Not only did the Church regulate many acts of a parishioner's life,
and preside over his moral conduct, making him pay in great measure
the costs of this disciplinary administration, but it also was
entrusted with his education, through which it sought to control his
ideas and convictions, and to direct and form public opinion. The
education and training of a nation depend, of course, in greatest
measure on its primary schools and its press. As for its universities,
these are but the apex on the educational pyramid, for a very select
few only. Now the primary schools were represented in the times
whereof we write by the parish schoolmaster, the familiar
"_ludimagister_" of the canons and act-books, and by the incumbent
himself. For the people at large the press was represented almost
entirely by the licenced preacher, and, in the larger towns, the
licenced lecturer.
The Canons of 1571 ordain that no one shall teach the humanities nor
instruct boys, whether in school or in private families,[151] unless
the diocesan licence him under his seal. Nor are schoolmasters to use
other grammars or catechisms than those officially prescribed. Every
year schoolmasters are to commend to the bishop of the diocese the
best read among their pupils, and those that by their achievements
give promise that they may usefully serve the State or the Church, so
that their parents may be induced to educate them further to that
end.
Pages:
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47