■ K'' ^^K. . •'",;'-"-;;'.\'^v ■ m\ ■-iim, ^Vn -::m^'^ ^^^^1 ^^V '. •''■*"'/«^ ^^^^1 ~ ^^Pr., . '-''*" -«i^H 'V'' \ •'^« 4 ■• '- B i. ]H UCLAYoung Research Library LB41 .M91 V L 009 491 834 9 UOS FLJiOBUBS, CiUi. ^c BROTHER AZARIAS' ESSAYS. ESSAYS EDUCATIONAL. With Preface by His EMINENCE, CARDINAL GIBBONS. " Cloistral Schools." " The Palatine School." " Mediaeval University Life." " Universi.y Colleges, Their Origin and Methods." " The Primary School in the Middle Ages." " The Simultaneous Method in Teaching." " Beginnings of the Normal School." "M. Gabriel Compayre as an Historian of Pedagogy. ESSAYS PHILOSOPHICAL. With Preface by the Kt. Rev. John J. Keane. 'Aristotle and the Christian Church." " The Nature and Synthetic Principle of Philosophy." " Symbolism of the Cosmos." " Psychological Aspects of Education." " Ethical Aspects of the Papal Encyclical on Labor." ESSAYS MISCELLANEOUS. With Preface by the Kev. BkotHEK JUSTIN. " Literature, Its Nature and Influence." "Religion in Education." " The Sonnets and Plays of Shakespeare." " Culture of the Spiritual Sense." " Our Catholic School System." " Our Colleges." " Church and State." Cloth, Price Per Volume, $1.50. ESSAYS EDUCATIONAL BY BROTHER AZARIAS Of the Brothers of the Christian Schools WITH PREFACE BY His EMINENCE CARDINAL GIBBONS / 3 ^0 8 CHICAGO D. H. MCBRIDE & CO. JAN 1905 Copyright, 1S96, BY D. 11. :iIcBRIDE & CO. PREFACE ^^'HIS new edition of the lectures of Brother ^-^ Azarias, delivered at Plattsburg in July, 1893, is an interesting history of the growth and develop- ment of educational institutions under the guiding hand of the Church. Who that is acquainted with the writings of Brother Azarias need be assured of the treat in store for him in this volume? In classic style, with an ease and grace that spring from a thorough knowledge of his subject, he sketches with a master's hand the efforts of our forefathers in the attainment of learning and the methods they adopted to accomplish their laudable object. To many it will be a surprise to learn that the education of the young was a matter of great solici- tude to the bishops and priests of the so-called Dark Ages. Brother Azarias shows that primary schools were established and maintained, not by taxation, but by the self-denying efforts of teachers and the voluntary contributions of the people. This volume contains a fund of knowledge in detail. It manifests a large reading, a retentive d (^) vi PREFACE. memory and power of condensation, without, how- ever, the affectation of learning, the cumbersomeness of erudition, or the indistinctness of a too concise diction. The book would prove useful and interesting to the students and professors in our colleges, semina- ries and monasteries, and I hope it will meet the welcome it deserves. " ( c^ Ci^^t^ CONTENTS PAGE Cloistral Schools 3 The Palatine School 39 Medi^«:val University Life 49 University Colleges; Their Origln ano Their Methods 105 The Primary School in the Middle Ages . . . .171 The Simultaneous Method in Teaching .... 207 Beginnings of the Normal School ....... 243 M. Gabriel Compayre as an Historian of Pedagogy 263 (vii) eteisTRAii seH00i2S (1) " ^ r) Here is the sweet tid-bit on which our public- -^ school teachers have been chewing for the past ten ^ years : 'J "The effort of the monkish teachers was as much directed to the exclusion of such knowledge as did not directly suggest their views and authority, as it was to promulgate that of the opposite kind. The school did little or nothing to banish ignorance from the people. Science was interdicted by the ' American Ecclesiastical Review. " Principles and Practice of Teaching" by James Johonnot. New York, D. Appleton & Co. 1881. (3) 4 ESSA7-S EDUCATIONAL. Church as opposed to religion. ' For centuries,' says Hallam, *to sum up the account of ignorance in a word, it was rare for a layman of whatever rank to know how to sign his name.' '" It is indeed difficult to hold one's soul in peace under the provocation of such reckless writing. Does Mr. Johonnot know that Hallam's assertion has been thoroughly refuted by Maitland in his " Dark Ages " ? But it is clear that the light which Maitland has thrown upon this period has shone in vain for Mr. Johonnot. Now, we have not far to go to find an opposite teaching. Since Hallam wrote and Maitland wrote men are in a position to know better. They can make at the present day no more sweeping asser- tions concerning the Middle Ages than they can concerning the nineteenth century. We pick up the latest magazine that comes upon our desk, and we read : "If the fourteenth century village was less ill off than we are apt to imagine it in regard to the medi- cines of the body, it appears that the training of the mind was less absolutely non-existent in the rural class than it has been our habit to assert. Many of the laborers on the farms of Bonis could sign their names, though probably their science in writing ended there. But every tenant farmer in an age when the accounts of tenant and landlord were peculiarly complicated, was obliged to know a certain amount of bookkeeping; doubtless the steward was often more learned than his lord. Hedge-schools were common ; in every consider- able village, if not in every hamlet, there was a ' "Principles and Practice of Teaching," p. 170. CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 5 school-master, appointed generally by the patron of the village-living." ' This is history ; this is truth. It is the outcome ot painstaking research. But we dare say, the myth of Hallam's rare layman who could sign his name will continue to pass down upon the tide of preju- dice until Macaulay's forthcoming New Zealander shall label it in some future museum with his sketch of the ruins of St. Paul's. But in the meantime we ask ourselves in all earnestness: How comes it that we find disseminated among our public-school teach- ers, as knowledge, as clear-cut information, statements so reeking with ignorance and prejudice and bigotry? Why is it that the intelligence of this respectable body must be insulted by such gross, unhistorical as- sertions? Surely, of all men, should educators be familiar with the latest and most accurate word in history, in literature, or in science. Note how Mr. Johonnot groups all mediaeval edu- cation under the one heading "monkish," and then brushes it away with a single sweep of his pen. Has it occurred to him — does he know — the number and variety of schools that existed in the early and middle ages? There were rural schools; there were episco- pal schools ; there were cathedral schools ; there were grammar schools; there were cloistral schools;. there were the early seminaries, the colleges, the palace school, and the university. Thus do we find the monastic school only one out of many. However, ^ The Fortnightly Review, December, 1890. Art., Rural Life in France in the 14th Century, by A. Mary F. Robin- son (Madame James F. Darmstetter). 6 ESSJ}\S EDUCATIONAL. since the author unwittingly called attention to the education given by the monks, it may be of interest to examine the methods followed and the education imparted in the cloistral schools. II. ^ Cloistral schools begin with the establishment of monastic institutions. We find them flourishing un- der Pachomius at Tabenna in the first half of the fourth century. The doors of his monastery were open to children as well as to men. Lessons were given three times a day to those whose education was deficient. All were required to be familiar with the Psalter and the New Testament. Each house con- tained its own library. Three times a week did a brother, set apart for the purpose, explain at length the truths and mysteries of Faith. Catechumens were also instructed at stated times. The rules en- ter into such details as give us insight into the edu- cational methods of the East. Should the aspirant to religious life not know how to read he shall be sent to a brother appointed to teach, and standing before him, he shall learn with all thankfulness. Af- terwards he shall learn to write letters, syllables, words and names, and he shall be compelled to read whether he will or no. None shall be permitted to remain in the monastery who has not learned to read and who does not know some of the Scriptures — at the very least the Book of Psalms and the New Tes- tament.' ' " Regula S. Pachomii," cap. 139, 140. CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 7 As on the banks of the Nile, so was it in the mon- astery at Bethlehem.' And in the latter half of the fourth century, St. Basil organized similar schools in Caesarea. So great was the reputation of this saint as an educator that the magistrates of the town urged him to direct their public school ; and when he de- clined, the people assembled in a body and besought him to comply with their request. But Basil had another field of labor, into which he threw all his en- ergies." In the fifth century, Lerins under St. Hon- oratus became a nursery of learning and piety. There St. Eucherius had his two sons educated, the oldest being scarcely ten years when, in 410, he entered.^ There St. Loup kindled the torch that he afterwards brought to Troyes. In the monastery of Our Lady, outside the walls of this city, he established a school that became famous. In like manner does the chiv- alric and large-hearted St. Martin of Tours establish schools near Poitiers, and at Marmoutier, near Tours. Then, at the beginning of the sixth century, we come upon a celebrated school of nuns at Aries, un- der the guidance of St. C^saire. Their rules require that they be instructed, and that they devote not less than two hours daily to reading.' There are no less than two hundred of them, and they become re- nowned for the beautiful workmanship they produce in copying manuscripts both sacred and profane.' ' Mabillon, "Etudes Monastiqvies," Paris, 1691, p. 11. 2 Fleury, " Hist. Eccles.," iii., liv. xiv., p. 545. ' " Lerins au V^ Siecle," par Abbe Goux. * " Regula S. Csesarii," xvii.,Ed. Migne, t. 67. col. 1109. ^ " Vita S. Ctesarii," cap. v. 44. 8 BJSSA } \S ED U CA TI ON A L . From the sixth to the eighth century these cloistral schools flourished. But the one who organized them, as he did all monastic life in the west, was St. Ben- edict. We will not enter upon an account of his life. It is too well known. Suffice it to say here that to St. Benedict the civilized world owes a debt of grati- tude of which it can never be quit. He established a rule that was for his day and generation a marvel of wisdom. In this rule, manual labor seems to predominate ; but a glance at the temper and spirit of the times will show how thoughtful this great man was in giving out-door occupation to strong natures but ill-suited to pore over books. As time wore on, and men grew more civilized, and the desire for mental culture became more general, the monks were found equal to the emergency; and so their influence spread from clime to clime, till all lovers of learning hold them as blessed in memory as they are blessed in name. True it is that the rules of St. Benedict say comparatively little about study, but it were false reasoning to conclude therefrom that all study was proscribed. Within the limitations of the strictest rules there is always freedom of action on many unnamed things according to times and places. And when Benedict recommends his brothers to write in a style brief, simple, and modest,' he presupposes that those brothers pursued preliminary studies. And so they did in fact, v During his own lifetime Benedict took the young sons of the Roman nobility ' Rule, chap. CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 9 and educated them. These children were trained up to their fifteenth year with the youths whose parents had consecrated them to the service of God. Then they made choice either to remain and enter the novitiate or to withdrav/ into the world. Already, in the fifth century, we see the effects of this religious grounding upon men living in the world. Thus Sidonius, singing the praises of Vectius, a distinguished military oflficer, says: " He reads frequently in the Holy Scriptures, especially at his meals, thus partaking at the same time of food of the soul and food of the body. He often recites the Psalms, still oftener sings them." ' Later, Eginhardt, the biographer of Charlemagne, tells us that that great monarch had some one to read to him during his meals ; among the subjects mentioned are ancient history and the works of St. Augustine, especially that saint's masterpiece, " The City of God." Herein is a new ideal of greatness already estab- lished. St. Chrysostom, noting the great benefit of this religious education, thus exhorts parents : " Do not withdraw your children from the desert before the time. Let the principles of holy discipline be impressed upon their minds, and virtue take root in their hearts. Should it take ten or even twenty years to complete their education in the monasteries, be not troubled on that account. The longer they are exercised in this gymnasium, the more strength they shall acquire. Better still, let there be no fixed time, and let their culture have no other term than the ripening of the fruits thereof."^ 1 See Fauriel, " Histoire de Gaulo Moridionolle," i., p. 404. ^"Adv. Persecut. Monach." lib. iii., ca]!. 16. 10 BSS.i ]\S EDlCATIOXAf.. This is a remarkable passage, showing the pre- vailing custom of the East and also the extensive course of education that must have been given in those monasteries. Indeed, Pope Syricius is so im- pressed with the order and discipline of the cloistral schools, that he strongly recommends priests to be ordained from candidates chosen almost exclusively from the monasteries.' III. /" To understand the rule of Benedict and the writ- ings of the early Fathers as regards literary culture, we must remember that the training of the intellect, as well as the training of the hand, were not for their own sake. They were simply means to an end. It was the disciplining and the developing of the whole man towards something higher. It was the growth of soul towards perfection. All else was made subor- dinate to this aim. He who enters upon this course must be a willing candidate. "According as one advances in the way of piety and faith, the heart expanding and becoming more generous, one runs in the way of the commandments of the Lord by a sentiment of love and an ineffable meekness." ' Therefore, manual labor is not ordained for its own sake ; it is simply laid down as an antidote to laziness, and seemingly as a means by which the intellect becomes freshened for study. Thus we are told that, laziness being the enemy of souls, the ' " Svr. Pap. Ep. i. atl Ilimerium Tarracon "., Ilardoiiin, p. 857- ■^ Preface of St. Benedict to Rules. CL OIS TRA L SC//OOL S. ^ \ brothers shall give certain times to manual labor, and certain other times to the reading of holy things. They shall labor from the first hour of the day to the fourth, and from the fourth till nearly the sixth they shall devote to the reading of holy things. Ignorance is not only a shame, it is very injurious for religious men. We should not be degenerate children of those Fathers of the Church so illustrious in every species of doctrine. But discipline and a method simple and easy for all are indispensable in order to acquire science. If anybody is desirous to read in particular, he may do so, provided he incommodes nobody. In winter, having risen from the table, the brothers shall devote the remaining time to reading or learning the Psalms. At the beginning of Lent a book shall be given to each brother, that he may read it from beginning to end. The whole of Sundays shall be passed in read- ing, except by those having offices and particular occupations. A brother shall be appointed to see that the time assigned for reading and study is so A employed, and not otherwise.' Even casual visitors to the monastery must not leave without having the bread of life broken to them. And so, one of the points observed in receiving visitors is that a brother shall sit before them and shall first read some passage from Holy Writ, and he shall after- ward receive them with all possible graciousness."