, they were not completely isolated. Indeed, they played a of import role in medieval intellectual and social life. Since few people could read or write, the regular clergy preserved ancient and the holy writings. Scribes copied all the books by hand working in a small drafty room with one candle or a small windowpane for light.Illuminated manuscripts decorated with rich colors and intricate pictures indicate that, although t he trade union movement was done with hard work, it was also lovingly done (Monastaries 499-501). Monasteries and convents provided not lone whatever(prenominal) schools for young people, but hospitals for the sick, food for the needy, and a home for travelers who need a place to stay (Monasteries 499-501). Cathedral schools were there to train higher-member of the Church in their professional duties as ministers of the Christian people. The bishop in whose Cathedral complex the school was located needed a group of trained priests to administer the various needs dioceses.The Cathedral school largely emphasized practical skills, good reading, singing, and knowledge of Church Law, public speaking and the administration of the holy sacraments (Corbishely 28). At first the university was not so much a place as it was a group of scholars organized like a guild for the mathematical function of learning. Classes were held in rented rooms or churches even in the open air. Books were scar ce. In or so classes teacher read the text and discussed it, while students took notes on slates or memorized as much information as possible. Classes did, however meet on a regular basis schedule.University rules established the obligations of the students and the teachers toward each other. To qualify as a teacher students had to pass an exam leading to a degree, or a certificate of close (Cantor 58). By the end of the 1200s universities had spread throughout Europe. Most grey European universities were modeled later on the law school at Bologna, Italy, and narrow in law and medicine. Universities in Northern Europe on the contrary, specialized in liberal arts in Theology. These were generally modeled after the University of Paris (Bailey 89).At medieval universities, scholars canvass Latin classics and Roman law in depth. They also acquired knowledge from the work of the Greek philosopher Aristotle and from the Islamic eruditeness in the sciences. This interest in the ph ysical world eventually led a rise of western science (Schools 291-292). Many church leadership opposed the study of Aristotles works, fearing that his ideas feared the Christian teachings. In contrast some scholars thought that new knowledge could be used ideas. The applied Aristotle philosophy to theological questions and developed a system of thought called scholasticism.This new vitrine of learning emphasized cogitate as well as the faith in the interpretations of Christian doctrine. Scholastic sought to bring back classical philosophy along side with the teachings of the Church. They believed that knowledge could be integrated into a coherent whole (Schools 295). One scholastic teacher, Peter Aberlard taught theology in Paris during the early 1100s. In his book Sic et Non, he hoard statements from the bible writings of early Christian leaders that showed both sides of moot questions.Abearld then had his students reconcile the difference though logic. In the 1200s the most important scholastic thinker was Thomas Aquinas a pictorial theologian and philosopher who taught philosophy in Naples and France. In his work Summa Theolgica Aquinas claimed that reason was a leave from god that could provide answers to basic philosophical questions. The Catholic later accepted and promoted Aquinass way of teaching and thought (Schools 310). The education of a gymnastic horse proceeded in a way comparable to that of many medieval occupations.At an early age the prospective knight was apprenticed to serve as a page, or attendant, in a knights household. In his teens the page graduated to the status of a gallant and received more responsibilities. As a squire the son tended his knights horses and armor, but he also gained his first meshing experience. Several squires were usually apprenticed to a knight at the same time and on the battlefield they might fight as a small band of infantry around their master. Here they acquired the many skills in arms necessary for their profession.To graduate to the status of a knight, a squire usually performed some heroic deed in battle. The squire was welcomed into the point of knights by being dubbed with a sword or slapped in the face by his lord. Afterwards the new knight would receive his fief, or gift of land. As the cult of chivalry developed in the 12th and thirteenth centuries, knighting ceremonies became more involved. Often they occurred at court, and a knights name might be preceded by a religious vigil in which the knight vowed to uphold Christian and chivalric principles (Davies 12-13).Finally the Renaissance, or transition of learning, began in Europe in the 14th century and reached its height in the 15th century. Scholars became more interested in the humanist features that is, the secular or worldly rather than the religious aspects of the Greek and Latin classics. Humanist educators form their models of literary style in the classics. The Renaissance was a in particular aright fo rce in Italy, most notably in art, literature, and architecture. In literature, the works of such Italian writers as Dante Aleghieri, Petrarch, and Giovanni Boccaccio became especially important (Renaissance 228-229).Humanist educators designed teaching methods to prepare well-rounded, liberally educated persons. Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus was particularly influential. Erasmus believed that understanding and conversing about the meaning of literature was more important than memorizing it, as had been required at many of the medieval religious schools. He advised teachers to study such fields as archeology, astronomy, mythology, history, and Scripture (Renaissance 220). The invention of the produce press in the mid-15th century made books more widely uncommitted and increased literacy rates. save school attendance did not increase greatly during the Renaissance. Elementary schools educated middle-class children while lower-class children received little, if any, globe schoo ling. Children of the nobility and upper classes attended humanist secondary schools (Bailey 112). Educational opportunities for women amend slightly during the Renaissance, especially for the upper classes. Some girls from wealthy families attended schools of the regal court or received private lessons at home.The curriculum studied by young women was still based on the belief that besides(prenominal) certain subjects, such as art, music, needlework, dancing, and poetry, were suited for females. For working-class girls, especially hoidenish peasants, education was still limited to training in household duties such as cooking and sewing (Couglin, A8). As it shows education the Middle Ages seems to be so diverse and a starting point for modern education. But the reader must always keep in mind only about five percent of the whole population did all of these educational activities.