Education & Literary Production

Question 1

what were secular workshops?

typically in university towns

Answer 1

workshops specializing in copying popular books

result of inc. literacy

Question 2

how did literacy increase following the collapse of the west half of the Roman Empire?

Answer 2

• lit. as a product of monastic schools
• early medieval dec. of lit. improved after Charlemagne & Alfred (8th-9th c.)
• newly educated taught skills to others (clergy & some nobles)
• gradual inc. of schools

Question 3

why did towns serve as places where schools could flourish?

Answer 3

towns guaranteed an adequate food supply

everything in society seen as contributing to edu.

Question 4

what were cathedral schools?

Answer 4

• Latin lit. & advanced study
• schools operated by bishops (12th c.)
• students admitted free of charge
• reputation of bishops/teachers determined reputation of school
• gradually overtaken by song, reading, & grammar schools

some teachers accused of paying students to gain better reputation

the church wanted ppl to read & write → not gatekeeping under church authority

Question 5

who was Peter of Abelard?

Answer 5

• popular teacher at the university of Paris
• gave up military career to teach
• believed reasoning could be applied to all problems (incl. theological debate)

Question 6

why was Paris the centre of learning in the 12th c.?

Answer 6

• teacher’s organized into a guild by 1200
• set standards for learning
• gave members bargaining power

Question 7

what were the qualifications of university students?

Answer 7

• male
• mid-teens (14-17)
• came from knightly or noble families
• Latinate (hard for poor to go to uni → expected to speak Latin)
• some wealthier peasant families got by

Question 8

what did university look like for women?

Answer 8

• women gradually pushed out of law, medicine, etc.
• access to Latin learning dec. as men’s inc.

Question 9

what were the 7 liberal arts?

Answer 9

trivium:
1. grammar
2. rhetoric
3. logic/dialect

quadrivium:
4. music
5. math
6. astronomy
7. geometry

Question 10

what were the qualifications of earning a Master of Arts?

Answer 10

• 6 years of study (age 20-21)
• required to teach for 2 years
• access to job opportunities (e.g. gov’t)
• high in demand

Question 11

what were considered higher degrees?

Answer 11

• theology
• medicine
• law

Question 12

what were criminal clerks?

Answer 12

• repeatedly committed robberies
• uni towns attempted to limit criminal activities
• protected students from civil punishment
• universities could move locations if offended by treatment of town

students tolerated to a higher degree than other townsmen

Question 13

what was the University of Bologna?

Answer 13

• greatest law school in Europe
• students able to strictly regulate teachers (tuition, lecture content, etc.)

Question 14

what was the 12th c. Renaissance?

Answer 14

• rediscovery of classical lit.
• application of logic
• commentaries, glosses, encyclopedias, etc.

Question 15

what were the cultural implications of the rediscovery of classical lit.?

Answer 15

• inc. contact with Byzantium & Islam
• Greek, Arabic, & Jewish translations
• active search for classical books
• florilegium (collection of imported texts from various authors)

Question 16

why was there an attempt to ban some of Aristotle’s works?

Answer 16

they conflicted with Christian religious authorities