^ A beautiful custom this, sowing the seeds of many a rich harvest. ^ Rules, chap. 48 '■^ Ibid., chap. 53. 12 ESSAl'S EDrCATIONAL. Such was the intellectual side of the rule of St. Benedict. Dom Morel, commenting upon it, says: " The reading that St. Benedict gives us as a fruit- ful remedy against laziness, comprises also study ; and of both reading and study, as of manual labor, we should say that they must needs be of such a nature as to belong to our state, otherwise they would not guard us against idleness or loss of time." ' It was in this spirit that Benedict insisted that the brothers should not lose time upon mere works of the imagination. He considered sufficient time spent on them during the period of preparatory study. Hence the solid character of the work done by those men from Cassiodorus down to Dom Gueranger and Cardinal Pitra. Peter the Venerable has clearly and beautifully expressed the Benedictine spirit of study and writing in the following words: " We cannot always plant or water ; we must some- times abandon the plow for the pen, and instead of working fields we must turn up the pages of holy letters. Scatter upon paper the seeds of the word of God, which in harvest time, that is, when your books are finished, shall nourish your famished read- ers by the abundance of its fruits, and with celestial bread shall banish the immortal hunger of their souls. Thus will you become a silent preacher of the holy word; while your lips shall be mute, from your hand shall resound a powerful voice among many people, and after your death the merit of your works shall be all the greater before God in proportion as their life shall be the more durable." " ' "Meditations siir Ic Rc,i^lc de S. Bt-noit." Paris, 1752, p. 512. '' "Acta Ordin. S. Bcncd." Sa-c. v., ]>ref. ohscrv. x. An- tiquar. lalujr. CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 13 With the advance of civilization the Benedictine studies broadened, and Benedictine labors in the lit- erary field grew apace. Grammar, rhetoric, and phi- losophy had their respective places in the program of the advanced student. His profane readings he learned to sanctify by prayer and mortification and the practice of obedience. In this lay the secret of the strength and great influence of the Benedictines. It is with permissible pride that the erudite and in- defatigable Mabillon could write: "Almost alone, the order of St. Benedict, for several centuries, maintained and preserved letters in Europe. There were no other masters in our monasteries, and frequently the cathedral schools drew theirs from the same source. It is only to- wards the end of the tenth and beginning of the eleventh century that secular clerics begin to teach." ' The masters were carefully chosen. Benedict laid stress upon three qualifications to be considered in electing a dean; namely, "his person, his wisdom, and his doctrine ;" ' and commentators agree that the word " doctrine " here includes learning. In the Rule as it was in vogue one hundred years after Benedict's day we read : "At hours appointed for reading the young religious shall be instructed by a skilful mas- ter." ' We are told that St. Ferreol dispensed the abbot from all manual labor, that he might have time to study whatever he should teach his re- ligious." It was his duty to see that the master 1 '* ;^tudes Monastiques," p. 135. "^ Rules, chap. 20. ^ Mabillon "Etudes Monastiques,"' p. iS. ^ Chap. 50. 14, ESSAYS EDUCATIONAL. was equal to his position. He should devote three hours a day to the school of the professed brothers. He decided what studies each should pursue, accord- ing to respective talent, taste, and inclination. Those teaching in the classes, or pursuing special studies and researches, were exempt from manual labor and the night-offices; but they rose for their devotions at four in the morning. If it is noticed that a teacher is brutal or incompetent, he is to be removed at once and replaced by another of mature age, who shall be distinguished for his experience, and shall have given proof of certain meekness of character. From the master let us turn to the schools. IV. The primary aim of the monastic school was to prepare candidates for the recruitment of the relig- ious life. This it was that gave tone and color to studies and discipline. This was the uppermost idea with St. Basil when he was drafting the rules and regulations of these schools. In fact, he puts the question: "Should there be a master to instruct secular chil- dren ?" And he answers that under certain conditions sec- ular children may be admitted. "The Apostle has said : 'And you, fathers, provoke not your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and correction of the Lord. ' If parents bringing their children here do so in this spirit, and if those receiving the children so offered can rear them in the discipline and correction of the Lord, CT.OISTRAL SCHOOLS. 15 let US observe the precept contained in tiiese words: 'Suffer little children to come unto me, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.' But be- yond this end and this hope I deem that it would not be agreeable to God, or convenient for us, or really useful." ' Basil received orphans into his schools, and also children from the hands of their parents before wit- nesses. He must have received girls as well as boys, for the great doctor lays stress on their being kept apart. Benedict ordained a solemn ceremony to accom- pany the offering of a child to the service of God. The child's hand, together with the offering accom- panying the child and the written promise in which the parents testified that they freely, of their own accord, without coercion of any kind, devoted this child to the service of God as a religious, were all tied together in the altar-cloth or veil." The abbot or o,ne deputed by him received the child as a sacred trust, to guard and protect against all evil and to bring up in the fear and love of God. But, as has already been seen, besides children so consecrated to religious life, and the orphans of which St. Basil speaks, there were children placed within the shadow of the sanctuary to shield them from temptation and confirm them in religious discipline and a knowledge of their religion ; these might afterwards honorably return to the world. In this way were St. Maurus and St. Placidius brought up by St. Benedict from their 1 «» RegulaBrevius Tractatae," Intcrrog. ccxcii. ^ Rules, chap. 59. 16 ^^-.S-.ir.S- EDUCATIONAL. youth with many other children of the first families of Rome.' These children had a rule of their own. They had their hours for study and play, for rising and retiring ; they sang in the choir and became gradually accustomed to the discipline of religious life. Bene- dict devotes a chapter to the manner in which old men and children should be treated. The brethren are commanded to have due regard for their feeble- ness. They must not observe rigorous fasts, and must eat more frequently. But we can best learn the spirit and scope of monastic schools from their great organizer, the large-minded Basil. Boys are admitted when five or six years old. They should be kept apart from the older members of the community, by whom they should always be edified; "for," he adds, " he who is intellectually a boy is not to be distinguished from him who is a boy in years." " He would have their playgrounds so situated that in taking exercise and recreation they could not disturb the older members of the community. Their diet should be substantial and suited to their age and strength. For the daily prayers they were permitted to join the ancients ; but they were exempt from the night-offices. Basil felt that the touchstone of all education is the formation of character. On this point he enters into details as minute as they are instructive. Does the boy quarrel with his companions? Let him be * Mahillon, "Etudes Monastique," p. 65. ''■ " RcpjuljE Fiipius Tractiita'," Interrog. xv. Patrol, Migne, 31, col. 952. C/.O/S 7A\l /. SC //()() /.S. 17 punished properly, and let both then make up. Does he eat or drink out of time? Let him fast the greater portion of the day. Has he lied, or uttered words of pride or vanity, or violated the rules seriously ? Let him be chastised by abstention from food and by silence — e^ ventre et silentio castigetur. Has he been eating immoderately or been otherwise unruly at meals ? Let him be removed from the table, and notice how the others eat with all the politeness prescribed by the rule. A boy is angry with a companion. Let him apologize to that com- panion, and even wait upon him for some time, according to the gravity of the fault ; " for the continuance of this state of humiliation stifles the last spark of anger in the soul, while, on the con- trary, a state of superiority disposes the soul for this vice." The faults of the child should always be corrected with paternal indulgence and with mod- erate language, and the mode of punishment should be according to the measure of the delinquency. Basil did not permit every master to administer pun- ishment indiscriminately. There was one set apart for that duty, and for all serious faults the child was brought to him. This whole system of discipline tended to self-control.' His rules for study are no less admirable. Indeed, his conception of the youthful intellect is such as would unqualifiedly approve itself to any modern educator. The key to all success lies in controlling the power of attention in the child. In order to repress wandering of the mind, he would have all ' Ibid. XV. 2. K. E.— 2 / 18 BSSA2'S EDUCATIONAL. the child's time filled with one occupation or another. And he counsels the master to ask the boys from time to time where their minds are, and of what they are thinking. He likens the mind of the child to soft wax, which may easily be moulded. It must be a constant study of the master to preserve the pupil's mental elasticity. With this view the master should question frequently and give rewards for composi- tions and exercises in memory, " in order that they may give themselves to study as a recreation of the mind, without fear and without repugnance." The subjects studied were at first the elements of / grammar and rhetoric. At an early age the children were made familiar with Scriptural words and phrases. Instead of poetic fables of pagan times, they were taught "to narrate the admirable facts of sacred his- tory and the sentences of the Book of Proverbs." In these early days, when the lines were sharply drawn between Pagan and Christian, that upon which greatest stress was laid was the religious training of the child. All else was subservient. The public schools of ancient Greece and Rome were disappear- ing before the light of Christianity ; parents sought a more moral atmosphere for their children, and, knocking at the door of the monasteries, they be- sought for them the refuge and the religious training that could only be found in those asylums of prayer and study. What parents desired, and the sentiment with which the Church responded to their desire, may be best expressed in the charge of a bishop of Metz to those ecclesiastics having the care of children : CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 19 " Let these children reared or instructed in con- gregations be so well guarded by ecclesiastical disci- pline that their fragile age, inclined to sin, may not find an outlet for a single fault. Let a brother of irreproachable conduct be given them to watch over them and to instruct them in the spiritual sense of the Scriptures. Let them all be assembled in the same hall, under the authority of a master of age and experience, capable of giving them advanced lessons and good example ; or, in case he does not teach, let him be in position to hold supervision over them.' ' Jonas, a bishop of Orleans, writes a treatise for the laity, which the Benedictine D'Achery calls a " golden book." It is a practical treatise on the use of the sacraments, on the mutual duties of husband and wife, of parents and children, and on such spir- itual topics as death, judgment, and the like. A chapter is devoted to the instruction of children ; but the only point on which the good bishop lays stress is that from their tenderest years children be taught the necessary truths of their religion." But we must not imagine for a moment that Cat- echism was at any time the sole subject taught in the cloistral schools. The grammar of those days, for instance, covered a wider field than the mere techni- calities now attached to the name. However, we find that St. Basil anticipated modern times in an- other respect. Much is spoken and written at pres- ent concerning manual training and the formation of trades-schools. Now, it so happens that, as a matter ' " Spicilegium " Acherii, t. i., p. 574. 2 "Spicilegium", pp. 258-323. Jonre Aurelianensis Epis- copi Libri tres de Institutione Laicali. Jonas lived in the reign of Charles the Bald. 20 BSSAi'S EDUCATIONAL. of course, and as something essential, without which education would be incomplete and monastic life would experience a want, Basil regulated for a cer- tain number of trades to be learned and practised. Children should begin to learn some one or other as soon as they are able. Among those recommended are: weaving and tailoring within certain limitations; architecture, wood-work and brass-work, and above all, agriculture.' Surely, the school training of skilled hands in all these trades is not to be de- spised. But even though the regulations are silent, we can elsewhere find indications that the teaching im- parted in cloistral schools was both thorough and practical. The student of old books bearing upon history and literature — and what printed volume does not tell an interesting story to him who has the secret of reaching the heart of a book? — is familiar with the book of formulas prepared towards the end of the seventh century by the Monk Marculf, by command of Landi, Bishop of Paris, It contains royal charts and formulas of wills, deeds, transfers, and the like, such as it behooves a practical business man to be familiar with. Now, Marculf is careful to tell us that he wrote these formulas not for the learned, but with a view " of exercising children who are beginners." " I have done," he adds, "as best I could with simplicity and clearness, in order that good will may profit of it." In the seventh century Irish monks overran the Continent, introducing a taste for Greek and mathe- ' " Regiila; Hreviiis Tractatiu," Iiileriot^. xxxviii. CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 21 matics, and initiating the young brothers into their beautiful style of copying and illustrating manu- scripts. Moengall brings Irish studies, Irish methods and Irish enthusiasm to the cloistral schools of St. Gall's, and under his direction discussions in gram- mar and philosophy were carried on with a degree of subtlety that would have rejoiced Dante's own master in the rue de Fouarre. The course of study in the monastery of St. Hilary of Poitiers extended over seven years. From the lips of St. Achard we learn something of the working of a cloistral school in his day. He was blessed with a master " of such great doctrine and sanctity, that in living with him one had no thought but for wisdom, no action but for justice." Old and young were assembled in the same room. At the beginning, the child was not compelled to learn. He was placed on the front bench, where he listened to the older pupils reciting their lessons. When Achard's teacher, Ansfrid, asked him what he was most desirous of learning, the boy replied : " First, the things pertaining to God ; afterwards, I shall learn the elementary branches of study." ' During the first two years the youth learned only such things as were calculated to open and quicken the intelligence. The master exercised all his ingenuity in giving an elevated and spiritual turn to the most trivial things. The next five years were devoted to the usual courses of trivium and quadrivium. The ^ " De rebus ruralibus," — what is taught in the rural .scIiool.