Increasing literacy on the yeomen

Question 1

Did literacy rates increase in the Tudor period?

Answer 1

• Yes, especially among the yeomen class because of new humanist ideas promoting education which led to the foundation of Grammar Schools.
• Open to boys of all classes (wealthy girls educated at home) - offering greater education for those below gentry.
• Areas without a Grammar school were served by an English school.

Question 2

Did university education also expand?

Answer 2

• Yes, despite only two universities existing (Oxford and Cambridge), the number of students had expanded.
• Oxford rose from 1150 to 2000 by 1603.
• Estimated just under 1/2 of the students were gentry and nobility, the rest coming from yeomen status or prosperous artisans.

Question 3

Statistics regarding illiteracy rates

Answer 3

• Men’s rates fell from 80% in 1550 to 72% by 1600.
• Women’s rates fell from 98% in 1550 to 92% by 1600.

Question 4

How did illiteracy rates vary according to region and social status?

Answer 4

• In the 1530s, illiteracy rates were higher in North England than in the Midlands, East and Scotland.
• High illiteracy rates among labourers and the poorest in society.

Question 5

How to tell illiteracy rates using church court records

Answer 5

• Dioceses of Essex and Hertfordshire, 33% of yeoman status used a mark to sign documents rather than a signature.
• Diocese of Norwich, illiteracy rates fell from 60% to 30% by the 1580s. However, in Durham, 73% signed with a mark from 1561-1603 - still higher.

Question 6

Impact of increasing literary rates by the yeomen’s changing role in society and govt

Answer 6

• High-status Y initally led rebellions like the Cornish Uprising 1497, formulating the rebel demands and acted as spokesmen in negotiations with the Crown. However, the extension of govt into localities through parli and statute law gave more opportunities for the yeoman to participate in Govt.
• More prosperous and literate yeoman increasingly took on roles like administration of the Poor Law and voting in elections. More likely to use the legal system to resolve disputes than resorting to violence.
• Less likely to involve themselves in rebellion, especially in Elizabeth I’s reign. Post-N.E rebellion, there were no more serious rebellions, except for an uprising attempt in Oxfordshire 1596 - enjoying a period of relative eco-social stability.