What education did a lord get in the middle ages?

Question

I'm doing a project for school and I can't find out what type of education a lord recieved. Please help me!

Answer 1

In the middle ages, only the nobility (the "lords")  and the clergy (churchmen) were educated.  However, their definition of "educated" is much different to ours.  All they learned was to read and write latin, and perhaps some vernacular, or common, languages (such as german, english etc).  They would have read mainly the latin bible and perhaps a few books/documents about the lives of saints.  A few people also read some of the classics; however, this was not very common in the middle ages.  Also, education was a mark of wealth.  Most tutors were clergy members.  Since the vast majority of people during the medival period that were given formal education were nobility, they had priests in their courts who taught their children to read and served as scribes.

So basically, what it boils down to, educated people could write on parchements and read the bible for themselves (which was also a skill the church, for obvious reasons, did not what the masses to learn.  Also, the protestant reformation succeeded because of an increase in public literacy so that people could read the new theologians ideas).

Colleges only began to really take root during the late medival period.  They had grow out of informal gatherings of "masters" and students during classical times.  However, in the medieval period, most people were still surfs and lived their entire lives on the lords manor estate.  Thus, the manor estates had places were priests could come and say mass with the surfs, and private chapels were the priest could say mass with the noble family and consult with the noble family.  Formal academic institutions, and the traditions of academic insititutions, were only popularized during the renaissance.

Answer 2

Generally, a nobleman would be able to read and write, probably in Latin and/or the vernacular of his country at the time.  In England, Norman French was the court language for much of the early Middle Ages, whereas Anglo-Saxon was the common vernacular (so a nobleman might not know that as well).

However, there were still plenty of functionally illiterate noblemen at the time.  The best educated people would probably be those going into high office in the church.  They needed to be educated enough to produce books, do some preaching, interpret canon law, things like that.  This is why priests or monks might also act as secretaries to nobles and why so many high advisers to kings were bishops and cardinals (think of people like Thomas Becket).

A nobleman most likely wouldn't not run his estate by himself, but would have a steward (or similar officer) to deal with the day to day matters and the administrative duties.  This man needed to be much better educated than the lord and usually was.

In England, a nobleman would most likely be taught at home, by a private tutor.  Members of the gentry might attend one of the schools (although not as common in the early middle ages) and both might attend one of the universities (Oxford or Cambridge).  However, men with titles did not officially receive degrees from Oxford or Cambridge well into the 19th century.  (That was more necessary for the lower classes, who actually needed to work)

Answer 3

they HAD education. at tht time only the upperclass had anyform of schooling

Answer 4

There were many different kinds of schools in medieval England. There were small, informal schools held in the parish church, song schools at cathedrals, almonry schools that belonged to monasteries, chantry schools, guild schools, preparatory grammar schools, and full grammar schools. The subjects learned at these schools was limited to basics such as learning the alphabet, psalms, religious rites and lessons about the Ten Commandments and the Seven Deadly Sins. The grammar schools also studied Latin grammar, composition, and translation.

In addition to the schools listed above there were also privately endowed schools like Winchester and Eton. The most famous public school, Eton, was founded by Henry VI in 1440. The term "public school" can be misleading. It refers to the fact that the school drew its students from all over the country rather than just the local area. In reality "public schools" are anything but public. They were, and still are, elite boarding schools for the rich or ambitious.

Most schools had no books and the students were taught by rote and the skill of individual masters. Most masters were minor clergy, who themselves were often indifferently educated. Classes at some of the larger schools could be as large as 100 or more boys (no girls, though they were accepted at some of the small local schools), and the school day lasted as long as 13 hours with breaks for meals. And to top it off students could expect to be beaten regularly with a birch rod.

Legend has it that Oxford University was founded by King Alfred in 872. A more likely scenario is that it grew out of efforts begun by Alfred to encourage education and establish schools throughout his territory. There may have been a grammar school there in the 9th century. A grammar school was exactly what it sounds like; a place for teaching Latin grammar. The University as we know it actually began in the 12th century as gatherings of students around popular masters. The university consisted of people, not buildings. The buildings came later as a recognition of something that already existed. In a way, Oxford was never founded; it grew.

Cambridge University was founded by students fleeing from Oxford after one of the many episodes of violence between the university and the town of Oxford.

University students chose their own course of studies, hired their own professors, and picked their own hours of study. They were free to leave one professor if they tired of him, and join another, attending several lectures before deciding whether to pay him or not. The only books were the professors, and students wrote notes on parchment or, more commonly, on wax tablets.

During the Middle Ages, or the medieval period, which lasted roughly from the 5th to the 15th century, Western society and education were heavily shaped by Christianity, particularly the Roman Catholic Church. The Church operated parish, chapel, and monastery schools at the elementary level. Schools in monasteries and cathedrals offered secondary education. Much of the teaching in these schools was directed at learning Latin, the old Roman language used by the church in its ceremonies and teachings. The church provided some limited opportunities for the education of women in religious communities or convents. Convents had libraries and schools to help prepare nuns to follow the religious rules of their communities. Merchant and craft guilds also maintained some schools that provided basic education and training in specific crafts. Knights received training in military tactics and the code of chivalry.

As in the Greek and Roman eras, only a minority of people went to school during the medieval period. Schools were attended primarily by persons planning to enter religious life such as priests, monks, or nuns. The vast majority of people were serfs who served as agricultural workers on the estates of feudal lords. The serfs, who did not attend school, were generally illiterate. The name "university" comes from the Latin word "universitas", or associations, in reference to the associations that students and teachers organized to discuss academic issues. Medieval universities offered degrees in the liberal arts and in professional studies such as theology, law, and medicine