Elementary and Grammar Education in Late Medieval France: Lyon, 1285-1530 9789048529025

Table of contents :
Knowledge Communities
Table of Contents
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
1. The Administration and Organization of Schools in Lyon
2. Teachers in Lyon
3. Pupils in Lyon
Conclusion
Appendix I
Appendix II
Bibliography
Index

Citation preview

Elementary and Grammar Education in Late Medieval France

Knowledge Communities This series focuses on innovative scholarship in the areas of intellectual history and the history of ideas, particularly as they relate to the communication of knowledge within and among diverse scholarly, literary, religious, and social communities across Western Europe. Interdisciplinary in nature, the series especially encourages new methodological outlooks that draw on the disciplines of philosophy, theology, musicology, anthropology, paleography, and codicology. Knowledge Communities addresses the myriad ways in which knowledge was expressed and inculcated, not only focusing upon scholarly texts from the period but also emphasizing the importance of emotions, ritual, performance, images, and gestures as modalities that communicate and acculturate ideas. The series publishes cutting-edge work that explores the nexus between ideas, communities and individuals in medieval and early modern Europe. Series Editor Clare Monagle, Macquarie University Editorial Board Mette Bruun, University of Copenhagen Babette Hellemans, University of Groningen Severin Kitanov, Salem State University Alex Novikoff, Fordham University Willemien Otten, University of Chicago Divinity School

Elementary and Grammar Education in Late Medieval France Lyon, 1285-1530

Sarah B. Lynch

Amsterdam University Press

Cover illustration: Aristotle Teaching in Aristotle’s Politiques, Poitiers, 1480-90. Paris, BnF, ms fr 22500, f. 248 r. Cover design: Coördesign, Leiden Lay-out: Crius Group, Hulshout Amsterdam University Press English-language titles are distributed in the US and Canada by the University of Chicago Press. isbn 978 90 8964 986 7 e-isbn 978 90 4852 902 5 (pdf) doi 10.5117/9789089649867 nur 684 © Sarah B. Lynch / Amsterdam University Press B.V., Amsterdam 2017 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the written permission of both the copyright owner and the author of the book. Every effort has been made to obtain permission to use all copyrighted illustrations reproduced in this book. Nonetheless, whosoever believes to have rights to this material is advised to contact the publisher.



Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations

7

Introduction 9 1 The Administration and Organization of Schools in Lyon The Church The Town The Lord Colleges and Universities

31 32 38 39 41

2 Teachers in Lyon

67

3 Pupils in Lyon

107

Conclusion 153 Appendix I

159

Appendix II

163

Bibliography 167 Index 185

List of Figures and Tables Figure 1

Map of Lyon Including Principal Churches and School Sites 47 Figure 2 The Relationship between Authorities and Schools in Late Medieval Lyon (pre-1530) 51 Figure 3 The Hierarchy of School Personnel at Saint-Jean 81 Figure 4 The Manecanterie of the Cathedral of Saint-Jean, Lyon 144 Table 1

Works Commonly Included in the Auctores Octo 117

A.D.R. A.M.L. C.U.P. O.L.E.

List of Abbreviations Archives départementales du Rhône Archives municipales de Lyon Chartularium universitatis Parisiensis Obituarium lugdunensis ecclesiae

Introduction The history of formal education and instruction in elementary and grammar schools in the Middle Ages is a difficult story to trace. While the existence of schools and teachers at this level is not disputed, it is frequently ignored. The detailed records left behind by the medieval university usually attracts scholars into a study of higher institutions of learning rather than the more obscure schools that provided such establishments with students or taught the rudiments of academic knowledge on a stand-alone basis. The focus is on the institutional and organizational history of the university and, when the daily practice of teaching and learning is discussed, students’ preparatory studies can sometimes be overlooked. This book is concerned with elementary and grammar schooling in one French city, Lyon, where it will examine and reconstruct the educational community there in the period from 1285 to 1530. It will consider two important aspects of learning and schooling in the later Middle Ages: how schools were organized and administered in a given geographical area – in this case, the city of Lyon – and how people such as teachers, parents, and pupils interacted with a nascent ‘school system’ and its constituent parts. The concept of a school system is problematic in a medieval context. It suggests a rigidly constructed framework in which all pedagogical activities took place under the administration of an accepted authority. This was not the situation in Lyon in the later Middle Ages; but neither was the concept entirely alien. While there was no absolute authority that made centralized decisions with regard to education, certain institutions sought to establish themselves as pedagogical prime movers in Lyon. Both the cathedral chapter of Saint-Jean and the municipal council wished to serve as that centralizing authority: directly appointing schoolteachers and giving licences to teach others. The cathedral and the council intersected in manifold ways during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but they came into conflict over the question of the control of elementary and grammar schools in the city. This issue of jurisdiction had its origins in the complex history of Lyon itself as it developed into a resurgent mercantile centre from a semi-independent archbishopric in the ‘inter-zone’ between Capetian France and the Holy Roman Empire. The administration and organization of the schools of Lyon, as well as an examination of pedagogical authorities in other parts of France, will be discussed in Chapter One. Questions of authority were also played out within schools in late medieval Lyon. Certain schools in the city developed clearly defined hierarchies of teachers, and even of non-teaching personnel.

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Teaching could be broken into subject-specific positions, and larger schools had roles that did not include classroom instruction but rather consisted of management activities such as financial supervision and procurement, staff supervision and coordination, and disciplinary duties. These hierarchies allowed for the creation of internal career tracks for pupils who wished to become teachers and teachers who wished to become supervisors. These methods of administration will be discussed in Chapters One and Two. Much of this book is also concerned with considering the many ways with which people came into contact with elementary and grammar education in late medieval Lyon and how involvement with schools affected their lives and their positions within the community. Though constrained by the impersonal nature of the archival sources, there is much that can be learned, especially regarding the socio-economic backgrounds and standing of many schoolteachers and officials active in Lyon. This will include an analysis of the education that future schoolteachers may have received, some details of which can be extrapolated from archival documents. The careers of pupils will be examined also, though not to the same extent as their teachers. Pupils are rarely discussed as individuals, and information about what they did after their education is sparse.1 It is only usually possible to construct the backgrounds of pupils based on the socioeconomic background of their families, who were interested in having their children instructed, and willing to pay for the privilege and to forgo potential income brought in by their offspring. However, there is some detail in the sources on how the children were viewed by the authorities that controlled their school and how they were treated. For example, apart from competing for control over schools and teachers in Lyon, the cathedral chapter of Saint-Jean and the municipal council often assumed the part of a concerned ‘parent’. The municipal council was, after all, a body full of prominent laymen who wished to provide an education to their sons that was not necessarily available in the church schools of the city, and who were willing to use their power as councillors in order to make it so. The cathedral chapter was particularly active in acting in loco parentis in regard to the young boys who attended its choir school, leaving behind a vivid record of its actions in the minutes of its meetings. The subject of teachers, 1 The chapter proceedings of Saint-Jean do list the names of individual boys who were added to the choir and, by extension, to the choir school. However, they rarely name the boys who then left the cathedral in order to attend external schools when their voices broke. This inconsistency is all the more unusual given that the departing boys were regularly paid a relatively large sum of money. See Chapter Three, p. 145, and my article: Lynch, ‘Pupils and Sources in Late Medieval Lyon’.

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parents, and pupils in late medieval Lyon will be principally discussed in Chapters Two and Three. *** A brief note must be made at this point on the usage of the terms ‘elementary and grammar education’ and ‘elementary and grammar schools’ in this book. In simple terms, elementary education in the Middle Ages consisted of an introduction to the very basics of literacy and learning: the alphabet, syllables, the principal prayers of the Christian liturgy. Grammar education, meanwhile, focused on the acquisition of literacy – specifically in Latin – and ranged from the fundamentals of grammar, to the study of complex classical and medieval writers, to composition. While elementary instruction and grammar instruction could be discrete parts of the medieval schooling experience, they were often merged in practice. The same teachers in the same classrooms could have introduced their youngest pupils to their ABC and read Seneca or Terence with their older charges, who themselves occasionally took over as informal tutors to their more junior peers. Schoolmasters and mistresses were rarely defined as ‘elementary’ or ‘grammar’ teachers in the records. Even the age of pupils cannot indicate whether they were receiving introductory lessons or Latin lessons, because there was no fixed age for the beginning of formal education, and no fixed schedule for the attainment of specific academic skills. In other words, it is difficult to gauge exactly which sort of pre-university education is taking placed based on the majority of references in the archives. Even when a teacher can be identified as one or the other, it does not rule out that they engaged in the other level of education. An ‘elementary’ teacher may have taught Latin grammar to a preferred older pupil. A ‘grammar’ teacher may have taken on younger, less advanced pupils as a favour to a patron or friend. Indeed, even when there were attempts to delineate grammar schools from those that were only supposed to teach elementary topics, there were enough infractions of such rules to suggest that the division was blurred in reality. Therefore, it would be misleading to differentiate the two levels of education except where they are explicitly identified. ‘Elementary and grammar education’ is indeed an imprecise term, but one which is dictated by the evidence.2 *** 2 See Chapter Three, pp. 108–19 for further information on the nature of elementary education and grammar education in the Middle Ages.

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The literature surrounding the subject of medieval education is, at the same time, both extensive and limited. There is a tremendous amount of literature concerned with scholasticism, the schools of the twelfth century, and the universities. Such studies are focused on more advanced pedagogy (especially in philosophy and theology) and rarely touch upon the preparatory instruction that would have been necessary for such intellectual activities. Medieval elementary and grammar education in England, Italy, Germany, and the Low Countries has been examined in a variety of ways and using different methodologies. The medieval development of schools and learning was highly impacted by the specific political, religious, and economic developments in each of these areas. The educational situation in these different regions was related to that in France but was not the same in every aspect. For example, the apparent lack of ecclesiastical involvement in elementary and grammar education in Italy was not initially replicated in France, except for a handful of exceptions.3 Likewise, the presence of schools attached to chantry chapels in England seems not to have been replicated in France either. 4 However, these works are replete with a range of evidence and methodological approaches that is valuable to anyone studying late medieval education. While much time can be devoted to an examination of these works, discussion has been limited to the most prominent works on medieval education.5 An extensive section examining the historiography of French pedagogical history has also been included in order to draw attention to some of the challenges that face the scholar. Italy has been a particularly rich area for medieval educational history, due to its excellent archives and Italian cities’ educational policies during the later Middle Ages. The best monographs on medieval Italian education in English are those by Paul Grendler, Robert Black, and Paul Gehl. All have made highly valuable contributions to the study of medieval education; and, in many ways, they have established the current interest in the subject. Grendler’s Schooling in Renaissance Italy: Literacy and Learning, 1300–1600 3 See Gehl, A Moral Art, pp. 40–42. Robert Black, Education and Society in Florentine Tuscany, pp. 173–241. An intriguing article on Renaissance education outside of Italy and its effect on elementary and grammar schooling is Steven Bednarski and Andrée Courtemanche’s ‘Learning to be a Man: Public Schooling and Apprenticeship in Late Medieval Manosque’. While there is evidence for communal organization of education in Manosque in the fourteenth century, most French cities (apart from Lyon) only made such provisions from the middle of the fifteenth century, such as Châtellerault in Poitou (1476) and Albi (1488): Small, Late Medieval France, p. 184. 4 Arthur Leach, The Schools of Medieval England, pp. 197–269 and Hoeppner Moran Cruz, The Growth of English Schooling, pp. 89–90. 5 Please see the bibliography for a further excellent examples of scholarship on medieval elementary and grammar education.

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is an excellent overview of the trends in education in late medieval and early modern Italy. Though not comprehensive, it lays down the key points necessary to any study of medieval schooling: authorities, teachers, pupils, and curricula (for in Italy, as most probably in England, the vernacular was a feature of elementary education).6 These patterns of concentration are also found in Black’s Education and Society in Florentine Tuscany, though they are presented in a far more detailed manner as a result of intensive research in the Tuscan archives.7 Paul F. Gehl should also be mentioned here for his work on grammar instruction in trecento Florence.8 While he shadows Grendler and does not have the same detailed assessments of the archival sources as Black, he manages to underline important aspects of the actual experience of attending school.9 Black’s Humanism and Education in Medieval and Renaissance Italy: Tradition and Innovation in Latin Schools from the Twelfth to the Fifteenth Century is a full account of the changing tastes and fashions in the curricula of Latin grammar schools in Italy, and is extremely valuable as an examination of both education and literacy in later medieval and Renaissance Italy.10 Medieval English schools have also received attention from writers and scholars. Arthur F. Leach was one of the earliest to seek to examine preuniversity schools in medieval England. His two principal works, English Schools at the Reformation (1896) and The Schools of Medieval England (1915), focused on the organization of schools and the range of authorities that would have had control over them.11 Leach’s work was deeply flawed at 6 Grendler, Schooling in Renaissance Italy. 7 Due to the nature of the archives, Black was able to trace changes in curricula and administration both through time and geography. For example, he was able to replicate the curricula in the various Tuscan towns as well as give a detailed discussion of the development of the curriculum on Florence itself through two centuries: Black, Education and Society in Florentine Tuscany, pp. 43–172. While the first volume of Black’s work on Tuscany schools is mostly devoted to the administration and organization of schools, it does devote Chapter One to the school curriculum, fully bringing the book into line with the most recent scholarship on education. 8 Gehl, A Moral Art. 9 His discussion of the process of going to the Latin school, and how this could have represented the action of leaving home and the domain of women in order to become a man, is of great interest and is reflected in the pedagogical literature of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries: Gehl, A Moral Art, pp. 34–35. For more on masculinity and Renaissance education see Bednarski and Courtemanche, ‘Learning to be a Man’. 10 Black, Humanism and Education. 11 Arthur Leach, English Schools at the Reformation (1896) and The Schools of Medieval England (London: Metheun, 1915). Leach has been criticized for his insistence that many grammar schools whose foundations have been attributed to Edward VI pre-dated not only Edward but the Tudor dynasty. While he was not wrong in downplaying the role of Edward in such foundations, he

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points and was rightly criticized, but his output still constituted one of the first concentrated attempts at a large-scale study of the subject in English.12 His primary use for modern scholars is as a source of original documents. Better work on English medieval education has been done by R.W. Hunt and, most significantly, by Nicholas Orme. Hunt’s work focused on the development of medieval grammatical texts, including studies on the use of Priscian in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and a particularly interesting article on grammars written by Oxford grammar masters.13 Orme’s best work is probably still his English Schools in the Middle Ages, published in 1973. This volume reappeared in an expanded form in 2006 as Medieval Schools: From Roman Britain to Renaissance England. Orme’s research, however, has not been restricted to overviews of formal elementary and grammar education in England, and has ranged from aristocratic education – From Childhood to Chivalry: The Education of English Kings and Aristocracy, 1066–1530 (1884) – to school texts – English School Exercises, 1420–1530 (2013).14 Special mention should be made of the exceptional and thorough scholarship that has been carried out by Jo Ann Hoeppner Moran Cruz. In her work on schooling in the north of England, she created an equally cohesive view of education in England as that of Grendler and Black.15 Moran Cruz is particularly valuoften skewed the dates of schools, assigning them the date of the foundation of the religious institution or chantry associated with them rather than the date of the first recorded activity of instruction et cetera. For a full critique of Leach’s work, see Miner, The Grammar Schools of Medieval England, especially pp. 85–104. 12 Nicholas Orme also criticized Leach’s approach but he also appreciated his attempts to establish the study of the organization of schools. ‘Leach’s death in 1915 unmanned his favourite subject, since for all his efforts to popularize the medieval schools he never attracted many followers. Some of his ideas gained currency, but in general historians have continued to regard his work with reserve and few have been moved to enlarge or repair the edifice he built.’ Orme, English Schools in the Middle Ages, p. 7. 13 R.W. Hunt, The History of Grammar in the Middle Ages: Collected Papers. Equally of great use is volume eleven of New Medieval Literatures, which contains several essays on the various approaches to grammar and literary teaching. Of particular interest are Manfred Kraus’ ‘Grammatical and Rhetorical Exercises in the Medieval Classroom’ and Martin Camargo’s ‘Grammar School Rhetoric: The Compendia of John Longe and John Miller’. Medieval Grammar and the Literary Arts, ed. by Cannon, Copeland, and Zeeman, pp. 6–89 and pp. 91–112. Other notable works that discuss medieval grammar education include Vivien Law’s The History of Linguistics in Europe: From Plato to 1600 and David Thomson’s A Descriptive Catalogue of Middle English Grammatical Texts and An Edition of Middle English Grammatical Texts. 14 Orme, English Schools in the Middle Ages; Medieval Schools: Roman Britain to Renaissance England; From Childhood to Chivalry: The Education of English Kings and Aristocracy, 1066–1530; English School Exercises, 1420–1530. 15 As Jo Ann Hoeppner Moran, The Growth of English Schooling 1340–1548: Learning, Literacy, and Laicisation in Pre-Reformation York Diocese, ‘Literacy and Education in Northern England,

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able for the clarity with which she lays out her methodology and for her acceptance of the pitfalls of certain sources, such as wills.16 While Italy and England have dominated scholarship on medieval education written in English, there are other notable and exceptionally useful works on general European education and on elementary and grammar schools in other geographical areas. Charles Homer Haskins’ articles, though mostly concerned with the medieval university, are early investigations into experiences in the medieval classroom.17 Lynn Thorndike’s 1940 article, ‘Elementary and Secondary Education in the Middle Ages’, is still one of the best introductions to the subject of medieval pedagogical practice.18 Indeed, this article was the first to deal with the mechanics of schooling as well as discussing the establishment and organization of schools. Studies in English on medieval elementary and grammar education outside England and Italy are sporadic but often demonstrate a high level of scholarship. The best and most recent work on Germany, David Sheffler’s monograph on the schools of Regensburg, is a fine example.19 Sheffler’s book is an exceptional case study of, as he puts it, an educational landscape. In many ways, the current work is an attempt to introduce this wider approach to elementary and grammar schools, that is, examining organizations and hierarchies as well as curricula and classroom practice, in a French context. Another example is Annemarieke Willemsen’s work on the material culture of medieval instruction, Back to the Schoolyard,20 which looks at how going to school and learning was depicted in a range of artistic media in the Middle Ages as well as at the archaeological remnants of the medieval classroom. Willemsen is particularly strong in presenting the archaeological evidence, and discusses a range of finds from the Netherlands, Germany, northern France and London, thus attesting to the wide availability of schooling in these regions. There are several works that deal – and deal well – with specific aspects of medieval education, but they cannot all be given the attention that they 1350–1530: A Methodological Inquiry’, and (as Jo Ann Hoeppner Moran Cruz), ‘England: Education and Society’. 16 She discusses the particular tendency in wills of the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries of specific bequests of books to named women. She sees this as a matter of ensuring that certain female associates received certain books outside of the estate given to the heir rather than as a suggestion that books were somehow the preserve of women: Moran, ‘Literacy and Education in Northern England’, p. 9. 17 Haskins, ‘The Life of Medieval Students as Illustrated by their Letters’. Haskins, ‘A List of Text-books from the Close of the Twelfth Century’. 18 Thorndike, ‘Elementary and Secondary Education in the Middle Ages’, 400–08. 19 Sheffler, Schools and Schooling in Late Medieval Germany. 20 Willemsen, Back to the Schoolyard: The Daily Practice of Medieval and Renaissance Education.

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deserve here. However, certain aspects of this scholarship must be briefly discussed here as they were particularly useful in the writing of the current work. Since in the medieval classroom learning to read often went together with learning to sing, research on the world of the chorister is of some worth to any examination of medieval education. Indeed, when it comes to elementary and grammar education in France, research on music education has been an interesting substitution and it is of a high quality. Craig Wright and Alejandro Enrique Planchart have done some excellent work on the cathedral schools of northern France, namely Paris and Cambrai respectively.21 This research has been continued in a relatively recent volume of collected essays, Young Choristers, 650–1700, edited by Susan Boynton and Eric Rice.22 The need for young boys to be trained in the liturgy provided opportunities for those who may not have been able to access education in other circumstances.23 Another aspect of education that has received some attention is writing.24 The concept of writing and the concurrence of learning to read and write are topics that have exercised historians of medieval education. Of particular concern is the question of when children were taught to write, and whether this took place at the same time as they were learning to read. Black shows that writing lessons were concurrent with the introductory lessons in Latin or with elementary abacus lessons for pupils in Tuscany.25 Another line of enquiry is the status that writing held in the medieval curriculum. This question is thoroughly examined by Istvan Hajnal – albeit in the context of university training.26 Though written in 1959, this work still remains important as it looks at how writing was viewed by intellectual circles and how this impacted on its instruction. Hajnal explains that the ability to write (or rather to write well in a technical sense) was not valued as an academic pursuit. Pupils may have learned how to shape the letters of the 21 Wright, ‘Dufay at Cambrai: Discoveries and Revisions’. Wright, Music and Ceremony at Notre Dame of Paris. Planchart, ‘The Early Career of Guillaume Du Fay’. 22 Young Choristers, 650–1700, ed. by Boynton and Rice. Of particular interest are the essays by Joseph Dyer (‘The Boy Singers of the Roman Schola Cantorum’), Alejandro Enrique Planchart (‘Choirboys in Cambrai in the Fifteenth Century’), Susan Boynton (‘Boy Singers in Medieval Monasteries and Cathedrals’) and Eric Rice (‘Choirboys, Memorial Endowments and Education at Aachen’s Marienkirche’). 23 See Chapter Three, pp. 130–31. 24 See Ceccherini, ‘Teaching, Function and Social Diffusion of Writing in Thirteenth and Fourteenth century Florence’. 25 Black, Education and Society in Florentine Tuscany, pp. 54–60. For England, see Moran Cruz, The Growth of English Schooling, pp. 49–53. 26 Hajnal, L’enseignement de l’écriture aux universités médiévales.

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alphabet in order to recognize them, and more advanced students would have had to be able to write in order to make their own copies of key texts; but the action of learning to write in a correct style was limited to those who were not academically gifted.27 The teaching of arithmetic and counting is one of the more problematic aspects of medieval education. While this was certainly a pedagogical activity in medieval and Renaissance Italy, it is less well attested elsewhere. This subject is discussed in general works on medieval education but, thus far, there has been no monograph or series of articles dealing with arithmetic, counting, and abaco learning in France – probably due to a paucity of evidence. The situation in Italy is far better studied.28 Finally, there has been some very interesting work done on the material culture and iconography of learning and schooling in the Middle Ages. Danièle Alexandre-Bidon was the forerunner of this area of study, publishing her article ‘La Lettre volée: Apprendre à lire à l’enfant au Moyen Âge’ in 1989.29 This was followed by Willemsen’s work as discussed above. Work on elementary and grammar education in medieval France is mainly confined to francophone scholars. However, there is a distinct division between those working on the subject in the nineteenth century and those working on schools in the twentieth century and beyond. These differences have been generally caused by trends within modern French society such as the inheritance of the Revolution and the growth of secularism.30 These factors, while present in other European regions, have affected how researchers have perceived education in a pre-modern, pre-revolutionary world. Nineteenth-century scholarship ranges from studies in regional history that reveal important information on schooling in a particular place, to 27 Hajnal, L’enseignement de l’écriture, pp. 96–97. 28 Grendler, Gehl and Black all discuss abaco schools that were a feature of fourteenth- and f ifteenth-century Italian pedagogy. These schools provided instruction in numeracy and, more importantly, in basic accounting practices. See Grendler, Schooling in Renaissance Italy, pp. 306–23; Gehl, A Moral Art, pp. 20–25 and Black, Education and Society, pp. 52–54. Warren Van Egmond’s 1976 thesis, ‘The Commercial Revolution and the Beginning of Western Mathematics in Renaissance Florence, 1300–1500’ was an early contribution to the study of mathematical and abaco instruction. He followed this with Practical Mathematics in the Italian Renaissance: A Catalogue of Italian Abbacus Manuscripts and Printed books to 1600 (1980), which contains a valuable section on mathematics teachers in Renaissance Tuscany. Elisabetta Ulivi’s Benedetto da Firenze (1429–1479), un maestro d’ abaco del XV secolo focused on the career of a single master, further demonstrating the richness of the documentary sources in Tuscany. 29 Alexandre-Bidon, ‘La Lettre volée: Apprendre à lire à l’enfant au Moyen Âge’. 30 Singer, ‘Jules Ferry and the Laic Revolution in French Primary Education’.

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detailed work on cathedral schools. The first work on non-university education was Auguste Vallet de Viriville’s Histoire de l’instruction publique en Europe et principalement en France, published in 1849.31 While quite general in its scope, and concentrating on the early modern period, it prefigures the methodologies of later authors by examining documentation that was not explicitly educational in nature for evidence of schools and teachers. De Viriville’s scholarship, however, did not lead to an upsurge of interest in medieval schooling, and very little was published on the subject until the 1880s. During this decade, the educational reforms of Jules Ferry and the increased laicization of public schools prompted a flurry of publications about pre-university education which continued up to the outbreak of the First World War.32 Some of these responded to the rise in general interest in the question of how best to organize primary and secondary education, while others focused on preserving and promoting more ecclesiastically orientated education.33 The latter works were principally produced by clerics who tended to write the histories of specific cathedral schools.34 These include monographs pertinent to the current work, such as Abbé Forest’s L’École cathédrale de Lyon: Le Petit seminaire de Saint-Jean of 1885 and Abbé Pourrat’s L’Antique école de Leidrade: XIe centenaire de sa fondation of 1899.35 These works contain a strong endorsement of the Church’s involvement in schooling; but they also contain detailed information on the organization and daily functioning of cathedral schools. One of the main problems with the works of Forest and Pourrat is their tendency to see the entire period before the French Revolution as a single entity. Thus, change and transformation are downplayed for the sake of continuity. They are joined in their study of

31 Vallet de Viriville, Histoire de l’instruction publique en Europe et pricipalement en France. 32 This process had begun in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War, when works such as Ernest Renan’s La Réforme intellectuelle et morale de la France (Paris, 1871) linked the apparent superiority of German education and teachers to France’s defeat. 1870 was seen by secularists as a chance to reinvent French education and, with it, every aspect of French society – as discussed in Léon L. Berthaut’s 1896 book, La Revanche du maître d’école: Singer, ‘Jules Ferry’, pp. 409–14. 33 For general studies see Ernest Allain, L’instruction primaire en France avant la Révolution: D’après les travaux récents et des documents inédits (1881) and Charles Muteau, Les Écoles et collèges en province depuis les plus reculés jusqu’en 1789 (1882). 34 An exception to this is Ravelet, Le Bienheureux J. B. de La Salle, fondateur de l’Institut des frères des écoles chrétiennes (1888). In its preliminary chapter on the state of education before Jean-Baptiste de la Salle (1651–1719), it focuses on parish education in the late Middle Ages and sixteenth century. 35 Forest, L’École cathédrale de Lyon. Pourrat, L’Antique école de Leidrade.

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cathedral schools by Abbé Clerval and his work on the schools of Chartres.36 In many ways, Clerval’s research is more interesting because he does not limit himself to the cathedral school but includes references to teachers and schools in the town and the surrounding countryside as he sees these as part of a system of education in Chartres. The main drawback to works on cathedral schools at this time is the lack of discussion and interpretation of documentary evidence beyond the need to promote religiously controlled education. At the same time, several good studies on local history also examined the state of education in the regions in question. One of the most thorough is Léopold Delisle’s Études sur la condition de la classe agricole et l’état de l’agriculture en Normandie au Moyen Âge.37 Though concentrating on a region entirely removed from Lyon, it shows what documents are useful to the historian of education, as well as revealing how practices both differed and remained the same over geographical distance. Scholarship on elementary and grammar education changed after the First World War but remained relatively infrequent. Researchers interested in specific cities and provinces would occasionally publish an article on education, but they were generally one-off in nature and were not followed up with sustained research.38 These works, however, marked two important developments in twentieth-century medieval educational historiography: the examination of particular features of elementary and grammar education, and the artificial separation of ‘secular’ education from ‘religious’ education in the Middle Ages. Let us first deal with the shift to highly detailed examinations of specific aspects of elementary and grammar education. Topics of interest include the engagement of the merchant classes with instruction (Henri Pirenne’s ‘L’Instruction des marchands au Moyen Âge’), the iconography of education (Alexandre-Bidon’s ‘La Lettre volée), and music education (Planchart’s ‘The Early Career of Guillaume Du Fay’). This concentration on one aspect of 36 Clerval, Les Écoles de Chartres au Moyen Âge and L’Ancienne Maitrise de Notre-Dame de Chartres. 37 Delisle, Études sur la condition de la classe agricole et l’état de l’agriculture en Normandie au Moyen Âge (1903). This tradition of high quality local scholarship was continued into the twentieth century. Some excellent examples are Bouton, Le Maine, Histoire economique et sociale, (1962-1974); Fédou, Les Hommes de loi lyonnais a la fin du Moyen Âge (1964); and Guenée, Tribunaux et Gens de justice dans le bailliage de Senlis à la fin du Moyen Âge (1963). 38 Henri Pirenne published an excellent article on the schools of Saint-Trond and other towns in modern-day Belgium, with the focus on the importance of education for merchants. Pirenne, ‘L’Instruction des marchands’, 13–28.

