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Medieval Education

The medieval period in Occidental history was a thousand years expanse of time that extended from the collapse of the Roman Empire to the early attempts at modernization in the Renaissance. Educated as well as ignorant people were guided by a theocentric world view. The basic educational institutions were conducted under the protective auspices of the Roman Church. Chantry, parish, monastic, and cathedral schools were sustained by religious people and communities. Learning itself became identified with the canonical and the clerical modes of life. Even the more secular guild and chivalric forms of education were affected by the pervading religious orientation of the Middle Ages.

The influence of the expanse of the Roman Empire is recognized in the mode of education prevalent during the Middle Ages. Father were responsbile for finding aiding their sons in finding a vocation in order to find a means to contribute to society. Mothers were to direct their daughters primarily in domestic education, and were the first teachers of both children of both genders prior to schooling. Religious doctrine and morality dominated education and instruction from the 10th century onwards. Reading and song were recognised as a preliminary stage for learning Latin grammar, and this is illustrated in the excerpt from the Canterbury Tales: 'The Prioress's Tale.' Song schools were the elementary schools of the Middle Ages. The alphabet, or ABCs were often sung. This is a method of memorization or pneumonic device that had been passed down from more ancient times.

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