The Medieval Concept of SPIRITUAL,

INTELLECTUAL, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC Education

Prepared By: Israel Tayaben

MIDIEVAL AGES

5th to the 15th

• It began with the collapse of the WesterRoman Empire and merged into the

Renaissance and the Age of Discovery.

WIKIPEDIA

• End of ancient times.

• Continuing decay Roman empire- social and moral conditions –MOST ARE UNEDUCATED

• In this period of political disorganization four educational systems or movements emerged:

–Monasticism

– Scholasticism

–Chivalry and Feudal

–Guild

The great universities that we know today such as Oxford and Cambridge existed in medieval times. A University at Oxford was in existence in a simple form as early as 1100. Oxford university was given a boost in popularity in 1167 when Henry II banned English scholars from attending the University of Paris due to a dispute with France. Cambridge University was founded in 1209 when some scholars from Oxford left their university after a woman may have been killed by a student and violent disputes erupted with the local townspeople. In the early days of the universities the students lived in the local towns and villages. In 1263 the first Oxford college was built by a wealthy benefactor where the students could live cheaply under one roof. cambridge followed in 1284 with its first college called Peterhouse.

I. MONASTICISM

A.ORIGIN

St. Patrick, who converted Irish people to Christianity, probably founded first monasticism

monasteries in Ireland. Irish monks

lived in small separate cells made of clay or stones.

• likewise, St. Anthony as the founder of Christian

monasticism. At age 20, he sold his property, gave proceeds to the poor, and became a hermit near his home in Egypt. His days was spent in prayer, reading scriptures and committing them to memory and in manual labor.

B.DEFINITION

Greek Word “monos”- ALONE

Sometimes “monachism”- DWELLING ALONE

-is a special form of religious community life. People who practice monasticism separate themselves from ordinary ways of living so they can follow the teachings of their religion as completely as possible. Men are called MONKS women are called NUNS.

• Similar forms of religious life also exist in other

faiths, most notably in Buddhism, but

also Hinduism and Jainism, though the

expressions differ considerably.

1.Spiritual

The aim of monastic education is the

salvation of individual souls, a kind of moral and physical disciplinebased on bodily mortification and worldly renunciation for the sake of moral improvement.

C. AIMS

2.Moral

to attain the ideals of chastity, they gave up family relationship, instead, adopted spiritual and religious relationship.

to attain the ideals of poverty, they renounced property, All inheritance devoted to charity.

to attain the ideals of obedience they renounced all self power but obeying the brothers and the will of God.

3.Spiritual Knowledge

Attain the highest spiritual knowledge and the purest spiritual satisfaction through meditation,

contemplation, inspiration, and asceticism.

4.Virtue

Fasting, very little sleep, wearing coarse clothing, and assuming painful bodily postures

measured the virtue of the monk. World renunciation meant dying all claim of social and human institutions.

D. AGENCIES OF EDUCATION AND CONTENTS STUDIED

Monasteries and Monastic school were the only

agencies for education aside from the parish and cathedral schools.

Seven Liberal Arts was THE CURRICULUM of the

monastic school. It was composed of the ff:

The Trivium: (tres viae, three roads)Grammar – language and literatureDialect – logic or reasoningRhetoric – law and composition

The Quadrivium:Geometry – geometry, geography, natural historyArithmetic – numbers and the study of the calendarMusic – plain chant and harmony used in churchAstronomy – the heavenly bodies, chemistry and physics

1.Moral and religious trainingmonks engaged themselves in religious contemplation,

meditation, asceticism, and religious reading and writing.

2.Literacy Educationcopying manuscripts with other monasteries, collecting

manuscripts in libraries, and writing original manuscripts concerning religion, historical events, and other matters.

3.Manual Trainingmonks are skilled artisans in wood, leather, and metal,

and skilled agriculturist.

E. TYPES OF EDUCATION

1.The domestic homes

the strictest hermit lived alone, in huts so placed that their

inmates could not see nor hear one another.

