Development of British Education

Start of the Roman conquest of Britain.

43

Governor Agricola sets up schools.

78

"in order to 'romanize the sons of native chieftains'" (Tacitus) ➔ The first evidence of formal schooling in Britain.

End of the 1st Century AD

80

Mentions of Rhetoric Schools. "eloquent Gauls were teaching Britons to plead causes" (Juvenal).
Educational System: A three-tier system similar to other Roman provinces is assumed:
1. Elementary (reading, writing, arithmetic).
2. Grammar (correct composition, literary texts).
3. Rhetoric (theory and practice of oratory). (примерно 80-100 гг. н.э.)

Christianity officially tolerated.

313

Christians in Britain likely used the traditional Roman education system to study pagan Latin literature for reading the Bible.

Decline and the "Dark Ages" (5th – mid-6th Century)

449

Early 5th Century – Roman withdrawal. Invasions by Anglo-Saxons. ➔ Complete collapse of civilization and education. "whatever other institutions of Britain, if any, survived its conversion into England, churches and schools did not" (Leach).

Revival through Christianity (Late 6th – 8th Centuries)

597

Mission of St. Augustine of Canterbury.➔ Beginning of the Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons. The Church becomes the center of literacy and learning.

The first known grammar school founded at Canterbury

598

"Augustine established the Grammar School which still flourishes..." (Leach).
ypes of Schools:
Grammar Schools (grammatica): To teach Latin to English priests.
Song Schools: To train choristers (often sons of gentlefolk).

7th – 8th Centuries – The "Golden age" of Anglo-Saxon scholarship.

634

634 – School established at York. Schools founded at Winchester, Lindisfarne, Malmesbury, and others. Curriculum: Based on the Seven Liberal Arts (the Trivium and Quadrivium). The primary textbook was Donatus's Ars Minor. Teaching was subordinate to the framework of worship, often taking place in churches or cloisters.

Threat and Response: Vikings and King Alfred (Late 8th – 10th Centuries)

793

Viking raid on Lindisfarne.

Reign of King Alfred the Great in Wessex.

866

Initiator of a cultural revival in response to the decline of learning caused by Viking invasions.
Alfred's Program:
Revival of Monasticism (foundations at Athelney and Shaftesbury).
Establishment of a school in the royal household for his children, nobles, and others.
Promotion of English alongside Latin. Translation of Pope Gregory's Pastoral Care into English, lamenting the state of learning.
10th Century – Reforms of monastic education.

Danes besieged Canterbury and murdered Archbishop Ælfheah.

1011

On the Eve of the Conquest (11th Century)

1016

1016-1035 – Reign of Cnut. "supported the education of poor boys."
Society remained largely "oral, customary, illiterate, semi-barbarous". Schools were few, and village schools were virtually non-existent.

Summary by 1066

1066

Education was almost entirely controlled by the Church. Its main purpose was the training of the clergy. The language of instruction was Latin. The system laid the foundation for future development but remained elite and vulnerable to political upheaval.