Education in England in the Middle Ages Part 8

Though the privilege of school keeping was highly prized and stoutly defended, yet it has now pa.s.sed into oblivion. This was effected, not by express decree either of law court or of state, but simply because the instruction in Latin, which was offered by these schools, ceased to be in demand. Two forces contributed to produce this result, the Reformation, and the increasing use of the vernacular. The Reformation brought to an end the number of appointments in connection with the Church for which a knowledge of Latin was a necessary qualification; and consequently the demand for grammar schools diminished. The increasing employment of the vernacular caused Latin to drop out of use as the language of commerce and the medium of written communication.

CHAPTER V.

THE APPOINTMENT AND TENURE OF MASTERS.

We now proceed to consider questions connected with (_a_) the appointment, (_b_) the tenure, (_c_) the remuneration, and (_d_) the judicial functions of schoolmasters.

(_a_) THE APPOINTMENT OF MASTERS.

We may distinguish between schools in connection with (1) monasteries, (2) collegiate churches, (3) parishes, (4) chantries and gilds.

I. SCHOOLS IN CONNECTION WITH MONASTERIES.

It is significant that in the monasteries, the position of schoolmaster does not seem to have been definitely recognised. Thus, in the list of the officers and obedientaries of Evesham in the thirteenth century, for example, there is included the prior, sub-prior, third prior, and other "custodes ordinis"; the precentor, sacrist, chamberlain, kitchener, cellarers, infirmarer, almoner, warden of the vineyard and garden, master of the fabric, guest master and pittancer; but there is no mention of a "magister scolarum." We have not been able to discover any instance of a monk, who was pensioned at the time of the dissolution, and who was described as acting in the capacity of a teacher at that time.

Occasionally we come across references to the "master of the novices."[298] An account of the Novices' School at Durham has been preserved.[299] The school was held in the "weast ally" of the cloisters both in the morning and in the afternoon. The scholars attended for a period of seven years, during which time they received food and clothing.

If they were "apte to lernynge ... and had a pregnant wyt withall" they were then sent to the University to study theology; otherwise they were kept at their books in the monastery until they were considered ready for ordination. The Novices' School at Durham was taught by the eldest learned monk in the monastery. At Canterbury the school was under the charge of the "Magister ordinis," and at Abingdon under the "Instructor juvenum."[300] The need for the instruction of the novices was reiterated by the General Benedictine Statutes of 1334, which provided that a secular priest was to be appointed to teach grammar when a monk was not available for the purpose.

The appointment to the scholastic posts within the monastery would naturally be in the hands of the abbot or prior.[301]

There exists evidence that schools for the education of the laity existed in the neighbourhood of most, even if not all, of the greater monasteries.

Thus, prior to the thirteenth century, such schools may be traced at Reading, Dunstable, Huntingdon, Bedford, Christchurch (Hants.), Thetford, Derby, Gloucester, Waltham, Bury St. Edmunds, Colchester, Leicester, Cirencester, Lewes, Battle, Arundel, Lancaster, Chesterfield, Bruton, Winchcombe, Malmesbury, and other places in which a monastery is known to have existed. In many of these cases we are able to trace that the appointment of the "magister scolarum" was in the hands of the abbot. Thus the statutes of the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds state that:--

"The collation of the schools of St. Edmunds belongs to the abbot in the same way as the collation of Churches.... The schools indeed in the manor of Mildenhall and of Beccles are by law to be conferred by those in whose custody the manors are. And it is to be noted that when the 'rector scolarum' is to be removed he ought to be given notice, by the person who appointed him, before Whitsuntide. If, on the other hand, the master wishes to retire, he is bound to give like notice to the person who appointed him."[302]

A third cla.s.s of school (which will be described in a subsequent chapter) in connection with the monasteries was the Almonry School. The appointment of the "grammar master" at these schools was usually in the hands of the almoner of the monastery, but the appointment had to be approved of by the Chancellor or Archdeacon who was acting as the head of the educational administration of the diocese.[303]

II. SCHOOLS IN CONNECTION WITH COLLEGIATE CHURCHES.

More definite information is available when we pa.s.s to consider the appointments of masters of the schools in connection with collegiate churches. Here, as we have seen, the chancellor (who was previously the schoolmaster) was the responsible head of the education in the diocese. It was his duty to appoint a master of grammar in connection with the cathedral church, and not to allow any other teacher to keep school within the city without his consent.[304] Sometimes the chancellor seems to have taken no steps to make the appointment, possibly because the remuneration of the master came partly out of the benefice of the chancellor. A letter is still extant which was written to the chancellor of York Cathedral in 1344 informing him that unless he took immediate action in making the appointment of a master, he would be liable to punishment.[305]

The general procedure in making an appointment to the master-s.h.i.+p in grammar of a school, in connection with a collegiate church, was that the chancellor should select the man whom he considered suitable and submit his name to the dean and chapter. The appointment was completed by the dean and chapter admitting the nominee of the chancellor to the position.[306]