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elementary and grammar education allows for the detailed assessment of the central questions surrounding the subject, such as who would have gone to school and why. This is a positive step in the historiography of late medieval French education. The second trend, the use of modern concepts of ‘secular’ and ‘religious’ education in a medieval context, is quite the opposite. This tendency sees scholars concentrating on one type of instruction, either in a church or set of church schools, or the development of gymnasia and schools controlled by secular authorities like municipal councils. It is not clear, however, if teachers and pupils in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries made this distinction, especially at an elementary level. The problem with this approach is that it implies that teachers employed by churches and those employed directly by secular authorities taught different things at an elementary level. This was not the case. The alphabet, prayers, and psalms were the bedrock of all instruction in the Middle Ages.39 While French scholarship does not explicitly state that there was such a thing as ‘secular’ and ‘religious’ education, the scope of the research is usually limited in a way that suggests this division. For example, Caroline Fargeix’s work on the cultural world of municipal councillors in Lyon concentrates on the proceedings of the municipal council, and therefore does not utilize the evidence in other documentation, such as proceedings of the chapters of local churches. 40 Instead, she sees elementary and grammar education in Lyon as something that only develops in the latter half of the fifteenth century, despite the fact that instruction of this kind was being offered as early as the twelfth century in the cathedral and that the municipal council was paying contributions to masters by the 1370s. 41 This habit of, in effect, not recognizing instruction given by clerics as ‘real’ education is probably the result of the clear separation of Church and State, and is demonstrated in the writing of Philippe Ariès. 42 39 There is a large amount of scholarship that discusses and demonstrates the use of prayers and Psalms as elementary reading ‘texts’ in both ‘secular’ and ‘religious’ contexts. See Grendler, Schooling in Renaissance Italy, pp. 143–46, 40 Fargeix, Les Élites lyonnaises du XVe siècle au miroir de leur language, pp. 250–67. 41 For example, a grammar master was listed as a witness in the obituary of Saint-Jean in 1201: Obituarium lugdunensis ecclesiae. Nécrologie des personnages illustres et des bienfaiteurs de l’Église métropolitaine de Lyon du IXe au XVe siècle, ed. by M.C. Guigue (Lyon: Scherring, 1867), p. 185 (henceforth O.L.E.). The municipal council was involving itself in the distribution of teaching rights as early as 1381: A.M.L., CC 376, fol. 22 v. 42 It is still astonishing to read what Ariès has to say about medieval education. He discounts the instruction offered in cathedrals, for example, as a kind of memorizing factory that disabled independent thought. “The pupils all chanted in unison the phrase spoken by the teacher, and

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Some, like Alexandre-Bidon, have looked at education in a more inclusive manner. 43 There are other works of interest to historians of French elementary and grammar education in the late Middle Ages. 44 Special mention, however, should be given to four works: – Astrik Gabriel’s research on the state of preparatory education taking place in the shadows of the great medieval universities was important in establishing a much-needed division between elementary and grammar education and what took place in lecture halls. Gabriel’s ‘Preparatory Teaching in the Parisian Colleges during the Fourteenth Century’, first published in 1951, sought to demonstrate how boys who wished to enter the University of Paris prepared academically, and how this was provided for in the structures of several colleges there. 45 – Sylvette Guilbert’s ‘Les Écoles rurales en Champagne au XVe siècle: Enseignement et promotion sociale’ is probably the best article published on education in France in the past 50 years. 46 Her methodology is of great interest since she concentrates on ecclesiastical court records, under whose purview the misdemeanours and crimes of teachers fell. She also links schooling and literacy, something which is often overlooked by both historians of education and literacy, as well as looking at elementary and grammar education as a means of social mobility, which could take place even in a relatively poor and rural location. – Olivier Guyotjeannin’s ‘Les Petites écoles de Paris dans la première moitié du XVe siècle’ is another exceptional article on elementary education in the later Middle Ages.47 Guyotjeannin uses the proceedings they went on repeating the same exercise until they had learned it by heart. The priests could recite nearly all the prayers in the office from memory. Henceforth reading was no longer an indispensable tool of learning. It only served to aid their memory in the event of forgetfulness. It only allowed them to ‘recognize’ what they already knew and not to discover something new […]’’: Ariès, Centuries of Childhood, p. 138. 43 Not only has Alexandre-Bidon examined the iconography and material culture of learning to read (see Alexandre-Bidon, ‘La Lettre volée’) but has also written more general works on education and childhood in the Middle Ages. See Alexandre-Bidon and Monique Closson, L’Enfant à l’ombre des cathédrales and Alexandre-Bidon and Marie-Thérése Lorcin, Systéme éducatif et cultures dans l’Occident mediéval. The second work here will be discussed in more detail below. 44 Though not discussed here, important work on education in later medieval and early modern France is collected in Enseignement et vie intellectuelle, IXe–XVIe siècle: Actes du 95e Congrès national des societies savantes, Reims, 1970. 45 Gabriel, ‘Preparatory Teaching in the Parisian Colleges during the fourteenth Century’,. 46 Guilbert, ‘Les Écoles rurales en Champagne au XVe siècle: Enseignement et promotion sociale’. 47 Guyotjeannin, ‘Les Petites écoles de Paris dans la première moitié du XVe siècle’.

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of the chapter of Notre-Dame to create an impressive list of the teachers it granted licences to. The importance of this is that it shows teaching activity outside the churches themselves and the kind of access ordinary Parisians, both male and female, had to elementary and grammar education. – The final work in this selection is Danièle Alexandre-Bidon and MarieThérèse Lorcin’s Systéme éducatif et cultures dans l’Occident mediéval: (XIIe–XVe siecle) from 1998. This work examines education and culture as part of the same human activity, and uses medieval literature as its principal source. The focus is exceptionally ambitious. AlexandreBidon and Lorcin do not restrict discussions on education to formal instruction within a classroom, but rather expand the definition to include apprenticeships and other life experiences, such as work. The authors present the story of a shepherd boy who acquired a famous knowledge of animal husbandry and management as an example of an archetypal rural education. 48 This wide-ranging approach allows for a valuable assessment of the mentalities of education (in every form), literacy, cultural acquisition, and advancement but does not engage in an examination of the everyday functioning of elementary and grammar instruction. At times, the work is too equivocal. At one point, Alexandre-Bidon states that the rural world ignored the book.49 However, this statement suggests that there was a lack of interest in such formal knowledge rather than a lack of the means to pursue it. Guilbert contradicts this with her argument (based on her research in Champagne) that many peasants possessed the rudiments of literacy and that such instruction was sought for, and provided for, children whenever possible.50 *** I have utilized two separate types of source in the current work: archival sources and works of literature devoted to the question of education. Firstly, there are a range of contemporary documents from medieval Lyon that contain information on elementary and grammar schooling. These too can be divided into two groups based on the archives where they are held: the Archives départementales du Rhône (A.D.R., mostly ecclesiastical 48 Alexandre-Bidon and Lorcin, Système éducatif et cultures, pp. 62–63. 49 Alexandre-Bidon and Lorcin, Système éducatif et cultures, p. 64. 50 Guilbert, ‘Les Écoles rurales’, 127–47.

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documents) and the Archives municipales de Lyon (A.M.L., municipal council documents).51 The ecclesiastical documents that include references to schooling and teaching are obituaries, wills, and, most importantly, the proceedings of ecclesiastical chapters. Each of the city’s main churches is assigned a series number – 10 G for Saint-Jean, 13 G for Saint-Paul, and 15 G for Saint-Nizier. The proceedings of the chapter of Saint-Jean span the years 1361 to 1530 (the chronological end of the present investigation) and the series numbers 10 G 76–113. The proceedings are recorded on vellum in the earlier part of the series, but are generally on paper and were bound together chronologically at some point in the eighteenth century. Most are copies of the minutes of the chapter but some are the actual minutes, based on the handwriting and level of mistakes. Furthermore, an enterprising cleric (also in the eighteenth century) made a partial list of references to schoolmasters and choirboys in the proceedings of Saint-Jean. This can be seen in 10 G 45. The wills used in this work are in the fonds 4 G 41–77 and are more loosely bound by date in folders. The obituary of Saint-Jean, which comes from the series 10 G 1001–1026, is available in a printed edition, Obituarium lugdunensis ecclesiae: Nécrologie des personnages illustres et des bienfaiteurs de l’Église métropolitaine de Lyon du IX e au XV e siècle (O.L.E.), edited by M.C. Guigue in 1867. The proceedings of the chapters of Saint-Paul span 13 G 6–9 (1418–1491) and were also bound in the eighteenth century. The proceedings of SaintPaul are not continuous, unlike those of Saint-Jean, and there are many gaps in the records, most notably for the period between 1432 and 1459. The obituary of Saint-Paul is in one fond (13 G 99) and appears to have been bound relatively early, perhaps by the sixteenth century. The proceedings of the chapter of Saint-Nizier can be found between 15 G 10 (1338–1365) and 15 G 19 (1525–1528). Again, these were bound in the eighteenth century and, like for Saint-Paul, there is a considerable gap in the proceedings, between 1365 and 1450. The proceedings of Saint-Nizier 51 The presence of two separate archives in Lyon, though established for practical reasons, tends to encourage researchers to impose an artificial division on the documents between ‘ecclesiastical/ religious’ and ‘secular’. This is detrimental to a study of lyonnais history, especially when it comes of schooling and education. As we have already seen, there was relatively little difference between what was taught by a lay person or a cleric. There are similarities connecting both sets of archival sources. Indeed, there are specific overlaps, especially in the case of the issues related to the hiring – or possibly attempted hiring – of Georges Bechier/Bechon by the municipal government and their attempt to impose their candidate on the cathedral in the early part of the 1460s. See A.D.R., 10 G 94, fol. 46 (25 June 1460), A.D.R., 10 G 95, fol. 32 (14 June 1460) and A.M.L., BB 007, fol. 134 and 134 v. (1459), CC 421, piece 2 (1461).

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include the actual minutes of the chapter meetings, especially noticeable at the beginning of A.D.R. 15 G 14 (1497–1501). The obituaries provide information on who were teachers in schools associated with the churches, as well as showing changes in the titles of teachers. They also indicate something of the material wealth of teachers operating in church schools – that is, choir schools – and the important role that teachers and other school officials played as executors and witnesses. Some of the entries detail the payments received by choirboys for participating in funeral and memorial services.52 The most valuable documents are the proceedings of the chapters, which contain a great deal of information on the choirs and schools.53 This includes a guide to the hierarchy of schoolmasters and administrators; details of hiring and promotion practices; detailed information on the care of choirboys (academic, emotional, and physical); and information on how boys entered and left the choir school. These references are particularly valuable as they trace the actual, everyday administration of a well-organized school, though they do not contain much in the way of what exactly was being taught, except some mention of the psalms and hymns that the choirboys had to learn.54 The main problems with the proceedings are of language and palaeography. While portions of the registers have been carefully copied and annotated, other parts appear to have been the minutes of the chapter meetings. This means that some of the records are difficult to decipher owing to poor handwriting, non-standard, inconsistent ligatures, and a relatively low standard of Latin. The Archives départementales du Rhône also contain a collection of medieval wills. The majority of these have been collected, edited, and published by Marguerite Gonon, and they include several references to schools, both in Lyon and Forez; to children attending these schools and to individual teachers, some of whom acted as witnesses.55 52 The obituary of the cathedral of Saint-Jean has been published, but the obituary of SaintPaul is only available in manuscript form. See the O.L.E. for Saint-Jean and A.D.R., 13 G 99 for Saint-Paul. 53 Since all the choirboys were in the school and most of the pupils were in the choir (with very few exceptions), the lives of the choirboys must be examined as part of any study on the school. See Chapter Three and my article, ‘The Children’s Cloister: Choirboys and Space in Late-Medieval Cathedrals’. 54 The chapter proceedings of Saint-Jean have some information regarding what the choirboys were preparing for performance in the church. The proceedings of Saint-Paul, however, have a detailed list of what liturgical texts were being used by the choirboys in their church. See Chapter Three, p. 139. 55 Testaments foréziens, 1305–1316, Table des testateurs foréziens (1314-1469) and La Vie quotidienne en Lyonnais d’après les testaments XIVe- XVIe siècles, all edited by Gonon. Forez, the region just

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The Archives municipales de Lyon hold the ‘secular’ records of the city, namely documentation related to the administration of the city’s municipal council. These are almost entirely in Middle French. The proceedings of the meetings provide some information regarding the provision of schooling in the city, but not to the same extent as the proceedings of the cathedral chapter. The deliberations for the period covered in this book (A.M.L. BB 1–50) begin in 1416 and are generally continuous, with short interludes missing – the longest being between 1436 and 1446. The large amount of material that survives is on very high-quality paper, some of which has the watermark of the arms of the city of Lyon. The three most useful types of document at the Archives municipales are tax records, records of householders, and several miscellaneous contracts that witness contact between the municipality and teachers such as that between employers and employees, or rather between patrons and clients. The earliest full Nommées ou dénombrement des biens meubles et immeubles possédés par les habitants de Lyon dates from 1388 (A.M.L. CC 1). Apart from some less organized surveys of goods between 1380 and 1423 (CC 13), the other survey years were 1493 (CC 4–12) and 1515 (CC 20–32). There are two separate sets of tax records. The first set lists the taxes paid to the king of France. Those used in the current work begin in 1377 (CC 60). These too are recorded on paper, and some are bound at or around the same time that they were written. A particularly fine example of this is CC 131 from 1515–1516, bound in plain vellum with a spine in leather. The second set of tax records log payments to the communal government, CC 189 (1358–1369) to CC 260 (1523). The earliest communal revenues (1358) were collected to fund a city guard and fortifications, and coincide with similar taxation and building programmes across France prompted by English military action at Crécy and Poitiers.56 Like the records of taxes collected for the King, these form simple lists – arranged by street, noting name, amount due, and, occasionally, the occupation of the contributor. The f inal selection of documents comes from the comptabilité communale, or town’s account books. These are more complicated reports that record payments made on behalf of the commune, and agreements and contracts between the council and individuals. They date from 1377 (CC 376) to 1530 (CC 788). The tax and householder records are particularly to the west of Lyon, lay solidly within the sphere of influence of the city, both culturally and economically. Several wills contain legacies that saw boys being sent to the schools of Lyon: Gonon, La Vie quotidienne, p. 249. 56 Small, Late Medieval France, pp. 186–88.

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interesting as they demonstrate the wide range of socio-economic levels occupied by both schoolmasters and mistresses. The contracts, on the other hand, trace the increasing efforts of the municipal council to exert control over schooling in Lyon, to the detriment of the authority of the cathedral chapter, which was de jure in charge of all educational endeavours in the city. The problem with some of these contracts is that they show that an agreement was made; but they do not always mean that the teachers were even in Lyon, let alone teaching there.57 The documents in this archive are mostly in Middle French and the quality of recording (handwriting and so on) tends to be higher than most of the ecclesiastical records – though some have seen a certain amount of decay, probably owing to the fact that they are generally on paper. The importance of both archives is that the information they contain can be brought together to recreate the educational ‘landscape’ of fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Lyon, especially the organization of schools and the question of authority over these schools.58 The second source type used in this work is medieval pedagogical literature. This is not a discrete genre but rather a collection of treatises, rules, biographies, and ‘mirrors for princes’ that contain a large amount of information regarding the practice of instruction – that is, what was taught and how was it taught. The biggest challenge this type of source presents is that it tends to be more prescriptive rather than descriptive. While some texts described what happened in a particular classroom under the tutelage of a historical teacher – such as John of Salisbury’s account of the teaching practices of Bernard of Chartres – others sought to construct an ideal classroom, such as Pierre Dubois’s schools for potential crusaders.59 While problematic, this approach allows for an examination of some of the motivations and mentalities that surrounded the idea of elementary and grammar education in the later Middle Ages. This is something that cannot always be found in archival documents.60 57 This is the problem with three contracts drawn up in 1401 where the municipal council was paying teachers from Dijon and Embrun to leave their posts and come to Lyon. Two of these were made out to the same person, one at the beginning of the year and one at the end, perhaps in an effort to improve the deal on offer. See A.M.L., CC 385 recto 10, fol. 13 (April 1401), CC 385 recto 10, fol. 24 (August 1401), CC 385 recto 11, fol. 14 v. (November 1401). 58 See Sheffler, Schools and Schooling in Late Medieval Germany, ch. 1 for the medieval educational landscape of Regensburg. 59 John of Salisbury, The Metalogicon. Dubois, The Recovery of the Holy Land. 60 There are exceptions to this rule. Preambles to educational legislation occasionally indicate the motivations for the formation of the laws and instructions contained therein. This can be

27

Introduc tion

Another issue with this body of texts is that it is diff icult to limit chronologically the works that might have had an impact on fourteenth- and fifteenth-century pedagogical theory. While it easy to establish a final cut-off point, too many works written before the period in question were read and were influential in the later Middle Ages. For example, one of the most important writers on education was Quintilian, who flourished in the last half of the first century. His work survived in fragments until it was rediscovered in 1418 at Saint Gall in Switzerland, but he was nevertheless an authority for earlier writers, from Jerome to John of Salisbury to Vincent of Beauvais. All of these predate the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, yet they were available and read during this period. It is unwise, therefore, to omit important earlier authors. While the topic of medieval educational theory will not form a discrete chapter in this book, the works included in this sprawling ‘genre’ will be referenced throughout. *** This work employs a relatively straightforward methodology that is dictated by the nature of the sources being used. The first set of sources, archival documents from late medieval Lyon, yields precise information about certain aspects of medieval elementary and grammar education, such as the presence of schools and teachers; the organization and administration of such schools; and some material concerning what it was like to be a teacher or pupil. The resultant information allowed for the construction of a factual framework that, in turn, has permitted me to partially reconstruct the actual state of educational provision in Lyon between 1285 and 1530. The secondary set of sources, pedagogical literature from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and before, does not necessarily provide the historical detail that archives contain. Instead, while such literature reveals the personal educational principles of individual authors, it also exposes ideas and concepts that were held in common. For example, educational treatises from the first century to the fifteenth century frequently discussed the same topics and even shared similar opinions on punishment, the age at which to start formal schooling, and so on. These works are not ‘factual’ and are often highly idealized, but they do indicate mutual concerns and preoccupations. They also allow for straight comparison, indicating how widely – or how narrowly – certain ideas were held. In addition, these seen in some (but not all) of the the statutes drawn up for the College of Ave Maria in Paris. See Gabriel, Student Life in Ave Maria College, pp. 270–71.

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writers sometimes have interesting information regarding the individual experiences that they had as pupils and teachers. Since this book deals with various aspects of social and intellectual history, the methods and concepts associated with socio-cultural or cultural history need to be acknowledged.61 The creation of a cultural history of schooling, however, is not the goal of this current research. It can be argued that schooling and education are the means of constructing culture and, indeed, of constructing civilization. As will be seen in both the archival and literary sources of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the focus of education was on the creation of members of the community. By teaching children to read, to count, and to write, authorities sought to produce adults who would benefit the religious and economic well-being of society as a whole. An example of this can be seen in the provision – by ecclesiastical institutions – of elementary education to girls outside convents. This can be explained by possible demand from families and society for girls to have some level of instruction so that they could assist in the running of businesses, thus increasing their desirability as wives. However, it was also seen as spiritually beneficial to the girls to have some knowledge of common prayers and psalms, and perhaps to be able to consume the devotional literature – in both Latin and the vernacular – that was increasingly available.62 They would have also been seen as conduits of religious information in their expected roles as mothers.63 Religious instruction for all children, both boys and girls, was seen by commentators on education as something that was not negotiable, and efforts were made to make such education as 61 Peter Burke has been one of the main recent contributors to the theory of cultural history. See Peter Burke, What is Cultural History? for a general introduction. Arcangeli’s Cultural History: A Concise Introduction is also good. However, the best summation of the approach to history that is cultural history was made by Miri Rubin. ‘Like all good ideas the basic point is simple. The cultural turn asks not only “How it really was” but rather “How was it for him, or her, or them?”’: Rubin, ‘What is Cultural History Now?’ p. 81. 62 Ravelet, Le Bienheureux J. B. de La Salle, p. 21. On the exclusion of girls from more professionally-orientated instruction, see Bednarski and Courtemanche, ‘Learning to be a Man’, 113-35. 63 For example, Philippe de Navarre in his Quatre âges de l’homme sees education in the Christian faith as the responsibility of both the father and the mother: Philippe de Navarre, Traité moral de Philippe de Navarre, p. 9. This tradition of associating early instruction, especially early religious instruction, goes back to at least Saint Augustine and the influence his mother, Saint Monica, had on his formation as a Christian as a young child. Quintilian also stated that mothers could have a positive influence on their children, both academically and morally, and gives the example of Cornelia Africana and her sons, Tiberius and Gaius, better known as the Gracchi: Quintilian, The Orator’s Education, I, 1.1.vi.

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accessible as possible to as many people as possible.64 The importance of establishing membership in the wider community that was Christendom was an important aspect of medieval education, and is especially obvious in the motivations of pedagogical writers who were particularly interested in religious and moral training.65 This emphasis on morality and faith was a part of the broader curriculum that does not appear to have altered if the teacher was from the laity rather than from the clergy or religious. Such traditionalism was carried on to other parts of curricula, where there was consistency in what literature was presented to pupils. This is the reason why historians of medieval pedagogy can speak of a specific canon of texts that were used in classrooms in varied areas of Europe, such as the octo auctores.66 It is possible, therefore, to view education as being inherently conservative, but in the sense that it sought to conserve and promote the culture that it operated in.67 The tendency to continue practices in education so that a particular form of culture can be preserved will arise at various points during the present work, especially in the chapter on late medieval educational theory but also in the organization of schools and teachers by traditional authorities such as the ‘Church’ and the ‘State’.

64 One of the best examples of this approach was Jean Gerson’s short treatise in French, the A.B.C. des simples gens. In it, he presents the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Creed, the Ten Commandments and other articles of faith in the vernacular as these are things ‘that one must fully believe.’ He addresses the treatise to ‘petiz et grans, filz et filles et aultres gens simples’, ‘children and grown-ups, boys and girls and other simple people’, signally that the information contained within was for everyone and for the betterment of everyone who claimed a place in the Christian community: Gerson, ‘A.B.C. des simples gens’, in Oeuvres complètes, VII, 154–57. 65 Many writers placed great importance on the moral and religious aspects of elementary and grammar education. 66 See Chapter Three, pp. 117–18. 67 In medieval education, we can see elements of both orthodoxy and orthopraxy, ‘right belief’ and ‘right doing’. While the children were being taught the correct set of beliefs, they were also being taught aspects of the right way of doing things, from liturgical practices to modes of acceptable behaviour in the community. This can be seen in the proliferation of books of manners in the later Middle Ages, which can be viewed as tools for social advancement but also as a means to transmit the correct way of doing things. See Hanawalt, Growing Up in Medieval London, pp. 69–78. A discussion of the effect of orthopraxy on intellectual culture can be found in Megan Hale William’s, The Monk and the Book: Jerome and the Making of Christian Scholarship.

1

The Administration and Organization of Schools in Lyon

In the later Middle Ages, there was a plethora of authorities involved in the administration and organization of elementary and grammar schools. In France, as in other places in Western Europe, there were generally four different types of authority that sought some level of control over the lower levels of academic instruction. These were the Church (both secular and monastic institutions), territorial lords, civic governments, and universities and colleges.1 These groups and individuals frequently came into conflict with each other over the supervision of such schools, especially with regard to the appointment of teachers. Occasionally, these authorities existed side by side in the same geographic area. This situation sometimes led to the development of a symbiotic and sometimes competitive ‘system’ of schools and teachers, some of whom were directly managed by their respective authority while others were patronized and protected in more indirect ways. The first part of this chapter, therefore, will discuss the nature of the administration of elementary and grammar schools in France in order to provide a context for what occurred in Lyon. Lyon in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries saw the emergence of a ‘system’ where both the cathedral chapter of Saint-Jean and the municipal council occupied themselves with the provision of elementary and grammar education. This chapter will explore this state of affairs, and seek to recreate the complicated and sometimes strained relationship between the cathedral and the council and the schools and teachers that they supposedly oversaw. The time and money that medieval authorities invested in the provision of elementary and grammar instruction demonstrated their interest in education. Such investment was the practical manifestation of the growing intellectual concern with education in the late Middle Ages.

1 This was not the case in much of Italy, especially after 1300, where strong city governments either licensed teachers themselves or allowed for the free operation of schools in their jurisdictions. See Black, Education and Society in Florentine Tuscany, pp. 173–244.

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The Church The Church traditionally took a substantial interest in education. In France, this began in earnest with the Carolingian renovatio of the eighth and ninth centuries, and continued in monasteries and in cathedral chapters.2 By the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, all the branches of the Church participated in providing education, especially elementary and grammar instruction. Monasteries, which had taken the pedagogical lead in the earlier period, gave way to the cathedral, the collegial chapter, and the parish. Religious orders, however, did remain active in providing instruction into the later Middle Ages, both for those who intended to become members of their communities and for temporary residents whose reason for being in the monastery or convent was to receive an education. By the later Middle Ages, the decline in the practice of child oblation had seen a decrease in the presence of children in monasteries, so there was less of a need to maintain introductory-level schooling unless they acted as a sort of ‘boarding school’.3 Convents in particular retained their importance as locales of schooling for children from noble backgrounds. Among these, the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Pierre in Lyon had a schoolmistress, Guicarde de Mont d’Or (in 1298 and 1299), who instructed the aristocratic young girls who resided there. 4 The convents retained their role as purveyors of education because girls could not choose to attend cathedral schools as their male counterparts could.5 Furthermore, girls and young women who wished to enter such communities would also receive their training and education there rather than at external schools.6 Indeed, most monasteries had masters and mistresses of novices and choirmasters and mistresses, the latter position becoming more prestigious with the advent of polyphonic music in the fourteenth and 2 For more on education in France in the earlier part of the Middle Ages, see Riché, Les Écoles et l’enseignement dans l’Occident chrétien de la fin du Ve siècle au milieu du XIe siècle. 3 For an examination of child oblation and education in monasteries in the Carolingian period, see de Jong, In Samuel’s Image: Child Oblation in the Early Medieval West. 4 It is not clear if these aristocratic young girls were intended to become novices and remain in the abbey or if they had been placed there in order to be educated by the nuns: Picot, L’Abbaye de Saint-Pierre de Lyon, p. 83. 5 Though not a French example, the biography of the future beguine, Ida of Gorsleeuw (d. after 1262), suggests that she attended the school attached to the collegial church of Saint-Odulphus: Simons, Cities of Ladies, p. 82. 6 For an excellent overview of girls’ education in a convent setting, see Scheepsma, Medieval Religious Women in the Low Countries: The Modern Devotion, the Canonesses of Windesheim, and their Writings, trans. by Johnson (2004).

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fifteenth centuries. These were not open to ‘external’ pupils or students, but were the preserve of those who had already been accepted into these communities. The newer mendicant orders, such as the Franciscans and Dominicans, concentrated their activities in the universities and in preparing adult postulants. Nevertheless, there are some references which show they were involved in elementary education on a limited basis. The Dominican priory at Auxerre, for example, administered an external school in the midthirteenth century. It employed a secular cleric as teacher and financially supported those pupils who were considering vocations as friars.7 Some abbeys and priories ran the local schools external to their houses in the later Middle Ages, especially in cases where they had effectively taken over the functions of the parish or the local lord. The priory at La Rouaudière in Maine had the right to name ‘personnes idoynes et suffisant pour régir et gouverner le siège des escolles’ in 1450.8 Also in Maine, Jean – prior of Saint-Léonard in Ballée – affirmed his right to name the masters for all the schools in the towns and parish of Ballée.9 Meanwhile, the abbot of Saint-Trond (Sint-Truiden in modern-day Belgian Flanders) affirmed his monastery’s rights over all the schools of the town, even though there was a separate parish in existence.10 In other words, certain monasteries were involved in the administration of schools in their sphere of influence. It is likely that, in some cases, these rights pertained to a specific monastery’s privileges as local lord rather than any generalized association of monastic institutions with the provision of elementary instruction outside their walls. 7 Though run by the Dominicans, the school was not reserved for those who sought to join the order when older. In fact, only three places at the school were expressly reserved for boys who intended to join the order when they reached adulthood: Mulchahey, ‘First the Bow is Bent in Study …’: Dominican Education before 1350, p. 86. See also n. 126 on the same page for an example of a Dominican university college apparently offering more basic instruction in Latin. It is interesting to note that the Dominicans themselves were not the teachers at the school in Auxerre. By appointing a secular cleric, they continued to maintain a distance between themselves and the less exalted parts of the pedagogical process. 8 Bouton, Le Maine, III, 428. 9 Prior Jean claimed authority over ‘escolles de la villes et paroisse de Ballée à qui bon lui semble pour estre régies ainsi qu’on a de coustume de le faire’ (‘the schools of the town and parish of Ballée that to whatever good end it seems to him for that they should be directed, just as one has been accustomed to doing’): Bouton, Le Maine, III, 464. 10 The church of Notre-Dame in Saint-Trond became a collegiate chapel in 1399, when the new canons were reminded by the monastery that they had no rights over the schools – ‘Item quod prefate cononici nullum jus aut potestatem in scolis […] sibi vendicabunt.’ (‘Likewise that the said canons will claim for themselves no jurisdiction or power in the schools’): Charles, La ville de Saint-Trond au Moyen Âge, p. 323, n. 29.

