The Church and Education in the Middle Ages

The Middle Ages was an age of faith. The Christian world was primarily divided into three categories: Priests, Nobles and the Commoners. The Church was a necessary tool in surviving the medieval world. Similar to a modern day government, the Church established a form or order and ruled over society. The Church enforced fear into the people by using stories, songs and art (Bishop; 1996). In the Middle Ages, the majority of society were illiterate and the Religious Orders of Monks and Nuns, along with the Monarchy, were the only members privileged enough to receive an education. Many of the epic Biblical stories were enacted for society orally through performance and hymns.

Orders of Nuns

Within the Middle Ages, women were regarded as being morally weak when compared to the male. The Church believed that women were cursed due to the Biblical story of Adam and Eve, where Eve ate of the fruit that was forbidden. In forgiveness of this sin, the ideal life of a woman was to become a cloistered nun and to live in the holiness of God. Becoming a Nun offered a chance for independence and to not live under the rules of a man. Unlike married women, Nuns would have the opportunity for an education enabling them to read, write and sing. The Biblical scriptures and holy hymns sung in church, formed the basis of their education. The Bridgettines Nuns followed the St Augustine's rule, which was a set of rules outlining how an individual should live their daily life. This order survived the hardships of the Sixteenth Century by working and relocating to safer environments, far from the threats of war and disease. Nuns were usually from well established families but they had not succeeded in finding a suitable husband. The Nuns in charge taught basic skills of reading, writing, singing, chanting and table manners which were requirements of the Church (Bagley, 1960). The Church had a major influence on the daily lives of the Nuns. Despite this influence, the Church provided little support financially, so Nuns had to rely on charity from the local community. The Middle Ages was a time of great poverty so Nuns would often have to beg for food in order to survive (Mott; 1976). A Nun's daily life consisted of pray, chores, singing and sacrifice.

The Church's Influence on Education

The Church had a major influence on everyday activities; it had the power to enforce what was taught at Song schools and Universities. There was a strong focus on the study of biblical scriptures, the saints, and holy days. One of the greatest of these holy days was the Feast of Corpus Christi, the feast of the body and blood of Jesus. The teachers within Universities were qualified in the areas of Latin, Church music, Geometry, Sculpture, Mathematics and Grammar. These skills were the recommended study programs from the Church. The teachers placed much emphasis on the study of music which was thought to have a softening edge. The church believed that music was the key element in connecting with the common folk (Shanhan; 1904). Before the Nineteenth Century, primary education was seen as not being important. The duty of educating a young child was often left to the parents, siblings, nun or local priest. The only school that taught at a primary level was the Song School. The purpose of this particular school was to teach the choir boys how to properly read music and sing at the same time. The leaders of Song school were often asked to take young children including girls and educate them on the basics of literature (Bagley; 1960).

The Medieval period was a time of bloodshed, disease, starvation and fear. According to statistics, one third of the infants born during this period would often die before the age of five. Because of disease and nutrient deficiency, the common people had an average life span of thirty years (Scott; 2003). The Black Death infected many people, and ultimately affected the education system of the Middle Ages. Leading researchers, theoreticians and scholars were infected with the deadly plague. The result was a decline in the accuracy of the Latin language, which had previously been a dominant language since the Eleventh Century. The replacements of the skilled theorists were priests who had little understanding of how to teach like an academic. As a result, the Song and Secondary schools were left with poorly trained and often incompetent teachers (Gottfried; 1983).

Medieval Music

Despite the short lived lives, the Middle Ages was a time of growth in terms of Liturgical music. This particular style of music assisted the mass and provided entertainment. Shortly after this growth, the songs of the Fourteenth Century were gradually replaced by Polyphony songs. The choirs of the monasteries were often formed by male competent singers. For convents, the women would only sing behind closed doors. Women were not allowed to serve as choristers as ordered by the Church; instead these roles were preformed by boys (Hamilton; 2003).

Reference List:

Books

Anderson, R (2003) "Medieval Worlds": London: Thames and Hudson

Bagley, J (1960)."Life in Medieval England": Britain: William Clowes and Sons

Bishop, M (1996)."The Middle Ages": USA: Congress Cataloging

Gottfried, R (1983)."The Black Death": Britain: Robert Hale Limited

Hamilton, R (2003)."Religion in the Medieval West": London: Hodder Arnold

Mott, G (2003)."The Churches and Abbeys of Ireland": London: Routledge

Oakley, F (1988)."The Medieval Experience": Canada: Macmillian Publishing

Shahan, T (1904)."The Middle Ages": New York: Benzigger Brother

Scott, R (2003) "The Gothic Enterprise": USA: Congress Cataloging