>i. This is the construction Cardinal Pitra gives to these words. " Vie de S. Leger." 22 ESSAYS EDUCATIONAL. principles of Canon Law were included in the course at Poitiers.' The method was practically the same in the schools attached to all the Benedictine monasteries. The daily routine of school life followed by Ecg- berht, brother of the King of Northumbria and Bishop of York, has been handed down to us. No doubt it was that pursued by his old master, Beda. The traditions of Jarrow were transferred to York. " He rose at daybreak," we are told, " and when not prevented by more important occupations, sitting on his couch, he taught his pupils successively till noon. He then retired to his chapel and cele- brated mass. At the time of dinner, he repaired to the common hall, where he ate sparingly, though he was careful that the meat should be of the best kind. During dinner an instructive book was always read. Till the evening, he amused himself with hearing his scholars discuss literary subjects. Then he re- peated with them the service of Complin, after which each knelt before him and received his bless- ing. The students afterwards retired to rest."' Among the pupils so taught was Alcuin. He has left us an account of his studies pursued under the learned Albert. He says: "The learned Albert gave drink to thirsty minds at the fountain of the sciences. To some he com- municated the art and the rules of grammar; for others he caused floods of rhetoric to flow; he knew how to exercise these in the battles of jurisprudence, and those in the songs of Adonia; some learned from him to pipe Castalian airs and with lyric foot to strike the summit of Parnassus; to others he made known ^ Ozanam, "Etudes Germaniques," ii., p. 541. ' " Vita Alcuini," p. 141, CLoisTRAF. scuoor.s. 23 the harmony of the heavens, the courses of the sun and the moon, the five zones of the pole, the seven planets, the laws of the course of the stars, the mo- tions of the sea, earthquakes, the nature of men, and of beasts, and of birds, and of all that inhabit the forest. He unfolded the different qualities and com- binations of numbers; he taught how to calculate with certainty the solemn return of Easter-tide, and above all, he explained the mysteries of the Holy Scriptures." * This course Alcuin afterwards carried out when organizing the educational system of Gaul. He made all human knowledge a basis on which to build up Holy Writ. "Despise not human sciences," wrote he, "but make of them a foundation; so teach children gram- mar and the doctrines of philosophy, that, ascend- ing the steps of wisdom, they may reach the summit, which is evangelical perfection, and while advancing in years they may also increase the treasures of wisdom." ^ And in another place he speaks of improving the memory by " exercise in learning, practice in writing, constant energy in thinking, and the avoidance of drunkenness, which is the bane of all serious study and destroys alike the health of the body and the freshness of the mind." " In the course of studies ' De Pontiff. Eborac, 143T-1447. ••' Ep. 221. ^ "Alcuini Opera Omnia," p. 1346. Ed. Duchesne, Paris, 1617. There is a fragment of this dialo,e;ue between Charle- matjne and Alcuin in the Vatican Library (Codex Vat. Lat. 4162), very old and well-thumbed. I have transcribed portions of it containinc variations from the printed copy. It might have been part of the very copy that Alcuin had presented to Charles. The fragment is bound up with other fragments, the first beginning with an explanation of the Athanasian Creed, 24 BSSAl'S EDUCATIOXAr.. mapped out by Charlemagne for the episcopal and monastic schools of his dominion are mentioned read- ing, the study of the Psalter, arithmetic, plain-chant, and writing; and he further ordains that there be placed in the hands of the pupils correct and ap- proved Catholic books. One of Alcuin's chief merits was that he made strenuous efforts to procure cor- rect copies of the various text-books required, and especially of the Holy Scriptures. The Scriptorium which he established and supervised at Tours became world-renowned for the accurate and elegant work done in it. When he retired from court to the monastery, he organized and directed the studies, and he thus de- scribes the labor of love in which he was engaged : " I apply myself in serving out to some of my pupils in this house of St. Martin's the honey of Holy Writ; I essay to intoxicate others with the old wine of ancient studies; one class I nourish with the deli- cate fruits of grammatical science; in the eyes of an- other I display the order of the stars." ' Alcuin's own works are a good criterion of the in- tellectual level of his day. They comprise treatises on theology, lives of saints, a book on the liberal arts, works on rhetoric, logic, grammar, orthography, arith- metic, and a hand-book of school-method. " An examination of the lives of saints from the fifth to the twelfth century reveals to us the fact that in the cloistral schools youths were taught read- ing, writing, arithmetic, grammar, logic, the principles of versification, liturgic chant, the Old and the New ' Ep. xxxviii. ^ See Duchesne's edition of 1617, or the Migne edition. CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 'jr, Testament, theology, sometimes canon law, and later on Aristotle. There was a difference of opinion as to the extent to which the ancient classic authors should be cultivated. Some, like Alcuin, following in the footsteps of St. Jerome, taught the ancient classics extensively enough ; others, like St. Owen, declared against their introduction beyond what was barely requisite to illustrate grammatical rules. " Even though the teachings of the Church," says the saint, " should have at their disposal the charm of profane eloquence, they should fly from it, for the Church should speak, not to lazy philosophic sects, but to the whole human race. Of what use are gram- marians' disputations, which seem more suitable to throw down than to build up?" * But his reasoning will not hold. Certainly Charle- magne did not agree therewith. He would see every priest and every monk use classic and graceful lan- guage, so that all who would hear them, charmed with the science that their reading and singing would reveal, might leave rejoicing and thanking God.' Banish all profane learning, and you banish the tools and implements with which to cultivate religious learning. Thereafter it will not be long before the broad joke of Rabelais becomes a literal truth : " Je n'^tudie point de ma part," says Frere Jean. " En notre abbaye, nous n'^tudions jamais, de peur 1 " Vita S. Eligii," Prologus. Migne Patrol, t. 87, p. 439. See Ozanam, '• Etudes Germaniques." pp. 458 sqq. Ozanain thinks the saint was di^nouncing the quibhHiig methods of the Toulouse school of grammarians. But unless the whole is a mere flourish of rhetoric, the saint would also cor.demn to obliv- ion all classic authors. 2 " Capitularies." 26 ESSyi 1 'S ED U CA TI ON A L . des auripeaux,' Notre feu abbe disoit que c'est chose monstrueuse voir un moine sgavant." " But the cloister school had its hours for play and rest as well as its hours for study. Having examined the methods and the matter taught, let us look at the students in their amusements. Now it so hap- pens that we have ready at hand a picture of a cele- brated cloistral school in the tenth century. The picture is skillfully drawn, and brings home to us very clearly that those were other days than ours, and they had other manners and customs, that cannot be judged by our standards. But it brings the period so much nearer to us that I shall not curtail an es- sential detail. We are in the celebrated monastery of Saint Gall's. It is the year 992. Don't be frightened by that noise, those shouts of joy that you hear. It is the feast of the Holy Innocents, and the scholars are celebrating the anniversary of a visit made by the Emperor Conrad in 913. The monarch had on that occasion instituted three days holiday for the younger students. The door of the recreation hall opens ; a prelate appears ; it is the Abbot Solomon, who has recently been made bishop. Immediately the more roguish boys put their heads together and concoct a plan ; for there exists a custom that the students can lay hands on every stranger coming to the school, and keep him prisoner till he redeems himself. It is this custom that the boldest among them wish at pres- ent to put into execution. But a difificulty exists. ' Ear-aches. ■^ "Gargautua," liv. i., chap, xxxix. CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 27 The prelate is also the abbot of the monastery ,and as abbot he believes himself above molestation. But he has been reckoning without the logic of the young dialectitians. " Let us capture the bishop," say they, "and leave the lord abbot." He yields to their hu- mor. They take him and place him in the profes- sor's chair — in magistri soluim. The bishop submitted, and addressing the boys, said : " Since I take the place of your master I have the right to use his privileges ; take off your jackets, to be punished." The pupils were amazed, but they obeyed at once, asking, however, that they be per- mitted to redeem themselves as they were wont to do with their professor. " How is that ?" asked the good abbot. Thereupon, the little ones began to speak to him in Latin as well as they could ; the me- dium ones addressed him in rhythmic language, and the most advanced in verse. Each class defended it- self as best it could and so pleased the new bishop. " What evil have we done to you," says the middle class ; " that you should harm us ? We appeal to the king, for we have acted only within our right." ' The versifiers by the mouth of their poet said : "We did not dream of being punished, since you are a new visitor."^ The abbot then rose, rejoicing to find that studies which had always flourished at Saint Gall's were still held in honor, and embraced and kissed every child as he was in his shirt — ojunes, ita * Qiiid tibi fecimus tale ut nobis facias male : Appellamus regem, quia nostram fecimus legem. ^ Non nobis pia spes fuerat cum sis nevus hospes, Ut vetus in pejus transvertere tute velis jus. 28 BSSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. lit crant in lincis, cxsiirgcns ainplcxatus ct osculatus — and said : "While I live I shall redeem myself, and shall reward such assiduity." He added that he had the chief brothers to assemble before the door, and he decreed that in future all the scholars and their successors should have meat on the holidays insti- tuted by the emperor, and that they be served dur- ing these days with dishes and wine from the abbot's own cellar. The chronicle adds that the custom continued to be faithfully observed long afterwards.' V. Monastic schools varied in number and in effi- ciency with different countries and with different epochs. They flourished greatly from the sixth to the ninth century. This educational period has been characterized as the Benedictine period. The Benedictine monks controlled all the schools. The smaller monasteries confined themselves to elemen- tary instruction; the larger ones, in addition, taught the higher branches. The Council of Aix-la-Chapelle decreed in 817 that those youths aspiring to the religious life — oblati — should be taught in a school apart from those who were to return to their homes. But both schools had the same lessons and frequently the same teachers.'' In the eighth century Charle- magne gave a new impetus to learning. But wars and dissensions soon undid the good work. ^ Eckehardus Jun. : " De Casihus Monasterii S. Galli." Ed. Goldast. t. i.,p. 21. ''■ " Histoire Litteraire de France," t. In ., \>. 231. CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 29 Already, in 830, the Deacon Florus bewails the decline of learning. " Formerly," he says, " we saw but one prince and one people ; law and the magistrate ruled every town. . . . Throughout, youths learned the Holy Volume ; the hearts of children expanded beneath the influence of letters and arts. . . . Now is all the boon of peace destroyed by cruel hates."' Not that efforts had not been made both by Louis the Pious and Charles the Bold to encourage schools. The latter, especially, surrounded himself with learned men, and we are told that he was wont to exhort the abbots to consecrate all their efforts to the education of children, and he loved to see the brothers give gratuitous instruction, with the view "to please God and St. Martin."'' These efforts were of slight avail. The ninth century set in darkness. The tenth opened up an era of warfare and bloodshed and rav- agings, and on the ruins began the building up of a new order of things. It is the beginning of the epoch of feudalism. During the two following centuries there was much ignorance. Here and there, away from the scenes of warfare and depredation, the lamp was kept lighted, and monks labored in silence at the work of writing chronicles and preserving and copying manuscripts. But they are the exception. Synod and Council of that period, especially in France, bewail the darkness. The Council of Troslei, held in 909, in all sadness speaks of Christians who lived to ^ " Carmina de Divisione Imperii," i. Ed. Migne, t. 119, col. 257. ^ l^c Chevricrs, p. 82. 30 ESSAl'S EDUCAT/OXAL. old age ignorant of their creed and not knowing the Lord's Prayer. It also tells of abbots, who, when asked to read, scarcely knowing a word in their abe- cediary, might reply, ''Ncscio literas." ' We are else- where told of a prelate who gave no time to study, and who only knew how to count the letters of the alphabet on his fingers; in other words, who had the merest rudiments of knowledge.' In Italy letters flourished more extensively. Pope Eugenius II. in 826 confirmed the laws of Charlemagne and Louis, and gave a new impetus to the study of letters in this classic land.