History of Education Part 13

[35] _Ibid._, p. 186.

[36] See K. Schmidt, "Geschichte der Padagogik," Vol. II, p. 265, for subjects of these discussions.

[37] "Jesuit Education," p. 46.

[38] "History of Philosophy," p. 189.

CHAPTER XX

CHARLEMAGNE

=Literature.=--_Ferris_, Great Leaders; _Emerton_, Introduction to the Middle Ages; _Guizot_, History of Civilization; _Wells_, The Age of Charlemagne; _Bryce_, The Holy Roman Empire; _Church_, The Beginning of the Middle Ages; _Lord_, Beacon Lights; _White_, Eighteen Christian Centuries; _Laurie_, Rise of the Universities; _Bulfinch_, Legends of Charlemagne; Encyclopaedia Britannica, Article on Charlemagne.

=History, Character, and Purpose.=--Charlemagne was not only the greatest ruler of the Middle Ages, but one of the greatest and wisest rulers the world has known. By birth and instinct he belonged to the Teutonic race, to which, as before stated, the world's enlightenment has been committed. Like Alexander the Great, Charlemagne united many peoples into one, until he ruled over the territory now included in France, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and Italy,--in fact, his empire comprised the richest part of central Europe. He designed to rebuild the Roman Empire, and was crowned "Emperor of Rome" by the Pope, in the year 800. While he protected the Pope and was loyal to him, he did not admit the papal supremacy in matters of State.

Two very important influences were wisely utilized by Charlemagne in his work of civilization, namely, the political ideas of the Teutons, and the adhering power of the Christian church. He cherished German customs, and left, in various parts of Germany, many monuments of his love for that people. He was of commanding presence, being seven feet in height, and of good proportions, blond in type, and of genial manners. His real capital was at Aix-la-Chapelle, but Rome was a nominal capital. Bulfinch says of Charlemagne: "Whether we regard him as a warrior or legislator, as a patron of learning or as the civilizer of a barbarous nation, he is ent.i.tled to our warmest admiration." If his successors had possessed the ability, enterprise, and breadth of view that characterized him, the world might never have known the period in history commonly called the "Dark Ages."

=Personal Education.=--When Charlemagne arrived at the estate of manhood and ascended the throne, he was ignorant of letters and lacked any considerable intellectual training. His education had been that of the knight who believed that skill in the use of arms and physical prowess were of far more importance than a knowledge of letters.[39] After he had come to the throne, and especially after he had conquered his foes and had leisure to study the welfare of his people, he realized his deficiencies, and sought to overcome them by diligent study.

He called to his court the most learned men of the world, received personal instruction from them, and had them read to him and converse with him while at his meals. In this way he overcame, in a measure, the defects of his early education. He thoroughly mastered Latin, became familiar with Greek, and learned also grammar, rhetoric, logic, music, astronomy, and natural history. He never learned to write well, owing to the late period of life at which he began, and to the clumsiness of the hand accustomed to wielding the sword rather than the pen.

Among his instructors was _Alcuin of England_, the most celebrated teacher of his time. Charlemagne established the "School of the Palace,"

and placed Alcuin at its head. Here the children of the emperor as well as his courtiers were taught. He had his own daughters learn Latin and Greek. France is indebted to Alcuin for its polite learning. Alcuin was also the counselor of the emperor in the educational matters of the empire, and it was probably his influence that led Charlemagne to adopt such broad views concerning the culture of his people.

=General Education.=--We have seen that the prevailing idea was that education should subserve the interests of the Church. Charlemagne turned the current of thought toward the national idea. He believed in religious training, but wanted to found a great State, and therefore insisted that those things which encouraged intelligent patriotism should be taught. He protected the Church, but insisted that the Church was subordinate to the State, and that his will was law over both.

Consequently he required priests to preach in the native tongues rather than in Latin, and decreed that monasteries that would not open their doors to children for school purposes should be closed. The priests, he insisted, should be able to read and write, should have a knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and of the chief doctrines of the Church, and should instruct the people in these things.

The seven liberal arts formed the basis of school instruction. Monks were not to remain in idleness and ignorance, but were required to teach, not only in the monasteries, but also outside of them. He also encouraged education among his n.o.bles, and plainly intimated that merit and not n.o.ble birth would ent.i.tle them to favor. Charlemagne visited the schools himself, and required the bishop to report to him their condition. He thus became a superintendent of schools, being as familiar with the educational interests of his kingdom as he was with every other interest. He sought to teach first the priests and n.o.bles, and after that the ma.s.ses of his people. He introduced the practice of _compulsory education_ for all children, and decreed that truant children be first deprived of food as punishment, and if that did not suffice, that they be brought before him.

Reading, writing, arithmetic, and singing were taught, especial attention being given to music, which was of use in the church services.

The Apostles' Creed and the Lord's Prayer were also taught. In 801 Charlemagne decreed that women and children should receive instruction in the doctrines of religion, because he believed religion to be the foundation of a civilized nation.

Charlemagne's career s.h.i.+nes out in brilliant contrast with the ignorance and superst.i.tion of his age. The world was not yet ripe for his advanced ideas, hence when the work lost the support of his strong personality, its effects soon became obliterated, and a retrogression of civilization resulted.

The clergy, who had entertained but little sympathy for the enterprises of the emperor, soon closed the monasteries to outside students, and returned to the same practices from which the authority and energy of Charlemagne had aroused them. His work was not wholly in vain, however, for he laid the foundations of the Prussian school system.[40]

=Summary of Charlemagne's Work.=--1. He elevated the clergy by demanding greater educational qualifications of them and by insisting that they do their duty.

