This volume explores the ways in which Protestantism and humanism interacted in early-modern English education, and assess their impact, especially during the years spent in school and college by the sons of the gentry and 'middling sort'.

It charts the ways in which English education had been changing since before the Reformation, and shows how the inability of the authorities to enforce the patterns found abroad meant that no single pattern emerged thereafter. The loss of old techniques of religious instruction were compensated for by the increase or introduction of others, such as catechizing and scripture knowledge.The book looks at various aspects of education in England, including the teaching of Greek and Latin in both grammar schools and universities, and the ways in which Protestantism influenced the curriculum and daily routines. It concludes that the Protestantism of the English laity evolved in an idiosyncratic way, and among the many influences on that evolution, education was one of the prime considerations.

Different strategies were developed by clergy for laity for coping with the tension between classical studies, with its emphasis on virtue, and Protestant doctrine, which emphasised faith and grace. Where clergy wished to impose sever or moderate restrictions on the use f classical texts, many of the laity tended to treat the Bible and classics as virtually synonymous, and drew an equation between doing good works and earning merit. Evidence for this symbiosis is drawn from a wide range of popular works, including published sources, from physical survivals in church and home, and from autobiographical materials and conduct literature. The book follows this path to underline how and why this blend of classicism and Protestantism would remain powerful in England until well into the eighteenth century.

Download File Size:2.67 MB

---