^ Ratherius, bishop of Verona — he was consecrated bishop in 931 — speaks of three or- ders of schools from which priests may be ordained. He tells us that he will ordain no young man who will not have studied letters either in the episcopal schools, or in some monastery, or under some learned master." In Spain, also, during this long night, there were flourishing schools, and science was advancing. Gerbert {d. 1003) studies under the guidance of his uncle at Vich, and brings back so many new edu- cational improvements that he is regarded by the ignorant as a dangerous man. He introduced an abacus that simplified greatly the science of arith- metic. He made important discoveries in astron- ' Bibliotheque de Cluny, p. 150. ^ ¥a studiis quern nee constrinxerit una dierum ; Alphabetuni sapiat, digito tantiun nuineiare. " Adalberonis Carmen ad Robertum Regem Francorum," v. 49, 50. 'See Tiraboschi " Storia della Lett. Ital.,'" t. vii., lib. iii., cap. xvii., xxiii. *".Synodica ad Presbyteros," § 13. Migne, t. 136, cul. 564. CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 31 omy, and explained the heavens and the earth by means of globes. He simplified the science of music, "so that," remarks Odo of Cluny, "children could learn in three or four days an ofifice that it formerly took experienced singers years to master." Fulbert {d. 1028) was another light who had many brilliant disciples. "Ah ! " exclaims Adelmann, " with what moral dignity, and solidity of thought, and charm of language he explained to us the secrets of a profound science." Lanfranc (1005-1089) carried to Bee the learning of Italy. The torch that he kindled illumined France, His school was thronged with youths from all parts of Europe. He taught without fee ; such offerings as were made went to the building up of the monastery. Before he became known in England as a great statesman and the counsellor of William the Conqueror, he had won the esteem of thousands whose studies he directed. On occasion of his visit to Rome, Pope Alexander H. rose to meet him, saying : " I show this mark of deference to Lanfranc, not because he is archbishop, but because I had sat under him with his other disciples in the school of Bee."' And the indefatigable Ordericus Vitalis can- not find words in which to express his eulogy of this great light : " Forced from the quiet of the cloister by his sense of obedience, he became a master in whose teaching a whole library of philosophy and divinity was displayed. He was a powerful expositor of difficult questions in both sciences. It was under 'See William of Malmesbury, " Antiq. Libr.," p. 324. 32 BSSA } \S EDI- CA TI ON A L . this master that the Normans received the first rudi- ments of literature, and from the school of Bee proceeded so many philosophers of distinguished attainments, both in divine and secular learning. His reputation for learning spread through- out all Europe, and many hastened to receive lessons from him out of France, Gascony, Brittany, and Flanders. To understand the admirable genius and erudition of Lanfranc, one ought to be a Herodian in Grammar, an Aristotle in dialectics, a Tully in rhetoric, an Augustine and Jerome and other ex- positors of the law and grace in Sacred Scriptures.'" And of Anselm (1034-1109) the successor of Lanfranc — his successor in the school and successor in the see of Canterbury — the same author is no less eulogistic : " Learned men of eminence," he says, " both clergy and laity, resorted to hear the sweet words of truth that flowed from his mouth, pleasing to the seekers of righteousness as angels' discourses, . . . all his words were valuable and edified his attached hearers. His attentive pupils committed to writing his letters and typical discourses ; so that, being deeply imbued with them, they profited others as well as themselves to no small degree."^ Nor was this learning confined to the priors. The same trustworthy witness bears testimony to the general culture of the monks of Bee : " The monks of Bee," he says, "are thus become so devoted to literary pursuits, and so exercised in raising and solving difficult questions of divinity, and in profitable discussions, that they seem to be almost all philosophers ; and those among them who appear ^ "Hist. lucl.," lib. iv., cap. vii. "^ Ibid., ciij). xi. CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 33 to be illiterate, and might be called clowns, derive from their intercourse with the rest the advantage of becoming fluent grammarians." ' From this great seat of learning went forth monks into all parts of France and England, to light up the dark ways. But the simple enumeration of all the cloistral schools that history mentions in the darkest period would take hours. Among others, there was the school of St. Benedict on the Loire, which was fre- quented by more than five thousand pupils, each one of whom upon withdrawing was required to present the monastery with two manuscripts.'' There was the monastery of Hildesheim. Under Bernward its school became famous. Bernward himself was one of the most remarkable men of his day. His activity seemed to know no other limit than his power of endurance. He was always questioning, or writing, or engaged in manual labor ; never idle. He was skilled in the mechanic arts. An expert joiner and blacksmith, and a good architect, he taught these things to the students of the seminary himself. He also copied and illuminated manuscripts.' Meinwerk, a disciple of Bernward, established a celebrated school at Osnabruck. Idamus {ci. 1066) inherited his genius, piety and learning, and con- tinued to make the school famous. The course of studies was extensive, and the discipline severe. Even parents were forbidden to visit the students. 1 Ibid., cap. xi. '^ Chateaubriand, "jStudcs Ilistoriqiics," t. iii., [i. 144. ■' " Vita S. Bornwardi," § 2, 3, Mabilion. p. i8i. E. E.— 3 34 ESSyll'S EDUCATIONAL. lest they might distract them in their studies.' In- deed, throughout all the mediaeval schools the disci- pline was severe. The birch was considered indis- pensable as a medium of instruction. The younger pupils were subject to the closest vigilance day and night. Withal, the students were treated with a paternal care and tenderness that was not unfre- quently pathetic. With the twelfth century dawned a new era. There is an upward movement of the people. The Crusades help to break down the barrier of caste. There is a general fermentation of thought. Schools become secularized. Men run hither and thither, devoured by a thirst for knowledge that no known source seems sufficient to satiate. The period of scholasticism has set in. Men, in their eagerness to dispute, break down the barriers dividing the diverse subject-matters they should teach. Under pretence of teaching grammar they are found to be indoc- trinating their pupils in some philosophical subtlety. These are the men whom Hugh of St. Victor's criti- cises as indulging in a perverse custom: "When grammar is their subject, they discuss the nature of syllogisms ; when treating of dialectics they will oc- cupy themselves with the inflection of words."' St Victor's was one of the great centers of learn- ing in the twelfth century. William of Champeaux brought thither some of the fires of Bee, and Anselm of Laon took thence that bright flame that attracted ' Theiner, "Histoire des Institutions d'Education Eccldsi- astiques," p. 173. '^ " Eruditionis Didascalicse," lib. iii., cap. vi. CLOISTRAL SCHOOLS. 35 even the genius of an Abclard. The master-hand of Hugh has sketched for us a beautiful picture of stu- dent Hfe in this monastery. It is too valuable to leave unquoted : "Great is the multitude and various are the ages that I behold — boys, youths, young men, and old men. Various also are the studies. Some exercise their uncultured tongues in pronouncing our letters and in producing sounds that are new. Others learn by listening at first to the inflections of words, their composition and derivation ; afterwards they repeat them to one another, and by repetition engrave them on their memory. Others work upon tablets covered with wax. Others trace upon membranes with a skilled hand diverse figures in diverse colors. Others, with a more ardent zeal, seem occupied with the most serious studies. They dispute among themselves, and each endeavors by a thousand plots and artifices to ensnare the other. I see some who are making computations. Others with instruments clearly trace the course and position of stars and the movement of the heavens. Others treat of the nature of plants, the constitution of man, and the quality and virtue of all things." ' This represents the kind of work that has been done for centuries in the larger cloistral schools. Hugh's account is almost literally that which we have seen Alcuin give of his own school-days. But as the cloistral school led to the decline of the episcopal school, and in a great measure superseded it, even so did the university lead to the decline of the cloistral school. 1 "De Vanitate Muiidi," lib. i., D. i-ol. 707, t. iii., Mii^iie Ed. — Cf. John of Salisbury, "Metaloo;." lih. ii., oa]!. x. THE PALATINE SCHOOL (37) THE PALATINE SCHOOL. ^^HE palatine school is of earlier origin than the ^^' day of Charlemagne. There was a palace school in the Merovingian court in which the children of the king and the chiefs were educated. "From the time of the first race of our kings," says Crevier, "we find traces of a school held in their palace where noble youths were instructed in what- ever letters and knowledge their positions required." ("Hist, de rUniversitc de Paris," t. i., p. 26). It was an ancient German custom, mentioned by Tacitus ("Germania," xiii.), to have the sons of the various subordinate chiefs recommended at the court of the ruler and brought up with the sons of the king. They were presented and adopted with cere- mony. The custom became the source of feudal power. ■ These youths attached themselves to their chief and followed him with unswerving loyalty to battle, to exile, to victory, even to death. Christianity stepped in. and here, as elsewhere, sanctified the custom. As we have found the school attached to the church and the cloister, even so do we find the palace school become identified with the royal chapel. Indeed, the school is called the chapel, and the chapel gets its name from the capclla of St. Martin of Tours. The first chaplain was Aptonius, who lived under Clovis (481-51 1), and who may be regarded as the 40 ESSAi:S EULCATJONAL. father of the palatine chapel. (" Gallia Christiana," t. ii., col. 979). Henceforth this school becomes the centre whence radiates the light of learning in France. The light does not always shine with equal brilliancy. Fifty years elapse before we come across another emi- nent chaplain, Mererius, or Mercarius. (Ibid., ocl. 974.) The names of the great men who Christianized France — all of whom came forth from that palace school — would fill a volume. We mention St. Remy, who baptized Clovis ; Waast and Deo- datus, his chatechists ; Gormer of Toulouse, who learned all the Scriptures in three years ; Cesarius of Acles, the learned monk of Lerins, who taught his people how to sing hymns in church in Greek. The sons of Clovis continued the good work. Under Theodoric, the master, was Saint Gall, grand- uncle of Gregory of Tours, who charmed Theodoric by his singing, to such an extent that Theodoric could not be separated from him. Under the fostering care of Childebert and the pious Ultrogotha and her sister, Swegotha, the school flourished. Childebert is known as the first Merovingian king who was familiar with the Latin. Fortunatus calls him " the priest-king, the crowned cleric ; another, Melchisedech, victor of peace, glory and rule of pontiffs." This prince gathered learned men from Rome and Constantinople, from England and Ireland. Symposiums were held in the gardens of the court. There those two Bretons, Hermel and Hervanion, sang daily, and their sweet voices made them favorites with the king. Hervanion, or the little Herv^", was learned in many languages, a THE PA L . J TINE S CI I OOL. \\ perfect musician, and composed several ballads and poems. There the young shepherd, Patrocles, dis- played his wonderful gifts — Patrocles, who, unknown to his parents, attended the schools, and became such a prodigy of learning that Mummion intro- duced him to the palatine school. There was the laureate of the court, Venantius Fortunatus, who lifts the veil and permits us to see the school life beneath the clouds of those stormy days. Gregory of Tours finds learning in decay. But from the time of Clotaire the palace school can be clearly traced. Among the abbots of the palace and the camp ; among the chaplains and the arch-chap- lains, we can discern the school in which St. Leger and his disciples lived and labored. There was Betharius of Chartres, — a noble Ro- man, who after having been nourished in the schools established by Boethius and Cassidorus became dis- tinguished as an eminent teacher — and Clotaire II. following the advice of Queen Fredegunde named him arch-chaplain of the royal chapel — which position al- so made him head of the school. (" Acta T. Betharii," Boll. Aug. 2.) He was succeeded by Rusticus, who had acquired in the Roman schools the purest and best traditions of Christian education. Rusticus modeled the school more after the monastic form. His school became a seminary whence emanated venerable bishops and saints to govern the church of France. Rusticus was succeeded by Sulpitius whose influ- ence upon the youths of the palace was far-reaching. Their lives were passed in the most rigid austerity. 42 BSSAl'S EDUCATIOXAL. Beneath their rich garments they wore hair shirts, and many of the brightest became clerics or religious — callings, which, up to that time had been considered beneath the profession of arms. You may remember the exclamation of St, Clothilde in regard to her grand-children : '" I would rather see them dead than tonsured !" I. What were the studies pursued? There were grammar, dialectics, rhetoric ; there were the more special studies of Roman law, national customs and traditions, models of Gallo-Roman eloquence and even of the vernacular Gallo-Frankish idiom. The ver- nacular tongues were already attracting attention and we find the rhetoricians distinguishing between the ar- tificialness of Greek, the circumspect measure of Lat- in, the splendors of the Gallic tongue, and the pomp of the English. (Don Pitra, " Vie de S. Leger," pp. 32, 33.) History occupied a large place in the course. Under this head was included a study of the great national epics. (" Vita S. Wandsegisiti," No. 2, S. ii., 13th ed.) Christian dogma and Christian philosophy also found their place. It was the school of superior studies — where privileged youths finished after private studies at home and in the schools of the grammarians — whither they resorted from all parts of Gaul. Remember that at the period of which we now treat there was no hereditary nobility ; honors were distributed according to merit, and the youth who passed through his course with most satisfaction and had submitted to the rigid discipline of the school was most likely to be honored by the king. THE PALATINE SCIIOi)L. \\\ We can easily conceive the great educational in- fluence of this school upon the fierce Germanic nature. It reconciled him to the study of letters ; it gave him a taste for the arts of peace ; he became more polished. Under the long and brilliant reigns of Clotaire and Dagobert, Merovingian royalty becomes Byzan- tine in its splendor and style. The etiquette of the old courts is introduced. Religious ceremonies are carried out with all possible pomp. Especially mag- nificent was the celebration of Easter in one or an- other of the one hundred and fifty Merovingian towns to which the court migrated yearly. (Naudet, " Memoires de ITnstitut.," t. viii., p. 404.) The palatine school had an obscure beginning in the sixth century, grew to be great under Clotaire II., then declined under the management of Varim- bert,who busied himself in quarreling with the monks of St. Medard in Soissons ; grew into significance under the illustrious S. Ouen, Bishop of Rouen, who saw three generations pass under his hands. Then came Leodegar, or Leger, called to court of Queen Bathilde. Under his management and counsels the school became once more thoroughly organized. It flourished under Pepin the Short, and we read of Abelard, cousin of Charlemagne, that he was educated with the pupils of the palace in all human science, and heard the same lessons with the emperor. (Leon Maitre : " Les Ecoles Episcopales et Monastiques " i, p. 35.) Then came the school of Charlemagne. Here we must distinguish. Mention is made of an Acad- 44 BS'SJ }-S EIU'CATIONAL. emy in which nearly all his court took part — as- sumed name: Toulouse. This was not the palatine school. That school was distinct, and contained not only the youths as found in the earlier schools, but others who were preparing for holy orders. Thus, the chronicler of San Gall tells how Charles upon returning from an expedition, had all the pupils whom he confided to Clement of Ireland brought before him and classified according to their proficiency and diligence, cautioning the sons of the nobility that unless they studied as well as the poorer youths, they need expect but scant favors at his hands. (D. Bouquet, t. v., p. 107. Mon. Sang. Chron. 