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Despite this activity by monasteries and convents, the cathedral chapter was the premier provider of elementary and grammar education in the late Middle Ages in France.11 Cathedrals did this in three ways: by establishing and running a school solely for choirboys; by educating non-singing pupils alongside their choirboys; and by controlling other schools apart from their own choir school. There was a strong legal impetus for cathedrals to provide some level of education. According to the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 – and following on from similar decrees in the Third Lateran Council in 1179 – all cathedral chapters were to establish a school.12 The cathedral at Le Mans was an example of the first type. It was not permitted by statute to hold any school except for its own choristers.13 The cathedral of Laon also appears to have offered instruction only to the boys singing in its choir.14 The focus on maintaining an internal school for singers alone was natural given the centrality of music in the late medieval liturgy. Cathedrals needed boys properly instructed in music and Latin grammar in order to take part in the services, and who could later take up positions in the cathedral administration.15 11 Cathedral chapters had specific officers who dealt with the provision of education in the cathedral itself, and often in the city surrounding the cathedral. However, the chapter itself, as a whole, frequently considered issues regarding the schools, teachers, and pupils under its purview. The proceedings of the chapter of Saint-Jean in Lyon, among other cathedrals throughout Europe, demonstrate that matters of instruction and education came before the gathering several times each year. The cathedral chapter of Cambrai, for example, took the time to approve the purchase of the Latin textbook, the Doctrinale, for the eleven-year-old future composer, Guillaume Dufay (Du Fay). Planchart, ‘The Early Career of Guillaume Du Fay’, p. 341. 12 ‘Quia nonnulis propter inopiam, et legendi studium et oppportunitas proficiendi subtrahitur, in Lateranensi concilio pia institutione provisum, ut per unamquamque cathedralem ecclesiam magistro qui clericos ejusdem ecclesiae aliosque scholares pauperes gratis instrueret, aliquot competens beneficium praeberetur, quo et docentis relevaretur necessitas, et via pateret discentibus ad doctrinam.’ (‘Because for some, on account of need, both the study of reading and the opportunity to benefit is taken away, it was provided in the Lateran council by pious arrangement, that by every cathedral church some suitable benefice should be offered to a teacher who would teach the clerks of the same church and other poor pupils for free, by which the need for teaching would be met and access to knowledge would be opened for those wishing to learn’): Muteau, Les Écoles et collèges en province, pp. 71–72. 13 This was according to an agreement between the cathedral chapter and the royal collegial chapel of Saint-Pierre-de-la-Cour in 1388. Saint-Pierre claimed authority over all the schools in Le Mans: Bouton, Le Maine, IV, 419. See also p. 419, n. 88. 14 Guy de Laon, a prominent former choirboy in the cathedral, encouraged a growing interest in the choir school. This led to the chapter pledging 30 livres parisien towards the upkeep of six choirboys in 1308. Guy would go on to found the Collège des Bons Enfants in Saint-Quentin by 1314 and the College of Laon in Paris: Millet, Les Chanoines de Laon, p. 105. 15 While instruction in song and music sometimes crowded out instruction in grammar, it was in the cathedral’s interest to have the boys taught Latin properly where possible. For example,

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Many cathedrals, however, also accepted pupils into their choir schools who were not selected to sing in the choir but instead paid to attend. This second type of cathedral involvement in education led to far more open schools.16 While the number of choirboys whom the chapter supported f inancially was usually f ixed, some masters were permitted a certain number of extra, paying pupils in order to supplement their income. This appears to have been the case at Chartres and at Paris, though it is unclear whether the schoolmasters retained the fee themselves or it ultimately went into the general coffers of the cathedral.17 The third way that cathedrals engaged in elementary and grammar education was by controlling some or all of the schools in their geographic vicinity. This could extend from the town surrounding the cathedral to the entire diocese. Chartres had authority – that is, the power to hire or fire masters and to dictate what was being taught – over at least eight schools apart from its own.18 Likewise, the schools of Paris and its suburbs were strictly regulated by the chapter of Notre-Dame. The proceedings of the chapter detail the attention that was given to such administrative issues as granting teachers leave and allowing children to inherit the schools held by their parents. For example, the chapter gave permission to teachers to absent themselves to go on pilgrimage.19 It is clear from evidence from Chartres and Paris that some cathedrals had a great deal of power over nearby schools. These extensive networks indicate that chapters took an interest in pedagogical provision in their dioceses. The children attending may not the chapter of Cambrai gave a copy of the Doctrinale to a choirboy named Guillaume Dufay, the future composer, in 1412: Planchart, ‘Early Career of Guillaume Du Fay’, p. 341. 16 This openness and contact with boys who were not necessarily preparing for ecclesiastical careers was not always looked on favourably. Gerson was particular against the idea of external pupils as they could corrupt the choirboys: Gerson, ‘Pro pueris ecclesiae Parisiensis’, in Oeuvres complètes, ed. by Glorieux (1960–1973), IX, 689. 17 In Chartres in 1351, Hemeric de Gay paid Robert Scot, the master of the choir school of Chartres, 8 livres 16 sols ‘pro expensis filii sui’ (‘for the expenses of his son’): Clerval, Écoles de Chartres, p. 363. At Paris, there was a gradual increase in the number of townsmen sending their sons to the cathedral school of Notre-Dame: Wright, Music and Ceremony, pp. 169–70. 18 Clerval, Écoles de Chartres, pp. 358–59. 19 Gileta La Semerie or La Feniere, schoolmistress in the parish of Saint-Jacques-de-laBoucherie, was allowed to be absent for one month on 14 December 1436 and was to be replaced by Perrota Potelle. On 23 January 1437, Gileta’s daughter Jacqueta uxor Johannis Varin was appointed by the chapter to replace her mother while the older woman went on pilgrimage to Notre-Dame-de-Liesse or ‘elsewhere in foreign parts’: Guyotjeannin, ‘Les Petites écoles’, p. 122. On the death of Gileta La Feniere in 1451, Perrota Potiere succeeded to her school in the parish of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie and was confirmed in that position by the chapter of Notre-Dame: Guyotjeannin, ‘Les Petites écoles’, p. 125.

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have gone on to have ecclesiastical careers, but they did receive some sort of formal education and were often recruited by the central cathedral for ecclesiastical and musical purposes.20 This could happen, however, only if the power of the cathedral was not challenged or ignored. As will be demonstrated below, the supremacy of the scolasticus was circumvented by the municipal council and individual teachers in Lyon. Collegiate chapters also involved themselves in pedagogical activities.21 However, most sought only to maintain their own school for their own musical and recruitment needs. The Royal chapter of the collegiate chapel of Saint-Pierre-de-la-Cour in Le Mans, however, was particularly active during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and aggressively defended its right to name masters and license schools in Le Mans. In 1388, the chapter managed to exert its authority over all the schools in Le Mans. The cathedral chapter itself was limited ‘to choosing a master to teach singing to its choirboys’.22 As late as 1490, Saint-Pierre-de-la-Cour closed the school in the parish of 20 At Chartres and Cambrai, the song master would depart on various trips into the country in order to ‘scout’ talent. Between 1458 and 1459, Jean du Sart, magister coralium at Cambrai, was reimbursed for several journeys in ‘search of boys favourable and propitious for the service of the church’: Wright, ‘Dufay at Cambrai’, p. 206. Alternatively, boys were selected for a choir from a cathedral school whose pupils were taught singing but not given automatic roles in the liturgy. The Duomo of Siena operated like this: D’Accone, The Civic Muse, pp. 40-41. 21 The nature of collegiate churches is best def ined at the beginning of Paul Jeffery’s The Collegiate Churches of England and Wales, pp. 8–10. A collegiale church was made up of a group of secular priests who lived together but who did not take monastic vows. The priests (or canons) functioned as a religious community, observing the divine off ice together, living together, and administering the collegiate church together (including any schools that may have been attached to the institution). Members of the college could hold property and other wealth, and were free to interact with those outside the college. There was no organizational standard and each collegiate church had its own constitution. Since many functioned as parish churches, they took on all the normal parochial duties. For examples of English parish churches that had been appropriated by bodies of secular priests, see Cook, English Collegiate Churches of the Middle Ages, pp. 106–65. 22 ‘Lettre et relacion de Jehan Berteville, sergent du roy, par laquelle il appert que les doyens et chappitre seulz et pour le tout, ont puissance de instituer escole ou escolles en la ville du Mans, et non aultres, excepté chappitre du Mans, qui peult instituer maistre pour montrer le chant à leurs enffans de cueur et non à aultres, ainsy par ledict sergent y furent maintenuz les dicts de Saint Père par vertu de mandement royal, l’an mil IIIe IIIIxx et VIII.’ (‘Letter and witness of Jehan Berteville, sergeant of the king, by which he [attests] that the dean and chapter [of Saint-Pierre] alone and completely, have the power to found a school or schools in the town of Le Mans, and no others [may do so], except the chapter of Le Mans, who may appoint a master in order to teach singing to their choirboys and to no others, thus by the said sergeant these things are maintained by the dictates of [the chapter] of Saint-Pierre by virtue of royal commands, in the year 1388’): Cartulaire du Chapitre royal de Saint-Pierre-de-la-Cour du Mans, ed. by D’Elbenne and Denis, pp. 143-44. See also Bouton, Le Maine, III, 419.

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Saint-Nicolas in Le Mans, which was being conducted by the local priest, Jean Gerbe.23 While Saint-Pierre-de-la-Cour was unusual in its educational dominance of the cathedral chapter among other schools, many collegiate and non-cathedral chapters offered instruction to children. The chapters of Saint-Paul and Saint-Nizier in Lyon both held schools, though attendance appears to have been limited to members of the choir.24 Parishes also operated schools, and it is likely that they represented the most accessible schools for interested children and their parents. It was probably at formal and semi-formal schools ran by parish clergy that the majority of children who received elementary instruction were educated. Sometimes we learn of such activity when it is proscribed by a higher authority, such as the ill-fated school in the parish of Saint-Nicolas.25 At other times, the right to hold a school and to appoint a master in a particular place was bought and sold. Even in the carefully monitored schools of Chartres, Philippe Ménard, curate of Rohaire, was able to rent the school of Saint-Martin-au-Val in Chartres to Pierre Brebier in 1391. The agreement (almost certainly approved by the chapter) was for a year and Brebier paid Ménard 100 sol tournois in rent.26 If anything, these contracts strongly suggest that a good income could be garnered from running even one school. By 1455, in the diocese of Troyes, archdeacons were directed to ask curates ‘si sit aliquis magister scholarum’ – ‘whether anyone [of them] is a schoolmaster’.27 This suggests that curates and other parish clerics frequently acted as schoolmasters. It is likely that these parish schools provided the most basic of instruction.28 The emphasis was on learning to memorize and to read prayers and psalms, though this was of course quite useful in the acquisition of basic literacy. The Church in its many 23 Bouton, Le Maine, III, 419. Saint-Nicolas in Craon, Maine, was another chapter that defended its rights and privileges concerning the naming of masters. In 1412, the canons took action against the nobles and other religious of the area. ‘Rectour d’escolles se sont efforcé, de jour en jour, de faire sièges d’escolles ruraux mettre rectours simples et nen sciens ce qui est au très grant préjudice, destruction et dommaiges des escolles’ (‘Rectors of schools are forced, day by day, to make way in rural schools for simple and ignorant rectors to be installed, which is to the great prejudice, destruction and damage of the schools’): Bouton, Le Maine, III, 425. 24 While there is little information regarding the foundations of these schools, it is clear that they were providing instruction for their own choirboys by the fourteenth centur,y and that these schools had been under the control of the cathedral of Saint-Jean. In 1389, however, Saint-Paul appears to have won the right to hold a school for the children of its parish, though it is not mentioned in later proceedings of its chapter. See Chapter Two, p. 101 for Jean Gerson’s supposed involvement in the school at Saint-Paul. 25 Bouton, Le Maine, III, 419. 26 Clerval, Écoles de Chartres, p. 358. 27 Guilbert, ‘Les Écoles rurales’, p. 128. 28 Ravelet, J.B. de la Salle, pp. 20–21.

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constituent parts participated frequently in the governing of schools, as well as providing – in the form of clerics of differing levels – a sizable portion of the teaching personnel. However, they were not the sole authority providing elementary education, especially in the later Middle Ages.

The Town During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the town, in the guise of the municipal council, began to take an active interest in the provision of education in urban centres. This was particularly the case in the south-east of France and in Flanders, where a powerful mercantile class had emerged from under the shadow of traditional authorities such as local lords and bishops. Lyon, as will be seen, is the premier example of the rising power of a municipal council gradually eroding the control that a cathedral chapter once held over the schools in the city. It can be argued that towns in southeastern France felt the influence of communal-style government as practised in northern and central Italy. Lyon also differed from its neighbouring regions because it lacked a strong lay prince. While the towns of Burgundy had municipal councils – some of which were older than that at Lyon – their municipal power and independence were constricted by the presence of a powerful potentate. Dijon, for example, had a well-organized body of city fathers from at least the thirteenth century.29 However, it was the Duke of Burgundy who was the focus of jurisdictional activity in the town, particularly from the reign of Charles V to the annexation of Burgundy in 1477.30 Since the Italian cities strongly encouraged elementary and grammar education, it perhaps seemed natural for their more northerly neighbours to do likewise. Manosque in Provence employed a municipal schoolmaster in the fifteenth century (and possibly earlier), and went so far as to choose a lay master over a monk, despite the fact that the monk said he would teach for free, while the layman would charge pupils.31 The town fathers of Albi 29 The council rented a hôtel de ville from the middle of the thirteenth century to do business in. It bought the building outright in 1350 and began to rebuild it from 1425 onwards: Chevalier, Les Bonnes villes, p. 228. 30 Dijon was where the dukes of Burgundy had their palace, their chancellery, their treasury, their courts, and so on. Such activities overshadowed municipal activities – though at times the municipal council defied the Duke. On one occasion, the municipality refused to use communal monies to pave the streets of Dijon, despite the pleas of the Duke: Chevalier, Les Bonnes villes, pp. 60 and 225. 31 Bednarski and Courtmanche, ‘Learning to be a Man’, pp. 113–14 and 118.

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advertised in Toulouse for a teacher in 1384.32 In Flanders, where merchant and municipal authorities had often violently resisted aristocratic control during the fourteenth century, townsmen increasingly sought to establish schools that they could directly manage.33 Another manifestation of authority was the control that local communities, without the apparent presence of a municipal council, occasionally had over teachers and schools operating within them. For example, the citizens of Bruyères in the diocese of Laon disagreed with the Bishop when he tried to remove the master, Guy Morant, in 1410. It was seen as interfering in a purely local matter.34 La Ferté-Bernard in Maine and Saint-Martin-de-Villers and Appeville in Normandy also appear to have schools and masters either selected by the local people or supported by them in the face of opposition from other authorities.35 The citizens of Decize (Nevers) in 1336 were quick to recommend one Guillaume Chanu (who was described as ‘of our country’) as a replacement for the disgraced master, Hugues de Bray.36 It is clear that, at certain times, groups of inhabitants took an interest in elementary and grammar education, and attempted to directly influence the running of their local school. This is not surprising. It would have been difficult for an unpopular master to continue to hold a school in the face of local opposition. The town council and the community became the new force in the administration of elementary and grammar schools in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

The Lord Secular rulers and other nobles were also involved in patronizing (that is, in providing the necessary financial support) and administering elementary and grammar schools. This aspect of aristocratic intellectual patronage has been eclipsed by their contribution to more elevated forms of cultural 32 Delaruelle, L’église au temps du Grand Schisme, p. 487. 33 Pirenne, ‘L’instruction des marchands’, pp. 20–21 and 23–26. 34 Millet, Les Chanoines de Laon, p. 104, nn. 70–71. 35 For La-Ferté Bernard (1475), see Bouton, La Maine, III, 429. For Saint-Martin-de-Villers (1412) and Appeville (1453), see Delisle, Études sur la classe agricole, pp. 177–79. 36 Mehl, Les Jeux de France, pp. 212–13. The circumstances of du Bray’s dismissal were curious. He had allowed his pupils the traditional liberty of gaming on the feast of Saint Nicolas (when cockf ighting and other games were often permitted). The pupils had continued to play the following day and, when du Bray sought to stop them, the boys drove him away and assaulted him. It is possible that the local community had been waiting for an excuse to dismiss him in order to promote a local man, though du Bray’s loss of face would not have been conducive to maintenance of good discipline in the school.

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activities, such as the encouragement of poets, musicians, artists, and so on. Yet some did concern themselves with the provision of more basic instruction. Both Louis XI of France and Joan I, Queen of Navarre, acted as patrons – not only of the universities and the colleges usually associated with them but also of choirboys and an auxiliary schoolmaster of Chartres respectively.37 Hugh III of Burgundy founded both the chapter and the school of Sainte-Chapelle in Dijon in 1172 and placed it under the direct authority of the papacy.38 His descendant Philip the Good expanded the number of choirboys in 1424 by four.39 Such foundations were common amongst the aristocracy and royalty. 40 Other nobles acted as arbiters in disputes concerning schools. In 1412 in Normandy, the Viscount of Auge adjudicated between a priest, Thomas des Camps, and the Bishop of Lisieux. The priest was teaching a school at Saint-Martin-de-Villers and the Bishop sought to close it as it conflicted with his schools at Touque.41 Sometimes these disputes led a particular noble to appoint his own candidate to a teaching position as a compromise. This was the case in Ghent as early as 1179 when Philip, Count of Flanders and Vermandois, appointed his own notary, Simon, as a schoolmaster during a disagreement on the subject between the chapter of Sainte-Pharaïlde, the monastery of Saint-Pierre, and the townspeople over who could hold schools.42 Delisle, in his study of the agricultural class in medieval Normandy, presents a multitude of nobles and gentry who actively asserted that the ‘gift’ of the school was theirs. In 1366, Guillaume de la Haie sold the patrimony of Néhou to Charles V. The charter notes: ‘The said lord has the right from antiquity to give permission for the holding of schools in the aforesaid 37 Louis XI founded a course of grammar for the choristers of his chapter at the college of Navarre, while Jacques de Grandreville was given the post of auxiliary master at Chartres in 1342 at the behest of the Queen of Navarre. See Gabriel, ‘Preparatory Teaching’, p. 100, n. 21 and Clerval, Les Écoles de Chartres, p. 360. 38 Muteau, Écoles et colleges, pp. 74–75. 39 These boys were to be instructed in ‘good doctrine […] the art of music, singing, counterpoint & descant’, suggesting that the focus was musical, rather than grammar, instruction: As translated by Muteau in Écoles et collèges, p. 80. 40 Before his death at Agincourt in 1415, Edward, Duke of York, founded a school at Fotheringhay with provisions for thirteen choristers, a chaplain who would teach grammar, and a song master: Orme, Medieval Schools, p. 231. 41 An agreement was reached and schools of Saint-Martin were permitted to continue, under the authority of the Bishop of Lisieux. The charter was drawn up by ‘Pierres le Telier, garde du séel des obligations de la viconté d’Auge’ (‘Pierre le Telier, guardian of the seal of obligations of the viscount of Auge’): Delisle, Études sur la classe agricole, p. 177. 42 Pirenne, ‘L’instruction des marchands’, pp. 24–25. The monastery of Saint-Pierre was under the protection of the Count of Flanders from the ninth century.

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town.’43 Jean, lord of Ferrières, claimed that ‘jiay le droit ou puis donner les escoles du dit lieu de Besu’ in 1408, while in 1456, Jean le Gras, squire, had the ‘droit de présenter et pourvoir, toutffoiz que mestier est, aux escoles du dit lieu de Campigny’. 44 This suggests that seigneurs felt that the right to exert some effort in order to protect their privilege over education was worthwhile. The main problem with this type of reference is that although it tells us who had authority over the school and that they sought to maintain that authority, it does not indicate if a school was in fact functioning in that area. The privilege may well have been claimed but not exercised. However, we cannot assume that nobles did not turn right into practice. They could profit from the enterprise, as the accounts of the counts of Champagne and Brie attest. For the second half of the year 1287, the school of grammar at Provins provided a rent of 45 sols. 45 Between 1340 and 1341, ‘de l’escole de gramaire, par an, iii lb’ (‘from the school of grammar, every year, three pounds’). 46 This was not an inconsiderable sum. The presence of a school in a lord’s lands, especially one directly controlled by the lord in question, had the potential not only to increase tax revenues but also to produce prospective personnel who could work as bailiffs and scribes. Noble lords, however, did not exert any control over the schools of Lyon.

Colleges and Universities There is some evidence that suggests that certain universities, and the colleges associated with a university or studium generale, were involved in providing elementary and grammar education. 47 The evidence supporting this is, however, complicated. The majority of such activity appears to have taken place in external colleges in the same town or city as the university, which were associated with, but legally distinct from, the university itself. These colleges that provided introductory grammar instruction can be 43 ‘Item dictus dominus habet jus ab antiquo dandi licentiam ac tenendi scolas in burgo suo predicto.’ Delisle suggests that this right was one of the privileges of the patrimony from the twelfth century when Raoul, Bishop of Coutances, granted it to Richard de Reyiers: Delisle, Études sur la classe agricole, pp. 181–82, n. 26. 44 Delisle, Études sur la classe agricole, pp. 186–87. ‘Besu’ is one of two towns, Bézu-la-Forêt or Bézu-Saint-Éloi. 45 ‘Dou loyer de l’escole de gramaire, par demi an, XLV s’: Documents relatifs au comté de Champagne et de Brie, ed. by Longnon, p. 40. 46 Documents relatifs au comté de Champagne et de Brie, p. 293. 47 For a discussion of the perceived distinctions between medieval universities and studia generale, see Rashdall, Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages, I, pp. 8–12.

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divided into two types: those whose mission was to provide a type of preparatory education for younger boys who intended entering the university proper; and those which provided courses in grammar to younger boys in the midst of their older student-residents. Occasionally, universities in smaller towns did seek to engage directly in elementary and grammar education, possibly as a strategy to promote future enrolment and to ensure the continued presence of scribes, booksellers, and other literate townspeople needed to support the proper functioning of the university. Additionally, it is important to note that most colleges and universities received permission to operate from local and supranational ecclesiastical authorities such as bishops and popes. Therefore, it is acceptable to view the authority of such institutions over elementary and grammar schools as an extension of the authority of the Church. 48 When universities entered into conflict with local ecclesiastical authorities over control of elementary and grammar schooling, it can be interpreted as an intra-clerical disagreement. One of the most complete examples of a traditionally higher educational institution involving itself with elementary instruction is the College of Ave Maria in Paris. It was founded by John of Hubant and its statutes were drawn up in 1346. This college was entirely devoted to elementary and grammar education. Firstly, the boys to be educated were young, around the age of eight or nine.49 Secondly, it is clear from the founding statutes that the boys were just beginning their education. They were to carry with them their book (possibly a tablet) with prayers and psalms, attached to their belt. This type of 48 This was certainly the case in the earliest days of its existence. However, as the university itself became more powerful, it shed the chapter’s authority. See Rashdall, Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages, I, especially pp. 292–99 on the earliest authority over the university, that is, the chancellor of the chapter of Notre-Dame. This function was earlier given another name, according to Rashdall: scholasticus, magister scholarum or capischola. In English cathedrals and in some northern French cathedrals, the terms scholasticus and cancellarius – and occasionally archiscola – become interchangeable, especially during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. For example, the title cancellarius (c. 1055), scolasticus (1091), and magister scolarum (1140) were used to describe the same position at the cathedral of Rouen until the term chancellor was settled on after c. 1168: Greenway, ‘The False Institutio of St Osmund’, p. 83. The statutes of York cathedral in 1307 explicitly state that the ‘chancellor was anciently called schoolmaster’: Leach, Schools of Medieval England, p. 107. For more information on the shift from scolasticus/ magister scolarum/ archiscola to cancellarius, see Spear, Personnel of the Norman Cathedrals during the Ducal Period, pp. 48–49, pp. 223–25. See also Edwards, English Secular Cathedrals in the Middle Ages, pp. 167, 176–85. 49 ‘Item predicti pueri ponentur in dicta domo […] in pupillari etate existantes, videlicet octo vel novem annorum vel circa’ (‘Likewise, the said boys will be placed in the said house […] being in a state of youth, namely of eight or nine years or thereabouts’): Gabriel, ‘Preparatory Teaching’, p. 98, n. 11. See also Gabriel, Ave Maria College, p. 323.

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reference always indicates pupils at the beginning of their schooling.50 They were not expected to be able to know or read anything on entry; everything would be taught to them at the college.51 The college was not intended to be a place for older students in the faculties of theology or medicine, and resident boys had to leave the college in their sixteenth year.52 Ave Maria was unusual in its absolute focus on elementary and grammar education. However, other universities and colleges had some involvement or interest in it. Individual colleges within the Parisian university network sometimes provided courses of elementary instruction. The College of Navarre provided grammar education of a type that was beneath that taught in the faculty of arts in the university proper. Louis XI established a special grammar course for the choristers of his chapel at Navarre, in addition to existing 50 ‘Item quilibet puerorum habebit in uno forrello de coris modicum librum in quo erunt scripti dicti septum phsalmi [sic], letania, et oraciones Inclina et Fidelium et oracio de sancto proprio necnon saltem in duobus de dictis libris oraciones sanctorum quos debent visitare et ecclesias ad quas ire tenentur in festis pascalibus. Cum eciam contingeret recedere de domo aliquem puerorum, dimittet librum suum et tradetur puero de nouo posito cum dictis pueris. Dictosque libros cum forrellis suis semper ad corrigiam suam habebunt appensos et tenebuntur deferre ex causis predictis. Renouabunturque dicti libri quociens aliquem dilacerari contigeret uel admicti.’ (‘Likewise, every boy will have in a leather case a small book in which will be written the said the seven Psalms [numbers 6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129, and 142], the litany and the prayers Inclina and Fidelium and the prayer of their own saint and besides at least in two of the said books the prayers of the saints which they ought to visit and the churches to which they are bound to go to on feast days. And also when it should happen that any boy withdraw from the house, he will give up his book and hand it to the boy newly placed with the said boys. And the said books with their cases, will always be kept hung on their belt, and they are required to carry this because of the aforesaid things.And the said books will be replaced as often as it happens that any are torn or become wet’): Gabriel, Ave Maria College, pp. 373–74. 51 In contrast, other Parisian colleges demanded some level of ability from candidates. The college of Cambrai asked that entrants could read and understand the college statutes: ‘Nullus scholaris recipiatur ad bursas dicti collegii, nisi sit tantae aetatis et discretionis, quod possit et sciat intelligere statuta’ (1348) (‘No pupil will be accepted for the purpose of the said college’s scholarships, unless he should be of such an age and discretion, that he should be able and know how to understand the statutes.’) The College of Cornouaille expected entrants not only to be able to read but also assumed that they would need three more years of grammar studies (1380) – ‘quod sit tonsuratus et bene sciat legere, et si indigeat grammaticam continuare et in ea proficere, in ea studeat per tres annos continuos, et non ultra’ (‘that he should be tonsured and know how to read well, and if he needs to continue grammar and improve in it, he should busy himself with it for three years and no more’). For both see Gabriel, ‘Preparatory Teaching’, pp. 99, nn. 13–14 and 100, n. 32. 52 ‘Nec ultra festum beati Johannis Baptiste, immediate sequens decimum sextum etatis sue complectum, remanebunt, nec morabuntur in dicta domo’ (‘No boys will remain or stay in the said house beyond the feast of St. John the Baptist, immediately following the completion of their sixteenth year’): Gabriel, Ave Maria College, p. 323.

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courses, because he was concerned that the boys were not being adequately instructed in Latin grammar as a result of their concentration on music.53 There was ‘un gramairien pour instruire et enseigner de gramaire et de moeurs les enfants gramairiens’ (‘a grammarian to instruct and teach grammar and morals to the child grammarians’) teaching in the college in 1384.54 Some universities attempted, and succeeded, in taking over local schools, thus ensuring a steady supply of both students and auxiliary staff such as scribes and booksellers. The struggle between the subcantor and the university at Nantes over the schools of music and grammar indicates that acquiring such control was important to a university.55 In 1494, the University of Angers issued detailed regulations for its masters, including ‘pedagogus vel regens in […] etiam grammaticalibus’ (‘teachers and master regents in grammar’). This was almost certainly a reference to masters operating in the town under licence from the university.56 In 1443, the University of Bordeaux attempted to encourage local teachers to improve the quality of their instruction.57 It was in the interest of specific universities and colleges to promote elementary and grammar education in their area. While Paris and others could attract students from all over Europe, many provincial universities had to ensure a supply of prospective students closer to home, by means of controlling and directing local elementary and grammar schools. 53 Gabriel, ‘Preparatory Teaching’, p. 100, n. 21. 54 Hajnal, L’enseignement de l’écriture, pp. 86–87. Rashdall notes that the Parisian colleges placed a greater emphasis on the provision of more elementary grammar education than Oxford colleges, which only provided a similar type of instruction to their small number of choristers: Rashdall, Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages, I, 510. 55 Hajnal, L’enseignement de l’écriture, pp. 71–72. 56 ‘Item, statuit quod nullus pedagogus vel regens in artibus seu etiam grammaticalibus poterit amodo scholares alterius regentis vel pedagogi, sive sint in artibus studentes, sive etiam in grammaticalibus, recipere ex quacumque causa, sine consensu magistri principalis domus seu pedagogii; quem consensum manifestare tenebitur ad quem ibit dictus scholaris, per schedulam signo manuali precedentis magistri signatam. Item, statuit quod nullus magister vel pedagogus recipiat aliquem ad studendum in grammaticalibus forisando vel paciscendo pro pretio minori communi, quod est viginti solidorum turonensium, nisi plures sint de eadem domo, vel paupertas eminens fuerit.’ From statutes dated 1494 in Statuts et privilèges, I, 431–32 (p. 432). See also Thorndike, University Records, pp. 367–68. 57 ‘Item, magistri in grammatica etiam faciant proverbia et disputationes, et Doctrinale et Grecismum legant integraliter anno revoluto; taliter se omnibus et singulis habentibus ut, inter cetera studia generalia, fama corruscet, ut studentes invitentur ad hujusmodi Universitatem frequentandum, ibique gradus honoris et flores cum fructibus scientie percipere valeant et optatum [sic]’: Statuts et privilèges, III, 342. See also Hajnal, L’enseignement de l’écriture, pp. 106–07. The term regens should be read as ‘master regents’, suggesting that their role was akin to a headmaster or supervisory teacher.

