Medieval Germany: Schools


Figure 1.--The print here shows a Medieval German school at Reutlingen about 1490. The birds on the pupils' heads indicate good (white) or bad (black) behaviour. The boys wear dress like gowns. Click on the iamge to see an 11th century Church school scene.

In Germany as in the rest of Europe, formalized schools and education disappeared with the fall of the Roman Empire. The only formal schooling that continued was that of the Christain Church where some lireracy was necessary to read the Bible and for scholary discussion, primarily on doctrinal matters. Only slowly did formal schooling reappear, most notably in the late Medieval era. One modern depiction shows a scene from a Church school in Germany during the 11th century. We are not sure how accurate the depiction is, but comtemprary images are very limited. Art in the Medieval era was primarily focused on the glorification of God. The depiction of children and schooling was rarely attempted. There are, however, a few images, primarily from the late Medieval era. They provide us a glimse not only of the state of education at the time, but at the wat boys dressed for school. The print here shows a Medieval German school at Reutlingen. I am not sure how to date it, perhaps the 14th century. The birds on the pupils' heads indicate good (white) or bad (black) behaviour. Notice the birch rod, often shown in school scenes beause beating children was very common at the time. The boys wear dress like gowns. The master had a cap. The illustration also depicts the boys wearing the same hair style which looks to be bangs and hair covering the ears.

Fall of Rome

In Germany as in the rest of Europe, formalized schools and education disappeared with the fall of the Roman Empire. The Germaic Tribes which moved West to conquer Western Europe did not have formal schools.The medieval Church, as in the rest of Europe, was the genisus of the educational systems which developed in the aftermath of the collapse of Rome. There was no continuity between Roman schools and the schools which were to develop several centuries after Rome's collapse.

Medieval Images

Art in the Medieval era was primarily focused on the glorification of God. The depiction of children and schooling was rarely attempted. There are, however, a few images, primarily from the late Medieval era. They provide us a glimse not only of the state of education at the time, but also the way boys dressed for school. The print here shows a Medieval German school at Reutlingen. I am not sure how to date it, perhaps the 14th century. The birds on the pupils' heads indicate good (white) or bad (black) behaviour. Notice the birch rod, often shown in school scenes beause beating children was very common at the time. The boys wear dress like gowns. The master had a cap. The illustration also depicts the boys wearing the same hair style which looks to be bangs and hair covering the ears.

Church Schools

The only formal schooling that continued was that of the Christain Church where some lireracy was necessary to read the Bible and for scholary discussion, primarily on doctrinal matters. The schools were for boys planning on becoming priests and monks. Only slowly did formal schooling reappear, most notably in the late Medieval era. One modern image depiction shows a scene from a Church school in Germany during the 11th century. We are not sure how accurate the depiction is, but comtemprary images are very limited. The first written records of formal education in Germany date to the 8th century and describe a monastic school at Fulda. At the time literacy was lost to the population, even the nobility. It was only in the Church that learning was preserved.

Town and Village Schools

8th century

Monks in the 8th century began opening church and village schools. One such monk Rabanus Maurus (776-856) as a result of his work is known as the "teacher of Germany". Gradually such schools expanded in number.

13th century

Major changes in education began to occur in the 13th century. Schools for young children opperated in Germany during the 13th century, even in the smallest towns. The town schools were called Bürgerschulen in contrast to Klosterschulen (maintained by the church). There were a series of well-documented disputes between church and town authorities (“school wars”) over the right to control education. Some of them went as far as the Imperial court. The senior clergy (who were almost always of noble birth) were none too keen to see the rise of an educated merchant class. As things turned out they were probably right to be worried. [Carter] They were secular schools not operated by the Church and not involved in training novitiates. There were important differences between the teaching in the religious schools and the secular town schools. In the 13th Century the secular schools were beginning to provide an education for the children (boys mainly) of the patrician and senior merchant families at a time when the use of commercial documents and the promulgation of laws and decrees by the town authorities increasingly required an ability to read in the vernacular. Thus, the teaching of the skill of reading in the vernacular (German) was more important for day-to-day life than the teaching of Latin. [Carter] In the Church schools Latin was central. The Bürgerschulen were often located in what ever spsce might be available. There were few actual purpose-built schools. Classes might be held in cellar-like rooms. The pupils sat on chairs or benches. The teacher sat in a higher position to overlook his pupils. The schools were maintained and ordered by the Counts (Fürsten) of the various German states or if the towns had their own rights (freie Reichsstädte) by the town authorities. The teachers were not well educated, but they could write and calculate to some degree. They were poor and the parents had to pay fees, in the early days by bringing food, but as the Medieval economy progressed monetary payments became more common. Many of the teachers had other employments, often associated with the Church, such as playing the church organ. In later times there was a sign placed to attract children from far away. Pupils ranged from the very young up to about 15 years old. They wrote on wax-coated wooden slates with wooden, metallic, or bone pens. As the Middle Ages progressed, chalk was used with slate boards (schieffer). Teachers had a stick showing their status. It was also used to beat children when they misbehaved or did poorly at writing, singing, or other assignments. Latin was an important part of the curriculum. Learning to read meant learning Latin as that was the language of scholarship. (It also mean that scholars all Europe had a common language.) Pupils had to memorize prayers, songs and parts of the Bible, as well as learn reading, writting, and calculating. [Reinhard: I don't understand this sentence: The ecclestical schools had given the common teaching to the Universites.] Although these were secular schools, religion played an important element in Medieval education. The boys learned Latin and singing and they had to sing at Mass as well as on funerals. Apart from schools at Abbeys (Klosterschulen) there were in Germany some secular schools for girls in the 13th century. [Reinhard: Does this mean that there were separate schools for girls rather than young children being taught together.] These Medieval schools only existed in the towns, There were no schools in rural areas for children in the 13th century. [Muller] It should be noted that, at this time, reading and writing were seen as separate skills, unlike today. Reading was an intellectual skill whereas writing was a manual task that could be left to scribes. An educated merchant might be able to read German but would not necessarily see the need to be able to write it. He employed people to do that and he could dictate his letters to them. Being “literate” meant being able to read Latin. Being able to read the vernacular did not count--at least in the eyes of the clergy which still dominated intellectual life. [Carter]

14th century


15th century


16th century

Württemberg authorities in the 16th century began requiring children to attend school. It was one of the first German states to do so. I guess there the fee paying had declined a lot, but I have little information on any fees involved. (Even today while the public schools are free, but the books and other media has to be payed for in some places--no Lehrmittelfreiheit anylonger). Most schools were in towns while on the rural areas there were none. There were some roaming teachers, who travelled from village to village teaching children. They were a competition to town schools. [Muller]

Universities

The expansion of education, the expanding economy, and the Renaissance led to the establishment of universitirs uin Germany furing the 13th century. The first university was the Charles V University which was opened in Prague during 1348. Other universites were subsequently opened at Heidelberg (1386), Tübingen (1477), and Jena (1558). These universities took boys 12-14 years some even age 10. They were boys that had been tutored or attended the town primary schools. Girls did not attend universities. I do not have details at this time concerning student dress.

Sources

Anonamous. Schule anno 1250.

Borst, Otto. Alltagsleben im Mittelalter.

Carter, Geoffrey. E-mail message, November 1, 2003.

Muller, Reingard. E-mail message, September 5, 2003.






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Created: August 27, 2003
Last updated: May 5, 2004