1. i.) It has been questioned whether the palace school was permanent, or whether it accompanied the court from place to place. I am of opinion that the school went wherever the court settled. The chap- lain was also the custodian of the sacred relics that were an inseparable portion of the royal equipage. When Archbishop Augilran was made arch-chaplain, he was dispensed from diocesan residence by Pope Adrian, which is additional evidence that the school traveled with Charlemagne. Alcuin also complained of his frequent journeyings when he had charge of the school. Under Charlemagne, the order in which the teachers instructed was somewhat as follows: I. Alcuin. — He was the great light of the school under Charlemagne. He brought with him the best literary traditions of England, as handed down from the venerable Bede through Egbert of THE PAT.ATINE SC//()()E. 45 York. He was possessed of the best and ripest scholarship of his day. At court he not only organ- ized schools, but he aided Charlemagne in his wise legislation. Retiring to the monastery of Tours in his old age, he there established a scriptorium that became famous for the neatness and accuracy of the work it sent out. You will find a fair account of Alcuin's pedagogical work in the monograph of Prof. West. In recommending the book, I feel it my duty to call your attention to both its merits and its defects. His scriptorium — vellum, purple gold-quaritch. 2. Clement of Ireland. — Alcuin found fault with his theories and his methods. Even then race prejudice asserted itself. Theodolfe, Bishop of Orleans, was also opposed to him. 3. Claudius, afterwards Bishop of Turin. 4. Aldric, who was a disciple of Alcuin in Tours, and pupil of Sigulf, and afterwards Archbishop of Sens. 5. Amalarius SymphoniuS, also a disciple of Alcuin, and raised to the archiepiscopal see of Lyons. Under Charles the Bold, the palace school became distinguished about the year 842. An ancient writer thus bears witness to its excellence : " His court be- came a palaestra for all departments of learning. And so, all the leading men in the kingdom sent thither their children to be formed in human and divine science. (See Crevier, "Hist, de I'Univ. de Paris," t, i., p. 42.) At the head of the school was John Scotus Erigena, the translator of the 46 BSSArS EDUCATIONAL. pseudo Dyonysian writings and whom Roger Bacon praised as a clear-headed commentator of Aristotle. His doctrines were regarded as tainted, and Du Bou- lay quotes a letter purporting to come from Pope Nicholas I. asking Charles not to allow Erigena to remain at the head of the school in Paris, lest, the bad grain mingling with the good grain, all should be spoiled. ("Hist. Univ. Par.," t. i., p. 184). However, let me add, the authenticity of this letter has been doubted. {^Rev. des Qiiestiojis Historiques, Oct., 1892.) Irish scholars continued to govern the school even after the death of Charles and the disappearance of Scotus Erigena. Thus, under Louis the Pious, Man- non, who afterwards withdrew to the monastery at Condate, raised the tone and standard of the school so well that we find Radbod coming all the way from Utrecht to attend his lessons. The last master of the school of whom we find mention is St. Remi of Auxene, who died in 908. The palatine school became lost in oblivion there- after. MEDIEVAL dNIVERSlTY LIFE (47) MEDIEVAL UNIVERSITY LIFE.' K,ATHER Denifle's book on the origins of the ^ universities is epoch-making. The learned Dominican, as sub-archivist of the Vatican library, has utilized to their full extent the rare and excep- tional advantages at his disposal. To the extensive materials that lay at his hand he brought to beSr vast learning and marvelous patience. No document seems to have escaped him ; he allows nothing in the document that he handles to pass unchallenged. He has an eye for the most minute details. Indeed, it is in grasping the whole meaning of a phrase or sentence that he has been enabled to correct so many illusions in which the historians of all our universi- ties have been living. His method is purely ana- lytical. He leaves very little to inference. He makes no statement that is not based on a docu- ^ American Catholic Quarterly Rer'iexv. " Die Entstehung der Universitaten des Mittelalters bis 1400." Von P. Heinrich Denifle, aus dem Predigerorden, "Unterarchivar des HI. Stuhles. Berlin. 1885. " De I'Organisation de I'Enseignement dans I'Universit^ de Paris au Moyen Age." Par Charles Tluirot. Paris. 1850. " Essai sur I'Organisation des Eiudes dans I'Ordre des Freres Prccheurs au Xllleme et au XlVenie Siecle " (1216- 1342). Par G. Douais. Paris. 1884. " Monumenta Franciscana. 2 vols. Rolls Series. Vol. i. edited by |. S. Brewer, London, 1858; vol. ii. edited by Richard Ilowlett, 1882. E. E-4 ("'•') 50 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. ment, or that is not backed up by ample proof. His familiarity with the literature of the subject of uni- versities in all its details enables him to go behind the polish of the sentence and lay finger upon the very text that the author had in mind when stating his propositions. He forthwith discusses and settles the authoritative value of the work drawn from. This is the perfection of critical acumen. And inasmuch as our historians of universities have been living in a fool's paradise concerning the origin and formation of those institutions, Father Denifle has his hands full in correcting, refuting, re- jecting, and discussing the statements of his prede- cessors. His book in every page bristles with argu- ment. It is a book that shall henceforth be indis- pensable to the student of history. No man can ignore it and presume to write upon mediaeval times. The three agencies that moulded the Middle Ages into their characteristic shape and gave them life and being were the Papacy, the Holy Roman Em- pire, and the University of Paris. Each wielded a far-reaching influence, the full extent of which few historians have been able to measure. Therefore do we most cordially thank Father Denifle for the scholarly volume he has given us, and we hope and pray that he be spared the health and strength to finish the other volumes that are to follow. Prior to Father Denifle's great book the only woi k that attempted to remove the history of the Univer- sity of Paris out of the domain of romance in which Du Boulay had placed it was the slender volume of MEDI^^VAL UNIVERSirr LIFE. 51 M. Charles Thurot. Every student of education since 1850 has found the book invaluable in giving him for the first time a correct notion of the organization of the University of Paris. Even the search-light of Father Denifle's acumen, while pointing out a mis- take here and there, approves of the main conclu- sions of the author. When Thurot went astray he was generally misled by placing too great confidence in Du Boulay. M. I'Abbe Douais did for the Dominicans what Thurot did for the University of Paris. He for the first time mapped out for the general reader the whole complex organization of study under which the Do- minicans passed. His book is a valuable contribu- tion to the history of pedagogics. It is largely based upon original documents. The book is timely, for men are now beginning to appreciate the influence of the mendicant orders upon the Middle Ages. In like manner, the " Monumenta Franciscana" gives us insight into the foundations of the Francis- cans in London and Oxford. The first volume in- cludes the chronicle of Thomas Eccleston, the letters of Adam Marsh, and a short register of the Minorites in London. The second volume contains a fragment of Thomas Eccleston's treatise on the advent of the friars, the rule of St. Francis, the statutes of the ob- servant Franciscans, and other valuable records bear- ing upon the order. Noteworthy is the respectful tone in which the introductions to these volumes are written by the late Professor Brewer and Mr. Richard Howlett. These writers were not Catholic, but no 52 ESSArS EDUCATIONAL. Catholic could be more zealous in defending the prac- tises and customs of the friars; none could be more considerate in making allowance for time and place. Father Denifie is outspoken in his denunciation of the synthetic method as applied to history. He must be analytical or nothing. He is convinced that naught but unsatisfactor)/ results can be reached by the synthetic method.' But we should distinguish. For purposes of investigation and verification, the analytical is the only proper method ; but results hav- ing been reached, there is always place for the syn- thetic method. The material having been tested, it may be safely employed to build up with. There- fore, under leave of Father Denifle, we shall make a short study of school-life in the mediaeval universi- ties, in the course of which we shall attempt to re- construct that life as contemporaries reveal it, and as it appears to our view. We shall first consider the organization of a university. I. The oldest mediaeval universities of which we have cognizance are those of Paris and Bologna. The origin of each is buried in the mists of the past. Bologna became' famous as a school of law; students flocked thither from all parts ; in the course of time it possessed an autonomy of its own. Pope and emperor endowed it with certain rights and privileges, and forthwith it loomed before us as a great university. So it was with the University of ' " Einlcitung," xxiii. MEDIyEVAL UNIVERSITT LIFE. 53 \ Paris. For half a century before it became recog- nized as such, we find it to have been a great intel- lectual centre, made famous by the brilliant teachings of William of Champeaux, Abelard and Peter Lom- bard. The masters became organized into a scholas- tic guild. But the university can be traced to no one school, or no combination of schools as its source.' The teachers of that day supplied an edu- cational want ; the schools of Paris thus became cen- ters of instruction which grew apace with the con- course of students and teachers. " They had practical ends," says Laurie ; " their aim was to minister to the immediate needs of soci- ety. . . . They simply aimed at critically expound- ing recognized authorities in the interests of social wants. It was the needs of the human body which originated Salerno ; it was the needs of men as related to each other in a civil organism which originated Bologna ; it was the eternal needs of the human spir- it in its relation to the unseen that originated Paris. We may say, then, that it was the improvement of the profession of medicine, law and theology which led to the inception and organization of the first great schools."^ To the inception, perhaps, yes; to the organiza- tion, decidedly no. The University of Paris was not organized from the schools of St. Victor's, or St. Gene- vieve's, or any combination of these with other schools. There is extant no record of a definite act by which one might say, " Here is the charter of incorporation ; here is the decree of organization." 1 This point has been settled forever by F. Denifle, "Entste- hung der Universitiiten," pp. 655 seq. 2 "Rise and Constitution of Universities," pp. 109, no. 54 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. The guild spirit was abroad and permeated all trades and professions. The masters were no excep- tion. When their guild looms into prominence, it receives recognition ; but it is only by decree of pope or emperor — and of pope chiefly — that its degrees become entitled to universal respect. Thus, long after the guild of masters in Paris had become recognized, it remained under the jurisdic- tion of the chancellor of the cathedral of Notre Dame. It was out of the struggle between the chan- cellor and the masters that the university grew into a corporate existence. The chancellor of Notre Dame had been an im- portant factor in educational matters up to the be- ginning of the twelfth century. He held absolute sway over the students of all Paris ; he dispensed licenses ; he was the students' civil and religious judge; he had the power of excommunication.' He became high-handed and abused his power. He exacted exorbitant fines ; he had a dungeon of his own, and imprisoned arbitrarily. The popes and their legates, in order to diminish this power, granted various privileges to students and masters. Thus Innocent III., who had been himself a student in Paris, and had been witness of the chancellor's tyranny and of the long train of evils that followed in its wake, legislated in order to break it down. In 1208 he authorized the teachers to be represented by a syndic ; in 1209 he bestowed upon them the right to take oath to observe such rules as they deemed proper and useful to impose ' Bulseus, " Hist. Univ. Paris.," vol, iii., p. 44. MEDIJEVAL UNIVERSirr LIFE. 55 upon themselves as a body. In 1213, he restricted the chancellor's judicial powers by forbidding him to refuse a license to teach, to anybody recom- mended by the masters. This act is regarded as the charter of the university.' In this manner did His Holiness constitute masters and students into a true corporation. Six years later — in 1219 — Pope Honorius III. forbade the chancellor to excommunicate masters and students in a body, without the authorization of the Holy See.' The kings of France were no less generous in the privileges and prerogatives that they granted the masters and students of Paris. All this legislation fostered the growth of the uni- versity, while it crippled the authority of the chan- cellor. But the death-blow was given to that authority when the masters and students abandoned the shadow of the cathedral and, flocking to the left bank of the Seine, found refuge in the depen- dencies of the abbeys of St. Genevieve and St. Victor. In 12 13 no school belonging to the univer- sity stood outside the island of the city.' In 12 15, the papal legate, Robert de Cour^on, regulated in regard to the study of theology that no one should teach it who was not thirty-five years old, who had not devoted at least eight years to study in the schools, and who had not in addition attended a 1 Thurot, "De I'Organisation de I'Universite," p. 12. 