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*** Lyon during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries lacked a university or a particularly powerful local magnate. It therefore possessed only two of the authorities that habitually controlled late medieval elementary and grammar schools in France: the Church (in the guise of the cathedral chapter of Saint-Jean) and the municipal government. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, these two centres of power sought to maintain and extend their rule over the schools in Lyon. At times, the cathedral and the municipal council contested the right to patronize schools and appoint masters. This competition was relatively unusual in France during this period.58 Many cities and towns did not have a formal civic government, and the involvement of lay aristocrats in the provision of elementary and grammar education usually originated from a lack of schools in a particular area rather than an attempt to abrogate the rights of ecclesiastical institutions. Lyon’s unique political and administrative history, however, needs to be briefly outlined in order to fully locate the involvement of council and cathedral in the more specific administration of the city’s schools. *** Lyon’s history, despite its position as capital of Gaul under Rome, often departed from the history of the Merovingian and Frankish kingdoms and the kingdom of France under the Capetians. Lyon first parted ways from Italy and northern Gaul in the fifth century with the arrival of the ‘barbarian’ Burgundians, longstanding federates of the the Roman Empire, who were moved into the Rhône basin by Flavius Aetius.59 By 474, the Burgundians had occupied Lyon itself and the city became the capital of a growing new successor state under Gundobad (473–516), Sigismund (516–523), and Godomar (523–532). These kings established a legal code that combined both Roman and Germanic traditions and was ‘one of the most Roman

58 Recent scholarship on the disputes between civil and ecclesiastical authorities over schooling in Germany (Schulstreit) suggests that such conflicts have been exaggerated. In both Regensburg and Augsburg, there was little controversy over who controlled the schools in the cities. In southern Germany in particular – where there was an abundance of collegiate schools, parish schools, and cathedral schools that offered a variety of instruction to increasingly discerning townspeople – there appears to have been little strife over the provision of education before the sixteenth century: Sheffler, Schools and Schooling in Late Medieval Germany, pp. 9–11. 59 Fédou, ‘Les Temps obscurs’, p. 62.

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amongst the laws of the barbarians’.60 The Merovingians defeated the last of the Burgundian royal house in 534 and the kingdom passed into Frankish hands – though, due to the partible inheritance they practised, Burgundy remained an autonomous realm. Lyon initially retained its position as Burgundian capital under Childebert I, who founded a hospital on the banks of the Saône. In 561, however, Guntram moved his capital to Chalons-surSaône. In 771, Lyon, along with the rest of Burgundy, was integrated into Charlemagne’s unified empire.61 While Lyon’s political centrality somewhat declined, however, its importance as a centre of ecclesiastical power grew. An early hub of Christianity north of the Alps, Lyon’s bishops and archbishops in the fifth and sixth centuries helped establish the leading role that the holder of the see would hold. Saint Patiens, who was bishop at the time of the Burgundian occupation of Lyon, was able to navigate successfully the difference in creeds between the orthodox Church at Lyon and the Arianism of its new rulers, and transferred the episcopal residence from the old Forum to a baptistery dedicated to John the Baptist (the site of the cathedral of Saint-Jean).62 Saint Lupus (d. 542) was the first archbishop, and was recognized as metropolitanus at the Council of Orléans in 538.63 Saint Nicetius (Nizier) – better known to history as Gregory of Tours’s ‘uncle’ – fully established the primacy of Lyon in Gaul when he received the title of patrician from the Pope. He was active in life beyond his church, and was described by Gregory as ‘generous with alms, vigorous in his work, occupying himself with the erection of churches, the building of houses, the sowing of fields, the planting of vines’.64 Thus, the temporal power of the archbishop within the city of Lyon began to be established. Lyon was also a centre of the intellectual activity associated with the Carolingian renovatio during the eighth and ninth centuries, both at the cathedral of Saint-Jean under Archbishop Leidrade (798–814) and at the monastery on the Île Barbe, a few miles upstream in the Saône. Leidrade also acted as a missus dominicus to Narbonne on Charlemagne’s behalf, and is credited as the founder of the cathedral school of Saint-Jean.65 Neither Charlemagne nor his heir, Louis the Pious, supposedly visited Lyon, and the importance of the Archbishop and his position as leader in situ grew. 60 Fédou, ‘Les Temps obscurs’, p. 63. 61 Fédou, ‘Les Temps obscurs’, p. 64. 62 Fédou, ‘Les Temps obscurs’, p. 65. 63 Fédou, ‘Les Temps obscurs’, p. 65. 64 Fédou, ‘Les Temps obscurs’, p. 65. 65 Pourrat, L’Antique école de Leidrade, pp. 11, 13–14.

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Figure 1 Map of Lyon Including Principal Churches and School Sites

Schools: 1) Collège de la Trinité, 2) Manecanterie of Saint-Jean. Churches: 3) cathedral of SaintJean; 4) Saint-Paul; 5) Saint-Nizier; 6) Les Jacobins; 7) La Temple; 8) Saint-Georges; 9) Fourvière (Saint-Thomas). Monastic foundations: 10) Saint-Pierre; 11) Ainay; 12) Saint-Just

This move towards autonomy was emphasized by the instability of Louis the Pious’s reign (813–840) and the wars between his sons. Lyon found itself in the ‘interzone’ that was the kingdom portioned to Lothair I at the Treaty of Verdun (843). Further instability followed Lothair’s death in 855, when Lotharingia was divided between his sons and Lyon became part of the kingdom of Provence (also known as the kingdom of Arles), and was further disputed by rebellious clients – Boso of Arles (d. 887) and his son (who eventually became emperor),

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Louis the Blind (d. 928).66 Slowly, Lyon, along with the kingdom of Arles, came into the sphere of influence of the Ottonian dynasty. After a series of strategic marriages between the Welf rulers of Upper Burgundy, the last of the Carolingian rulers of West Francia, and the family of Hugh of Arles (agent of Louis the Blind), the kingdom of Burgundy passed to Conrad the Peaceful in 942, with the full support of Otto I.67 After Rudolph III died in 1032 without an heir, the kingdom of Burgundy, and with it Lyon, became part of the Germanic Holy Roman Empire. For much of this period of uncertainty, the Archbishop of Lyon was the de facto administrator of Lyon, with roles ranging from organizing repairs of structures damaged or destroyed by Saracen raids in the middle of the eight century to re-establishing ownership over large tracts of land surrounding the city. From 1020 onwards, the archbishops of Lyon engaged in a temporal struggle to ensure their continued control overy the city and surrounding Lyonnais with a local faction, the counts of Forez, who also claimed the county of Lyon. For example, in 1076, Archbishop Humbert was able to have Count Artaud excommunicated because of his attempts to take over Lyon. The archbishops, using a combination of papal and imperial support, managed to hold out, and received a Golden Bull from Frederick Babarossa in 1157 giving them sovereign power over the city and its environs.68 While the twelfth century marked the victory of the Archbishop in temporal affairs, it also marked the growing economic clout of the city and its citizens. Stability suited Lyon, and its traders – such as Ponce de Chaponnay (active in the early thirteenth century) – were visiting the fairs of Champagne, cultivating beneficial relationships with royalty as far away as Constantinople, and beginning to lend large amounts of money.69 These men and their families carefully observed the growing number of enfranchised towns and wanted such freedoms for themselves.70 In 1193, the townspeople paid Archbishop Renaud of Lyon 20,000 solidi, in exchange for which the Archbishop would no longer levy arbitrary taxes on the citizens and allow for the election of four representatives – the first consuls of Lyon, in effect – to discuss matters of town governance with the Archbishop and his canons.71 The next century witnessed several attempts by archbishops to roll back the growing power of the townspeople or to renege on previous 66 67 68 69 70 71

Fédou, ‘Les Temps obscurs’, p. 69. Fédou, ‘Les Temps obscurs’, pp. 69–70. Fédou, ‘Seigneurs et clercs: Querelles féodales, vitalité religieuse’, pp. 74–75. Fédou, ‘Paysans et bourgeois: Essor économique et réveil urban’, p. 95. Rene Fédou, ‘Paysans et bourgeois’, pp. 99–102. Rene Fédou, ‘Paysans et bourgeois’, p. 103.

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agreements in order to maintain their rights over the city and its burgeoning revenues. Civil disorder occurred in 1208 and, more seriously, in 1269, and the papacy and the King of France found it necessary to impose a truce on the city in 1270.72 In the face of ‘neighbourly’ expansion from Forez and Savoy, both the chapter of Saint-Jean and the citizens of Lyon sought the protection of the kingdom of France in 1290. Lyon and its county were formally annexed by Philip the Fair in 1312.73 The citizens of Lyon in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries were heavily influenced by the cultural and political developments of northern Italian cities. Owing to its geographical position on the confluence of the Rhône and the Saône rivers and the proximity of the passes over the Alps, the city was considered a gateway to Italy. It held enormous markets twice a year and attracted a number of Italian merchant families to settle there, many of whom were used to being involved in civic government.74 It contained the most powerful of traders, merchants, bankers, and professionals (such as doctors and hommes de loi), who came together to govern the city. While a tentative council of four was established in 1193, the actual consulat only came into being in 1320, when the Archbishop, Pierre of Savoy, was forced to sign a grant of enfranchisement. Lyon’s municipal government, therefore, was not amongst the oldest bodies of this kind in France – Poitiers had been granted a ‘commune’ by Philip Augustus in 1222, for example – but the councillors at Lyon soon organized themselves into an effective governing body.75 The council itself consisted of twelve consuls, many of whom issued from ranks of the principal trades of the city – such as the furriers, the butchers, and the ropemakers – while others came from the great merchant families, such as the Varey and the Chaponnay.76 Some councillors began to take on specific functions, secretary – procureur, treasurer, bailiff, legal councillor – who in turn employed scribes to aid them in their manifold functions. In Lyon, these activities included the funding and organization of the defences of the city (walls, guards, and so on); the cleanliness of the city and public health; the payment of certain servants of the city (bailiffs, carpenters, and the absolutely essential trumpet players); and the keeping of the city’s 72 Rene Fédou, ‘Paysans et bourgeois’, pp. 103–05. 73 Rene Fédou, ‘Paysans et bourgeois’, p. 107. 74 See de Valous, Le Patriciat lyonnais aux XIIIe et XIVe siècles. 75 For Poitiers, see Robert Favreau, La Ville de Poitiers à la fin du Moyen Âge, I, p. 69. See also Chevalier, Le Bonnes villes, p. 210. 76 Fédou, ‘Paysans et bourgeois’, pp. 96–98. Pelletier and others, Histoire de Lyon: Des origines à nos jours, pp. 209–12.

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accounts.77 Beyond Lyon, the municipal council was tasked with liaising with the apparatus of Capetian administration: the King, the parlement in Paris, and the seneschal of Lyon.78 The seneschal, for example, was the manifestation of royal justice in the city, with his own administration of lieutenants, judges, court clerks, and sergeants.79 In order to manage the increased workload, the consulat met two or three times a week at Les Jacobins (Saint-Jacquême) on the Presqu’île (see Figure 1) or in one of their own homes.80 The eventuality of members being absent was built into the council with the appointment of two permanent officers, the receveur and the procureur-secrétaire (sometimes written as receveur-secrétaire). These men ensured the continuity of administrative policy – especially given that the consuls were re-elected on an annual basis – and were responsible for the most sensitive functions of the council: the collection of taxes and the expenditure of the city’s income.81 It was natural, therefore, for the consulat to further accrue as many of the privileges once held by the Archbishop and the cathedral as possible. One of the privileges claimed by the Church was the right to appoint and license teachers in Lyon. Nevertheless, this entitlement was eroded over the course of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries as the municipal council became involved in attracting masters to Lyon and subsidizing educational activities, usually without openly confronting the authority of the Church. There were, therefore, two ‘competing’ authorities in the ‘system’ of education in Lyon that exerted their control over elementary and grammar schools, oftentimes in an oblique manner (see Figure 2). *** The Church in Lyon – as represented by the chapter of the cathedral of Saint-Jean – was the traditional master of all school activity in the city. As early as the ninth century there was a cathedral school, and the Golden Bull granting the Archbishop of Lyon temporal lordship in 1157 mentioned 77 Pelletier and others, Histoire de Lyon, pp. 209–12. The building of walls after the first years of the Hundred Years War and the Battle of Crécy was a particular spur towards the development of municipal governmental structures: Small, Late Medieval France, pp. 186–87. 78 For a full discussion of the growth of the hommes de loi in Lyon in the Middle Ages, see Fédou, Les Hommes de loi. See also Fédou, ‘Épreuves et promesses (1320 environ–1470 environ)’, p. 123. 79 Fédou, ‘Épreuves et promesses’, p. 123. 80 For a detailed discussion of the heavy workload of the consuls of Lyon, see Vagnon, ‘Etre consul à Lyon au XVe siècle: Privilège ou travail d’Hercule?’ 81 Pelletier and others, Histoire de Lyon, pp. 209–12.

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Figure 2 The Relationship between Authorities and Schools in Late Medieval Lyon (pre-1530)

Cathedral Chapter of Saint-Jean

Municipal Council of Lyon

Scolasticus

Cathedral School of Saint-Jean

Chapter Schools of Saint-Paul and Saint- Nizier

Municipal Schools and Teachers

Independent Schools and Teachers

that the city was an ancient centre of legal studies.82 These references point to more advanced education under the auspices of the cathedral. As will be discussed in Chapter Three, more introductory instruction was almost certainly being provided in order to prepare boys for holy orders and to 82 This early school was a centre of learning during the Carolingian renovatio and was noted for its biblical exegesis. See Riché, Education et culture, p. 192. See also Fédou, Les Hommes de loi, p. 19; Pourrat, L’Antique école de Leidrade, pp. 10–14; Fédou, ‘Les Temps obscurs’, pp. 67–69. Frederick Barbarossa’s document only mentions that Lyon, in ancient times, had the best pagan priests and the best doctors of law, but does not indicate actual schools – or, in fact, any activity more recent than the fifth century. ‘Que antiquis temporibus ritu gentilium primis flaminibus vel primis legis doctoribus ceteris civitatibus preminebat’: Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Diplomata: Friedrich I. 1: 1152–1158 (DD F I), 321–23, no, 192.

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ready those boys to participate in the liturgy as holy water carriers, candle bearers, and singers. The first allusion to boys being present and being cared for – and probably being educated – by the cathedral was in 1170, at the death of one Petrus Rufus, magister puerorum.83 This was most probably a position within the cathedral itself and does not indicate any kind of responsibility for schools beyond the cloister there. However, the implications of the Golden Bull of 1157, as well as administrative practice elsewhere in France, appears to have seen itself as the natural authority in charge of all educational activity in the city.84 In 1285, the chapter of Saint-Jean issued a document formalizing its control over the schools of the entire city of Lyon. While it was principally concerned with the activities of a deacon, G., who was a teacher of decretals, it included an important section asserting the cathedral’s rule over all the schools in Lyon. It was the person appointed by the cathedral who had to give permission ‘to teach any knowledge in the city of Lyon itself and in the many collegial churches and cathedrals and amongst as much of the citizenry served by the cathedral’.85 It is clear that the magister scolarum of the cathedral (who in later documents was referred to as the scolasticus) was invested with the authority of the cathedral in the matter of all schools in Lyon. The document is expansive 83 O.L.E., p. 149. 84 Paris was the most organized of cathedrals when it came to the administration of elementary and grammar schools. Notre-Dame had statutes drawn up for the masters and mistresses of the schools in the fourteenth century: C.U.P., III, pp. 51–53. The chapter also busied itself with the daily concerns of these schools, such as granting leave to teachers and appointing replacements. See Guyotjeannin, ‘Les Petites écoles’, pp. 112–26. 85 ‘Cum decanus et capitulum prime Lugdunensis ecclesie vobis domino Gaufrido de Mailliaco archidiacono Belni per litteras suas rogando mandaverunt curialiter et benigne ut vos secundum propositum vestrum de quo audierant non legeritis Lugduni in aliqua scientia sine voluntate et consensu ipsorum ad quos de antiqua et approbata consuetudine ius pertinet et potestas dandi licenciam docendi in civitate predicta, et sine eorum licencia et consensu vel illius quem ipsi de beneficiatis seu corpore ecclesie magistrum scolarum constituerint nullus debeat docere de aliqua scientia in civitate Lugduni sicut et in multis ecclesiis collegiatis et cathedralibus et quamplurimis civitatibus hoc servatur […]’ ‘The dean and chapter of the principal church of Lyon commanded you, lord Gaufridus de Mailly, archdeacon of Beaune, having being asked by their own letters, freely and in convocation that you, according to your proposal regarding that which they have heard, may not read in Lyon in any discipline without the favour and the consent of the very ones according to those persons who from antiquity and by approved custom the right and power pertains to the granting of license to teach in the said city, and without their license and consent or of the person whom they themselves have appointed to the benefice , the magister scholarum, that no one should teach any science in the city of Lyon and likewise in the many collegiate churches and cathedrals, and amongst as many citizens served by this [cathedral]’: A.D.R., 10 G 1666, piece 1.

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in its claims of jurisdiction. The scolasticus or magister scolarum controlled every level of instruction (de aliqua scientia) everywhere in the city (in civitate Lugduni). This was the legal basis of the chapter of Saint-Jean’s control over the schools of Lyon. It is likely, however, that this document also marked the high point of the cathedral’s control over education in the city. By the late fourteenth century, documents related to the municipal government began to mention schoolmasters who were not mentioned in the cathedral archives. The fifteenth century, in particular, would see the chapter’s claims become widely ignored and openly contested. As stated above, the scolasticus was the chapter-appointed administrator of all the schools of Lyon. He does not appear, however, to have had much influence beyond the choir school attached directly to Saint-Jean. The other collegiate churches in Lyon, Saint-Paul and Saint-Nizier, appear to have stood relatively apart from the cathedral, and this separation extended further than their choir schools. They do not appear to have been archiepiscopal proprietary churches, and members of these chapters (such as provosts) were not among the number of canons at Saint-Jean. They were old foundations, however. Saint-Paul was built by Archbishop Sacerdos (487–551), while Saint-Nizier grew up around the burial sites of the first Christian martyrs of Lyon in ad 177, as well as that of Saint Nizier (513–573) – Archbishop of Lyon and Sacerdos’s successor and nephew. 86 Both Saint-Paul and Saint-Nizier gradually entered the sphere of influence of the consulat of Lyon. In the thirteenth century, the canons of Saint-Paul came mainly from local noble families. By the end of the fifteenth century, however, most of of canons were commoners, and many were sons and nephews of legal families.87 Saint-Nizier had been rebuilt with the financial aid of the townspeople during the course of the fourteenth century after a fire – apparently started by Waldensians in 1253. It became a focus of town business throughout the fifteenth century.88 In the proceedings of these chapters, there is no mention of the scolasticus. Neither were the schools and educational activities of these collegial churches alluded to in the proceedings of Saint-Jean itself. There were only two overlaps. When Poncius de Petra Lata, magister scolarum (an earlier name for the scolasticus), died in 1208, his death was recorded in 86 Fédou, ‘Les Temps obscurs’, p. 65. Saint-Paul appears to have been placed under the direct authority of the Pope by Honorius III (1216–1227). This was confirmed by Gregory IX (1227–1241): Bobichon and others, Quartier Saint-Paul, p. 85. 87 Bobichon and others, Quartier Saint-Paul, pp. 84–85. 88 For example, by 1529, ringing the bell of Saint-Nizier served as the warning that the city was under threat: Gascon, ‘Au fil des jours: La Vie d’une société urbaine’, p. 173.

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the obituaries of both Saint-Jean and Saint-Paul. Since Saint-Paul listed him as the master of the schools without qualifying the title by adding ‘of Saint-Jean’ or similar, this may indicate that his mandate ran beyond the cathedral.89 The scolasticus and cathedral were happy in general for these other choir schools in Lyon to continue in their daily functions without any interference, but it is unclear why this was the case. By the time the surviving portions of the chapter proceedings of Saint-Paul and Saint-Nizier begin, in 1418 and 1463 respectively, the hold the cathedral had over external schools was diminishing. Even within the proceedings of the chapter of Saint-Jean itself, the scolasticus was increasingly concerned with administrative duties within the cathedral itself and was rarely even mentioned with regard to the everyday activities of the cathedral’s own school. *** While the schools attached to the churches of Saint-Paul and Saint-Nizier were left alone by the scolasticus, the educational activities of the municipal council of Lyon appear to have attracted more of the cathedral chapter’s attention. The municipal council was gradually becoming more engaged in the provision of elementary and grammar instruction during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The first reference to a master of school in the municipal records of Lyon was in tax records dated to April 1377 – metre [sic] Reynaut, metre de l’escola.90 There is no indication that this teacher was either appointed or associated with either the cathedral or the civic government, and he could very well have been an independent master. The first reference to a schoolmaster who appears to have been involved in some official capacity with the municipal council was in 1381. It is a cryptic reference that seems to suggest that the gift of the licence to hold schools in Lyon was under the control of the council. It also suggests that the consulat was still directing those who held schools to submit requests to the cathedral of Saint-Jean as a matter of course: Likewise, the three requests which they give to Mr. Johan le Vito in order for him to hold schools, of which one he gives to the cantor of Saint Jean, the other to Mr. Johanet de Genas, and the other I retain.91 89 A.D.R., 13 G 99, fol. 15. O.L.E., p. 18. 90 A.M.L., CC 60, fol. 58. 91 ‘Item iii requestes que dont a mossire Johan le Vito pour le fait des les escoles, des quelx l’un baillit au chantre de Saint Johan, l’autre a mossire Johanet de Genas, et l’autre je retenis’:

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According to this reference, Johan le Vito was the controller of the schools of Lyon, of which there were at least three. He allowed one to be held by the cantor of Saint-Jean (almost certainly a reference to the choir school there which was being reorganized at that time); one to be held by one Johanet de Genas; and the third to be held by the undefined ‘I’ of the passage, which could be Johan le Vito himself. The name Johan le Vito does not appear in reference to the roles of scolasticus or vicemagister at the cathedral.92 He did not, therefore, hold the position that the 1285 document marked as having the right to distribute teaching licences. This reference creates some difficulty as it interrupts the narrative of ecclesiastical dominance in educational matters in France. While the cathedral presented itself as the natural authority over all the schools in Lyon at various points during the period from 1285 to 1530, it was the municipal government that was actively engaged in distributing teaching licences in 1381. The proceedings of the chapter of Saint-Jean do not mention appointments to teaching positions outside its own choir school, apart from one notable exception in 1460 which will be discussed below. The power associated with the person of the scolasticus was clearly ignored by the wider community, and the cathedral was not in a position to enforce its claims. The trend of the municipal government vigorously participating in the pedagogical life of the city by appointing masters is demonstrated again in three documents from 1402. In April of that year, the councillors paid master Johan Gilet, rector of the schools of Lyon, the sum of 3 livres tournois in order that he go to Dijon and hire an assistant teacher to help him in Lyon.93 The schools of Lyon were clearly very busy, and the councillors were happy to spend money in order to recruit the best teachers, even at the level of assistant. In August of the same year, the municipal council paid 2 livres tournois to Guillaume Lagier, master in arts, who appears to have been caught up in a dispute between Lyon and the scolasticus of ‘Ambron’ (almost certainly Embrun, near Gap in the French Alps).94 The money was to cover A.M.L., CC 376, fol. 22 v. 92 Pourrat, L’Antique école, pp. 37 and 61. 93 ‘Item, a maistre Johan Gilet, recteur des escoles de la ville de Lyon, pour mandement et quictance cy apres registres […] iii livres tournois. Les consulz de la ville de Lyon a Poncet de Saint Barthelemy, recevuer de la ditte ville, salut. Nous vous mandons que desdens deb[…]re recepte vous baillez et deluirez a maistre Johan Gilet, recteur des escoles de la ditte ville, trios livres tournois pour aler a Dijon et faire venir avec soy un autre bon souffisant et discret pour tenir, regir et gouverner avec li les dittes escoles’: A.M.L, CC 385 book 10, fol. 13. It should be noted that the phrase ‘rector of schools’ does not suggest that the person in question did not teach himself. 94 ‘Nous vous mandons que desdens deb[…]re recepte vous baillez et deluirez a maistre Guillaume Lagier, maistre ens ars, lequel nous avons taxe fait venir de Ambron pour regier les escoles

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his expenses during the time he had to stay in Embrun while the council sought to reach an accord with the scolasticus there, probably because Lagier had been a teacher there and had yet to be released from his contract. In November of 1402, Lagier was still in Embrun and the council were willing to pay him 10 livres tournois (a sizable sum) to leave the town and come to Lyon to run the schools there.95 Lagier was a university-educated teacher, and the council’s determination to have him in Lyon illustrates their increased ambitions as regards the nature of schooling in Lyon. It should be remembered that the councillors of Lyon were laymen with families and children for whom they wished to provide a good education. As in the communes of northern Italy, they were willing to spend public money on attracting masters, and such masters could also instruct those children beyond the immediate dependants of the city fathers.96 *** The period between 1381 and 1402 (the two dates when the town council was so active in appointing and controlling schoolmasters) corresponded to a lull in the Hundred Years War during the reign of Charles V and the early part of the reign of Charles VI.97 With the advent of civil war after 1407 and English successes in the second decade of the fifteenth century, the council was naturally more concerned with military matters, such as the refortification of the city, and diplomatic efforts. It is not until 1446 that the municipal council was again contracting with a teacher to provide schooling for children.98 However, the 1450s saw the cathedral and the scolasticus begin to reassert their control over the appointment of teachers beyond the choir school of Saint-Jean. a Lyon, deux livres tournois, les quelees nous li avons donne pour ses sa despense de certains jours que nous lavons fait demorer en la ditte ville avant que nous puissons acorder avec le scolastique decelle ville’: A.M.L., CC 385 book 10, fol. 24. 95 ‘Pour li faire laissier la ville de Ambron ou il tenait ses escoles et les faire venir en ceste ville regier et gouvener les dittes escoles a certain temps avec soy accorde’: A.M.L., CC 385 book 11, fol. 14 v. 96 Grendler, Schooling in Renaissance Italy, pp.  5, 12–23. Black, Education and Society, pp. 245–326. 97 The cathedral of Saint-Jean also reorganized its choir school during the 1390s by renovating a building for the exclusive use of the choirboys and by restating the roles of school officials such as the vicemagister: A.D.R. 10 G 79, fols. 80 v. and 109. See also Chapter Two, p. 83–84. 98 This was Jehan de la Font, master in arts and rector of the schools of Lyon. On 1 July 1446, he was paid half of a total of 10 livres tournois ‘pour ce quil […] melieur diligence d’instruyer les enfans et au regnit desdittez escolles’: A.M.L, CC 402, piece 1.

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In 1455, Jehan de la Balme, master in arts, requested that the municipal council give him some sort of financial assistance. He was described in the deliberations of the council as ‘lequel se disoit auoir du scolastique le don des escoles de c’est ville de Lion’.99 He does not appear, therefore, as someone who the municipality had appointed, but rather as a teacher put forward by the scolasticus. The councillors, however, acquiesced to de la Balme’s request for aid and gave him 5 francs and help in paying the rent on his building for seven years.100 The fact that the council gave into de la Balme’s demand for financial assistance suggests that they were uncertain of their legal right to appoint schoolmasters. The very phrase ‘the one who says he has the gift of schools in this city of Lyon from the scolasticus’ points to a fear the councillors may have had: that they had no claim to name schoolmasters, and that the scolasticus was now about to re-exert his control over schools that they both staffed and financed. The situation came to a head in 1460. In April, a Johannes de Balma was received as a canon into the church of Saint-Paul.101 This was probably the same Jehan de la Balme mentioned in 1455. On 6 June 1460, Etienne Bechon, also known as Georges Bechon, was granted 5 livres tournois by the municipal council towards the rent of a house in which he was holding the ‘schools’ of the city.102 According to an undated contract, the council had itself appointed Bechon ad regimen et exercitium scolarum of the city.103 He was described in these documents as recteur des escolles deladitte ville and as docturer les enfans de laditte ville. It is probable that Jehan de la Balme had received a benefice at Saint-Paul and that the municipal council had moved to appoint its own rector of schools. This appointment provoked a response from the chapter. On 25 June 1460, the scolasticus, Jean de Serrótiers, presented one ‘Georgium Becherii’ as master and rector of the schools of the city to the chapter.104 Bechon, therefore, had received the blessing of the city before the scolasticus 99 A.M.L., BB 6, fol. 121 v. 100 On 3 November 1372, Etienne de la Balme was made manicantant or song master of SaintJean: A.D.R., 10 G 76, fol. 145. Etienne and Jehan may not have been related, but the cathedral was a conservative place where generations of the same family could be found, so it is a possibility. In April 1460, a Jo. de Balma was listed as a canon of Saint-Paul; but, while there is circumstantial evidence to suggest that it refers to the schoolmaster, it is not certain: A.D.R. 13 G 7, fol. 13 v. 101 A.D.R. 13 G 7, fol. 13 v. 102 A.M.L., BB 7, fol. 134–134 v. 103 ‘Seruitor et clericus Stephanius Bechoni, aliter Georgii, ad regimen et exercitium scolarum’: A.M.L., CC 421, piece 2. This contract is in a dossier of documents from between 1458 and 1466. It is likely that the contract dates to around 1460. 104 A.D.R, 10 G 94, fol. 46–46 v.