2.The Economics Structure

by the vows of poverty, monks promised not to possess

anything as his own or make use of it without the permission from his superior.

3.The Political State

monks lived the same type of life; they did not constitute a

formal community and commit themselves to obey their superior.

F. ASPECTS OF SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS

G. METHODS OF INSTRUCTIONS

1.Catechetical Methodthe question and answer method was generally used

as the tool of teaching in monastic schools.

2.Dictationheavily used du to scarcity of books.

3.Memorizationpupils had memorize what was dictated to them.

4.LanguageLatin was the only language for learning

5.Disciplinediscipline was severe.Teacher used the rod to punish

erring pupils.

6.Meditation and Contemplation/ Thoughtful Reflection

the monks believed that the deepest spiritual

experience could be gained only through divine inspiration.

H. CONTRIBUTION TO EDUCATION

1.Preserving and spreading learning and culture by the Cristian Monasteries.

2.The monasteries opposed he vices and corruption of the medieval world.3.They were an influence of taming the warlike spirits and refining the rustic customs of the teutonic people.4.Dignity of Labor.

II. SCHOLASTICISM

A. ORIGINS

Originated during the 1000’s in the schools operated by monasteries and cathedrals. Where writings on logic of Aristotle

had an important. The beliefs on God’s

existence through logical method of discussion were termed SCHOLASTICISM.

Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury was the

called the Father of Scholasticism because of his treaties of teachings about the movement.

He developed a philosophy that claimed to lead through reason alone to basic truths about God. But he believed that human beings need divine revelation to fill out and expand such knowledge.

Beginning the mid-14th

century, scholasticism lost its influence.

Today, however, the teachings of some Roman Catholic theologians still reflect its influence.

B. DEFINITION

• the system of theology and philosophy taught in medieval European universities, based on

Aristotelian logic and the writings of the

early Church Fathers and having a strong emphasis on tradition and dogma.

• “The scholastics would choose a book by a renowned scholar, auctor (author), as a subject for investigation. By reading it thoroughly and critically, the disciples learned to appreciate the theories of the author. Other documents related to the book would be referenced, such as Church councils, papal letters and anything else written on the subject, be it ancient or contemporary. The points of disagreement and contention between multiple sources would be written down in individual sentences or snippets of text, known as sententiae.

• Once the sources and points of disagreement had been laid out through a series of dialectics, the two sides of an argument would be made whole so that they would be found to be in agreement and not contradictory. (Of course, sometimes opinions would be totally rejected, or new positions proposed.) This was done in two ways.

• The first was through philological analysis. Words were examined and argued to have multiple meanings. It was also considered that the auctor might have intended a certain word to mean something different. Ambiguity could be used to find common ground between two otherwise contradictory statements.

• The second was through logical analysis, which relied on the rules of formal logic to show that contradictions did not exist but were subjective to the reader. “

C. AIMS OF EDUCATION

1.Intellectual Disciplineaim of scholasticism is essentially discipline.

It supports the doctrine of the church by rational argument.

2.Faith by ReasonIt attempted to give supporting authority to

the intellect, to justify faith by reason and substantiate theology by logic.

1. Parish school

were for children who showed special talents.

2.Monastic and Cathedral school

were the school of men who became leaders of the church as well as of the state.

D. AGENCIES OF EDUCATION AND CONTENTS STUDIED

3.Palace school,

for the scions of nobility or train intelligent leaders. Established by Charlemagne.

4.University

association of teachers chartered by the Pope or Holy Roman Eemperor

1. Disputed Questionare nothing more than written account of

actual classroom discussions.

2. Disputed Question on TruthThomas Aquinas teaching comprises 253

individuals questions on truth and goodness.

3. Summaeare systematic and organic development or

theology in its entirely question method.