2 Not anv member of the University, as Thurot puts it. "De rOrgan'isation," p. 12. 3 Denifle, "Die Entstehung der Universitiiten," p. 662. 56 BSSAl^S EDUCATIONAL. theological course of five years.' This shows that Paris had already a school of theology, and that dialectics were regarded as simply a preparation for the higher branch. In 1 216, the first year of the papacy of Honorius III., who took an abiding interest in the rising uni- versity, a school was opened under the jurisdiction of the chancellor of St. Genevieve's. The chancel- lor of the cathedral regarded this as an encroach- ment upon his rights, and refused to regard as valid any license or diploma signed by the chancellor of St. Genevieve's. The quarrel was settled by Pope Honorius III. in a brief to the bishop and chancel- lor of Paris, in which it was ordered that any licen- tiate of the chancellor of St. Genevieve's be admitted to teach upon the same footing with a licentiate of the chancellor of Notre Dame. This gave new impetus to the schools on the left bank of the Seine. Students continued to flock thither. Between 1219 and 1222 the largest exodus to Mount St. Genevieve took place. ' Bulaeus, vol. i., p. 82. Thurot mistook the reading of this text in his essay. UNIVERSITIES. Addenda: Rome encouraged studies in a more substantial manner than by privileges. Students and profess<^rs who held benefits were dispensed from residence, and permitted to enjoy the revenues of such benefits. Du Boulay, "Hist. Univ. Par.," ii., p. 2, 570. REGENTS. Addenda: The Regent Master of Arts held a disputation on each of the first forty days after his inception. During that time he was not permitted to wear boots; instead, it was regulated that he wear heelless shoes, known as " pynams," later on, as " slop-shoes." " Man. Acad.," p. 450. I>vte, "A Hist, of Oxford," p. 218. MEDI^^ VA L UNI VERS I T 1' L IFE. 57 About 1227 the schools of theology and law were transferred to the same side. Thenceforth, the abbot of St. Genevieve's assumed a certain amount of jurisdiction over the university, and, finally the chancellor of St. Genevieve's shared the administration with the chancellor of Notre Dame and the rector of the four nations. Thus was the University of Paris — the Latin Quarter — cradled on the island beneath the shadow of Notre Dame. Thus did it grow into a corporate existence out of the struggles of the masters to rid themselves of the thraldom of the chancellor. Once only did the papacy fail in sustaining the university in this struggle. The incident will throw light upon mediaeval university life. About 1221 the university had a seal engraved as the essential at- tribute of its corporate autonomy. The chapter of Notre Dame took umbrage at this act as a novelty not to be tolerated and brought the case before the papal legate then residing in Paris. The legate placed an injunction upon any further use of the seal until the case should have been properly tried and decided. Before the decision was arrived at, the seal was used, and in 1225 the legate decided in favor of the chap- ter of Notre Dame, broke the seal and forbade, under penalty of excommunication, the formation of an- other. This decision raised a storm. The scholars and masters rose up as one body ; they besieged the house in which the legate dwelt, and caused him to flee to some place of safety. It was only in 1246 that the university afterwards obtained from Pope Innocent 58 ESS ATS EDUCATIONAL. IV. the right of holding and using a seal. In the meantime the four nations had each its seal, and any document requiring the sanction of the whole uni- versity was stamped with the four seals conjointly. While examining these seals in the beautiful volume of Vallet de Viriville we are reminded that the patrons of the university were the Blessed Virgin, St. Cathe- rine, St. Nicholas and St. Andrew.' Speaking of the four nations reminds us of the fact that they, no more than the pre-existent schools, were the elements out of which the university was directly formed. They came after that formation. The university grew simply out of the association of the professors of the four disciplines: theology, law, medicine, and arts.'' The four nations were so many guilds modeled after the Saxon guilds of an earlier age. The division was more artificial than spontaneous. It grew out of the peculiar rela- tion of things in the Middle Ages. Youths flocking to a centre of learning from all parts of the world found themselves among strangers, exposed to every kind of imposition. Until it was otherwise legislated for, and even thereafter, these youths were charged exorbitant prices for lodging, board, books, service, and clothing. True, the university from the hour of its incep- tion undertook to protect the students against the exactions of the townspeople. Thus, the price of lodgings was to be fixed by sworn arbitrators, half ^ See the images of those saints on the first seals in " His- toire de I'lnstruction Publique en Europe," pp. 129-135. *J)enifle, " Entstehung," p. 131. MEDIEVAL UNIVERSITY- LIFE. 59 appointed by the town and half by the city ; ' but there were many other things in regard to which the students required protection, and of which the uni- versity could not or would not take cognizance. Hence the necessity of their forming themselves into associations for mutual protection. The natural di- vision was according to nations and provinces. Oxford had two nations, the North and the South ; the students of Bologna were divided into Transal- pine and Cisalpine ; those of Paris were divided into four nations. The last-named were organized some- where about 1219. They were composed of all the scholars included in the licentiate, together with the Masters of Arts.'* The four nations were known as the French, which included the Italian, Spanish and Greek students; the Picardians, which included the students of the northeast and the Netherlands; the Normans and the English, which included those of Ire- land, Scotland and Germany. Later on, we find Fran- ciscan students in the university so numerous that for convenience sake they were divided into nations. Such a division was well calculated to bring about a simplification of general management and superin- tendence. Each of the four nations had its own hall and its own rights and privileges as a corporate body. It had its procurator, and, as has already been re- marked, its seal distinct from that of the university, its common purse, its patron saint, and its Masses.^ 1 "Story of the University of Edinburgh," by Sir A. Grant, i., p. 5. Gregory IX. obtained this concession from Louis IX. in 1244. ^ Denifle, " Entstehung," p. 131. ' Thurot, " De I'Organisation de I'Enseignement," p. 22. 50 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. Members were addressed according to the nation under which they were enrolled. Those of the French nation as Honoraiida Natio Francice, Gallorum or Gal- licana ; those of Picardy as Fidelissima Picardorum, or Picardica ; those of Normandy as Vcneranda Normanoriim or Normanice ; and those of Germany as Constant issima Germanoru^n or A llemanics Nat to. ^ In consequence of the wars between England and France antipathy to England was shown at an early stage of the university by expunging that name and substituting Germany instead. The national spirit waxed strong with the growth of each organization. Party spirit ran high among the nations. Public fes- tivities were frequently occasions for public rioting. Each nation vied with the others in celebrating the feast day of its patron raints, with the religious solemnities of which were mixed up the most worldly and profane rejoicings. They were made the occasion of illuminations, masqueradings, balls and cavalcades. As each nation sought to excel in display, mem- bers of the other nations endeavored to spoil the celebration. They were attacked while walking in procession. A decree of Oxford University prohibited the nations from going to church or to the public places in a body, dancing or shouting with masks over their faces, or to march anywhere with garlands of leaves or flowers on their heads under penalty of excommunication, and if persisted in, of imprison- ment." Not only did each nation seek to rival the * Vallet de Viriville: "Ilistoire de I'lnstruction Publique en Europe," p. 134. ^ "Munimenta Academica," p. 18. MEDI^^VAL UNIVERSirr LIFE. 01 others in pomp and show, but each to a certain degree despised the others, and attached thereto a nickname of opprobrium that was considered charac- teristic. The Englishman was a drunkard and a leech ; the Frenchman was proud, effeminate and decked out Hke a woman ; the German, furious and obscene; the Norman, vain and boastful ; the Poitevin, a traitor and a spendthrift ; the Burgundian, stupid and bru- tal; the Breton, light and changing; the Lombard, miserly, cowardly and avaricious ; the Roman, sedi- tious, violent, and quick at blows; the Sicilian, cruel and tyrannical ; the Brabantine, a man of blood, an incendiary, a brigand; the Flenring, a glutton, a prodigal, and soft as butter.' The hurling of such epithets soon led to blows. Even the religious or- ders became tainted with the race-spirit. We read that the superior of the Dominicans in Oxford ob- jected to the receiving of subjects from other nations in the convent of that place, for which he was de- posed in general chapter and subjected to a severe penance for several years." There was one common enemy in relation to whom all the nations in all the universities were united as one man. That enemy was the town. The students were so protected by papal and royal decrees that they could behave most outrageously with the greatest impunity and escape chastisement. 1 Jacques de Vitry : "Historia Occidentalis," cap. vii., p. 278. Archbishop Vaughan erroneously mentions the Picards in this quotation. Jacques de Vitry does not use the word. ^ Martene and Durand : "Thesaurus Anecd.," t. iv., 1730, 1731- 62 ESSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. The university became the spoiled child of kings and popes. The young men had no respect for person or property. They compelled the passers-by to give up their purses, and spent the booty so acquired in the taverns with the vilest company of men and women. No townsman or townswoman was safe in their hands. No matter how great their crime, if taken into custody by the civil authorities the whole university was up in arms and suspended all lessons till the culprits were released.' There was never a peace between town and gown ; there was merely an armistice ; the feud was only smouldering when it was not open. Affrays not infrequently ended in the plundering of houses, and even in murder. A characteristic incident that occurred in 1381 in Cambridge, when the country was in a state of intense excitement, is told by Mr. J. Bass Mullinger : "At Corpus Christi all the books, charters and writings belonging to the society were destroyed. At St. Mary's the university chest was broken open, and the documents which it contained met with a similar fate. The masters and scholar.-, under intimidation, surrendered all their charters, muniments and ordi- nances, and a grand conflagration ensued in the market-place, where an ancient beldame was to be seen scattering the ashes in the air, as she exclaimed, 'Thus perish the skill of the clerks !'" ^ These instances might be multiplied at will. The nations soon grew beyond the mere pur- poses of discipline that seemed to have been the ' For instances see Dii Bouliiy, " Hist. Univ. Paris," t. v., PP- 97. H5. «3o; t. vi , p. 490. '^ "History of the University of Camhridj^c." " Epochs of Church History," p. 20. MEDIyEVAL UNIVERSITT LIFE. 03 primary object of their formation. The prominence that they acquired in avenging injuries done any member of their guild, whether by legal process or otherwise, gave them a voice in the administration of the university. Their proctors were received with the dignity and honor becoming representatives of bodies so powerful. They elected officers ; they prescribed studies ; they were foremost in repelling every attack made upon the rights and privileges of the university by chancellor or bishop. They elected a common head who became known as the rector. In 1249 they agreed that this election shall be by means of the four proctors.' The rector was taken exclusively from the faculty of arts. At first elected for a month, afterwards for six weeks, he was by statute of 1278 elected for three months. In the beginning he was only the common head of the nations. Denifle says: "If the rector was only head of the nations, and these were not identical with the university, it is self-evident that the rector was not head of the university."^ As we have seen, the nations soon became the most formidable, the most active and the most aggressive elements in the university. Towards 1300 the faculties of law and medicine were subject to the rector of the four nations; towards 1350 the faculty of theology fell under his jurisdiction, and he then became head of the whole university.^ Father Denifle considers the office to have been a ^ Bulseus, " Hist. Univ. Paris," vol. iii., p, 222. 2 "Entstehung," p. 107. * Denifle, Ibid., p. 132. 64 £SSA2'S EDUCATIONAL. superfluous one throughout the whole career of the university.' Be this as it may, the day of the rector's installation was one of great rejoicing. It was celebrated by a solemn procession, in which the religious orders residing in the Latin quarter joined the members of the university. His jurisdiction was supreme, extending to all schools, ofificers and trades under the university. He was held in great honor and esteem ; was frequently called into the councils of the king, and in procession walked side by side with the Bishop of Paris as his peer. He was custodian of the treasury and the archives and controlled the Pres-aiix-clercs. He gave letters of scholarship to masters and students, conferred on them the privileges of the gown, and received from them in return the oath of perpetual obedience, no matter the dignity to which they might afterwards arrive.' He was addressed in French as Messire, or V Amplissime ; in Latin as Amplissime Rector, or Vestra Aviplitudo^ The revenue of the rector came out of the sale of parchment which was controlled by the university. The market was permitted only in three places, namely: in a hall of the convent of the Mathurins, at the fair of St. Laurent and at that of St. Denis. The rector sent out his four sworn dealers in parchment to count and tax the bundles brought in for sale by the outside merchants. The tax being levied and * " Entstehunp^," p. 693. ''■ Vallet de Virivillc, "Ilistoirc dc I'liistruction publique en Europe," p. 125. * Ibid., ]). 