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had had time to ratify his appointment with the cathedral chapter. This may have been because de Serrótiers had to wait for the next meeting of the chapter and Bechon had proceeded, meanwhile, with gaining the support of the municipal council. However, there was disagreement in the chapter. The cantor of the cathedral objected to Bechon, saying that there were other, more qualified candidates.105 This was a unique event. Other canons did not normally object to the recommendations of the scolasticus, and the cantor’s remit in Lyon traditionally extended only to the cathedral school. This appointment appears to have been contentious. Not only did the cantor object to Bechon, forcing de Serrótiers to defend his choice in the gathering, but the chapter also delayed its decision. This suggests that the community wished to discuss this appointment further in private. Without the references in the municipal archives, it is possible to read the goings-on in Saint-Jean as an internal struggle between the scolasticus and the cantor. However, because the municipal council were in contact with Bechon several weeks before the chapter meeting of 25 June 1460, it is possible to suggest that they had come to an arrangement with the scolasticus regarding the appointment of teachers in Lyon. An arrangement of this kind was unlikely to have been sanctioned by the chapter – hence the cantor’s opposition and the chapter’s vacillation. The outcome of this disagreement between the scolasticus (who may have had the support of the municipal council) and the cantor (who may have represented the doubts of the chapter) was uncertain. There is no mention of the post of master and rector of Lyon’s schools in the proceedings of the cathedral chapter until 14 June 1465. On this date, the dissatisfaction of the townspeople with the cantor’s appointment to the post was discussed and dismissed by the chapter.106 This event points to the probable outcome of the chapter’s final decision after June 1460: that the scolasticus lost his right to name the schoolmaster to the cantor. This chain of events, described in both the municipal and cathedral archives, strongly suggests that the scolasticus during this period, Jean de Serrótiers, came to terms with the municipal council regarding the appointment of the principal schoolmaster in Lyon. The chapter as a whole objected to this state of affairs and handed over the right to select the teacher to the 105 ‘Qui dominus cantor respondendo dixit quod quoniam sunt plures magistri dictas scolas peten[tes] quod debent conferri suffcientiori et digniori. Et quia sunt alii sufficientiores dictas scolas peten[tes] sua intencio non dictum magistrum Georgium adnuctere sed alteri sufficientiori confere’: A.D.R., 10 G 94, fol. 46 v. 106 A.D.R., 10 G 95, fol. 32.

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cantor, at least temporarily. The cantor installed a master who was not to the liking of the townspeople. It is likely that, at this point in time, the municipal government ceased to come to any agreement with the cathedral regarding the choice of schoolmaster. *** The incident of 1460 prompted a new approach to the provision of schooling by the municipal government in Lyon. No more contracts appear in the city’s archives and no more ‘sweeteners’ were paid to prospective masters in other towns. This would certainly suggest that the council was unwilling to defy openly the claims by the cathedral to educational jurisdiction. The city fathers, however, continued to provide rent assistance and tax exemptions to teachers operating in the city, often to the same teachers at the same time, without directly employing individual pedagogues. This was, of course, a form of defiance and was an effective tool in continuing to control the teachers in Lyon. Indeed, the influence of the council could be extended greatly by the judicious wielding of financial favours. It is clear that teachers sought the monetary assistance of the municipal government over the legal protection of the cathedral. It should be pointed out that the cathedral of Lyon did not provide licences in a formal manner as was done in Paris – that is, Saint-Jean did not stipulate that masters and mistresses should present themselves annually and swear oaths to uphold a series of statutes in return for the authorization to teach. Independent teachers do not appear in the cathedral archives looking for permission to hold schools; nor are they mentioned in any other capacity. This would suggest that the masters and mistresses who appear in the municipal archives were, in fact, never bothered by the scolasticus or the cathedral chapter. This was the loophole that the civic government exploited in the late fifteenth century. There are several instances in the later fifteenth century where schoolmasters are exempted from civic taxes and were paid substantial sums of money in order to cover the rents of the buildings that they used as schools.107 The cathedral appears to have done nothing to stop these activities. It is likely that the chapter was unable, in 107 The administrative and legal limbo that the city found itself in during these years did not affect the practical support that it provided to masters. In 1478, it exempted Pierre Andre from paying taxes because he was a schoolmaster – ‘nichil quia magister scolarum’: A.M.L., CC 97, fol. 24 v. In 1481, the council paid a master Jehan 100 sols towards the rent and maintenance of building used as a school: A.M.L., BB 352, 1 July 1481 (register of deliberations) and A.M.L., CC 486, piece 6 (communal accounts).

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practical terms, to do so and, in alienating the townspeople during the Georges Bechon incident, had lost its only opportunity of maintaining any kind of say over the naming of masters in the wider city. The spread of the influence of the municipal council over teachers can be seen in a geographical context. Traditionally, the city was divided by the Saône into two parts: the western part dominated by the cathedral, and the eastern part or Presqu’île, the spur of land between the Saône and the Rhône. This eastern section was usually linked with mercantile activity and lay firmly within the sphere of influence of the municipal government, which met at Les Jacobins just south of the church of Saint-Nizier (see Figure 1). It was natural, therefore, to find schoolmasters favoured by it in this eastern section. For example, on 1 July 1481, the municipal council agreed to pay one master Jehan 100 sols to rent and maintain a building for the purpose of holding a school.108 In the record of payment dated the next day, Jehan was described as ‘maistre Jehan, rectrer de l’escolle de Lion a la part vers l’Empire’.109 Here was a teacher who was receiving substantial help from the municipal council, and who lived and worked close to its centre of power. However, the financial assistance that the council could provide was not limited to the Presqu’île. In 1478, Pierre Andre was exempted from paying taxes because he was a schoolmaster.110 In later documentation he was listed as living on the western side of the river, between Saint-Paul and the Jewish quarter.111 While the council did not patronize many masters, its support would have been far more valuable than the cathedral’s. There is no reference in the proceedings of the chapter of the cathedral paying or supporting in any way teachers who did not work in the choir school. The claims of the cathedral were, in fact, quite empty while the municipal government was happy to spend money on teachers and their schools. The second half of the fifteenth century saw a rise in teachers operating in Lyon without any visible institutional patronage. These independent masters and mistresses indicate that the cathedral was indeed losing control of pedagogical activities in the city. They were not mentioned in the proceedings of the cathedral chapter, and no licences appear to have been handed to them; indeed, their existence is only attested in tax and property records. 108 A.M.L., BB 352, 1 July 1481. 109 A.M.L., CC 486, piece6. Henri Vallufin (also written as Ballufin), a teacher active in the 1490s and later, was also described as holding a school in the part of the city towards the Empire – that is, on the eastern side of the city, on what is today called ‘le Presqu’île’ (see Figure 1) 110 A.M.L., CC 97, fol. 24 v. 111 This was in 1493: A.M.L., CC 12, fol. 64. This tax exemption did not mean that Andre was a ‘communal’ master.

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The municipal council did not disturb these teachers and had good reason to allow them to operate. Firstly, these schools provided those who held them with an income and, as such, could be taxed by the civic government. Secondly, the municipal council’s pedagogical focus was on the appointment of a suitably senior and well-educated teacher for Lyon’s children, including the councillors’ own sons. For example, Guillaume Lagier (1401), Jehan de la Font (1445), and Jehan de la Balme (1455) were all described as masters in arts, and teachers of this type could offer instruction at the higher levels of grammar and beyond into Latin literature and rhetoric. It is likely that the school of the master patronized by the municipal council was dominated by the sons of civic luminaries. Less prestigious teachers, male and female, could provide some level of education to those who were unable, financially or academically, to enter the school associated with the consulat.112 Their presence demonstrates that there was demand for instruction amongst the citizenry in general. Before the 1470s, there were only five teachers named in the municipal records who had no visible connection with either a church or the council. These were: master Reynaud, metre de l’escola (1377); Germaine, maistresse de l’ecole (c. 1409); master Henri, l’escripvain, maistre d’escoles (1426, 1429); master Drogo, maistre d’escoles (1426, 1429), and Simon Bravart, mestre d’escola (c. 1435).113 Between 1470 and 1530, there were twelve individual teachers mentioned in the municipal records. Some of those named had careers that spanned several decades, such as Pierre Andre, who was first mentioned in 1478 and last mentioned in 1493.114 Etienne Villefranche, a teacher of numbers and writing, was first listed in 1499 and lastly in 1515.115 These teachers operated seemingly successfully in Lyon without any apparent aid from 112 The term ‘communal school’ could be used but I have chosen not to do so. In Italy, many towns appointed communal masters on a regular basis and had detailed contracts regarding pay and teaching activities. This was not the case in Lyon, where the municipal government seemed more comfortable with provided oblique, rather than direct, support to favoured masters: Grendler, Schooling in Renaissance Italy, pp. 5, 12–23 and Black, Education and Society, pp. 245–326. Furthermore, it is not clear if the council only chose to support one master or multiple masters at the same time. 113 A.M.L., CC 60, fol. 58; A.M.L., CC 67, fols. 70 and 87; A.M.L., CC 67, fols. 73 and 91; A.M.L., CC 193, fol. 65 v. and CC 396, piece 63. It should be noted that a ‘maistre Drogue’ was listed as attending meetings of the municipal council several times during the early 1420s. This may not be the same person, but the name is not common in Lyon and Drogo the schoolmaster was financially successful if we extrapolate his income from the large amount of tax that he paid in 1426 and 1429. He may have been the favoured teacher of the council during the 1420s. 114 A.M.L., CC 97, fol. 24 v. and CC 4, fol. 75. 115 A.M.L., CC 107, fol. 124 and CC 24, fol. 26 v.

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ecclesiastical or civic authorities. Their presence underlined the growing desire for education in late medieval Lyon. As teachers proliferated in the city, the communal fathers continued to patronize specific teachers. From the 1490s into the second decade of the sixteenth century, one Henri Valluphin (or Ballufin) was the master endorsed – albeit informally – by the Lyonnais elite. Valluphin’s school is problematic regarding who was the ultimate authority. James Wadsworth, in his book Lyons, 1473–1503: The Beginnings of Cosmopolitanism, states that Valluphin was a canon at Saint-Nizier and principal teacher of the school attached to the church.116 There is no mention, however, of Henri Valluphin in the (admittedly fragmented) proceedings of the chapter of Saint-Nizier, and no indication in the municipal records that he was a cleric.117 What is known about Valluphin comes from two sources: the municipal archives and prefaces dedicated to him by his teaching colleague, the noted Renaissance printer Jose Badius Ascensius.118 According to the archival evidence, Valluphin held a school for the children of Lyon in the part of the city towards the Empire.119 In 1499, he was mentioned twice: firstly in the tax rolls (he owed 33 sols and 4 deniers) and secondly in the receipts of the municipality. One receipt shows that the councillors paid him 15 sols towards the heating cost of his school and another 35 sols ‘pour sa poyne danon [sic] conduit et acoultre lesditz enfans’.120 The first payment was in line with prevision arrangements with teachers where the municipal council subsidized the everyday costs of running the school held by a particular teacher, as happened with Jehan de la Font in 1446 and master Jehan in the 1470s and 1480s. The second payment, however, suggests that Valluphin was being paid to teach by the municipal council; and, at least in their own records, the councillors were happy to admit this. It is therefore most likely that Valluphin was the master who taught the sons of the civic elite. This is sustained by his appearance in prefaces to works edited by Badius, who stated that he worked for Valluphin in his ‘elementary 116 Wadsworth, Lyons 1473–1503: The Beginnings of Cosmopolitanism, p. 43. He references Gerig, ‘Le Collège de la Trinité à Lyon avant 1540’. However, Gerig only mentions Valluphin once as having appeared in the tax records in 1499: Gerig, ‘Le Collège de la Trinité’, 76. It should be noted that there are no examples in the proceedings of the various chapters in Lyon of canons actively teaching in their respective choir schools. 117 Unlike in some Italian cities, such as Genoa, there was no restriction on clerics holding schools in Lyon. The city had hired clerics as masters and rectors of the schools, such as Georges Bechon in 1460. 118 Badius’ career as a teacher in Lyon will be discussed further in Chapter Two, pp. 101–106. 119 A.M.L., CC 538, fol. 45 v.–46. 120 A.M.L., CC 538, fol. 45 v.–46.

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school’ in a preface printed in 1498.121 Elsewhere, Badius demonstrated that he had a teacher–pupil relationship with several boys from prominent families in and around Lyon.122 This, coupled with the municipal council’s financial support, strengthens the argument that Valluphin operated fully under the influence and protection of the authority of the city fathers.123 By the 1520s, the cathedral of Saint-Jean was no longer playing any kind of role in education outside its own choir school; nor was it claiming to do so. Meanwhile, France in the sixteenth century was seeing the rise of the lycée or gymnasium-style school where children were prepared more methodically for entrance into universities and administrative positions.124 Lyon and its council were also interested in creating a school of this kind and, on 21 July 1527, they combined their efforts with a powerful confraternity in the city, La Confrérie de la Trinité, which had been founded in 1300.125 The original document of foundation of this Collège de la Trinité has been lost but a copy, apparently preserved by the Académie de Lyon, appeared in Léon Charvet’s article on the school in the early 1870s – and consistencies with documents drawn up in 1529 and 1530 suggest that it is probably genuine.126 It states that the confraternity would hand over all over its barns overlooking 121 ‘Cum hisce diebus in ludo tuo lugdunensi, virorum praestantissime, Vergiliana bucolica accuratius interpretarer’: Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, II, 535–37. Virgil’s Bucolics were usually taught later on in grammar classes. It is unlikely that Valluphin’s school was an elementary school alone. On a philogical note, ludus can mean simply school but in general is used to describe an elementary school in particular. See Quintilian, Institutio, 1.4.27 and Horace, Satires, 1.6.72 for further usage of ludus as ‘elementary school’. 122 Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, II, 70–73. The adolescents named were Clement d’Auriliac, Hubert Fournier, Francisco Pascheto, and Pierre Guillaume. 123 Valluphin was still holding school in 1514 when his taxes were reduced from 36 sols 4 deniers to 25 sols because of his activity as a schoolmaster for the children of the city: A.M.L., CC 254, fol. 111. He was still living on the Presqu’île near the Rhône, just as he had been in 1499. 124 For a full discussion of the birth and development of the French lycée see Huppert, Public Schools in Renaissance France. 125 The foundation of the Collège de la Trinité is traced in full in Gerig’s 1908 article, ‘Le Collège de la Trinité à Lyon avant 1540’. Gerig, however, is entirely dismissive of the state and quality of education in Lyon before its foundation, stating that ‘at the beginning of the sixteenth century, there was no advanced school in Lyon where a pupil could prepare for university’. He only briefly mentions four teachers being active in Lyon before 1527: Pierre Andre, Jean de l’Orme, Henri Ballufin (Valluphin), and Guillaume: Gerig, ‘Le Collège de la Trinité’, 76. Gerig’s article is very much a restatement of an earlier article on the subject by Charvet, ‘Le Collège de la Trinité, Lyon: son histoire sommaire et se topographie’. 126 Charvet, ‘Le Collège de la Trinité’, pp. 212-14. These consistencies include the fact that barn structures (granges) alongside the Rhône were being used for the college and that the noise caused by the artillery practice of the King’s army nearby was extremely disruptive to classes. See also A.M.L., CC 776, pieces 27 and 29 and CC 788, pieces 12 and 13.

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the Rhône, which had been previously used by the King’s artillery, for the purpose of providing accommodation for a college. The founding of this college signalled the new confidence of the municipal government in the realm of education. It was willing to expend time and money on the new college without any reference to or permission from the cathedral. It should also be pointed out that the municipal government was not, in any sense, anti-religious – the denizens of the new college were to sing a Salve Regina and a De profundis every evening in memory of living and dead members of the confraternity.127 Instead, the new college represented a formalization and ‘professionalization’ of instruction below the level of the university. And, while the college would face some troubles in the first years of its existence – such as falling pupil numbers because of artillery practice nearby – it has survived into the present day in the guise of the Lycée Ampère. *** Lyon in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries was a city with many schools and many teachers.128 It was also a city with two authorities, the cathedral and municipality, which sought to control the pedagogical activities. Their motivations were manifold. The cathedral of Saint-Jean saw itself as the natural seat of learning, just as many other ecclesiastical institutions in France did. It had itself issued documents during the Archbishop of Lyon’s tenure as temporal lord claiming the right to appoint masters in the city. Furthermore, education was a means to learn the faith and religious truth, in a time when theology was the queen of sciences. Education had other, more practical, outcomes as well. Both the cathedral and the municipal council were aware of this. Instruction was necessary for any boy wishing to become a cleric. The skills of reading and writing were also in demand in the growing mercantile community of Lyon, with 127 Charvet, ‘Le Collège de la Trinité’, 13. That being said, Gerig quotes a seventeenth-century historian who wrote that a teacher in the college between 1532 and 1561, Anceau, was learned enough in the humane letters but knew little of religion, and that he helped spread Protestant ideas in Lyon: Gerig, ‘Le Collège de la Trinité’, pp. 73–74. With its printing presses, commercial network, and proximity to Geneva (Jean Calvin’s ‘capital’ from 1541), Lyon was ideally situated to receive the ideas of the early Reformation. For example, two merchants who frequently travelled to Basel were condemned as heretics by a Dominican inquisitor as early as 1523. Another merchant who did business principally with Wittemberg was likewise denounced in 1524: Gascon, ‘Ferveurs, déchirements et reconstructions: De la Renaissance et de la Réforme a l’Âge Classique’, pp. 187–88. 128 See Appendix II.

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its extensive trade networks across Europe and its enormous fairs.129 Such abilities were needed for the administration, both municipal and royal, of the city. Moreover, the burgeoning merchant and legal classes were affected by the increasing interest in learning, as exemplified in cities of Italy. Education was the key to all of this, and the cathedral chapter and civic government were willing to invest in teachers and pedagogical infrastructure such as school buildings. In doing so, they created a ‘system’ of education in Lyon, with different schools providing different types of instruction for different vocations, be those ecclesiastical, commercial, or administrative.

129 François Garin, a Lyonnais merchant who wrote a complainte in the mid-fifteenth century, accepted that such skills were necessary for doing business. He objected, however, to too much education and erudition, which he felt led to laziness: Garin, La Complainte de François Garin, marchand de Lyon, p. 98.

2

Teachers in Lyon1

The medieval teacher is a tremendously difficult profession to define. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the concept of a magister (or, indeed, a magistra) scolarum was a fluid one. A teacher named as such could have taught anything from the alphabet to rhetoric. They could occupy manifold societal categories – such as rich or poor, male or female, respected or ostracized, and even educated or ignorant. The masters and mistresses who operated in Lyon during the later Middle Ages mirrored these extremities of position. Teachers interacted in different ways with the community around them, and their fellow citizens treated them in different ways. They also had to engage with Lyon’s particular ‘system’ of education and with the authorities who ruled – or claimed to rule – over their schools. By examining the references to teachers in the archival records of the city, it is possible to gain some insight into how medieval elementary and grammar teachers were perceived by their contemporaries. This chapter will concentrate on three aspects of the lives of schoolmasters and schoolmistresses in late medieval Lyon. Firstly, the education and background of individual teachers and school officials will be considered. This will be relatively brief because there is little surviving information regarding individual teachers in Lyon. Secondly, there will be a discussion of the types of teaching positions that existed in Lyon. This will include evidence of the presence of hierarchies of teachers in specific schools and in the city as a whole, and how particular teaching roles were viewed. Thirdly, the economic situation of Lyonnais teachers will be evaluated, allowing for a reconstruction of the economic status of teachers in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In addition to these points, there will be a case study of the varied career of one teacher active in Lyon at the end of the fifteenth century: Jose Badius Ascensius. To begin with, however, we will briefly exam the nature of the teaching profession in later medieval France. ***

1 Parts of this chapter have appeared as an essay in Approaches to Poverty in Medieval Europe: Complexities, Contradictions, Transformations, c. 1100-1500, ed. by Sharon Farmer (Turnhout: Brepols, 2015), entitled ‘Rich Master, Poor Master: The Economic Standing of School Teachers in Late Medieval France’.

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What were the different types of teachers in medieval France? It is difficult to define the precise function (and preparation for that function) from the terms magister and magistra, the usual titles given to a teacher in documents. In the context of elementary and grammar education, such titles only identified that the individual in question was a teacher but not what they taught. More importantly, the title of magister scolarum did not really express anything about the training and education of the teacher themselves. The openness of the term, however, allowed a broad range of people to take up the title and provide education. The evolution of the use of the word magister as a title in the Middle Ages is complicated. While it was an ancient word that generally meant ‘teacher’, it could convey a range of connotations stretching from a mark of respect to a sense that the holder was educated in some way or held a certain position to someone who held a university degree. Certainly by the middle part of the Middle Ages, the term master, employed in isolation, could signal a teacher; but, more often, it ‘designated he whose authority one recognizes, whose precepts are obeyed, a sense which is preserved in particular in the Vulgate and in religious styling’.2 Its usage was a sign of recognized authority only. Strict definition beyond this is unachievable. If one defined magister as someone who held a Master of Arts from a studium generale, for example, one would have a hard time fitting magistra into its parameters since women could not hold such degrees.3 Many, but certainly not all, teachers were members of the clergy. Teachers also held a wide variety of positions in their local communities connected with their role as instructors. Some were upstanding personages, important ecclesiastics and municipal employees, while others lived on the edge of respectable society, leading semi-criminal careers as oath-breakers, assaulters, and vagabonds. Other words were used to describe teachers, such as submonitor (assistant teacher) or rector, which usually denoted a senior teacher. There was also a plethora of terms used in cathedral schools to describe teachers, as these schools had some of the most developed hierarchies in medieval education. Most medieval teachers, especially those who provided elementary instruction, may not have had more than an elementary education themselves. Usually, there is no reference to background and educational history. 2 Lesne, Histoire de la propriété ecclésiastique en France, V, 461–63. Renardy, Les Maîtres universitaire du diocèse de Liège, p. 16. 3 The term magistra was used in the sense of recognized authority – as opposed to teacher – in describing the heads of beguinages in the southern Low Countries: Simons, Cities of Ladies, p. 85.

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However, in some cases, the pedagogical preparation of a teacher can be guessed. In 1449, one Raulina was appointed as schoolteacher in the parish of Saint-Eustache in Paris, following in the footsteps of her mother, the wife of Dionysius Palluau.4 Raulina was most probably instructed in her mother’s school, or by her mother at home, in preparation for a career as a girls’ teacher in one of the elementary schools of Paris. It is unlikely that Raulina or her mother knew a great deal of Latin, and their function was to teach young girls their letters and prayers and the basic techniques of reading. However, these women received their appointments from the chapter of Notre-Dame, the ultimate authority over the elementary and grammar schools of Paris, to whom they had proved their professional and moral competence. While they may have been only elementary teachers, they were fully licensed and, in a sense, official, and could rely on the protection of the chapter if their schools were threatened, especially by ‘unofficial’ competition.5 On the other end of this scale, there were teachers who were university graduates or Masters of Arts. The masters who taught grammar in the colleges attached to universities and in the universities themselves were graduates of some sort or another. The University of Toulouse was singular in its possession of a faculty of grammar as well as a faculty of arts. A document from 1328 reveals what books the grammar masters were supposed to teach, what times of day certain books were to be taught, and that their students were explicitly described as ‘boys’.6 Masters of Arts also taught grammar outside the college and university system. This was probably where most of those who pursued a career in teaching went. Lyon employed 4 12 December 1449: Guyotjeannin, ‘Les Petites écoles de Paris’, p. 125. 5 This was certainly the case in medieval Paris where teachers could protect their ‘patch’ by protesting to the chapter regarding new teachers, officially sanctioned or not. The chapter was usually quite proactive in bringing proceedings against those teaching without a licence, as was the case of the Cistercian, Jean Cabouches, who paid a fine for teaching without a licence in August 1412: Guyotjeannin, ‘Les Petites écoles de Paris’, pp. 117 and 119. 6 ‘Et post comestionem, post declarationem puerorum faciendam per bacallarium principalem et repetitionem lectionum, habeant dicti magistri in grammatica tempore hiemali in nonis legere de Ebrardo, de Historiis Alexandri et Hympnis et de Metrificatura’ (‘And after eating, and after a roll call of the boys by the principal bachelor and a revision of the lesson, the said masters of grammar must in winter at nones lecture on Ebrardus [Everard de Bethune’s Graecismus], on the story of Alexander and on Hymns and Metrification’): Statuts et priviléges, I, 501. I am still uncertain what ‘proverbii cum questionibus’ means. We know that proverbs were used in the early stages of grammar teaching in other colleges and universities (Ave Maria, Paris, and Perpignan) but, certainly in the later, we are not sure if this indicates elementary instruction or more advanced composition.

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(or attempted to employ) two Masters of Arts in around 1402 to ‘bien tenir, regir et gouverner’ (‘to hold, rule and govern well’) the schools there.7 Masters of Arts were not confined to the big cities and universities, and could be found in relatively small towns teaching grammar. Jean Fremin, described as a priest and Master of Arts, was rector of the school at Pontoise in Senlis in 1468.8 Bercenay-en-Othe and Grandes-Chapelles, two comparatively poor villages in the diocese of Troyes in the fifteenth century, had graduates teaching in their schools.9 However, these appear to have been independent operators. One doubts whether these men had the same privileges and protections as the Palluau women in Paris with their chapter-approved licences. In some areas there was a system of providing graduate grammar masters to go to the provinces after university. One of the aims of the College of Dormans-Beauvais at Paris appears to have been to train teachers to return to the Beauvais region to provide instruction in grammar.10 Teaching, therefore, was an acceptable career for a graduate, as was the case in German cities from the fifteenth century, where degreeholders found positions as rectores scolarum in Überlingen (Lake Constance) in 1456; Freiburg im Breisgau in 1457, 1478, and 1515; Schwäbisch Hall in 1471 and 1513; and Schweinfurt in 1491.11 There are phrases that occur most frequently in the archives to indicate that a person was a teacher of some sort. The most common is magister (or magistra) scolarum (or the Middle French equivalent, maistre d’escole). This is attested across France and, indeed, across Europe in the later Middle Ages. In Lyon, there were four teachers listed in the municipal records for 1493.12 Two were referred to as maistre descole or descolle; another was originally referred to as maistre descolle but the last word was marked through with a pen and the word escripture was written in above.13 The last teacher mentioned was a maistresse descolle des filles. Only the writing master is defined by what he taught. For the rest, it must be assumed that they taught part or all of the curriculum outlined above. 7 Fédou, Les Hommes de loi, p. 16. See also A.M.L., CC 385 2 (book 10, fols. 13 and 24) and (book 11, fol. 14 v.–15). These masters will be discussed in more depth in the section on the socio-economic status of teachers later in this chapter. 8 Guenée, Tribunaux et gens de justice, p. 187, n. 24. 9 Guilbert, ‘Les Écoles rurales’, 137. 10 Hajnal, L’enseignement de l’écriture, pp. 97–98. 11 Kintzinger, ‘Scholaster und Schulmeister’, p. 362. 12 By the end of the fifteenth century, Lyon’s population was growing from around 20,000– 30,000 in around 1450 to the 60,000 citizens recorded in the middle of the sixteenth century: Chevalier, Les Bonnes villes, p. 39. 13 A.M.L., CC 4 3, fol. 75; CC5 3, fols. 59 v. and 86; and CC 12 2, fol. 63/64.

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There are other terms, however, that shed more light on the activities of those who bore them. The title submonitor, referring to the post of auxiliary teacher, is one. According to the statutes for the schools of Paris issued by the cantor of Notre-Dame, ‘no one shall farm out his classes or have a partner, but he may have a submonitor’.14 This assistant’s function was usually to aid the rote learning so central to medieval pedagogical practice. They may have focused their attention on the very youngest, drilling them in their ABC. In a grammar school, they probably went through grammatical rules or vocabulary. They also had a supervisory role and kept an eye on pupils when the master was engaged elsewhere. Most submonitors were probably older, more advanced pupils of the teacher.15 In Paris, submonitors were frequently students in the local university colleges. In October 1413, Petrus Mileti (alias de Buxo), bursar or scholarship student at the Collège des XVIII Clercs, was nominated to succeed Tanguidus Brevis as master of a school in Saint-Andrés-des-Arts. He had already been attached to the school as submonitor.16 This promotion underlines the importance this job had as a means towards advancement. A submonitor, especially in a university town or in a great cathedral, was not necessarily a lowly person. Jacques de Grandreville, auxiliary teacher to Thibault d’Ymeray at Chartres in 1342, was patronized by the Queen of Navarre.17 Rector scolarum was another name for the medieval teacher. This is an ambiguous term. Sometimes it seems to simply mean ‘teacher’ and is synonymous with magister scolarum. At other times, it appears to indicate a senior teacher or even a director of a school, that is, a headmaster. The most likely meaning is that of a senior teacher, as it is used at the same time as magister or maistre and is clearly an attempt by contemporaries to describe something a little different. For example, the Masters of Arts that the municipal government of Lyon were so keen to employ were already rectors in their own towns but still had to apply to the scolasticus – the ecclesiastic who had de jure authority over all the schools of a given town – in 14 7. ‘Nullus tradet scolas suas ad firmam, nec habebit socium, sed habere poterit submonitorem’: C.U.P., III, 51–53. See also Thorndike, University Records, p. 239. 15 At Saint-Jean, the vicemagister of the school had a young assistant who supervised the choirboys. He was called a bacellarius rather than a submonitor: Forest, L’École cathédrale de Lyon, pp. 343–44. 16 Guyotjeannin, ‘Les Petites écoles de Paris’, p. 120. 17 Clerval quotes from the original: ‘The Chapter has deputised the priest, Jacques de Grandreville, at the request of the queen of Navarre, who has provided a good testimony, to the service of the clerical children, with master Thibault, to govern, watch over & instruct them in the art of song & reading, and in all Auxelle & his predecessors had customarily done, and all for the usual salary’: Clerval, Les Écoles de Chartres, p. 360.