2. He gave dignity to native tongues by requiring the priests to preach more frequently in the vernacular of the people, and thus helped to make the services of the Church of greater profit to the people.

3. He opened the cloisters to the purposes of education, and thereby greatly extended their usefulness.

4. He sought to perpetuate religion and insure the stability of his empire by making education compulsory and universal.

5. He believed in the education of women.

6. He laid the foundations of future school systems, and indicated certain principles that are still recognized as valid.

FOOTNOTES:

[39] See "Feudal Education," Chap. XXII.

[40] Professor Masius, Lectures in the University of Leipsic.

CHAPTER XXI

ALFRED THE GREAT

=Literature.=--_Ferris_, Great Leaders; _Lord_, Beacon Lights; _Mombert_, Great Lives; _Spofford_, Library of Historical Characters; _Green_, History of the English People.

=History and Character.=--Alfred became king of the West Saxons in 871 at the age of twenty-three. As a boy he had already shown remarkable energy and ability, and as a man he more than fulfilled the promise of his early years. England was divided into several kingdoms, the Danes having taken possession of the eastern part of the island. Alfred carried on war against them for many years with varying success, until he made peace by skillful diplomacy in giving them territory. He afterward showed remarkable statesmans.h.i.+p in winning them to peaceful acquiescence in his sovereignty, and thus he came to rule over united England.

He laid the foundation of England's naval greatness by building s.h.i.+ps to defend the country against Danish pirates. Many stories are told of his simplicity, his perseverance, his strategy in defeating his enemies, and the love with which he inspired his people. Karl Schmidt says, "Alfred, as victor in fifty-six battles, as lawgiver, as king and sage, as Christian and man, as husband and father, is rightly called--'The Great.'"

He was very methodical in his habits, and divided his day into three equal parts of eight hours each: eight hours he gave to government, eight hours to religious devotion and study, and the other eight hours to sleep, recreation, and the recuperation of his body.

=Education.=--Alfred did not learn to read until twelve years of age.

His mother then stimulated him by the promise of a book to that one of her sons who should first commit to memory a Saxon poem. With indomitable energy he mastered reading, learned the poem, and secured the prize. Throughout his life he gave much attention to literary matters. He translated many portions of the Bible, as well as other books, into Anglo-Saxon, and encouraged literary efforts in others.

Without doubt the intellectual activity of Charlemagne acted as a spur to Alfred's personal ambition and to his desire to elevate his people.

Although he did not follow the example of Charlemagne in seeking universal education for his people, he did urge that the children of every freeman should be able to read and write, and should have instruction in Latin. The distinction thus made in the purposes of these two great rulers has been perpetuated till the present time, the Germans encouraging universal education, while the English have attended chiefly to the education of the higher cla.s.ses. Alfred established many monasteries and made them centers of learning. It seems clear that he a.s.sisted in laying the foundations from which Oxford University grew. He left his impress upon the English people as no other ruler has done, implanting love for law, justice, freedom, national honor, and the domestic virtues which characterize that nation. His influence is felt upon English inst.i.tutions to this day.

CHAPTER XXII

FEUDAL EDUCATION

=Literature.=--_Stille_, Studies in Mediaeval History; _Bulfinch_, Legends of Charlemagne; _Emerton_, Mediaeval Europe.

Emerton defines feudalism as "an organization of society based upon the absence of a strong controlling power at the center of the State."[41]

It marks a step in the reorganization of society which was slowly going forward during the Middle Ages. It was an element in the movement toward freedom, in which men of large landed possessions gained the allegiance of va.s.sals by gifts of land, in return for which the latter bound themselves to defend the former in case of attack. "The tie by which the higher freeman bound the lower one to himself was ordinarily a gift of the use of a certain tract of land, together with more or less extensive rights of jurisdiction over the dwellers thereon. By means of this gift he secured the service of the lesser man in war, and as war was the normal condition of things, such service was the most valuable payment he could receive."[42]

While it is true that the feudal lords were in many cases little else than robber chieftains, especially in the earlier history of the system, it would be false to history to picture them in general as being of that character. The knights were chivalrous in battle, ever ready to fight for their religion, as shown in the crusades, to defend the weak, to show greatest respect for woman, and to maintain freedom. Fortified in an impregnable castle on some eminence, with his loyal retainers about him, the feudal baron was able to defy kings. The system marks a stage in the development of civilization, and when feudalism fell into decline its purpose had been fulfilled.

With such an independent manner of living, and such ideas of their own rights, it is not strange that the knights had a form of education peculiar to themselves, and this education is full of interest to the student. There was little in the schooling of the monasteries that could appeal to them, and their ideas of manhood were very different from those of the ecclesiastics. Prowess in the use of arms, skill in horsemans.h.i.+p, acquaintance with the chivalric forms of politeness and with knightly manners, were of far more importance to them than ability to read and write. Indeed, they despised book-learning as something beneath their own dignity, however suitable it might be for their va.s.sals. In such a school as this Charlemagne grew up. It was a school of action rather than of thought; a school which looked to the present rather than the future.

The education of the knights was in striking contrast with the prevailing modes. Instead of the seven liberal arts, the seven perfections of the knight were taught,--horsemans.h.i.+p, swimming, use of bow and arrow, swordsmans.h.i.+p, hunting, chess-playing, and verse-making.