Medieval Education: a Bibliographical Essay

MEDIEVAL EDUCATION: A BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY Thesis for the Degree of M. A MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY JOHN J. CONTRENI 1968 LIBRA RY IMHUHNlllHlIlUHIl“!llllil“H|lH|l1U|llflHHIHI Michigan mm, 3 1293 104388. _ Umvcrsxty ABSTRACT MEDIEVAL EDJCATION: A BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY* by John J. Contreni Before research can be undertaken on a particular problem it is helpful and, indeed, imperative to first re— view the "state of the question." The purpose of this essay, therefore, is to provide background for a further study of medieval education. This essay does not aim to supply a history of medieval education or even a history of one as- pect of medieval education. Rather, it aims to uncover the various approaches of historians toward medieval education. and the major trends in the historiography of medieval education.. The essay begins with a sampling of humanists' attitudes toward medieval culture. Though not historians of the Middle Ages, the men of the Renaissance entertained strong feelings about the age which preceded their own. Implicitly they compared the educational system of their own day to that of the late Middle Ages. The comparison was not favorable to medieval education. To the classicists of the Renaissance the concerns of medieval education smacked only of ignorance and barbarity. John J. Contreni During the Enlifitenment period various scholars who turned their attention to medieval education and educational institutions produced works of real merit. His- tories of particular universities and of the refinement of culture and knowledge were, for the most part, based on a consideration of medieval education. But here again the pre— ponderant note in historical scholarship was the exaltation of the most recent period and that period's institutions to the detriment of those of a "less fortunate” time. A break in the historiography of the Middle Ages and, therefore, of medieval education, came with the roman- tic wave of the late XVIIIth and early XIXth centuries. For various reasons, the romanticists exalted the Middle ges and replaced the negative approach of previous scholars toward that period with a constructive approach which attempted to treat the Middle Ages on its own terms. It was with the revolt of the romanticists against Enlrflflenment rationalism that medieval studies, properly considered, were born. In the historiography of medieval education since the XIXthCBntury, the major emphases have been placed on individuals and institutions, especially during the period of the universities. The universities of the High Middle Ages have dominated the field of medieval educational studies. The universities and, to a lesser extent, the cathedral schools and other educational institutions of the Middle Ages have been examined from a judicial, political, and constitutional viewpoint. Indeed, education during the Middle Ages in general John J. Contreni has been viewed apart fro: any larger context, the larger context in which individuals moved and institutions were formed and evolved. It is the conclusion of this essay that our under- standing of medieval education and intellectual life would be enriched by a fresh approach to the major educational movements and developments that occurred during the Mid- dle Ages. One such approach would consider the impact of social phenomena on cultural lifea MEDIEVAL SDUCATION: A BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY By zx John JITContreni A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER.OF ARTS Department of History , 1968 PREFACE. In some fashion or another every society and culture has made some provision for what we call today education. Whether it has been some sort of prehistoric in- struction in survival or in the requirements of the cult or today’s audio-visual, computerized, multiversity "living- learning experience," man has always taught, instructed, and, in general initiated some sort of transfer of knowledge. From the "Go ye therefore and teach all nations” of the Scriptures through the missionaries who closely followed (and sometimes preceded) the conquerors and gold-seekers into new territories to today's Peace Corps volunteers and social workers in the Great Society, education has been an integral part of Western man's culture and, thereby, his history. The study of the history of education, therefore, would seem to be especially fruitful to the historian who attempts to understand a people's ideas and institutions. It can be argued that a people's values are reflected in the substance of their educational theory and system. Conversely, it can be argued, perhaps more strongly, that a people's educational system and content reflect more a set of ideals as differentiated from the actual, lived values practiced by society.. In either event, the study of the history of education provides us with an excellent Opportunity to know, and ii more importantly, to understand the intellectual history of a people and an era.” I The present study aims to establish an historical background for a future study of medieval educational and intellectual history. Such a background study is of importance to the historian for two reasons.. First, it aoquaints him with the results of previous historical scholarship. Secondly, an historiographical study of a particular prob— lem opens up new approaches to the problem and suggests new questions to be asked concerning it. The important element in historical scholarship is, I'think, not so much the sources but rather the questions that are put to the sources. It is closer to the truth of the matter to say that each gen-- eration asks different questions than to say merely that each generation writes its own historye In the preparation of the historiographical analysis of opinion concerning medieval education, I have operated with several guideposts in mind which it would be well to note at the outset.. First, I have found it convenient to organize the first major section of this paper according to the well-known.(and well-worn) conventional periods of his-- tory, g;g£, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, Romanticism. I have done this chiefly to bring some semblance of coherency and order to the paper while remaining secure in the belief that no reader will give more importance to labels than is their due.. In general, there does seem to be a difference in outlook between Erasmus and his contemporaries and Vol- taire and his contemporaries which warrants placing the for- 111 mer in the Renaissance and the latter in the Enlightenment. Beyond this, though, the over—emphasis of labels to the point where they are used to typify an outlook ascribable to all men of a certain period is dangerous. Here, such conventional terms used to designate historical periods will be used ex- actly as that.- conventional terms and no more. Secondly, I have not confined my researches solely to the writings of the historians of each period. Rather, I have felt free to consult the opinions of philosophers, educational theorists, novelists, "popular" writers, and thinkers in general in addition to historians. I have done this pri- marily because for some time historians did not treat of the Middle Ages, much less medieval education, whereas the other types of sources did in some respect or another. Also, aside from increasing the number of useful sources available, such a broad sampling of opinion gig g Egg medieval education is more representative of any attitude than a sampling of historians alone is. By no means have I exhaustively examined the full depth of possible opinion toward the Middle Ages and education during that period.. In general, for the earlier periods I have examined only the writings of the major figures of those periods.. From approximately the middle of the XVIIIth century, however, the number of writers and thinkers consulted has be- come fuller. Thirdly, my study of medieval education will focus on the period from the decline of classical education to the iv establishment of the medieval university, 1:2;1 from approximately the beginning of the.IVth to the XIIIth century inclusivea In terms of the development of education in the Middle Ages I believe this period to be an historically sig- nificant ones A note should be made of the implications of the term "education" as employed in this paper. I use the term "education" in the narrow sense, that is, as referring to schools, teachers, and the taught, and only secondarily to such considerations as the state of learning or the development of science or literature during any particular period. Finally, it is in the very nature of this study to raise more questions than it purports to answer. In surveying the representative source material pertaining to medieval education for the last six centuries and more, many interesting problems that beg for further analysis have been seemingly slighted.. If the reader has been made aware of these problems, however, this study will have fulfilled the purpose for which the author undertook it. e e * It is a pleasurable duty to gratefully acknowledge the assistance of those who aided and guided my labors. To Professor Richard E. Sullivan, Chairman, Department of History, Michigan State University, who first suggested this study, I am grateful for encouragement, insights, and valuable criticism. Without the aid of Mr. Halter Burinski and his staff at the Inter-Library Loan department of the Michigan State University Library many of the ‘ COCKS . and articles noted in the body H of this essay would have been urave' Si. fJ d- 0 me. I ap- H 5;) (J pneciate their work in my behalf. My wife, Katharine, assisted in the long preparation of this study with cheer and patience. Not only did she assist with the lion's portion of the onerous task of typing, re-typing and cor- recting the manuscript but, in addition her keen appraisal of the text and my prose saved me from numerous embarrass— ments and tested my conclusions.

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