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order to leave their posts. Rector, in this example, seems to refer to a senior teacher with good qualifications and experience. However, not all references indicate professional seniority. P. de Chaource, rector scolarum clericusque in fifteenth-century Champagne, was accused of assaulting a layperson.18 Nothing suggests that he was any more than a normal teacher. In Chartres, the terms magister puerorum, instructor, gubernator, and administrator puerorum were used interchangeably with rector scolarum to describe the senior member of the groups of teachers in the cathedral.19 Certainly, the masters of the choir school were administrators (they settled accounts for the physical requirements of the pupils), but there is no indication that, in Chartres, they were not giving classes.20 The example of terminological variety at Chartres cathedral brings us to a brief description of terms used for teachers in cathedral choir schools. In the larger and more developed cathedral schools, there were normally a number of positions available to teachers of both grammar and music. These lists included assistant teachers (such as the royally favoured Jacques de Grandreville in fourteenth-century Chartres) but were dominated by masters of song and masters of grammar. These were usually referred to as magistri cantorum and magistri grammaticae but other, more local terms were sometimes applied (like in Saint-Jean in Lyon where the song master was called the manicantant (or manecantant). These titles were self-explanatory: the song master taught the choirboys singing and the liturgy, while the grammar master taught Latin language and literature. Often, a song master might take on teaching grammar if there was no grammar master. This appears to happen quite regularly as chapters were more interested in training the boys in singing and would leave the post of grammarian vacant. Occasionally, there would be some competition over which master outranked the other.21 These teachers were directed in their efforts by either a vicemagister or a magister puerorum. While this master appeared to be an administrator rather than a teacher, this is not certain. Oftentimes, this person had been previously one of the 18 Guilbert, ‘Les Écoles rurales’, p. 136, n. 45. 19 Clerval, L’Ancienne Maitrise, p. 59. 20 Jean Mégret, the treasurer for the chapter and the schools at Chartres, gave the administrator puerorum, André Guilles, ‘10 livres pro nutrimento puerorum’ (‘10 pounds for the boys’ food’) in 1428: Clerval, L’Ancienne Maitrise, p. 64. 21 In Chartres, the importance of the music teacher decreased at the beginning of the fifteenth century; but, from 1483 – and the retirement of the last grammar teacher to act as both teacher and director of the whole school – his role again became the principal one at the cathedral school: Clerval, Les Écoles des Chartres, pp. 63 and 65.

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normal masters and, in some cathedrals, took over the responsibility for reprimanding pupils.22 Over him were the magister chori and the scolasticus. The choir master had once been in charge of the training and education of the choirboys but, by the fourteenth century, he had assumed more important liturgical duties. The scolasticus also once had a more practical pedagogical role, and remained de jure in charge of all education in a given town or diocese. By the later Middle Ages, this authority had become less and less a matter of fact and more a tradition, overlooked by municipal governments and independent masters. Like the magister chori, he was usually a cathedral canon. Occasionally, these offices were held by the same person. The hierarchy of cathedral school personnel will be discussed in more detail in Chapter Three, but it is important to note here that the organization of choir schools was remarkably similar throughout France. There is another aspect of the medieval teacher that is not always considered fully. There is a tendency to state that all medieval elementary and grammar teachers were clerics of some type – though not in Italy, where they were normally members of the laity.23 As already mentioned, this was not the case, especially from the fifteenth century.24 The Palluaus of Paris, mother and daughter, were laywomen. In 1439, the cartulary of the church of Quimper mentions ‘magister Guidomarus’, the rector of the local school of grammar, and his wife ‘Margareta filia Francisci Pergamenarii’.25 But of course many were clerics who either were acolytes who could marry or clerics of a higher grade who may have chosen not to live clerically chaste lives. For example, the diocese of Troyes dealt with a multitude of cases during the fifteenth century where schoolmasters moved into a locality and married but were later found to be clerics and accused of seduction.26 22 Pourrat, L’École cathédrale de Lyon, pp. 102–03. 23 While the majority of teachers in the communes of Italy were certainly laymen (indeed, there were frequently laws that prohibited clerics from holding schools), many priests must have held little schools, especially in the countryside. After all, Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini (Pope Pius II), very much a Renaissance man, stated that he received his first lessons at the hands of his parish priest: Mitchell, The Laurels and the Tiara: Pope Pius II, p. 31. For references to competition between clerical and lay masters in Genoa, see Grendler, Schooling in Renaissance Italy, pp. 10–11. For bans placed on clerical teachers (this time in France), see Bednarski and Courtemanche, ‘Learning to be a Man’. 24 There were certainly laymen teaching before this period, but they usually cannot be positively identified as such. 25 The cartulary refers to Guillaume, son of ‘magistri Guidomari rectoris quondam scolarum grammaticalium de Kemper Corentino et Margareta filia Francisci Pergamenarii eius uxor’ (‘master Guidomarus one time rector of schools of grammar in Quimper “Corentino” and Margaret, daughter of Francisci Pergamenarius, his wife’): Jones, ‘Breton Identity’, p. 158, n. 82. 26 Guilbert, ‘Les Écoles rurales’, p. 137.

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Evidence from sources such as ecclesiastical courts presents a methodological problem, however. Firstly, the source itself is weighted towards indicating a high involvement of the clergy in elementary education in villages and the countryside. Diocesan courts may not have been concerned with the activities of lay schoolmasters. Secondly, all schoolteachers, both lay and ecclesiastic, may have came under the jurisdiction of these courts as the local bishop may have had ultimate authority over all pedagogical activities in the diocese, just as the chapter of Notre-Dame at Paris controlled all the teachers in its area of interest.27 Therefore some of the men who featured in the proceedings of ecclesiastical courts may have been laymen under the authority of the bishop owing to their profession. It is safe to assume that some teachers were lay and some were clerical; but, unless a teacher is explicitly described as a cleric or as being married, a proportion of lay/clerical involvement cannot be hazarded. Schoolteachers often held other positions within the local community, both of a secular and of an ecclesiastical nature. Many were businessmen. In fifteenth-century Champagne, some schoolmasters supplemented their income by also selling wine.28 Jean Hullin, the schoolmaster of Bouère in Maine, became a notary on 24 January 1485, a position reserved for laymen.29 Robert d’Étampes acted as accountant for the factory (possibly for stained-glass) attached to the cathedral of Chartres, as well as being the master of the school.30 Michael Jones describes Jean Loppin as directing the grammar school at Vannes in Brittany before moving to the school at Muzillac around 1366 and becoming an avocat in the local diocese.31 The generally favourable position that teachers could hold in local society is suggested by their being used frequently as witnesses. Both their standing in the community and their erudition would have made them ideal for this.32 Teachers used their erudition for less legitimate dealings as well. Diocesan court proceedings from fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Champagne give details of teachers forging the local curate’s signature and distributing 27 The lay teacher, the wife of Dionsius Palluau, was under the authority of the chapter of Notre-Dame of Paris: Guyotjeannin, ‘Les Petites écoles’, p. 125. 28 Guilbert, ‘Les Écoles rurales’, p. 138. It was possible that some of teachers, eager to take advantage of clerical exemptions from taxes and tolls, may have been encouraged to engage in trade. 29 Bouton, Le Maine, III, 428. 30 Between 1306 and 1310: Clerval, Les Écoles des Chartres, p. 361. 31 Jones, ‘Breton Identity’, p. 156. 32 Grammarians and masters consistently appear as witnesses in church documents. Garnier, magister scholae, appeared as a signatory in archiepiscopal acts in 1036 and 1037 in Lyon: Lesne, Les Écoles, p. 82. Meanwhile, in fifteenth-century Champagne, a couple refused to allow their neighbour to witness their marriage as ‘ne scet ni A ni B’. The local schoolmaster acted instead as witness: Guilbert, ‘Les Écoles rurales’, p. 140, n. 64.

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items that would guard against fevers.33 The same proceedings attest to the idea of the vagabond master, moving from village to village, reneging on contracts and getting involved with local women. Ambrose Delaport, between the years of 1506 and 1516, travelled around the Champagne region, staying no more than nine or ten months in any village. During this time, he broke his engagement to Marion, widow of J. Ystace and resident of Droupt-Sainte-Marie, and had to leave Dommartin-Lettrée near Châlons hastily ‘on account of a child’. He was finally apprehended in Aix-en-Othe and brought to the diocesan court of Troyes.34 Writing masters, or maistres escripvains, appear to have been particularly vilified. One Lyonnais source describes the escripvains as ‘miserable wretches who can only teach children how to write’.35 Jean Barillet, after being found to be operating an unlicensed school in Creil in Senlis in 1435, was banned from teaching children anything except writing.36 The writing master, in other words, was the other side of the coin to the successful, upstanding master of grammar whom cities went to great trouble to employ. It is here that a very precise vocabulary is developed. The difference between being a master of a school and of writing was acute for contemporaries. In 1493, in the municipal records of Lyon, Jean de Lanoe was initially recorded as a maistre d’escolle but this was amended, a line was put through the word escolle and escripture was written above it in a contemporaneous hand.37 Though he appears to have been more successful financially than other teachers, he could not bear the title maistre d’escolle as they could. After looking at vague terms such as magister scolarum – which sometimes encompassed the barely literate as well as the university graduate – this precision demonstrates that medieval society was aware of the differences between teachers and what they taught. Teachers could be perceived as belonging to several groups under the wider definition of instructor. The difference between being undesirable and being honoured and respected depended upon the subject they taught, their own educational background, and the authority (if any) under which they operated. The masters and mistresses of Paris, with their licences from the cantor of Notre-Dame himself, were not viewed in the same light as the vagabond 33 Guilbert, ‘Les Écoles rurales’, p. 138, n. 60. 34 Guilbert, ‘Les Écoles rurales’, pp. 132–33. 35 The escripvains are described as miserable wretches who ‘se mesloient fors seulement de apprendre les enfants a escripre’ (‘occupy themselves only by teaching children to write’): Fédou, Les Hommes de loi, p. 16. 36 Guenée, Tribunaux et Gens de justice, p. 187, n. 25. 37 A.M.L., CC 5, fol. 86.

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teachers of Champagne and the miserable maistres escripvains.38 In Lyon, we find a similar variety in education, financial success and social standing. *** Little information has survived on the nature of the education received by those who taught in Lyon in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. For the most part, this is due to the nature of the archival references. Usually, they mention only a name and title – such as magister scolarum or maistre d’escole – and do not refer to the qualifications of the teacher in question.39 The most sought-after prerequisite to becoming a teacher in the Middle Ages, at least according to the writers of pedagogical treatises, was moral rectitude rather than how proficient in Latin a grammar master was or how well he taught. 40 Nevertheless, there are occasional indications of the pedagogical background of teachers in Lyon. Many of the teachers in the cathedral school of Saint-Jean must have been educated there themselves. In particular, the position of manicantant or song master must have been dominated by clerics who had been completely immersed in the liturgy and practices of the cathedral from a young age. The internal structure of advancement lent itself to this outcome. An older pupil might become the bacallarius or senior pupil who assisted the teachers 38 We must be careful with some sources. Sylvette Guilbert’s work concentrates on the proceedings of ecclesiastical courts and gives the impression that teachers were brawlers and conmen. This was the truth in many cases, but perhaps not in all, where a travelling master could prove a useful scapegoat. For example, Hugues de Bray was dismissed as schoolmaster of Decize (Nevers) in 1336. He was charged with allowing the boys (aged around thirteen) to play (probably to gamble) on Saint Nicholas’s Day, along with ‘other vices’. When the boys continued to play after the feast day, they threw stones at de Bray when he attempted to intervene. The citizens of Decize recommended that de Bray be replaced by Guillaume Chanu, who was described as being ‘of their country’: Mehl, Les Jeux au royaume de France, pp. 212–13. 39 Even contemporary literature discussing the merits a teacher should possess does not mention what courses they should have followed. Indeed, the anonymous author of the ‘Commendation of the Clerk’ accepted that there were many teachers who did not have titles (such as magister in artibus) but who were educated enough, experienced enough, and able to teach effectively: in University Records and Life in the Middle Ages, ed. and trans. by Thorndike, pp. 216 and 223. 40 As Augustine of Hippo wrote, ‘No matter how impressive the style of a speaker, his life has the greater influence in ensuring that his audience is receptive to his words. For the man who speaks wisely and eloquently but who leads a wicked life, may indeed teach many who are eager to learn, although, as it is written, “he is unprofitable to his own soul.” (Ecclesiasticus, 37:12)’: Augustine on Education, p. 338. This is echoed throughout the Middle Ages all the way to Jean Gerson stating ‘Ante omnia sit magister eorum incorruptissimus; quod Horatius maximum repetat, quia discipulus quid aget nisi quod viderit magistrum facientem’ in statutes for choirboys (c. 1400): Gerson, ‘Pro pueris’, IX, 686.

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in supervising the young boys, and thence continue onwards to the positions of manicantant and vicemagister.41 This appears to have been the case with at least one vicemagister in Saint-Jean. Pierre Sorel (Petrus Sorelli) was named song master on 19 November 1414.42 He was referred to as a diaconus chorialis, so he already had a position in the choir and was, therefore, a natural candidate for the post. He did not remain as manicantant for long. He was promoted on 23 July 1418 and replaced by Jean au Gentilhomme.43 It is possible that he was promoted to vicemagister at this point, and he certainly held that position by 1428 when he took over the responsibility of accommodating the choirboys.44 This task was specifically assigned to him ‘because he had been a choirboy and singer in the church since his childhood’.45 He may have been a choirboy in another church beyond the cathedral, but this is unlikely as he had been promoted out of a singing role in 1418. While there are no other references of this type in the proceedings of the chapter, it is likely that this was a traditional method of becoming a song master at the cathedral. Some may have attended schools outside the cathedral or universities in other cities.46 However, there is no further evidence for this. In the proceedings of the chapter of Saint-Jean, or of the chapters of Saint-Paul and Saint-Nizier, none of the teachers or officers of the schools appear to have been graduates of universities. In contrast, several teachers who are recorded in the municipal archives were named as masters in Arts. Guillaume Lagier, upon whom the municipal council had expended money and time in order to lure him away from his post in Embrun in 1401, was referred to as ‘Maistre Guillaume Lagier, maistre aus ars’.47 Jehan de la Font (who was listed as rector of the city’s schools in 1446) and Jehan de la Balme 41 Forest, L’École de Lyon, pp. 343–44. See also Appendix I. 42 A.D.R., 10 G 83, fol. 15 v. 43 A.D.R., 10 G 83, fol. 212 v. 44 A.D.R., 10 G 86, fol. 15 v. 45 ‘quia fuit clericulus et matutus ab infantia in ecclesia’: A.D.R., 10 G 86, fol. 15 v. Choir schools were what produced and trained many clerics during the later Middle Ages, especially those who would go on to have careers in the cathedrals and in other parts of the secular arm of the Church. At least one choirboy from Lyon attained high position in the Church: Cardinal Rochetaille, also known as Johannus de Pont: Pourrat, L’Antique école de Leidrade, pp. 56–58. He was listed as being retained to teach decretals at the cathedral in 1397, after having attended university: A.D.R., 10 G 79, fol. 143 v. 46 One of the manicantants, Jean Defosses, was given permission to leave his post and the cathedral in order to attend a studium generale on 16 July 1435: A.D.R., 10 G 87, fol. 178. Defosses appears to have been considered particularly well educated. When he was appointed manicantant in October 1432, the records note that he knew grammar well and how to write well –‘est bonus gramaticus et bene scribit’: A.D.R., 10 G 87, fol. 55. 47 A.M.L., CC 385 book 10, fol. 24.

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(who appears to have been foisted on the council by the scolasticus in 1455) were also referred to as ‘masters in Arts’. 48 The use of this title indicates that these men had received a university education. 49 Many others were named magister or maistre, but it is unlikely that this alone signified that they were graduates of a university.50 The occurrence of graduates in the number of teachers associated with the municipal council of Lyon demonstrates that the town fathers wished for a better class of teacher. Apart from practical advantages – such as the expertise to instruct pupils in more advanced subject such as rhetoric – having a Master of Arts as the ‘communal’ schoolmaster was a status symbol for the entire city. Patronage of this type demonstrated the intellectual interests of the town councillors and presented Lyon as a centre of learning.51 Furthermore, the ecclesiastical chapters in the city sent their own pupils to the schools beyond their cloisters on a regular basis, underlining the limitations of their courses of study and, perhaps, of their teachers. Choirboys from both SaintJean and Saint-Nizier were sent out to the schools of the town throughout the fifteenth century. We know from Saint-Jean’s records that they did not always manage to maintain a grammar master at their school and that the chapter called several times – in 1362, 1367, 1394, 1431, 1439, and 1442 – for the post to be re-established.52 In the end, there is not enough evidence in the Lyonnais sources to make any kind of general conclusion regarding the education and training of teachers. While some clearly were university graduates, the majority probably had no more education beyond what they were teaching. Any receptive pupil, therefore, could become a teacher.53 48 ‘Jehan de la Font mestre en ars’ A.M.L., CC 402, piece 1; ‘Jehan de la Balme, maistre en ars’: A.M.L., BB 6, fol. 121 v. 49 While some teachers had no right to claim such an appellation, ecclesiastical courts were keen to publish fraudulent ‘Masters in Arts’. See Guilbert, ‘Les Écoles rurales’, pp. 136–39. 50 Guilbert is more willing to accept the use of the title of master (as opposed to master in arts) as an indication of university training: Guilbert, ‘Les Écoles rurales’, p. 136. 51 The aims of communal education are best summed up in Black, Education and Society in Tuscany, pp. 295–306. 52 A.D.R., 10 G 76, fol. 15 v., 10 G 76, fol. 76, 10 G 79, fol. 80 v., 10 G 86, fol. 108, 10 G 88, fol. 167, and 10 G 88, fol. 297–297 v. It should be pointed out here that the central aim of these choir schools was to produce boys who could sing and participate in the liturgy. Advanced grammatical studies were rarely pursued within these schools as the emphasis was on the acquisition of musical technique. It is clear that grammar classes where often crowded out of the curriculum in medieval choir schools. Gerson found that he had to appeal for ‘sufficient space’ to be made in the choirboys’ timetable so that they could learn grammar. ‘Habeat ergo magister alius sufficiens spatium pro docendo grammaticam et logicam et versus, aut materiam’: Gerson, ‘Pro pueris’, IX, 687. 53 Guilbert phrases this best – ‘Tout bon élève peut à son tour transmettre sa science, courte ou complétée aux écoles de la ville’: Guilbert, ‘Les Écoles rurales’, p. 137.

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*** Not all teachers in late medieval elementary and grammar schools were considered equal. Perception of relative rank and importance was affected by a number of factors, namely: the nature of the subject taught by an individual teacher; the amount of experience they had; and whether they were supported by patrons such as a church or municipal council. Additional activities by teachers beyond their classrooms, such as legal or administrative roles, also affected their standing, both in hierarchies internal to their schools and institutions and in the civic community as a whole. The best attested intramural organization was in the cathedral school of Saint-Jean. This school had a number of positions and officers who took part in both administrative and pedagogical duties. There was a clear hierarchy, and individual teachers could progress from one rank to another. However, these masters were generally isolated from the rest of the city and do not appear to have participated much, if at all, in life beyond the cathedral cloister.54 A different hierarchy was in operation in the city of Lyon, where nascent economic forces dictated the relative status of specific masters. Relations with the municipal council and the acquisition of pupils who were children of the elite were also factors in determining how a master might have been seen by his contemporaries. This idea of the worthiness of certain teachers, as opposed to their worth in economic terms, allows for some understanding of how elementary and grammar instructors were viewed by the society in which they worked. The respect rendered to these teachers was transmittable to their vocation, and indicates how much elementary and grammar education was valued in late medieval Lyon. *** The teachers who worked in the choir school attached to Saint-Jean were involved in a multilayered social and professional hierarchy.55 The complexity of its organization was almost certainly due to its longevity. It was an old school, with roots going back to at least the eighth century and possibly as far back as the sixth century, when Nicetius (Nizier) was noted 54 The manicantant of Saint-Jean was mentioned only once in the municipal archives, regarding the ownership of a piece of land in 1515: A.M.L., CC 22 fol. 116 v. 55 The organization of the cathedral school at Lyon was comparable to that at other major cathedrals, such as Paris, Chartres, and Cambrai. See Wright, Music and Ceremony at Notre Dame, p. 172 and ‘Dufay at Cambrai’, p. 206; and Clerval, Les Écoles de Chartres, pp. 360–61.

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by his more famous ‘nephew’, Gregory of Tours, as holding a school in his archiepiscopal household.56 From a highpoint under Archbishop Leidrade in the ninth century, under whom Lyon was a centre of biblical exegesis, the cathedral level of instruction had declined.57 Its existence was dependent on the cathedral and the liturgy, and not on profits from paying pupils who had the potential to be poached by other masters. Relatively sheltered from competition, the choir school endured and developed a range of posts for the instruction, both musical and academic, and administration of its boys. The proceedings of the chapter of Saint-Jean provide considerable detail regarding the teachers in this school, and are particularly useful in tracing the careers of individual masters within the institution of the cathedral.58 Teachers’ positions in this hierarchy were often affected by their own economic background. Those from aristocratic backgrounds often occupied the most elevated posts within the school, such as scolasticus. (The scolasticus had once been an active schoolmaster in the cathedral but, by the fourteenth century, had become more of a supervisor than an active teacher, and was a dignitary of the cathedral in the same vein as the cantor.59) Nevertheless, the hierarchy also allowed for a certain amount of career progression; it was a ladder which those of modest means but good education could climb. The ‘chain of command’ in the cathedral school of Saint-Jean was straightforward: the scolasticus was at the top (Figure 3).60 He acted as a kind of governor of the cathedral school. However, as has been explained in Chapter One, he also claimed authority over all the schools in the city of Lyon. The scolasticus was traditionally a member of the cathedral chapter and, as such, was one of the chanoines-comtes of Lyon. Aristocratic birth was a prerequisite and, therefore, this position was the least accessible of all those in the school 56 Fédou, ‘Les Temps obscurs’, p. 65. 57 Riché, Education and Culture, p. 194 and Lesne, Les Écoles, pp. 80–81. 58 A.D.R., 10 G 76 (1361–1374) to 10 G 113 (1529–1533). These were the records of what occurred during the meetings of the chapter. Most appear to be ‘better’ copies of the notes taken during the actual meetings with contemporary or near-contemporary marginal notes that act as subject titles for each section of each set of minutes. 59 The position of scolasticus ranked among the other dignitaries of the cathedral of Lyon, who were eight in number and included the dean, the archdeacon, the precentor, the cantor, the chamberlain, the ‘Great’ Sacristan, the ‘Great’ Custodian, the Provost, and the scolasticus himself. This was the upper level of the 32 count-canons of Lyon: Pourrat, L’Antique école de Leidrade, p. 29. 60 The position of scolasticus had begun its existence as the magister scolarum. The earliest reference to a magister scolarum at Saint-Jean was in 1197 and 1208 when Poncius de Petra Lata appeared in the obituary of the cathedral: O.L.E., pp. 18 and 165.

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Figure 3 The Hierarchy of School Personnel at Saint-Jean Chapter of Saint-Jean

Scolasticus

Magister chori

Vicemagister

Grammar Master

Manicantant (Song Master)

Bacallarius

administration.61 None of the teachers mentioned in the cathedral archives appear to have risen to this post during the late Middle Ages. In general, the scolasticus did not take part in the instruction of the choirboys under his care. Occasionally, in the period before the reorganization of the choir school in the 1390s, the scolasticus was paid for caring for the pupils of the school; and it is possible that they lodged with him in his house and that he provided them with food, clothing and bedding.62 However, it was not until the sixteenth century that the holder of the post began to engage with the educational lives of the choirboys.63 This was 61 Pourrat, L’Antique école de Leidrade, p. 28. See also Forest, L’École cathédrale de Lyon, p. 28. 62 For example, in November 1361, the scolasticus, Humbert de Villanova, was granted several payments towards the upkeep of the choirboys. The largest of these was for 21 florins, 4 gros: A.D.R., 10 G 76, fol. 3 v. 63 There are references to the scolasticus, along with the manicantant, examining the choirboys in what they were learning in 1526 and 1530: A.D.R., 10 G 111, fol. 193 and 193 v. and 10 G 113, fol. 142.

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likely the result of the loss of control over pedagogical activity beyond the cathedral cloister. The scolasticus was, therefore, not an active officer in the administration of the choir school. In many ways, he resembled the chancellor of a modern university – a ceremonial head who engendered respect, as a canon and as scolasticus, but who did not concern himself with the everyday reality of running a school. The actual management of the choir school of Saint-Jean fell to the magister chori and, especially, to the vicemagister chori.64 The duties of these two officials tended to overlap, especially in the earlier part of the period (1361–1390s); but, in general, it was the magister chori who presented candidates for teaching positions to the cathedral chapter. The vicemagister was more concerned with the everyday management of the school. He helped vet incoming pupils (along with the manicantant), doled out punishment, and regularly examined the boys on what they had learned. It is also probable that the vicemagister occasionally served as a teacher in the school, especially during the periods when it lacked a grammar master.65 The magister chori’s principal responsibility in the school was to select and employ teachers. In November 1414, for example, it was Guillaume de Albone, magister chori, who presented Pierre Sorel as the new manicantant.66 He did so again in July 1418 when Sorel was promoted to a living in the cathedral and Jehan au Gentilhomme was appointed to teach song.67 Occasionally, the magister chori was overruled by the chapter, though this was extremely rare. By November 1418, de Albone had been replaced as magister chori by Humbertus de Varras, who sought to appoint Johannes Bola as song master.68 The chapter objected ‘quod est minus juvenis et 64 The magister chori of Saint-Jean appears in earlier sources as the magister puerorum, indicating that he was the principal master of the choirboys. For example, in 1227, the death of Willelmus de Sancta Columba, magister puerorum, was recorded in the cathedral’s obituary. An earlier reference calls him the magister chori: O.L.E., pp. 170 and 191. However, the magister chori appears to have increasingly delegated his school duties to a deputy during the course of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, so that, by the 1390s, it is the vicemagister who was in charge of the school and its pupils. 65 This was a particular problem for the choir school attached to Saint-Jean, as will be discussed in more detail below. 66 A.D.R., 10 G 83, fol. 15 v. It was likely that de Albone knew Sorrel/Sorelli and his abilities well as the new manicantant had been a choirboy himself. 67 A.D.R., 10 G 83, fol. 212 v. 68 A.D.R., 10 G 83, fol. 226 v. Jehan au Gentilhomme appears to have served in this position only for less than six months. This length of tenure was relatively unusual when some manicantants served for ten years. For example, Cornelius Conti had been the song master for ten years in 1432 when he was granted a living in recognition of his service: A.D.R., 10 G 87, fol. 55. In 1453, Humbertus de Chaffardon was granted a living after seven years as manicantant: A.D.R., 10 G 92, fol.160.

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minus sufficiens ad docendi clericulos’. They instead recommended that Andreas Serrati be given the job. The magister chori, therefore, did not have absolute say over appointments in the school of Saint-Jean, and the chapter was comfortable to make its own suggestions when it felt that the candidate was not up to the task.69 In a way, the magister chori can be seen as the official concerned with the personnel of the school. He does not appear to have presented prospective vicemagistri, but it is likely that he had some part in their appointments. The vicemagister appears to have run the school on a daily basis. The post appeared in the very first surviving proceedings of the chapter in 1361, when vicemagister Girodus, along with Guillelmus (Guillaume) Foreis, the receiver general of the cathedral, were to ‘have and hold’ the choirboys – that is, to look after them.70 Girodus was individually mentioned again during the same chapter meeting as having been given 10 golden florins for his labour and the expenses he incurred in defending the schools of the church.71 The vicemagister was, from this early point, in charge of the money allocated to the school. This responsibility for the financial management of the school was reflected in another role that the vicemagister often played in the cathedral. According to the obituary of Saint-Jean, the vicemagister acted as an executor in the wills of several members of the cathedral community in the mid-fourteenth century.72 The only apparent disruption to this duty was the reorganization of the choir school in the early part of the 1390s. One Johannes Chalendati, magister scolarum, was placed in charge of the school, despite the fact that there was also a vicemagister in the post. The vicemagister in question, however, was Girodus de Bella Villa, who seems to have been in that 69 This happened again on 5 October 1444 when Petrus de Grolea, magister chori, presented Humbertus de Chaffardon as manicantant. The chapter was uncertain and put off making a decision until 6 November 1444, when, after lengthy deliberation, it eventually appointed Chaffardon: A.D.R., 10 G 89, fol. 332 v. 70 They were given 100 golden florins for this task, and 10 further florins to cover the rent of a house for the choirboys’ use: A.D.R., 10 G 76, fol. 2 v. 71 A.D.R., 10 G 76, fol. 2 v. 72 The vicemagister acted in this capacity for Andreas Beguine in September 1348 (O.L.E., pp. 90–91); for Humbertus Boconeri, doctor in decretals in September 1348 (O.L.E., p. 101); and for Henricus de Villars, Archbishop of Lyon, in December 1355 (O.L.E., pp. 159–62). Pierre de Gravelles was vicemagister at the time of Beguine’s and Boconeri’s deaths, but it is unlikely that he was able to carry out his duties as executor since he too died in September 1348, almost certainly as a result of the Black Death. Girodus de Bella Villa (Giraud de Belleville) was vicemagister in 1355: Pourrat, L’Antique école de Leidrade, p. 37. The Black Death reached Lyon in May 1348 and raged throughout the summer and early autumn. The chapters of Saint-Jean, Saint-Paul, and Saint-Nizier lost two-thirds of their members: Fédou, ‘Epreuves et promesses’, p. 113.