134. MEDIAEVAL UNIVERSITY' LIFE. 05 gathered, after the tradesmen by appointment of the king, those of the bishops and the masters and schol- ars had made their purchases, the merchants were free to sell to whom they would.' In 1292 there were nineteen dealers in parchment in Paris, twelve of whom lived on the street then known as des Ecri- vains, now called de la Parclieviincric? The great event in this connection was the fair held at St. Denis. From 1109 it was customary for the people headed by the bishop and many of the clergy of Paris, to go in procession to the open plain of St. Denis in order to venerate a portion of the true Cross. The relic was exposed, prayers were said, sermons were preached and solemn benediction was given. The exposition of the Holy Cross lasted nine days during which these devotions were repeated. Mer- chants took occasion of the throngs to expose their wares, and the plain of St. Denis during this season became also a place of chaffer — a fair — indictum.^ As late as 1429 the religious character was still kept up, for we find that June 8th of that year the bishop and clergy went to St. Denis in order to preach a sermon and give benediction of the Holy Cross.' Early in the thirteenth century St. Denis became the chief market for parchments. The rector of the university recognized it as such, and rode in state to the fair, and had his seal impressed upon all the ^ Crevier, "Histoire de I'Universite," t. ii., p. 130. "^ A. Franklin, "La Vie privee d'Autrefois, Ecoles et Col- leges," p. 94. ^ Whence I'endit — lendit — Land it. * Le Beuf, •' Histoire du Diocese de Paris," t. iii., p. 283. E. E.— s 66 BSSArS EDUCATIONAL. parchments required during the year.* It was the occasion of a general holiday for the university. The students started from St. Genevieve's, and rode in procession to the grounds amid the astonishment of the townsfolk. No sooner had they set foot on the ground than they abandoned themselves to all kinds of disorder. It was a pilgrimage of voluptuousness in which innumerable excesses were committed.' In following the doings of the rector we are getting a further glimpse of mediaeval university life. His was a unique position in that life. To attain the goal of his ambition, his nation — and every nation had its own candidate — set on foot intrigues in which they exhausted their ingenuity; there was rivalry open and secret; there were bribings and threatenings; masters and scholars became excited ; violence and quarrelling were frequent, ending sometimes in murder.' Disorder and turmoil preceded the attain- ing of the office; disorder and turmoil accompanied the celebrations connected with the holding of the office; disorder and turmoil succeeded to the going out of office. This excitement — this constant seeth- ing of brain and vibration of nerve — enters into the very life of the university. It was out of all this turmoil that the university grew into life and being, under the fostering care of church and state. The privileges that both church ^ Le Beuf, Ibid., p. 269. ' Vallet de Viriville, loc. cit., p. 172. A full description — a description that we dare not reproduce — written between 1290 and 1300, has been published in the valuable work of Le Beuf, " Histoire du Diocese de Paris," p. 259. * Thurot, " De I'Organisation," p. 32. MEDIAEVAL UNIVERSITT LIFE. 67 and state conceded were the vital principle of her existence. "A university without privileges," says Du Boulay, " is a body without a soul.'" Loo'king back upon her growth, we find her cradled in the sanctuary of Notre Dame, then nourished into full development as an organism, independent of the state, with her own autonomy and with power to make her own laws. She drew her vitality from the Holy See. The same is true of Oxford and Cam- bridge. It is amusing to note how jealously Oxford watched Paris. Whatever privilege Paris received, Oxford claimed, as being on a par with her sister Studiuni. Nay, if some of the doctors in Paris were given a benefice or made bishops, forthwith Oxford sent a deputation to Rome asking for an equal share in the bounty of the Holy See. As science is free as truth, even so were these mediaeval universities secure from all control. This complete liberty was the secret of their success. Scholars and masters enjoyed immunity from civil jurisdiction, and were answerable for their behavior only to fellow-members. In this respect, the Uni- versity of Paris stood alone, a power great and unique in the world, ranking in prestige and influence with the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire, Doctrinal heresies lurked and grew within the precincts of this and other universities ; immorality was at times rampant among students and professors, but withal, as children of the Church, encouraged and protected by the popes, they were Catholic in their spirit and Hist. Univ. Pari.s," vol. i., p. 95. 68 BSSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. in the general tone of their teachings. " Privileged and well-beloved daughters of the Church," says Wimpheling, " they endeavored by their fidelity and attachment to render to their mother all that they owed her." ' So long as they remained docile to the Church, they flourished ; the moment they were secu- larized and became mere tools in the hands of unscru- pulous governments, they fell from their high and exceptional standing. This is their history in a nut- shell. II. Such was the outward showing of a oediaeval university as witnessed in its highest type. Its inner life was more varied and interesting. Let us again confine ourselves to Paris or to its models. The University of Paris was an intellectual center through which passed numerous currents of human- ity from every part of Christendom — all devoured by a thirst for knowledge that could scarcely be satisfied. There was scarcely a class or condition of men that was not to be found in a mediaeval univer- sity. The rich were there, and in their eagerness to acquire knowledge forgot that they were rich, and neglected to surround themselves with the luxuries and comforts that wealth might have purchased. The poor were there, and were not ashamed of their poverty. Prince and peasant, lordly cardinal and struggling clerk, sat on the same floor listening to the same lecture. Boys of twelve were there ; a statute had to be passed excluding those under that * "De Arte Impressorio," p. 19. MEDI^-EVAL UNIVERSirr LIFE. 69 age. Men of thirty were there ; " at the age of thirty or forty," says Le Clcrc, " the student at the university was still a scholar."' Professors in one department of letters were to be seen, after deliver- ing their own lectures, seated in the same hall with their pupils studying the same matter. " This gave to the professorship," says Janssen, " a lively, ani- mated and youthful emulation ; to the student a dignity and an influence, traces of which we meet with everywhere in the constitutions of the uni- versities,'"' Before assisting at a lesson, let us acquire some idea of the attainments of scholars and masters. Stu- dents began the university course at an early age. Having learned reading, writing and the elements of Latin grammar, they started to study logic at the age of twelve, and from fourteen upward they were in position to submit to the examinations and carry on the disputations that were requisite before receiv- ing any academic distinction. The first was that of determinant. In order to receive the distinction of determinant, the student, after his second year's course, applied for examina- tion. This examination was severe. Immediately be- fore Christmas, the candidate sustained, in presence of the school, an argument or dispute on some ques- tion of morals against a regent. Finally, there was the crowning test, in which he disputed daily, till the end of Lent, in the school of his nation, rue de Fouarrc. Remember that these disputes were * "Hist. Litt. de la France au XlVeme Siecle," i., p. 269. * " Geschichte," i., p. 74. 70 BSSA2'S EDUCATIONAL. carried on by boys not older than fifteen or sixteen years. In 1472 the Lenten disputes were suppressed, and the degree of bachelor was substituted for that of determinant. If successful, the candidate received a certificate showing that he had read the following works : 1. " The Introduction " of Porphyry in the trans- lation of Boethius. Porphyry wrote the book as an introduction to the "Categories" of Aristotle, a work also translated by Boethiu?. It was through this book that the question of Nominalism and Realism assumed such vast proportions during the Middle Ages. 2. "The Categories " of Aristotle. 3. The book on " Interpretation," which was the only part of Aristotle's writings taught before the ninth century in the translation of Boethius. It is generally known under its Greek title, " Periher- menias." 4. "The Syntax" of Priscian. This contained books xvii. and xviii. of Priscian's Grammar, and was known as the " Priscianus Minor." Priscian (flor. 500) was the standard grammarian of the Middle Ages. 5. An ordinary or an extraordinary course in the "Topics" and " Elenchi " of Aristotle. These books had been translated by James of Venice be- fore 1 1 28.' 6. The determinant should, in addition, have followed during two years the course in dogmatics, ^ Am. Jourchiin, " Rccherchcs Critiques sur les Traductions d'Aristole," p. 58. MEDIAEVAL UNIVERSirr LIFE. 71 and should have assisted at, and taken part in, the disputations. The course here given is of the thirteenth cen- tury. In the fifteenth century there was a general revolt against the scholastic system, and morals and rhetoric received a more prominent place. In 1452 the rules of versification were made a recognized part of the course, and in 1457 the study of Greek was added. But, looking at the programme of studies here laid down, it must be said that it was heavy work for youths not older than fifteen or sixteen. It may seem strange to us that boys of that age could carry on such disputes. The precociousness of the youth of those days is a fact that has been frequently commented upon. Tiraboschi called atten- tion to it, and Janssen gives several instances in the fifteenth century, in which extraordinary things are told of studious youths. Adam Potken (1490) read the " Eclogues of Virgil and the Orations of Cicero " to pupils ranging from eleven to twelve years of age. John Eck (b. i486) completed all the Latin classics from his ninth to his twelfth year. At the age of thirteen he entered Heidelberg, and at fifteen re- ceived from Tubingen the degree of Master of Arts. John MuUer, the celebrated mathematician, matricu- lated in the University of Leipzig at the age of twelve, and in his sixteenth year received his Mas- ter's degree from the University of Vienna.' Multi- plicity of subjects and multiplicity of text-books tend to weaken the intellectual grasp of the modern * Janssen, "Geschichte," pp. 59, 60, 72 BSSAl'S EDUCATIONAL. student. In those mediaeval days, when the student had few notes and less books to fall back upon, hav- ing listened to his lessons attentively and retained them carefully in memory, he became more self- reliant, and, if possessed of a fair share of talent, could hold his own in disputation. The determinant had certain privileges and cer- tain duties. He was entitled to wear a cape and to assist at the masses of the nations. Every Friday he was obliged to discuss grammar with the backward boys. He was liable to be called upon as assistant teacher and give special or cursory lessons. This led to abuse ; for we find from the statutes of Oxford that determinants, upon receipt of a bribe, were given to neglect the ordinary lessons and devote themselves exclusively to the cursory lessons. He furthermore presided over the disputations of the younger stu- dents, reviewed the whole question under discussion, noticed the imperfections or fallacies in the argu- ments advanced, and then pronounced his decisions or determinations in the scholastic forms." His duty at other times was to dispute logic daily, except Fri- day, when he disputed grammar, and the first and last day of his determination, when he disputed ques- tions in morals and dogma. The hours for determining were from 9 to 12 and from I to 5.^ In the meantime, after the first prin- cipal test, the determinant continued his studies till he had completed his twenty-first year, when he was 1 Anstey, "Munimenta Academica," i., p. 87. '■* Ibid., p. 246. MEDI.^ VA L UNI VERS I TV L IFE. 73 of age to become a licentiate, or one having the in- herent right to teach. He should also have made public reading in some school, of a book of Aristotle during a whole year. For the grand act of inception there was long and severe preparation on the part of the intellec- tual athlete, and when the event arrived it was accompanied by great excitement and turbulence. The ceremony was held in the hall of the nation under which the aspirant was ranked. The aspirant went from school to school, inviting each master in person." Invitations of most elaborate designs were sent out to distinguished persons, and were fre- quently accepted. Charles VIII. of France was present in 1485 at the sustaining of a thesis. It was the ambition of every bachelor and his friends to have a brilliant gathering, and they resorted to every means to attain their object. This ambition went to the extent of making it customary to drag in every passer-by, will-he, nill-he, in order to have a large audience. Statutes were enacted forbidding the practice, under pain of excommunication and imprisonment." The mode of disputation did not vary. The theses had been announced some time before. The conclusions were beautifully inscribed on the invi- tations that had been sent out. The hour having arrived, let us enter the hall. The master is seated upon a platform, in a large armchair. The candi- 1 Ibid., p. 433. '^ Vallet de Viriville " Hist, de I'Education Publique," P- 137- 74 ESS A rS EDVCA TI ON A L . date for inception stands before him. The first thesis is announced, the young bachelor repeats the proposition, divides it up into its various headings and explains each as best he can. It is not per- mitted to interrupt him, according to the statutes; but on this point the statutes are frequently broken. He is not long speaking when an opponent under- takes to pick flaws in his arguments, formulating all his objections in the mould of the syllogism. The defendant takes up the objections, resolves them into their component parts, discusses separ- ately their affirmative and their negative sense, throws his argument into the syllogistic form, now distinguishing in regard to the use of terms, now denying the major or minor premiss, now calling attention to the employment of an undistributed middle term. As the debate grows warm, the dialectic skill and acumen of each shine forth. The opponent takes hold of the last distinction made by the defensor, and actually places him upon the horns of a dilemma. The audience cheers. The defensor is staggered ; only for a moment, however. He retorts the dilemma upon his wily objector and routs him, amid the clamor of the students. An- other takes up the cudgels and attacks the thesis from his point of view. Again, there are dis- tinctions and syllogisms and dilemmas as before. And so, "amid loud clamor on the part of the audience, and on the part of the combatants, great shaking of the head and stamping of the feet, and extending of the fingers, and waving of the hands, and contortions of the body as though they w-ere MEDI^^VAL UNIVBRSITV LIFE. 75 crazed,"' the work goes on for hours, during whole days, and even weeks. Be it remembered that a written essay or thesis was in those days something unknown among students. Everything was car- ried on orally.'' At last, after a severe struggle, the successful bachelor becomes an inceptor. Here, by the way, is the origin of our word " commence- ment " as applied to the closing exercises of a college. The disputation concluded, the newly-made incep- tor takes oath to observe the statutes and also that he is provided with a school in which to read.