Education in Medieval Europe

Education
a process of teaching, training and learning, especially in schools or colleges, to improve knowledge and develop skills

Education was barely seen as an important part of Medieval Europe until it started to create a stronger image with its success. Reading, writing, and calculation was becoming a skill needed in governments, business and even agriculture. People who had these skills, such as scribes, clerks, and layers were standing in great power over other people.

Going to school and getting and education was not done by everyone in Medieval Europe. Only some could go to school and most of them were boys1. The education a peasant would get would only be to make a living. Girls were sent to other households to learn sewing and weaving, skills needed to manage a household. Boys who were the sons of lords would learn proper manners and to play chess2. The ‘education’ people received were different from class.

Education in schools was only open to the sons of a high class. These boys were seen as people higher than ordinary people like weavers and peasants, as they represented the youth’s elite3. As most education was done by monks, the children would go to cathedrals to receive their lessons. In some cases, there were no seats and desks, so students would sit on the floor with their fellow class mate4. The main method of learning during the Middle Ages was memorizing. Books and written text was very and not many existed because they had not method of copying the text other than rewriting it. Thus, a teacher would have a book in hand, reading out loud to his pupils teaching them. There were no blackboards, so every single thing a student learned was oral. Remembering every word the teacher spoke, the memory capacity of each student was strong5. Also, with having to present what they had learned the next day, it was in great need to be able to remember and memorize what the teacher said.

Using quills and parchment was a very expensive method to learn how to write. Quills were only used by those who have learned and mastered the art of writing6. Thus, students used wax tablet with a stylus made out of ivory, bone, or metal. With the stylus, students would carve his writing on the wax tablet. Erasing was possible by using the round side of the stylus and rubbing it on the wax7.

The basic education which was taught for elites was the Seven Liberal Arts. This was thought to be knowledge for free men as its main purpose was not for money making. Seven was a number people were fond of for it was a number that was a key to the ordered universe8. The Liberal Arts were divided up into two, Trivium (three roads) and Quadrivium (four roads). Trivium consisted of the subjects of grammar, rhetoric and logic. These basics were learned to teach essential disciplines needed for the Church, to learn the structure of language, and the force to speak. The Quadrivium was more scientific, learned after mastering the first three subjects. Arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music were part of second set. This knowledge was then used for further learning, such as medicine, law, and theology9.

Math was important during Medieval Europe, not only as it was a subject ‘Arithmetic’, but also made deep connections with other subjects like geometry and astronomy10. Numbers they used were Roman Numerals, 304 being CCCIV. However, the Hindu-Arabic numerals was introduced, the numbers we use nowadays. Having the numbers 1 to 9, there was no 0. For example, adding 37 and 63 would have made great confusion. The one’s digit would be 7+3 being 10 and the ten’s digit being 3+6+1 which is 10, making the final answer 100. However, with no 0, people did not know how to write 100, and ended up writing up a blank spot. This caused misunderstandings, as people might have read it as just 111.

The reason why the number 0 did not exist could have different theories. But most could have said it was because they couldn’t understand ‘nothing’. The main idea was that everything was created by God, but 0 is nothing, so it couldn’t exist. There was a short Latin text which was written by a student which read ‘A is created by God, therefore A exists; and similarly this, A does not exist, therefore A is not created by God12’. ‘Nothing’ could have created fear as it was something people could not understand or did not know about.

However, education children received were not only in schools. Children today learn their first lessons from their parents, and it was no different for children in Medieval Europe13. When they were little, they would learn to play with toys. Kicking stones, playing with a ball or a doll were some of the many games they played. Imitating past wars was also done by boys. Little by little, what they did that was playing slowly turns into learning. Children of peasants would slowly see their parents outside working in the fields. Sons of craftsmen would play in his father’s work area. Children of noble would learn hunting with the elders. Girls, like in any period of time, would go to the kitchen and make food to feed their dolls.

Education during childhood was very important, whether it was school or work. This was because people who learned during an early age would be able to gain more experience and skill rather than a person who would start later. Also, these skills would create a benefit for them, for the skills they learned for many years would help them make a living or live in their certain environment.