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situation since at least the 1360s, and it was possible that he was no longer actively managing the school.73 Chalendati was given much of the same responsibilities as the vicemagister, according to a document drawn up on 5 November 1394.74 He had to keep two masters, in grammar and in song, as well as a bacallarius (senior pupil) who acted as a prefect for the choirboys. He had to provide suitable board and lodging for these ‘employees’ and for the choirboys, including specific measures and types of bread. In order to provide all of this, he was to be given 60 florins and 54 ass-loads of grain. It is not clear why another magister was appointed to do the job of the vicemagister.75 Apart from Chalendati, there is no mention of another magister scolarum taking on these kinds of responsibilities in the school. For example, in 1428, Pierre Sorel became vicemagister and was to look after the choirboys.76 The situation where the school of Saint-Jean and its officers were funded and solely delegated to care for all the requirements of the choirboys did not endure for long. In March 1469 and July 1472, other members of the cathedral community were looking after the needs of the choirboys and lodging them and their manicantant in their houses in the cloister.77 This state of affairs was almost certainly the result of the chapter no longer providing sufficient money or a portion of the general alms for the upkeep of the choirboys. There are very few references to vicemagistri during the second half of the fifteenth century, and it is not clear whether the post was being filled or if there had been a change in duties.78 It is known that the vicemagister had other, more academic, responsibilities. The vicemagister was charged with 73 This was an astonishingly lengthy career. Pourrat suggests that Girodus’s period as vicemagister began as early as 1351 and ended in 1381: Pourrat, L’Antique école de Leidrade, p. 37. However, the proceedings of the chapter from 4 April 1396 also mention Girodus de Bella Villa as vicemagister: A.D.R., 10 G 79, fol. 109. It is possible that these are appearances of two separate men who were either related or both Girards from a town (or towns) called Belleville. 74 A.D.R., 10 G 79, fol. 80 v. See also Appendix I. 75 Chalendati also appears to have done the job of the scolasticus. In June 1396, he was named magister in artibus rectorque scolarum civitatis Lugduni in a document where he sought to prevent two teachers from operating in Lyon without the permission of the scolasticus: A.D.R., 10 G 1666, piece 2 a. 76 A.D.R., 10 G 86, fol. 15 v. 77 A.D.R., 10 G 97, fol. 46 v. and fol. 277. On neither occasion was the ecclesiastic tasked with looking after the choirboys associated with any role in the cathedral school. 78 Pourrat provides a neat list of all the vicemagistri of Saint-Jean between 1404 and 1613. I have been unable to confirm that many of those he named actually occupied the post as they do not appear in the proceedings of the chapter or in other documents: Pourrat, L’Antique école de Leidrade, p. 61.

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conducting a daily recordation, or examination, for each of the choirboys.79 This consisted of having the boys recite what they had learned (namely, parts of the liturgy) and the master correcting them when necessary. It also included the master giving encouragement to boys who were struggling or punishing those who had misbehaved.80 In order to do all of this effectively, the vicemagister would have had to receive daily reports from the manicantant and the grammar master (if there was one) concerning what topics had been covered and which boys had been disobedient and deserved punishment. It is not surprising, therefore, that some of the vicemagistri had already held teaching positions in the school, especially that of manicantant. Petrus Sorelli (Sorel) was an example of a vicemagister who had not only been song master but had himself been a choirboy as a child.81 Activity of an academic nature, such as conducting recordations, appears to have been a mainstay of the role of the vicemagister. His participation in them was mentioned in a statute as early as 1352 and was restated in the proceedings of the chapter in January 1410.82 While the next reference to a vicemagister conducting an examination of any kind was not until 1530, there is nothing to suggest that those who occupied that post did not continue to carry out recordations throughout the fifteenth century.83 The vicemagister acted, therefore, as a kind of head teacher in the choir school, maintaining the correct level of progress and discipline among the student body through regular contact. The upper management of the choir school of Saint-Jean – that is, the magister chori and the vicemagister – was in charge of employing two teachers to instruct the choirboys: the grammar master (magister grammaticae) and the song master (manicantant).84 As early as November 1362, the chapter had mandated that Guillaume Foreis, the receiver general of the cathedral, 79 From statutes drawn up in 1352 (A.D.R., 10 G 450, fols. 75 v.– 88 v.): Forest, L’École cathédrale de Lyon, pp. 102–03. See also A.D.R., 10 G 82, fols. 13 v.–14 v. for Petrus de Beunco, vicemagister, swearing to continue to hold recordations (January 1410). 80 This process matched completely what Jean Gerson recommended in his treatise, Pro pueris ecclesiae Parisiensis: Gerson, ‘Pro pueris’, IX, 686–89. 81 A.D.R., 10 G 86, fol. 15 v. 82 A.D.R., 10 G 450, fols. 75 v.–88 v. and 10 G 82, fol. 13 v. 83 On 25 June 1530, the chapter ordered the vicemagister, along with the scolasticus, to examine all the boys who were still resident in the cathedral cloister but who had permission to attend schools in the city. This suggests that the practice of holding recordations was actually being extended to pupils beyond those who were officially in the choir school: A.D.R., 10 G 113, fol. 142. 84 The term manicantant appears to have been used only in Lyon. In both Paris and Chartres, the term for song master was magister cantus or magister puerorum […] in arte cantus: Wright, Music and Ceremony, p. 172, and Clerval, L’Ancienne Maitrise, pp. 62–63.

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should keep ‘a master in grammar and a suitable clerk of the Church who could teach [the choirboys] singing’.85 This level of staffing proved difficult to maintain, however. The position of manicantant was relatively stable. Their presence was absolutely necessary for the correct transmission and performance of the sung liturgy.86 Song masters tended to stay in the post for lengthy periods of time. Some are noted as serving as manicantant for seven or even ten years. This stability can be accounted for by two factors. Firstly, it is likely that many, if not all, of those who became song masters during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries had themselves been choirboys at Saint-Jean. This was deemed a necessary requirement because the liturgy and traditions associated with the cathedral were complicated, and the only assurance of expertise was if a candidate had been immersed in the environment from a young age. This knowledge was not necessarily transferable beyond Saint-Jean. Secondly, there was a clearly defined career path for song masters at the cathedral. After their tenure as manicantant, they tended to receive promotions in the form of much sought-after perpetual chaplaincies.87 This happened at least six times in the fifteenth century – in 1409, 1418, 1423, 1432, 1453 and 1477.88 The focus of generations of manicantants was on 85 ‘Teneat […] magistrum in grammatica et quondam ydoneum clericum ecclesiae qui doceat eos cantum’: A.D.R., 10 G 76, fol. 15 v. 86 Instruction in singing was not conf ined to cathedral schools. It was a common feature in almost every medieval school and became inextricably linked to the whole concept of elementary instruction in the Middle Ages. Singing in elementary school allowed children to learn popular hymns and chants, and it also served as a mnemonic device. Country schools in fourteenth-century Dormans (Marne), in Picardy, and in the Champagne region taught ‘the alphabet, psalms and singing’ to children of both sexes: Ravelet, Le Bienheureux J.B. de la Salle, p. 21. In English parishes, many priests and chantry priests taught boys singing so that they could assist with the liturgy: Orme, Medieval Schools, pp. 295–96. As early as fifth-century bc Athens, the poet Callias put on an ‘Alphabet Show’ (Grammatikē theōria) where a chorus of 24 women, each representing a letter, sang out their ‘names’ and exchanged places to ‘create’ syllables: Cribiore, Gymnastics of the Mind, p. 165. A later example of using a song as a mnemonic device can be found in the Cambridge Songbook, a compilation of songs and hymns from the fourteenth century. In it is a song listing the voces animantium, that is, animals and the Latin verbs for their respective sounds. Its function was surely to help pupils memorize a new and somewhat obscure set of Latin verbs: Elizabeth Leach, ‘Grammar and Music’, pp. 207-08. 87 In fact, promotion to the next vacant perpetual chaplaincy or living in the cathedral was considered to be a prerogative of the office of manicantant and was confirmed by the chapter on 8 February 1408 and again on 19 May 1418: A.D.R., 10 G 81, fol. 252 and 10 G 83, fol. 206 v. This resulted in uneven tenures for song masters, as some only had to wait a couple of years for a living to become available while others had to wait ten years or longer. 88 These were, respectively, Petrus Sorelli (1418), Andreas Serrati (1423), Cornelius Conti (1432), Humbertus de Chaffardon (1453), and Petrus de Chaffardon (1477). If this was the same Petrus de Chaffardon who was promoted to the diaconate in 1477, that would have meant he had served

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obtaining offices within Saint-Jean itself, as their training and experience was concentrated on preparing them for functions there. They were, in a way, career men within the cathedral and they had no intention of leaving. Only once in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries did a manicantant leave the position to pursue a profession outside the cathedral rather than having been promoted within the community. This was the case of Johannes de Fosses, who left his post as song master in order to attend a studium generale after less than three years.89 The later promotion of manicantants should not be taken as a sign of the importance of the role itself – skilled though it was – within the hierarchy of the cathedral. At Saint-Jean, the manicantant’s days were entirely taken up with his teaching and supervisory responsibilities. The teaching load was heavy, with a multitude of psalms, antiphons, hymns, and so on to be learned – not to mention different masses that had to be sung on different occasions.90 The choirboys were rarely left to their own devices.91 It is clear that it fell to the manicantant to watch over them most of the time to the point where he usually lodged with them wherever they were.92 These responsibilities would have meant that he would not have had the time to pursue personal study or to take on other administrative tasks (like the vicemagister acting as executor) in order to increase his standing within the cathedral. Those pursuits had to wait until his promotion out of the school. However, the privilege of examining and assessing choirboys and presenting them to the chapter was the manicantant’s.93 His recommendations were followed since he was the expert on which child was suitable for strenuous musical training.94 This could have led to the manicantant becoming a kind of patron as manicantant since 1463, a total of fifteen years. The proceedings of the chapter do indicate that Pierre had taught song for a particularly long time – ‘pro longo tempore’: A.D.R., 10 G 99, fol. 37. 89 De Fosses was appointed in October 1432. At this time, it was particularly noted that he knew grammar and could write well, indicating that perhaps he taught both singing and grammar: A.D.R., 10 G 87, fol. 55. He was granted permission to leave in July 1435: A.D.R., 10 G 87, fol. 178. 90 On 12 July 1370, the chapter ordered that the choirboys should prepare the mass of the Cross and the mass of Saint Mary in time for feast days occurring in September: A.D.R. 10 G 76, fol. 115. 91 Indeed, medieval choirboys were supposed to be constantly supervised by their teachers: Gerson, ‘Pro pueris’, IX, 687. 92 In July 1477, the choirboys, along with the song master, were to board with Mathieu Robertus: A.D.R., 10 G 97, fol. 277 v. 93 The chapter was the final authority on who could join the choir. However, at certain times, this privilege was granted to others. For example, in April 1376, the chapter gave the dean of the cathedral the right to name candidates to the choir: A.D.R., 10 G 77, fol. 21 94 Most receptions of new choirboys in the proceedings of the chapter were accompanied by the phrase ad relacionem manicantantis. For examples see A.D.R., 10 G 92, fol. 84 v. (July 1451) and 10 G 94, fol. 7 v. (June 1459).

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for boys who had been successful candidates, as well as giving him ample opportunity for contact with the canons who had to approve his decisions. The position, though relatively lowly even in the school’s own hierarchy, was a desirable one for its potential to advance a cleric’s career after he had served his time as manicantant. The role of grammar master in the cathedral of Saint-Jean, on the other hand, was less stable and less prestigious. This was in line with practice at other choir schools in France, where thorough instruction in the Latin language took second place to musical education and performance as part of the liturgy.95 The necessity of the presence of a song master meant that the post of grammar master was often considered dispensable or, when both posts were occupied, the song master took a kind of precedence over his colleague.96 At the cathedral in Lyon, the post appears to have been frequently left vacant. The chapter ordered that there should be a grammar master and a manicantant in 1362, but the grammarian’s post in the school had to be re-established several times during the succeeding 80 years.97 The first named person appointed as magister clericulorum in grammaticaliis was Petrus, in June 1374.98 The next time that the position was filled was by Petrus Girodi in June 1383.99 These represented two of only three named masters of grammar at Saint-Jean. There were other references, but these were mainly concerned with the need for or the lack of a grammarian rather than with the actual presence of one.100 95 This weighting of instruction in French choir schools in the fourteenth and f ifteenth centuries was a concern of contemporaries. Jean Gerson was clear that grammar education should not be neglected when he wrote: ‘Habeat ergo magister alius sufficiens spatium pro docendo grammaticam et logicam et versus’: Gerson, ‘Pro pueris’, IX, 687. Louis XI founded a course of grammar for the choristers of his chapter at the College of Navarre because he was worried that their time was too dominated by singing: Gabriel, ‘Preparatory Teaching’, 100, n. 21. 96 This was certainly the case at Chartres, where the grammar master lost prestige to the song master. Before the latter half of the fifteenth century, the position of grammar master was usually associated with the role of head teacher of the choir school there, with some involvement with schooling in the surrounding town. In 1484, the song master gained the upper hand and became headmaster: Clerval, Les Écoles de Chartres, pp. 59–65. 97 A.D.R., 10 G 76, fol. 15 v. The first reference to a grammarian at Lyon was around 1201 when one Johannes, grammaticus, was listed as a witness to the will of Hugues de Talaru. While it is likely that this referred to a grammar teacher, it is not definite. Neither is it clear that Johannes would have taught elementary or secondary Latin grammar to the boys at the cathedral: O.L.E., p. 185. 98 A.D.R., 10 G 76, fol. 162 v. His surname is given as Drevôt in an eighteenth-century document: A.D.R., 10 G 45, p. 157. 99 A.D.R., 10 G 78, fol. 128. 100 The chapter stated in 1394, in its agreement with Johannes Chalendati regarding the organization and f inancing of the school, that Chalendati needed to maintain a grammar

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There were three possible reasons why the position of grammar master may have been left largely empty at the cathedral. Firstly, it may not have been financially possible to fill. As stated in the agreement between the chapter and Johannes Chalendati in 1394, provisions for the pay and upkeep of the vicemagister, manicantant, grammar master, prefect and at least twelve choirboys came out of one budget of money and wheat.101 This budget does not appear to have been expanded during the first half of the fifteenth century, and later references (of the boys being farmed out to other cathedral officials to be cared for) suggest that the financial health of the school was not robust. Secondly, the manicantant and the vicemagister may have taken on the duty of instructing the boys in grammar. Both would have been literate in Latin, enough certainly to provide sufficient tuition. In October 1432, Johannes Defossess was appointed manicantant. It was noted that ‘est bonus grammaticus et bene scribit’.102 This strongly implied that Defossess would be able to teach Latin to his charges without the need to employ another.103 Doubling up duties, therefore, was considered acceptable. Thirdly, the cathedral was not completely isolated from the ‘market forces’ of the city that surrounded it. There was more demand for grammar teachers in the wider community, and many may have found better-paid opportunities beyond the rigours of the cloister.104 For example, the only instance of a teacher directly negotiating a contract with the chapter of Saint-Jean was that of a grammar master, Symondus, in November 1445. 105 There were other places to teach Latin and that put Symondus in a position where he could ask for a certain level of pay. This was in contrast with the manicantant who had arisen out of the choir and who was trained in the customs of the cathedral of Saint-Jean, and it alone. Immersion in these

master. However, the post was not mentioned again until June 1431 when the post was ‘founded’ again: A.D.R., 10 G 86, fol. 108. In December 1439, precentor reported the lack of a grammar teacher to the chapter, who asked that payment to the school officers be withheld unless one was appointed. This was delayed until the following month: A.D.R., 10 G 88, fol. 167. There was still no grammar master in November 1442, and the chapter again ordered one to be retained: A.D.R., 10 G 88, fol. 297 and v. 101 See Appendix I. 102 A.D.R., 10 G 87, fol. 55. 103 The lack of a grammar teacher must have been weighing on the minds of the chapter: Defossess’s appointment came a year after the chapter yet again re-instituted the position: A.D.R., 10 G 86, fol. 108. 104 Clerval, Les Écoles de Chartres, p. 359. 105 A.D.R., 10 G 90, fol. 122 v.

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customs was a key skill of the song master but it meant that he was bound to Saint-Jean.106 The grammar master was not a fixture at the choir school of Saint-Jean. Others within the community and among the officers of the school were able to teach grammar to the boys, and probably did so. Those who were grammar masters, as opposed to song masters, had a greater choice of situations. The standing of the grammar master within the hierarchy of the school of Saint-Jean was, therefore, ambiguous. They were not as valuable to the cathedral as the manicantant but, at the same time, their skills – in Latin teaching rather than liturgy and singing – made them desirable to a range of employers with whom the cathedral could not always compete. *** There is little evidence to imply that the relative stability and career progression that were available in the cathedral school of Saint-Jean were also features of teaching in the wider city of Lyon. Nevertheless, there was a type of loose hierarchy, based mostly on the economic success of individual teachers but also on the connections teachers had with the municipal authorities and what subjects they taught. The economic status of Lyonnais teachers will be discussed in the next section, and so the focus here will be on non-financial factors that affected how schoolmasters and mistresses were viewed by the society in which they operated.107 Teachers who appeared to be well respected and relatively comfortable tended to be those who were associated with or patronized by the municipal council. Some were, no doubt, teaching the children of councillors, and gained prestige and valuable connections as a result of instructing the city’s elite.108 Many of these teachers had been given grants of money in order to assist them paying the rent on their school buildings or towards other, everyday expenses. These payments required a teacher’s presence at council meetings, as well his involvement in the signing of contracts and receipts. These activities meant that the masters in question did business with the city’s government and, in a way, were part of the administrative 106 Only Johannes Defossess, the manicantant who knew grammar well, left the cathedral to further his career. In July 1435, he was given permission to attend a studium generale: A.D.R., 10 G 87, fol. 178. 107 A good discussion on how teachers, especially grammar teachers, were perceived in late medieval England can be found in Moran Cruz, The Growth of English Schooling, pp. 71–82. 108 We know that the school where Henri Valluphin and Jose Badius worked was heavily patronized by the sons of the elite. See Chapter Three, pp. 149–50.

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organs of the city. The council was willing to expend time and money on hiring and maintaining the teachers that it had chosen. The best example of this was the communal government’s efforts in 1401 to lure masters from other towns, some of whom were clearly already bound by contract to stay where they were.109 Another less overt example of conciliar patronage and its attendant respect was that of master Drogo, maistre d’escole, who appeared as a substantial tax payer in both 1426 and 1429, and who also was listed as being in attendance at council meetings on 10 January and 13 February 1422.110 He was not a councillor, but he may have been there in the capacity of a petitioner, perhaps seeking permission to hold a school. His presence at council meetings and his later affluence suggests that he was a respectable citizen in the eyes of the municipal government. Such men may also have been considered public servants, as they were in Italy where they received a salary.111 At least four of the masters supported by the municipal council were also masters in Arts, which added to their prestige and their standing in the community. Jehan de la Font, who received money from the city fathers in 1456, was referred to in municipal archives, as ‘mestre en ars et recteur des escolles deladitte ville’.112 The association between these types of master, well educated and university trained, and the town was mutually beneficial. The town employed – or attempted to employ – the best teachers available. This gave the city of Lyon a certain reputation as a place of learning, whose citizens (that is, its leading citizens who sat on the city council) were instructed by the best masters. In turn, those teachers who had been granted the favour (both official and unofficial) of the municipal government were seen as important members of the urban community, holding large houses (financed by the city) and teaching pupils from the town’s elite. Many of the independent masters and mistresses, however, do not appear to have been held with the same respect or to have had the same connections to those in power. They did not emerge as attendants or petitioners in the deliberations of the municipal 109 The first case involved the council paying the rector of the schools of Lyon to go to Dijon to find an assistant teacher. The second case involved the council attempting to negotiate with the scolasticus of Embrun to release a teacher from his contract. It is clear that these negotiations were not successful as the councillors later appear to be bribing the same master to leave his position: A.M.L., CC 385, book 10, fols. 13, 14 v., and 24. 110 Registres consulaires de la ville de Lyon, I, pp. 351 and 359. 111 Grendler, Schooling in Renaissance Italy, pp. 13–15 and Black, Education and Society in Tuscany, pp. 385–401. 112 A.M.L., CC 402, piece 1 and 1 v.

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councils, and they were not party to contracts with the city’s government. Their existence is attested by their appearance in tax rolls and in surveys of property, where they were tenants rather than owners. The factor that differentiated these two groups of teachers was their respective relationship and contact with the municipal council. Another factor that set some teachers apart from others was the subject that they taught in their schools. The practice of ascribing a value to a particular course of study was common in the Middle Ages and is best demonstrated by the intricate pricing contracts that were used in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Italy.113 Pupils paid the least for elementary subjects, such as being taught the alphabet and the syllables, and they paid the most for courses like advanced Latin grammar and introduction to rhetoric.114 There are no contracts of this type surviving from Lyon, but it is clear that contemporaries made a distinction between those who were described as maistres d’escoles and those who were maistres d’escripture. It is uncertain what was meant by the term ‘writing master’. It is probable that it was simply someone who taught pupils the technical skill of writing. It is also possible, however, that it entailed some instruction in drawing up documents, such as letters and contracts, and that it was a subject connected to the ars dictaminis. The ars dictaminis was an advanced subject that was available to those who wished to become notaries and administrators. Apart from learning to write formal letters, it involved gaining knowledge of law and legal jargon and forms, and would have required a good level of Latin.115 For example, Etienne Villefranche was listed as a maistre d’argorisime in 1499, as a maistre des chiffres in 1512 and as a maistre d’escripture in 1515–1516.116 While it was possible that he had begun to teach a different subject, it was more likely that he had always offered arithmetic and writing together, possibly in the vernacular. Based on the references to other maistres d’escripture in Lyon, however, the subject that they offered was not highly regarded. 113 Grendler, Schooling in Renaissance Italy, pp. 17-18. 114 In 1386, the commune of Chioggia in the Veneto drew up a contract with its new communal schoolmaster, Christoforo Dente. He was allowed to charge, per year, 40 solidi pro pueris a tabula usque ad Donatum (alphabet/learning to read), one ducat pro illis de Donato usque donec erunt de latino (elementary Latin grammar), 6 livres pro quibus erunt de latino (intermediate Latin) and 2 ducats for those who were advanced and were reading Virgil, Lucan, Terence, and so on: Grendler, Schooling in Renaissance Italy, p. 17. 115 Learning from a master who taught the ars dictaminis was usually something that happened at the end of grammar school. See Orme, Medieval Schools, pp. 68–73 for English examples. See also Camargo, Ars Dictaminis, Ars Dictandi. 116 A.M.L., CC 107, fol. 124; CC 116, fol. 46 and CC 24, fol. 26 v.

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The first mention of a maistre d’escripture in the municipal archives of Lyon was that of maistre Henry l’escripvant, maistre d’escoles in 1429.117 This was the only time that a teacher who appears to have taught writing was granted the title maistre d’escoles in the archives of Lyon.118 The deliberations of the municipal council in 1477 suggest that the activity of teaching writing to children was not highly regarded. Likewise, [the councillors] forgive and return to master Jehan Hanpenille, scribe, the tax to which he has been subject and imposed in poll-taxes (tailles) that Jacques Roctry levies, attending to and considering that he has little or no property and that he is not involved in anything, only teaching children how to write.119

Jehan Hanpenille was excused from paying taxes because he was without property and his only occupation was teaching children how to write. It is clear from the last section that the councillors did not think very highly of the profession of writing teacher.120 This attitude led to a careful differentiation between maistres d’escole and maistre d’escripture that was not at all based on the difference that often occurred between the income of these two sets of teachers. For instance, in the property records for 1493, two teachers appear: one of whom, Jehan de Lanoe, paid 20 livres in rent per year, while the other, Pierre Fidit, paid 6 livres in rent per year.121 While the level of rent paid is a rough indication of affluence, it appears that de Lanoe was doing much better financially than Fidit. Fidit, however, was granted the title maistre d’yscolle. The scribes had initially recorded de Lanoe as a maistre d’escole as well, but this had been crossed out and maistre d’escripture had been written above it. Despite the fact that Fidit and de Lanoe were both teachers, and despite de Lanoe’s apparent material success, they were not both considered to be masters of a school in the same sense. This inequality was, no doubt, the 117 A.M.L., CC 67, fols. 87 and70. 118 Henry (or Henri) was far less affluent than the other teacher listed in the same years, as he was paying a quarter the amount that master Drogo was paying in taxes: A.M.L., CC 67, fols. 73 and 91. 119 ‘Semblabhemet ont donne quicte et renus a maistre Jehan Hanpenille escripvain l’impost a quoy il a este mis et impose es tailles que lieve Jaques Roctry, actuendu et considere qu’il n’a aucuns biens ou bien peu et qu’il ne se meslesois suelement le aprendre les enfans a escripre’: A.M.L., BB 16, fol. 29 v. 120 This reference led René Fédou to describe escripvains who taught writing to children as ‘poor wretches’: Fédou, Les Hommes de loi, p. 296. 121 A.M.L., CC 5, fols. 86 and 59 v.

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product of the greater availability of elementary education in late medieval France and beyond. While Latin was still the elite language of administration and government, it was being supplanted by the vernacular. In Lyon, for example, the documents relating to the municipal council are almost entirely in Middle French, with some notations and phrases in Latin.122 While Latin maintained its importance owing to its usage by the Church, in much of the apparatus of the State, and in certain intellectual pursuits, it was no longer necessary to be fluent in Latin in order to be thought literate.123 Latin instruction, therefore, was delivered by a fully titled maistre d’escole or magister scolarum, while other forms of instruction focusing on more practical skills such as writing and arithmetic, perhaps presented in the local vernacular, did not merit the sobriquet. The archives of the city of Lyon attest to the existence of this differentiation – and to the concept of a hierarchy of school subjects. There were, therefore, several non-economic factors that affected how teachers were perceived by their contemporaries in late medieval Lyon. These included association with the municipal government and the subjects that they taught. In addition to these was experience, which was particularly valued in the cathedral’s choir school. One could even go so far as to describe the experience valued in the cathedral as immersion in its customs and own particular liturgy. These factors demonstrate the following points. Firstly, patronage by an established authority, be that by the Church or by the city, meant that a teacher was part of that authority and part of the organization of the community. Secondly, people in the late Middle Ages were intellectually biased and discriminated between different subjects and the masters who taught them. This happened at the level of elementary and grammar education and thus formed a pedagogical hierarchy in the minds of the community. The standing of the teacher was affected by these factors. If a teacher taught the children of the civic fathers Latin grammar in a house subsidized by the town council, he would have been a man of note. If he taught writing to whichever child could pay, and if he relied solely on that income, he would not have been ranked alongside masters teaching Latin. *** 122 In 1482, maistre Leonard Baronat was taxed 28 livres tournois. A side note in Latin reads: ‘Moratur a[d] Paris et est magister scriptor’: A.M.L., CC 103, fol. 15. 123 For a discussion on the relationship between the concepts of literatus and illiteratus and Latin, see Clanchy, From Memory to Written Record, pp. 228–37.

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Much of the worthiness of individual teachers was reflected in their value in economic terms. Masters who taught grammar and who were associated, even on an informal basis, with the municipal council appear to have been relatively comfortable. The upper echelons of the cathedral school also appear to have been well-off, and there were always opportunities for those lower down the choir school’s hierarchy to advance to benefices or gain from generous wills. At the opposite end of the scale, many of the independent masters who proliferated in fifteenth-century Lyon were of limited means. They paid small amounts of taxes (without any obvious relief from the authorities) and they lived in cheaper accommodation. This range in the economic status of teachers not only demonstrates that some masters were successful financially and others were much less successful but also suggests that basic schooling was widely available for a reasonable price. Richer masters had wealthier pupils, able to pay more in order to gain access to a teacher who was a master in arts or to study more advanced Latin literature. Poorer masters had less affluent pupils, who could often pay only enough to learn the rudiments. The presence of poor masters and their poor pupils indicates that some level of education was desirable to parents from labouring and semi-skilled backgrounds, either as a means to progress in society or simply because of the rise of literacy.124 The relative economic status of teachers not only reveals the affluence or poverty of individual educators and how they were valued in economic terms but also the affluence or poverty of their pupils. The richest teachers recorded as being active in Lyon were the cathedral of Saint-Jean’s magistri puerorum in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. About 1170, Petrus Ruffus, magister puerorum, left 1000 solidi and a silver cup with spoon to the chapel of St. Stephen at Saint-Jean.125 In 1226, Guillelmus de Sancta Columba – who was described as both magister puerorum and magister chori in separate references – left 60 livres, 50 solidi and one silver mark in total to the cathedral and its chapels.126 These were substantial 124 The moral imperative was also strong. Since elementary instruction usually focused on memorizing and reading prayers and psalms, recipients could participate more freely with the religious life of their community. Further endeavours in reading could be directed towards devotional works that were beginning to circulate more cheaply in the fifteenth century. 125 ‘Et Petrus Rufus [Pierre Roux], magister puerorum, qui dedit Sancto Stephano pro anniversario suo honorifice faciendo mille solidos et cyphum argentum cum cocleari’: O.L.E., p. 149. 126 ‘Et Villelmus de Sancta Columba bonae memoriae, magister puerorum, qui dedit lx libras [pro] anniversario suo; operi ecclesiae centum solidos; majori eleemosinae et minori unicumque L solidos; et ad capsam Sancti Stephani unam marcam argenti; et in acquisitionem de Riorter quingentes solidos dedit’: O.L.E., p. 170. Guillaume appeared three times in the obituary of Saint-Jean as a witness to various wills.