We have not been able to trace any appointments of a song schoolmaster.[307] The procedure would probably be similar except for the fact that the nomination would be in the hands of the precentor instead of the chancellor.[308]

In the case of those cathedral churches which were served by monks, there would not, of course, be a "chancellor." In such cases, the appointment of the "magister scolarum" was made by the bishop. Thus we read of Archbishop Peckham, during a vacancy of the see of Norwich, appointing a master to Norwich School.[309] The first available record of an appointment to the masters.h.i.+p by a bishop of Norwich dates from 1388; after this date the Norwich Chapter Act Book records a continuous stream of such appointments.

In Canterbury, which was also a monastic cathedral, the appointment of the schoolmaster was similarly in the hands of the archbishop.[310]

III. SCHOOLS IN CONNECTION WITH PARISHES.

We have used the term "parish" here to denote those districts which were served by a vicar or rector, and not by a college of clergy. The appointments to the parochial church schools, unless arrangements were made to the contrary, were made by the patrons of the church itself. In some cases the patrons would be the bishops,[311] in others the dean and chapter of a collegiate church[312]; in others again, the patronage would be in private hands, whilst in other cases a monastery might have the power of nominating.[313] We must remember that when a parish was subdivided the power of keeping a school did not pa.s.s to the new parish, but continued to be the prerogative of the parent church, and that consequently the patrons of the new church did not possess the right of nominating a master of grammar to keep a school in connection with the newly-founded church.[314]

Disputes occasionally arose in connection with the exercise of this right of patronage. It would seem as if the chancellor of the diocese,[315] in the case of a secular cathedral, and the "magister scolarum" in the case of a monastic cathedral, claimed the right of making _all_ the schools appointments in their respective dioceses. Records are still available of the action which was taken in various cases to attempt to enforce this claim. We will briefly describe two of these cases, one of which was due to the action taken by the chancellor of a secular collegiate church, the other to the action taken by a "magister scolarum" in a city served by a monastic cathedral.

Taking first the case of the chancellor of a secular collegiate church, we note that the prior and convent of St. Catherine's by Lincoln were the patrons of Newark Church. In 1238 there occurred a vacancy in the school.

The patrons of the church took the necessary steps to fill the vacancy.

The chancellor of Southwell Minster maintained that the power of nomination was "ex officio" vested in him. Both parties appealed to the pope. The result of the action was, that the power of making the nomination to the school was declared to be the right of the patrons, but that the admission of the nominated master to the position was to be effected by the chancellor.[316]

Turning next to the claim of the "magister scolarum" in connection with a monastic cathedral we note that the Norwich Chapter Act Book records a similar dispute. The prior and convent of c.o.xford were the patrons of the church of Rudham by c.o.xford. On a vacancy in the masters.h.i.+p of the schools occurring in 1240, the patrons proceeded to make the necessary appointment. The "magister scolarum" brought an action in the bishop's court to prevent this, as he claimed that he possessed an "ex officio"

right to make the nomination. The decision of the court was that the power of appointing the master of the school belonged to the patrons of the church.

We may note here that the authority who possessed the power of determining disputes relating to patronage of schools does not appear to have been definitely prescribed. In the first of the two cases we have referred to here, the authority of the pope was invoked, in the second, the authority of the bishop, whilst records are available of other cases, in which a writ of prohibition was obtained with the view to the case being heard in the king's court.[317]

IV. SCHOOLS ESTABLISHED IN CONNECTION WITH CHANTRIES, GILDS, ETC.

In the latter part of the Middle Ages a number of schools were established in this country by means of endowments. These endowments were usually a.s.sociated with the foundation of gilds or chantries. The special point we are interested in here is that in such cases arrangements were made for the requisite appointments to be effected when the need arose. Thus the ordinances and statutes in connection with the foundation of the grammar school at Wotton-under-Edge[318] prescribe that "the master of the school was to be presented by Lady Berkeley during her life, and afterwards by Sir Thomas Berkeley and his heirs male, whom failing by Sir John Berkeley her second son, and his heirs male, whom failing by the lord of the manor of Wotton."[319] As a result of this more definite determination of the right of appointment, disputes relating to the exercise of patronage no longer arose.[320]

(_b_) THE TENURE OF MASTERs.h.i.+P.

We find a difficulty in dealing with the question of the tenure of the masters.h.i.+ps of the various schools because of the scarcity of evidence and of its conflicting character. Thus, in the Lincoln Chapter Act Book, there is a record that the dean and chapter in 1327 appointed six masters to as many schools in the diocese.[321] In the following year the same men were reappointed and this reappointment continues year after year until 1335, when notices of the appointments of schoolmasters cease. It would therefore appear as if the custom in the diocese of Lincoln was that the masters were appointed for one year only but that if their character and conduct were considered satisfactory they would be reappointed.