^ Forth- with the biretta is placed on his head and he gives his inaugural lecture. If it is a candidate who incepts as a master in grammar, the beadle presents him with a birch and a ferule, with which he publicly flogs a boy within the precinct of the school. He pays the beadle for providing the birch and the boy for submitting to the flogging." Then comes the feasting incident to in- ception, from which none are exempt. Even members of religious orders are obliged to give in money the average cost of a banquet. ("Mun. Acad.," p. 564.) The oflficers and the invited guests are arranged in order of precedence by the chancellor, or rector, or proctor of the nation. Presents consisting usually of silk or kid gloves, or of a scarlet hood were made to the officers and the distinguished guests. * Peter Cantor, " Verbum Ahbreviatum," cap. v., p. 34. •^ Thurot, "De I'Organ. de I'Universite," p. 88. ' Mun. Acad., p. 414. * See Mullinger, " History of the University of Cambridge," i., p. 344. 76 BSSArS EDUCATIONAL. Benificed persons licensed to read " The Sentences" at Oxford were obliged by statute to give robes to the officers just as the bachelors gave them. ( " Mun. Acad.," ii., p. 237.) These ceremonies were frequently accompanied by scenes of disorder and even of vio- lence. The statutes of Oxford decreed that on ac- count of such scenes no one on the occasion of the banquet should stop the free ingress and egress of any master or his servants to or from the hall or tent or other place in which the graduating feast is held, and that no one except the servants of the univer- sity, or the host, shall enter the said hall or tent un- til the masters who have been invited shall enter with their servants, and, after they shall have sat down, no one else shall sit down except by the appointment of the chancellor, and each in proper order according to his rank ; and furthermore it is decreed that no one shall beat the doors, tables, or roof, or throw stones or other missiles so as to disturb the guests, under pen- alty of imprisonment, excommunication and a fine of twelve pence.' So great became the abuse, that ulti- mately all these costly rejoicings were abolished. The inceptor's next step was to apply for the master's degree. This was done as follows: Upon application the inceptor received from the chancel- lor a book on which he was to be interrogated. After mastering the volume he returned to obtain a day in which he might present himself for examination. Upon the day named he appeared before a jury of several masters presided over by the chancellor, and ' *' Muniincnta Acadeniica," i., pp. 308, 309. MEDIyF^VAL UNIVERSITY LIFE. 77 after a searching examination he was declared admit- ted to the honor sought, or was postponed for an- other year. Furnished with ecclesiastical approba- tion, he came before the members of his faculty and received at their hands the master's cap. Once made master, the inceptor was required to teach while pur- suing his own studies in theology, in medicine, or in civil or canon law. "The fact," says Mr, J. Bass Mullinger, "that each Master of Arts, in turn, was called upon to take part in the work of instruction is one of the most notable features in the mediaeval universities. His remuneration was limited to the fees paid by the scholars who formed his auditory to the bedells, and was often consequently extremely small. When once, however, he had discharged this function, he became competent to lecture in any faculty to which he might turn his attention, and .... when studying either the civil or canon law, theology or medicine, might be a lecturer on subjects included in his own course." ' Here we leave the master teaching philosophy and pursuing his studies in the professional courses, in order to consider another element that enters into the formation of the university, and though the co- operation of that element was never cordially wel- comed, it none the less contributed largely to the university's development and prestige. ni. Two religious orders that had sprung into ex- istence about the same time with the universities soon became identified with them and exercised ' "A History of the University of Cambridge," p. 28. 78 £SSA2'S EDUCATIONAL. over them a deep and an abidint^ influence. These were the Franciscans and the Dominicans. Erase from the records of both Paris and Oxford the names of the learned men furnished by these orders, and you extinguish the greatest lights, the most dazzling glories, of mediaeval thought. There is a void that nothing can supply. Had these men not lived and labored as they did, the whole trend of modern thought would run differently. The Do- minicans were the first religious order admitted to membership in the university of Paris, and with time became the leaders of thought. The Franciscans, during almost a century, guided the destinies of Oxford. Oxford was the nursery of the order. From the time when Richard Muliner gave the corporation a house and piece of ground for their use, and Brother Agnello, coming up from London, caused to be built a decent school, in which he induced Robert Grosscteste to deliver lectures, and the future eminent Bishop of Lincoln brought that school into high repute — from that time the Gray friars became a power in the univer- sity.' They made rapid strides in study, in dispu- tation and in teaching. The most eminent men in England considered it an honor to lecture under their auspices. Under the able administration of Adam Marsh, the Gray friars achieved a world- wide reputation for learning. Let one who has made a thorough and a loving study of them speak, though he was not of their visible communion, and Monumenta Franciscana," vol. i., pp. 17, 549. MEDI^^VAL UNIVERSITT LIFE. 79 to all appearances died not a member of their household. Professor Brewer says : " Lyons, Paris, and Cologne were indebted for their first professors to the English Franciscans in Oxford. Repeated applications were made from Ireland, Denmark, France and Germany for Eng- lish friars; foreigners were sent to the English school, as superior to all others. It enjoyed a repu- tation throughout the world for adhering the most conscientiously and strictly to the poverty and severity of the order; and for the first time since its existence as a university, Oxford rose to a posi- tion not even second to Paris itself. The three schoolmen of the most profound and original genius, Roger Bacon, Duns Scotus and Occham, were trained within its walls. No other nation of Chris- tendom can show a succession of names at all com- parable to the English schoolmen in originality and subtility, in the breadth and variety of their attain- ments." ' This unstinted tribute is not exaggerated. That the Franciscans should achieve such great- ness as a learned body is all the more remarkable, when it is remembered that Francis of Assisi, in making poverty his bride and the chief glory of his Order, had intended that poverty of spirit should extend to deprivation of intellectual food. He dreaded the influence of learned doctors upon his friars. He did not intend to create an order of stu- dents; his sole object was to form simple men in the mould of nature's own simplicity, detached from everything in life, and, most of all, from self, burning with love of God and zeal for their neighbor ; men 1 " Monumenta Franciscana," i., preface, Ixxxi. 80 BSSArS EDUCATIONAL. of the people, in touch and sympathy with the people, living amongst the poorest upon the fare of the poorest, going into pest-houses and nursing the sick, waiting upon lepers, loving whatever was loath- some in humanity, seeking and cherishing whatever was abandoned or whatever others shrank from ; men free as truth. In moulding such men, he was laying the deepest and most solid foundation on which to build up the noblest intellectual superstructure. The spirit for study, the craving for knowledge, a spirit and a craving that have never been sur- passed, filled the very atmosphere of the thirteenth century. No body of men, with such noble aspira- tions as those possessed by the disciples of Assisi,' could resist the inspiration of the hour, or keep pace with the progress of humanity, without utilizing one of the most God-like gifts bestowed upon man — his intellectual endowments. ^ As early as 12 17, the Franciscans were installed in Paris, and it is not many years before we find them thoroughly equipped for educational purposes. In a short period they grew to be thousands. They provided for their own subjects a school of grammar, a school of rhetoric, a school of logic, and a fourth school for the study of the "Sentences" of Peter Lombard and the " Physics" of Aristotle. The hall for their advanced students was not excelled by any in the university. Their method was that of the university. They held two lectures in the morning — one on dogmatic theology, the other on particular * See Luke Wadding, "Annales Minoruni," t. i., p. 248. MEDIAEVAL UNIVERSirr LIFE. 81 issues requiring explanation. In the afternoon there was a lecture on Holy Scripture, and from four to five the friars held open disputation, in which any comer was free to join.' In their rules of prayer and missionary labor, and in devoting themselves to healing the ailments of body and soul, they acquired a training and received a special formation that the university could not give. Their educational influence was many-sided. Mingling with the people, they cultivated the lan- guage of the people, and helped to fix the forms of our modern tongues; as nurses of the sick, they com- pounded medicines and learned the healing proper- ties of plants; as missionaries, they traveled among many peoples, shrewd observers of men and man- ners and customs;' as instructors of the people in the truths of their religion, they organized companies to enact, and enacted themselves, at times, in the ancient miracle-plays, the great truths of our holy religion ; as disciples of their saintly founder who loved all things in nature, who called the sun his brother and welcomed death as his sister, they also looked upon bird and beast, flower and tree, with kindly and observant eye, and learned to respect and reverently investigate the phenomena of nature ; and so it happens that Roger Bacon makes his "Opus le 1 Vaughan, " St. Thomas of Aquin," pp. 228, 229. ^ See the Itinerary of Blessed Odoric of Pordenone, in th "Acta Sanctorum," under January 14th. From this book, and from the account of the Franciscan friar, Carpini, concerning the Tartars, Sir John Mandeviile lilchcd all that is truthful in his so-called "Travels." See "Encyclopaedia Britannica," new edition. E. E.— 6 82 ESSA1\S EDUCATIONAL. Majus" the forerunner of the " Novum Organum" of his namesake of four hundred years later; in the domain of art, the tender devotion that they incul- cated for Mary Immaculate inspired the school of art which flowered into the Madonnas of Raphael. The Dominicans were established with the for- mal purpose of occupying themselves with books and studies rather than with the singing of anti- phons and responsories,' for their sole mission was to preach the doctrines of Christianity and to refute heresy. Their courses of instruction were accord- ingly thoroughly organized from the beginning. In each convent, four officers were charged with the studies : the prior, who looked after the general conduct and the spiritual and physical wants of the young brothers ; the lector and sub-lector, who taught in the schools ; and the master of studies, who was always with the brothers, taking part in their exercises, presiding over their repetitions, as- sisting at their examinations, and even, at times, explaining the lesson. In the fourteenth century, to these were added a cursory reader and a chief lector. The youthful aspirant to the order was admitted at the age of fif- teen, and was supposed to be instructed in all the preliminary branches of education. His novitiate, which lasted three years, was divided between study, spiritual exercises, and manual labor. The novitiate passed, the novice went through a three years' course of logic and rhetoric ; his whole course in logic should ' Theodosia Drane, "Christian Schools and Scholars," vol. ii., p. 59. MEDT^-EVAL UNIVERSITY' TAPE. 83 extend to five years. This was known as the Stu- diuni artimn. It corresponded to the course pur- sued in the university for a bachelor's degree. Its method was comprised in the three traditional words: lectures, study, disputation — Icgendo, stu- dendo, ac dispiitajido. The lector explained the text of the grammar, rhetoric, or logic, which the stu- dent had in hand ; the student immediately with- drew to learn the lesson. Later, all assembled, and there were repetitions and colloquies or discussions in circles of students of the same capacity. There were semi-annual examinations, and formal disputa- tions were carried on from time to time. By these micans the student was prepared for the grand act of disputation. The young Dominican then passed to the course of ethics and physics, provided he was adjudged "tried, instructed and of good health,'" for to none other was the course given. The course was known as the Studiiun natiiralium. It extended over two years till 1372 when it was made thereafter a three years' course. It comprised natural philosophy, ethics, mathematics and all the sciences of that day. The treatises of Aristotle were pressed into service rapidly as they were translated. It was the course in which the genius of Albertus Magnus was watered and bloomed into flower and leaf and ripened into fruitful and suggestive thought in scientific matters ; and how ereat Albertus Maernus was in the domain ^ Provincial chapter of^Montpelier, held in 1271. See G. Douais, "Organisation des Etudes chez les Freres Precheurs," p. 69. 84 ESSAYS EDUCATIONAL. of natural science only a Poucher and a Humbolt can adequately tell. Even in that age Albert made permanent contributions to physical science.' St. Thomas availed himself of this course so well that he was afterwards able to speak to the students of ■the University of Paris upon the construction of aqueducts and machinery for raising and conduct- ing water — de aquaruvt conductibus ct ingeniis cri- gendis — as well as expound the " Timaeus" of Plato." From this course the student passed to theology. The Studium TheologicE lasted three years. It dif- fered from the previous course in that there was no exemption from its curriculum. The subject was so vast and so profoundly was it studied, it was never completely mastered. No member was too old or too learned to say that there was nothing more for him to acquire. Hence, all were required to follow the course. "The Friar Preacher," says Douais, "whether student or professor, assisted at the les- sons in theology with the two-fold intent of not for- getting what he had already learned and of adding to his stock of knowledge."^ Here, also, the method of teaching was in many respects similar to that pursued in the university. A text-book was read and commented upon by the lector. For a long time the "Sentences" of Peter Lombard was the text. Later, the commentaries 'See Echard, " Scriptores Ordinis Pr;cdicatorum," t. i., pp. 162-1S3. ^ Bulaeus, "Hist. Univ. Par.," t. iii, p. 408. •^ " Or