E. TYPES OF EDUCATION

F. METHODS OF INSTRUCTIONS

1. Argumentative Method/Disputed Method(Scholastic Method or System) four parts:

1)stating a position, thesis, or questions;2)Setting down objections to the proposition;3)Proving one side,4)Answering or disputing objection in order

2. Lecture, repetition, disputation, and examination methods conducted according to recognized principles and formalities. In disputation, students were opposed against one another.

3.Aristotelian Logicthe form of argument was the syllogism supplied by Aristotle.

Three Elements of Syllogism:

1)Major Premises, or large class

– (all inclusive)

2)Minor Premises, or smaller class or middle term

– (Predicate is subject of major Premise)

3)Conclusion, or specific case.

-(Subject is the subject of the minor premise and the

predicate is the major premise.)

4. Problem Method

– Constant use of each teacher in problem method.

– Aimed at formulating a conclusion in some topics after many

possible answers were evaluated

– Found effective in both in putting accross fundamental,

universally accepted doctrines and in investigating new and

controversial points.

G. CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATION

1. Organization of the University

2. Emphasis on Intellectual Training

III. CHIVALRY AND THE AGE OF FEUDALISM

A. ORIGINS

Feudalism is the general term used to describe the political and military system of western Europe during the Middle Ages. At

that time there was no strong central government and little security, but feudalism fulfilled the basic need for justice and protection.

B. DEFINITIONS

Feudalism was a system of land tenure on allegiance or service to the nobleman or landlord.

Land lord or owner- fief

Subordinate- vassal

Chivalry comes from the old French word chevalerie, meaning horse soldier. But the term came to mean the code of behaviour and ethics that knigths were expected to follow.

C. AIMS OF CHIVALRIC EDUCATION

1. Morality- virtues of honor, courage, bravery

2. Responsibility- managing thier own states and dealing

with lower classes

3. Horsemanship- horseback warfare, hunting, tounaments

4. Gallantry- deal gallantry with the noble ladies and protect

the weak

5. Religiosity- service to God

6. Social Graces- girls in social graces and manner fit for

ladies

D. AGENCIES OF EDUCATION AND CONTENTS STUDIED

1. Homefor the young boys and girls.

2. Courtfor the girls

3. Castle, the Tournament Fields, and the Field Battles

these were for the boys

4. Troubadours, Minnesingers, and Minstrelsusing the vernacular they sang about the noble

deeds of heroes, beautiful ladies, brilliant deeds of knights and lords.

The ff. are the Content Studied by the pupils:

• Religion, music, dancing, especially for girls

• Horse riding for warfare, hunting, and tournaments

• Physical exercise

• Reading, writing, literature in vernacular

• Good manners, right conduct, social graces & etiquette

• Household duties such as sewing, weaving, cooking, and embroidery for girls

• At the higher level: the Curriculum consisted of the Seven Free Arts:

Jousting

FalconingSwimming

HorsemanshipBoxing

Writing and singing verseChess

E. METHODS OF INSTRUCTION

1. Observation, Imitation and Practice

-individual training

2. Apprenticeship

-youngs were assigned to the lord

3. Motivation

-by means of high social ideas, standards, approval.

Training Preparation For Knighthood

• Knighthood grew up as apart of the feudal system, and they are become less important in warfare during 1400s.

• A young boy in training to be a knight spent the first years in care of his family, during this time he learned to ride a pony and care for horses.

1. THE PAGE

at 7 assigned to female teacher

household of another knight

handle small weapons

code of courtesy and behavior

2. THE SQUIRE

at 14 assigned to a knight

serve in the kitchen

maintenanace of knights weapon

guarding prisoners

rode his master into battle and took part in the fight

3. THE KNIGHT

at 21 any could bestow knighthood on another

recieved sword, weapons from the king

spent the entire night in meditation and prayer

accolade-meaning neck.

“I dub you knight.”

F. CONTRIBUTION TO EDUCATION

1.Use of Vernacular as a tool of teaching.

2.The emphasis placed on the learning of Social Graces, rules of etiquette or good manners and right conduct.