In the diocese of York the masters seem to have been appointed for three years. Thus there is a record that at Beverley Collegiate Church, in 1306, the master was appointed to the school for that period[322]; in 1320 there is a record of a similar appointment.[323] It is expressly stated in the note of an appointment made in 1368, that the customary tenure of schools in the diocese of York was three years and that under special circ.u.mstances this period might be extended to five years.[324]

In course of time the nature of the tenure changes. The first change which we have traced occurred in 1368 when the master appointed was stated to be allowed to retain his appointment until he obtained another benefice. The reason for this change is stated to be the scarcity of priests due to the mortality occasioned by the plague. The triennial tenure was again in vogue in 1426,[325] but in 1486 a departure occurs, as the schoolmaster appointed in that year was to hold his office "durante vitae," if he so wished.[326]

A further change of tenure took place in 1575 when the master was appointed to hold office "durante beneplacito Decani et Capituli."[327]

In the schools which were founded in the sixteenth century and later it began to be common to draw up statutes and ordinances for the administration of the schools. It was usual in these school statutes to refer to the tenure of the masters.h.i.+p. Thus the statutes of Newark School[328] provide that the master at the time of his admission to his post, should be thus instructed:--

"Sjr, ye be chosen to be maister and preceptour of this scoole and to teche chyldern repayring to the same not onely good literature, gramer and other vertuous doctrine but also good maners accordyng to the ordynance of Master Thomas Newark. Wherefore we doe ascertayne you that this ys a perpetual roome of continuance upon your good demeanour and dutie in this scoole."[329]

In making the appointment for life, the founder of Newark School adopted a practice which was different from the common one. Thus William of Wykeham, Waynflete, and Colet, all made the masters of the schools founded by them removeable at will. In fact, Colet arranged that the masters.h.i.+p of St.

Paul's was merely to be renewed from year to year.

(_c_) REMUNERATION OF MASTERS.

We are faced with another difficult question when we proceed to consider the question of the remuneration of masters. This problem is one about which contradictory opinions have been held owing to the fact that it is disputed whether or not the education given in the schools of the Middle Ages was free education. It is indisputable that the original schools of the Church were entirely free and that the schoolmaster was remunerated by sharing equally with the other priests in the common fund of the Church.

The transition from free education to fee paying education may be said to date from the time when the schoolmaster became the chancellor. The chancellor continued to draw his share of the revenue of the Church, but no express provision was made for the maintenance of the schoolmaster whom the chancellor appointed.[330]

It was probably due to this neglect that the council of 1179[331] decreed that a benefice should be bestowed upon a master so as to enable him to teach the "clericos et scholares pauperes" gratis. This decree was repeated in 1200[332] and 1215.[333] It has not been found possible to trace the appointment to sinecure benefices, subject to the condition that the inc.u.mbent of such benefice should hold a school, as the record of the appointment would not also record the condition. We may safely a.s.sume that this was done in some cases, as the custom even prevails to-day.[334]

In course of time, the master of a school derived a certain amount of his remuneration from the fees which he received from his pupils. This originated in a natural custom that pupils should make some voluntary offering to those who taught them. Thus, the enactment of 1200, which decreed that "presbyteri per villas scholas habeant, et gratis parvulos doceant" also practically enacted that voluntary contributions on the part of the relations of the pupils would be permitted. It is not difficult to conceive that this custom of voluntary offering would develop into one of compulsory payment.

The terms used to describe these voluntary offerings are somewhat strange, _e.g._ "c.o.c.k penny," "potation penny," "nutt money." "c.o.c.k pennies" were gratuities given to the schoolmasters in connection with the almost universal custom of c.o.c.k-fighting which took place in schools on Shrove Tuesday. William Fitzstephen[335] gives an account of the practice, stating that "each boy in the school brings a fighting c.o.c.k to his master, and the whole of that forenoon is given up to a holiday to watch the c.o.c.k-fights in the school." c.o.c.k-fighting was prohibited in St. Paul's School by Colet's statute of 1518, but the custom seems to have continued at the Manchester Grammar School until 1815.[336] "Potation pennies" were gratuities made when a feast was provided, whilst "nutt money" was the term applied to the gifts made to the schoolmasters at Michaelmas.

In some cases, these offerings were regarded as a natural part of the remuneration of the schoolmaster. Thus the ordinances of Hartlebury Grammar School prescribe that "the schoolmaster shall and may have, use and take the profits of all such c.o.c.k-fights and potations, as are commonly used in schools and such other gifts as shall freely be given them."[337] In other cases, an effort was made to put an end to the custom. Thus the Coventry Grammar School statutes state that "there shall not be any other or more Potations in any one yeare ... than one yearely."[338]

In addition to these optional payments, certain other payments gradually became recognised which in course of time were known as "entrance money"