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bequests and they suggest that, at least at this early date, the upper echelons of the cathedral school were men of significant personal wealth. This was certainly true in the case of the scolasticus who was a canon. It is unlikely that these sums were earned as part of their duties in the school, but such responsibilities may have been rewarded with benefices. The legacies may also indicate that wealthy individuals did not believe that undertaking pedagogical activity in the choir school was beneath their notice. Later teachers at the school – such as vicemagistri, manicantants and grammar masters – do not appear to have been in possession of this level of wealth. There were opportunities for financial gain, however. The vicemagistri sometimes served as executors of prominent members of the cathedral community, and thus were themselves the beneficiaries of these wills. For example, twice in 1348 the vicemagister was charged with dividing and distributing bequests among the chaplains, clerics and choirboys.127 This may have provided them with additional income.128 The salaries of masters in the cathedral school were never mentioned, with one exception. Instead, the vicemagister received substantial payments in money and barrels of grain that were intended to cover the costs of running the entire choir school, including the needs of the teachers that he employed and, presumably, his own needs. In November 1367, the vicemagister was given 54 barrels of grain and 100 gold florins.129 This was used to provide food, clothing and housing for the choirboys, as well as their bedding, fuel for heating, and any academic supplies (for example slates). In addition to these expenses, a grammar master had to be employed using money from the same budget. In the agreement concerning the choirboys drawn up in 1394, Johannes (Jean) Chalendati, magister scolarum, was commanded to ‘hold and keep mutually two masters for the instruction of said choirboys, namely one in grammar and the other in song to whom the said master Jean will furnish enough provisions according to this status’.130 In order to run the entire school, provisions and payment of the teachers 127 The vicemagister acted as the distributor of several legacies in the wills of Andreas Beguine, perpetual chaplain, and Humbertus Baconeri, doctor in decretals: O.L.E., pp. 90–91 and 101. 128 In the will of Andreas Beguine, the vicemagister was instructed to distribute several amounts to various groups in the cathedral. In particular, he was granted 10 solidi viennensium (‘debeant et teneantur tradere et deliberare vice magistro chori dicte ecclesie decem solidos viennensium anno quolibet in perpetuum die obitus sui’). This may have been for distribution as well but, unlike elsewhere, there was no breakdown of who should get what, and the vicemagister may have retained part or all of this amount for himself: O.L.E., pp. 90–91. 129 A.D.R., 10 G 76, fol. 76. 130 See Appendix I.

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included, Chalendati was given 60 florins and ‘54 ass-loads of wheat from the grain of the great alms-giving’.131 There was no indication of exactly what the teachers would have received for their services out of the total budget. The phrase ‘ministrabit victualia satis honorifica secundum eorum statum’ suggests that the masters had certain expectations of what they should be given, but the reference is too vague.132 The statute does go so far as to state that the teachers would get an actual salary beyond their board and lodging in the cathedral.133 Only once do the proceedings of the chapter of Saint-Jean mention the payment of specific wages to an individual master. In November 1445, master Symondus was to receive 12 florins in his first year with the expectation of yearly increments thereafter in order to teach grammar to the choirboys and clerks of the cathedral.134 This was about the equivalent of 360 solidi tournois. This wage level did not compare well with that earned by others. For example, in fifteenth-century Forez, just west of Lyon, a master mason or master carpenter could earn 30 to 45 deniers tournois on a daily basis. If he worked a total of 250 days per year – allowing for Sundays, holidays and other factors that would have prevented working (such as the weather) – he could have made over 750 solidi tournois. While this is an estimate, it demonstrates that the grammar teacher of Saint-Jean was not a high earner. Symondus, however, may have lived at the expense of the cathedral school like other masters before and after him. This would have represented a measurable saving on food and lodgings in the growing city of Lyon. He may not have had dependants, whereas the master craftsman may have had a household, including family and apprentices, to maintain. Nevertheless, despite this single reference to a salaried teacher at the choir school, the job of teacher – the manicantant in particular – was not lucrative and was probably remunerated in kind rather than by means of a regular wage. A master who did not receive money for his efforts had to rely on the institution for preferment.135 This is perhaps why the cathedral 131 A. D. R., 10 G 79, fol. 80 v. 132 See Appendix I. 133 This system of payment differs from that at Chartres where each master was paid a set salary each year. In 1345, a teacher in the choir school received an annual salary of between 10 and 12 livres tournois. This was in addition to payments for performing in the choir itself, which could amount to 6 deniers per day. Provisions for the upkeep of the choirboys were paid separately: Clerval, Les Écoles de Chartres, pp. 361–62. 134 A.D.R., 10 G 90, fol. 122 v. 135 This is demonstrated by the gift of benefices to manicantants who had taught the choirboys for a lengthy period of time.

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found it so difficult to keep the post of grammar teacher filled: qualified grammarians could find better terms of employment elsewhere. The financial situation of teachers in the wider city of Lyon was highly varied. While they would have received payment, usually from their pupils themselves in the form of fees – and were thus more at liberty than their colleagues in the cathedral – they were exposed to the vicissitudes of a market economy. The wealth or poverty of schoolmasters and mistresses in Lyon can be roughly gauged by two means: the taxes that teachers paid and the property that they held, either as owners or as tenants. However, both of these had external factors that could have affected the veracity of the information presented. Firstly, tax exemptions were occasionally given by the municipal government and may not have been expressed as fully in the tax rolls, as in the case of Pierre Andre in 1477: ‘Nichil quia magister scolarum’.136 If a teacher was exempt from paying taxes, he may not have appeared in the records at all.137 Secondly, the high value of some of the property held by teachers may have been affected by the availability of municipal subsidies.138 Nevertheless, these sources do indicate the relative wealth of medieval Lyonnais teachers. The wealthiest teachers who appear in the municipal archives of Lyon were invariably those who were associated with the communal authorities of the city. Almost certainly, they were the masters who offered more advanced courses in Latin to the sons of the urban elite. In turn, they would have been able to charge higher fees, as well as receiving some level of subsidies from their pupils’ powerful fathers. An example of this was schoolmaster Drogo, who appeared in tax rolls from the late 1420s. In 1426, Drogo paid 20 sols,139 and in 1429 he paid 15 sols.140 He was paying at least 10 sols more in 136 A.M.L., CC 97, fol. 24 v. 137 As discussed in Chapter One, pp. 58 and 60, many teachers received tax exemptions as a mark of favour from the municipal council. Such exemptions were also a feature of the Theodosian code where masters of grammar and rhetoric were released from paying civic taxes and tolls. ‘The Emperor Constantine Augustus to Volusianus, We ordain that doctors, grammarians and other professors of letters, and the goods which they possess in their cities, shall be exempt from taxation and shall have the honours due to their functions’: Later Roman Education in Ausionus, Capella and the Theodosian Code, trans. by Cole, p. 29. It is not clear if medieval cities were directly referencing this code when they gave such privileges to teachers or if it was simply a coincidence: a case of different societies attempting to attract and retain schoolmasters. 138 For example, in 1481, Jehan, rector of the schools of the town, received a large payment towards the rent of a large house called ‘La Coronne’. The deliberations of the council gave the sum as 100 sols viennois, while the receipt for the payment was for 5 livres tournois: A.M.L., BB 352 (1 July 1481) and CC 486, piece 6. 139 ‘Maistre Drogo […] xx sols’: A.M.L., CC 67, fol. 91. 140 ‘Maistre Drogo, maistre d’escole […] xv sols’: A.M.L., CC 67 fol. 73. This reduction appears in all the tax contributions in 1429 and was not associated with an exemption given because

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taxes than his neighbours, most of whom were weavers (tissants) or furriers (pelletiers). For example, Clunier le Boytoux, tailor, paid 5 sols in 1429, while Juneta de Myners, also a tailor, paid 2 sols 6 deniers. Apart from the obvious fact that Drogo lived in the cloth-manufacturing district of Lyon, he was also the wealthiest resident in his street based on his tax contributions. He may have acted as teacher to the children of his cloth-working neighbours, but his finances suggest that his classroom was patronized by the sons of leading citizens. His taxes were comparable with those levied on a salaried official, the gaoler of Roanne.141 Maistre Drogo was almost certainly the same Maistre Drogue who frequented meetings of the municipal council in the early 1420s.142 This connection with the communal authority, along with his tax contributions, indicates that Drogo was a successful teacher with high-paying pupils. Drogo’s situation can be directly compared to another teacher mentioned in the same tax rolls in the same years. In 1426, master Henry paid 5 sols,143 and in 1429 he paid 3 sols 6 deniers.144 He was quite poor in contrast to Drogo, and his taxes were some of the lowest in his neighbourhood. He was paying roughly the same amount as weavers who lived nearby. Only one Denis, who appears to have been listed as a mondier (beggar) and a grolier (someone who murmured), was paying less.145 If Henry taught writing, he probably received less in fees than even a schoolmaster who taught rudimentary Latin. The subject appeared to have lacked status in medieval Lyon. Literacy and the practice of passing on learning did not always spare teachers from a certain level of penury. Another barometer of the relative wealth of teachers was the property that they held. Schoolmasters appeared frequently in the Nommées ou dénombrement des biens meubles et immeubles possédés par les habitants de Lyon, which were, in effect, surveys of property owned or rented by the inhabitants of Lyon for the purpose of levying taxes. The records from 1493 are particularly useful as they preserve the living arrangements of four different teachers. At the top of this list, in terms of the value of the house in which he lived, was Pierre Andre, who owned a substantial house and

Drogo was operating a school. For example, Benoit Morel, listed in 1429 as the gaoler of Roanne, saw his tax bill go from 20 sols in 1426 to fifteen in 1429: A.M.L., CC 67, fols. 70 and 87. 141 A.M.L., CC 67, fols. 70 and 87. 142 Registres de la ville de Lyon, I, pp. 351 and 359. 143 ‘Maistre Henry, le escripvain […] v sols’: A.M.L., CC 67, fol. 87. 144 ‘Maistre Henry, l’escripvant, maistre d’escoles […] iii sols vi deniers’: A.M.L., CC 67, fol. 70. 145 A.M.L., CC 67, fol. 70.

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garden near the church of Saint-Paul. It was worth 40 livres per year.146 Next was Jehan de Lanoe, master of writing, who rented an entire house for 20 livres per year.147 Then there was Pierre Fidit, schoolmaster, who rented part of a house from a notary for 9 livres per year.148 Finally, Michel Bertier, a merchant cobbler, rented part of his house to an unnamed mistress of a school for girls for 5 livres per year.149 Keeping in mind that all of the above may have used their accommodation as both residence and classroom, even in the case of the mistress, a comparison of these rents tells a great deal about the economic status of these individuals.150 Andre had been a teacher in Lyon since at least the 1470s. Though he was nearing the end of his career (his heirs, rather than he himself, are mentioned in 1503), his ownership of a house with a garden indicated that he had done well financially.151 Jehan de Lanoe also appeared to be doing well – despite his demotion in the records from maistre d’escoles to maistre d’escripture – because he was able to rent an entire house. A career as a writing master had become more lucrative, probably in response to the growing need for scribal staff.152 Pierre Fidit, though considered a ‘proper’ schoolmaster, had much more modest lodgings. At the bottom of this list, in terms of value of residence, was the schoolmistress, one of only two mentioned in the archives of Lyon. Her lodgings were the cheapest and were probably the smallest, given that she shared a house with at least four other people, including a pin maker (espinolier). It was likely that she would have had female pupils only.153 Usually, girls who were sent to school were expected to acquire only the basics of reading, namely the alphabet, syllables, and the ability to read – or at least recite – some prayers and 146 A.M.L., CC 4, fol. 75. Andre had received a tax exemption in 1478 owing to his occupation as a schoolmaster. It is unclear whether he was relatively poor in 1478 and had become successful by the 1490s, or whether the exemption had been a mark of favour from the municipal council. 147 A.M.L., CC 5, fol. 86. 148 A.M.L., CC 5, fol. 59 v. 149 A.M.L., CC 4, fols. 31 v. and 32. 150 Even teachers who had access only to the room where they slept would hold classes there. Guibert of Nogent recalled having being instructed in the same chamber where his tutor (who he felt was a lacklustre teacher) had his bed: Guibert of Nogent, Self and Society, pp. 46–47. 151 A.M.L., CC 111, fol. 47 v. 152 This growing economic status of writing masters is reflected by others in the years succeeding de Lanoe’s appearance in the archives. Etienne Villefranche, master of writing and arithmetic, was mentioned as paying substantial sums in taxes between 1499 and 1516, and by 1516 was in possession of a large house on the Rue Neuve worth 32 livres per year: A.M.L., CC 24, fol. 26 v. 153 In the rules for teachers in Paris in 1381, men were to teach boys only and women were to teach girls only: C.U.P., III, 52.

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psalms.154 These subjects would have been likely to cost the least and, if the number of pupils was small, would not have returned a large profit. The examples of teachers in Lyon point to sharp financial contrasts between individual masters. Since different subjects were weighted differently by prospective pupils and their parents, different sets of fees were applied. Pupils from more affluent backgrounds usually wished to study higher-status subjects. Their teachers were able, therefore, to charge more (for more advanced courses) and receive more (in the form of subsidies from powerful parents). The masters and mistresses who operated in the city of Lyon were at the mercy of market forces; and, for every teacher who appeared to be financially secure, there was another who was not. The most stable teaching position in the city, the song master of Saint-Jean, was probably the poorest as he may not have received any kind of salary. He worked towards the expectation of future preferment rather than concurrent monetary reward. The variations in the financial health of teachers in elementary and grammar schools in Lyon points to two trends in education in the late Middle Ages. Firstly, the increasing appreciation of learning by urban elites led to their willingness to employ and patronize suitable teachers who benefited in economic terms. Secondly, the growing desire and need for literacy among the lower levels of society encouraged a rise in the numbers of poorer teachers catering for these new pupils. Instruction, though widely available, changed according to the different socio-economic surroundings that it found itself in – and the financial standing of the teachers changed too. Case Study: Jose Badius Ascensius Reconstructing the career of a late medieval teacher is extremely difficult. Almost always, a schoolmaster or mistress is mentioned only once in the archives, as a tax payer or as the inhabitant of a particular property. Occasionally, secondary literature can lead the researcher on a futile path looking for a famous individual who may have taught in an elementary and grammar school. This is the case with Jean Gerson, one-time chancellor of the University of Paris, who was listed in several articles and monographs as instructing children at Saint-Paul during his retirement in Lyon in the 1420s.155 There is, however, no reference to Gerson acting in such a capac154 See Chapter Three, p. 127. 155 See Glorieux’s introduction to the complete works of Gerson, Oeuvres complètes, I. For a brief refutation of these claims, see McGuire, Jean Gerson, pp. 327–28.

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ity in any of the documentary sources despite the interest in elementary pedagogy that his writings suggest.156 Happily, there was another notable person for whom there is evidence of employment at a grammar school in Lyon. Jose Badius Ascensius (1462–1535) is best remembered as a printer, editor and writer active in Paris in the early sixteenth century. His output in this area was immense, and a 1908 bibliography of his works and publications compiled by Philippe Renouard ran to three volumes.157 He was an important figure in the history of early printing in Europe.158 However, he also appears to have worked as a teacher during the 1490s when he lived in Lyon. This case study will examine his education and career as well as his time in Lyon. Badius’s career was an international one. He was born in Ghent in 1462 and was educated there. According to Renouard, that instruction took place in a school run by the Brethren of the Common Life.159 However, the involvement of that community in providing actual schooling – as opposed to lodgings and boarding houses for boys who were, in fact, attending communal schools – has been possibly overstated by scholars.160 He may have attended the University of Leuven afterwards.161 As a young man, he went to Italy, where he finished his training as a man of letters under Battista Guarino at Ferrara and Filippo Beroaldo in Bologna.162 In all probability, the education that Badius had received was an excellent one, combining the fully developed late medieval curriculum in the Netherlands with the full force of the Renaissance approach to education. Schooling in the Netherlands was available to a very high standard. There is good evidence to suggest that, by the sixteenth century, a large proportion of the population there was literate in Dutch.163 Badius, however, who was clearly ambitious 156 This includes his entry in the obituary of Saint-Paul: A.D.R., 13 G 99, fol. 41–41 v. 157 Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius. 158 Even his personal life revolved around printing. He married the daughter of the printer he was associated with in Lyon, and three of his own daughters married printers: Bibliographie de Josse Badius Badius, I, 11–17. 159 Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, I, 5–6. 160 See Van Engen, Sisters and Brothers of the Common Life, pp. 144–51. 161 He refers later on to Leuven as ‘mater fuit mea’: Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, I, 8. 162 Filippo Beroaldo the Elder (1453-1505) spent most of his career as a professor of rhetoric and poetry at the University of Bologna. He was a prolific editor of classical authors, and his editions were published not only in Bologna and Venice but also in Leipzig, Paris, and Lyon. Dizionario biografico degli italiani [accessed 27 October 2015]. 163 For a full discussion of education in the Netherlands, see Post, Scholen en onderwijs in Nederland gedurende de Middeleeuwen; de Ridder-Symoens, ‘Education and Literacy in the Burgundian-Habsburg Netherlands’; and Willemsen, Back to the Schoolyard, pp. 22–28.

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and intelligent, did not stay in the Lowlands and continued his studies in Italy, most notably under Battista Guarino. Battista was the son of Guarino da Verona, the great Greek scholar and teacher at the court of Este at Ferrara. In 1459, Battista Guarino wrote a comprehensive programme of teaching and learning as well as continuing as a teacher.164 Jose Badius would have been more than able, therefore, to act as a teacher, and his education would have encouraged the idea that teaching was an honourable pursuit. James Wadsworth, in his work Lyons 1473-1503: The Beginnings of Cosmopolitanism, states that Badius arrived in Lyon in 1492 and worked with Henri Valluphin in the school associated with the church of SaintNizier.165 Wadsworth gives no justification for this claim. While there is good evidence in the municipal archives for Valluphin’s occupation as a teacher in the eastern part of the city, there is no evidence linking either Badius or Valluphin to Saint-Nizier.166 What proof there is that Badius was a teacher or that he was an associate of Valluphin comes from prefaces that Badius wrote during this period. It is clear that Badius had settled in Lyon by November 1492, as a work with prefaces by him was printed by the German Jean Trechsel on the fourteenth of that month.167 This work, the Sylvae morales, was a compilation, and its contents include some of the most popular texts used in late medieval grammar schools. For instance, Horace’s Odes dominated the selection and reflected a fashion for this particular text in Italian schoolbooks.168 It also contained excerpts from Virgil, Persius, Juvenal, Battista Mantovano (Baptista Mantuanus), Giovanni Sulpizio Verulano, the moralia Catonis, and Alain de Lille. This work, though undoubtedly expensive, may have been intended as a textbook. The subject matter ranges from auctores minores such as Cato and de Lille, used as introductions to Latin literature, to auctores maiores such as Virgil and Horace. Baptista Mantuanus, a contemporary writer favoured by schoolmasters whose work was taught in the schools of the Netherlands, was also included.169 Mantuanus (1447–1516, better known in English as ‘Mantuan’) 164 Humanist Educational Treatises, trans. and ed. by Kallendorf, pp. xiii. 165 Wadsworth, Lyons 1473–1503, pp. 42–44. 166 The surviving proceedings of the chapter of Saint-Nizier are fragmented for the 1490s. Henri Valluphin is mentioned three times in the municipal archives, twice in 1499 and once in 1514: A.M.L., CC 107, fol. 135; CC 538, fol. 45 v.–46 and CC 254 fol. 111. 167 Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, I, 9–10, II, 67. 168 Black, Humanism and Education, p. 246. 169 Rutger of Venray praised the school at ’s-Hertogenbosch for omitting ‘risky’ works by Ovid, Livy and Sallust from its curriculum yet including ‘modern’ writers like Baptista Mantuanus: Van Engen, Sisters and Brothers of the Common Life, p. 151.

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was a Carmelite friar and a noted author. In his youth, he wrote a noted selection of Latin eclogues, Adulescentia. They were fully published by the late 1480s and were apparently widely available in manuscript form in northern Italy, and Mantua in particular.170 If Badius was involved in a school in 1492, this work may have been a reaction to a lack of appropriate books for his pupils. Alternatively, Badius and Trechsel may have sought to exploit a teacher’s access to a schoolroom of potential customers (or rather their parents). Badius’s prefaces for the volume mentioned several identifiable residents of Lyon, including members of the cathedral of Saint-Jean, such as ‘Jacobus et Petrus de Sine Muro’, and dedications to all the officials, teachers, and pupils of that ‘blessed company and happy school’.171 He also wrote several smaller dedications to young men who appear to have been his pupils or students. De moribus mensarum, Carmen iuuenile Sulpitii (‘On table manners, a youthful poem of Sulpicius’) was dedicated to Clement de Aurilac, a member of a local noble family.172 Joannes Sulpicius Verulanus (Giovanni Sulpizio da Veroli, fl. 1470–1490) wrote a treatise on table manners, De moribus puerorum in mensa praecipue servandis, which was very popular as an elementary text and was sometimes attached to very late publications of the octo auctores.173] Moralia Catonis was dedicated to Humbert Fournier and François Paschet, and the Parabolas Alani was dedicated to Pierre Guillaume de Chaumont.174 All of these youths came from prominent Lyonnais families. The words that Badius chose to describe his students (discipulus, adolescentus) are of interest as they suggest that Clement, Humbert, François and Pierre were not pueri, perhaps twelve or fourteen years of age or more.175 It is unlikely that Badius, given his education and exposure to Latin literature, would have called a boy younger than that an adolescent. 170 Adulescentia: The Eclogues of Mantuan, trans. and ed. by Piepho, pp. xx–xxv. 171 ‘Nam ut seorsum vestra ornamenta percurram, quid tua, domine Jacobe, excellentia praestantius, quam archiepiscopus Lugdunensis, ecclesiae omnibus concomitum punctis plenoque suffragio, magni illius chori archicantorem totiusque gymnasia gymnasiarchum constituit. O beatum coetum, felixque gymnasium!’: Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, II, 68. 172 ‘Clementi Auriliaco discipulo suo dilectissimo’: Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, II, 67. 173 The work has been edited by Mario Martini as Il carme giovanile di Giovanni Sulpizio Verulano ‘De moribus puerorum in mensa servandis’. 174 ‘Humberto Fornerio et Fransisco Pascheto studiosis adolescentibus discipulis suis […] Petro Guilhelmo Calomontensi adolescenti studiosissimo’: Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, II, 67. For more on these pupils, see Chapter Three, pp. 149–50. 175 In the Isidorian scheme for the ages of man, adolescens was between the ages of 14 and 28: Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive originum, II, 11.2.2.

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This age range would also fit in to the probability that Badius was not an elementary teacher but instead a master who taught the more advanced texts that featured at the end of grammar schooling.176 However, some of the excerpts were from works, such as the Disticha Catonis, that were used by less advanced pupils. What is certain is that, in 1492, Badius viewed these young men as his students. The next preface that mentioned Badius’s role as a teacher in Lyon was published in November 1498, at the end of his stay in Lyon.177 It was dedicated to Henri Valluphin himself and described him in the most glowing terms: ‘Henrico Valuphino artium bonarum professori optimo: ac clarissimae Lugdunensium civitatis grammatico disertissimo et amico primario.’178 While this could have signalled that Badius was a friend and admirer of Valluphin, the first line of the preface underlines that this was a professional relationship: ‘Cum hisce diebus in ludo tuo lugdunensi, virorum praestantissime, Vergiliana bucolica accuratius interpretarer’.179 The phrase in ludo tuo indicates that Valluphin was the head teacher at the school, and Badius’s description of his own painstaking work on Virgil there goes further by suggesting that he was actually working in that school. This concurs with what is known about Valluphin from the municipal records. According to the tax rolls, he was financially comfortable.180 He also received funding and tax exemptions from the municipal council. These references point to the likelihood that he was the schoolmaster who was patronized and protected by the civic elite whose sons would have been his pupils. If Badius worked in such a school, he would have had pupils who came from wealthy backgrounds; just like those to whom he dedicated his Sylvae morales in 1492. Valluphin’s school would have been the natural place for Badius to supplement his income as a printer and writer. In a classroom full of bourgeois youths, many of whose families had connections in Italy, there was demand for his approach to Latin literature – and perhaps his commentaries on classical authors. After Badius left for Paris permanently in 1499, there is no evidence that he continued to work as a teacher. He continued to think highly of Valluphin and was still in contact with students in Lyon, as his preface to a collection of 176 According to a preface written in 1499, Badius taught for a while at the university at Valence before moving to Lyon: Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, III, 146. 177 Badius was fully resident in Paris by 1499. 178 Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, II, 535. 179 Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, II, 536. 180 For a discussion of Valluphin’s apparent relationship with the municipal government, see Chapter One, pp. 61–62.

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works by Horace demonstrates. In it, Valluphin was held up as an example of good education and morals to a group of Lyonnais students.181 Badius’s activity as a teacher, albeit a teacher at the more advanced end of the grammar curriculum, is indicative of a certain pedagogical atmosphere in Lyon. A well-trained and well-travelled teacher could find work there, instructing the sons of the city’s elite. He could also engage in other intellectual pursuits such as printing and writing. Badius’s status demonstrated the important position some teachers could find themselves in at the centre of a city’s scholarly life, well connected and respected. *** Teachers played many roles in late medieval Lyon. Some, such as Jose Badius or Johannes de la Font, were esteemed educators, mestre en ars. They enjoyed the patronage of the municipal council and taught the children of the urban elites, or they benefited from steady employment and advancement in the cathedral school. Others, like Jehan de Lanoe, were refused the honour of the title of maistre d’escole, despite apparent financial success in their profession. Beyond those were the poorer masters and mistresses who lived in limited circumstances, teaching young children their alphabet and prayers. The archives of Lyon draw attention to the fact that there was no one ‘type’ of teacher in late medieval Lyon. They were found at all levels of society, where their presence suggested that the community as a whole valued instruction and wished to obtain it for their offspring. Teachers fitted into the dynamics of the society around them, responding to the demand for their services from the poorer sort of child who could only afford to learn the rudiments, to the son of a merchant prince wanting to immerse himself in classical literature. Teachers, therefore, had become an intrinsic part of the urban experience in late medieval Lyon.

181 Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, II, p. 497.

3

Pupils in Lyon

This chapter will discuss a more challenging aspect (in terms of consistency of source material) of late medieval education: the children who attended school. In Lyon, the archival sources present an incomplete picture of pupils. This is a widespread problem with the study of the history of children before the twentieth century. Shulamith Shahar admits that she used prescriptive literature – much in the same vein as the treatises referred to throughout this book – in order to put together her work, Childhood in the Middle Ages. Barbara Hanawalt’s Growing Up in Medieval London: The Experience of Childhood in History relies heavily on books of courtesy (another form of prescriptive literature) but also on the reports of coroners, guardianship arrangements and contracts of apprenticeship. 1 Even Nicholas Orme’s examination of the historical record turns up few specific references to named pupils in English schools and is forced to rely on incidents of literacy amongst non-nobles in order to discuss the education of townspeople and peasants.2 Very few individual children were named in the documents as being at school.3 The richest sources of information, the tax rolls and surveys of property, did not mention children whatsoever. The proceedings of the chapter of Saint-Jean sometimes recorded the names of boys who entered the choir there – and therefore the school – but this practice was not consistent. Furthermore, boys who were given permission to leave the cathedral in order to attend schools in the city were usually anonymous. The same variability exists in the proceedings of Saint-Nizier and Saint-Paul. These irregularities do not allow for the construction of a well-formed prosopography of medieval Lyonnais schoolchildren. Instead, the focus must be on what can be gleamed of the general experience of pupils in elementary and grammar schools in late medieval Lyon. There is not a great deal of information regarding this; but, by amassing references that touch upon everyday matters that arose in the course of instructing these children, we can discover something about how they were treated and what they learned, as well as being able to establish brief biographies of a small number of pupils. This chapter examines four aspects of the pupil 1 Shahar, Childhood in the Middle Ages and Hanawalt, Growing Up in Medieval London. 2 Orme, English Schools, pp. 44-55. 3 Only the proceedings of the ecclesiastical chapters (Saint-Jean, Saint-Paul, Saint-Nizier) name individual choirboys, but not consistently. As for the municipal records, there are several references to taxes being reduced or waived because individuals were at university elsewhere, at Toulouse or at Paris: A.M.L., CC 82 1 and CC 71.

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experience in Lyon: the school day; the books and other materials used by pupils; the spaces used by schoolchildren; and the individual biographies of a small number of Lyonnais pupils. The section on the named pupils will touch upon the socio-economic backgrounds of children who attended elementary and grammar schools in Lyon. However, an overview of pupil experiences in medieval France (subjects learned, the physical nature of the classroom, the type of children who attended school) will be presented. *** What did the late medieval pupil learn at school? It is known that the medieval school was usually defined and placed in the academic hierarchy by what it taught rather than by what it was called. Most references in source material, however, do not include this information. It is more common to find a reference to dominus Johannes Destables, presbyter, nuper rector scholarum (‘Lord Johannes Destable, priest, recently rector of the school’) in the proceedings of a fifteenth-century court case than an explanation of what he instructed.4 Fortunately, the sources are not completely bereft of references to what pupils were learning and what their classroom experiences were. The first part of a child’s education consisted of learning to read. A document surviving from the dispute between the sub-cantor and the university in Nantes in 1469–1470 neatly describes what the boys attending the sub-cantor’s song school would be taught. First they learned their letters, then their matins and Psalter, and finally song and music.5 There is no evidence to suggest that this was not an accurate description of progression from one subject to the next. The alphabet was, therefore, a child’s earliest lesson, according to established custom. Guibert de Nogent (c. 1055–1124) was taught his letters by 4 Guilbert, ‘Les Écoles rurales’, 137, n. 51. 5 ‘Una sola et unica scola cantus ab illis scolis grammaticalibus et pedagogicalibus ac artium distincta, in qua omnes et singuli pueri civitatis et districtus Nanetensis, ac undecumque aliunde venientes tam parvi quam magni in puerilibus rudimentis videlicet in littera sive alphabeto, matutinis et psalterio ac cantu et musica prefatis proficere, studere et addiscere volentes convenient et convocabuntur’ (‘one sole and only song school distinct from those schools and teachers in grammar and arts, in which one and all the boys of the city and district of Nantes wanting to become accomplished, to study and to learn, and both the young and the old coming from every place and direction, will gather and assemble in the first lessons for children, namely in [their] letters, matins and Psalter and in song and music’: Statuts et privilèges, III, p. 80. The term matutinus is confusing. While matins proper were performed in the middle of the night, it is likely that this refers to learning the liturgy surrounding the matutinis laudes, the morning service. This would have allowed pupils to sing at a service that would not have conflicted with the school day.

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his mother before he went to school, while Remigius of Auxerre (c. 841–904) stated that ‘the instruction of small children normally involves the study of letters, then of syllables’.6 The vagabond Ambroise Delaporte was teaching children in minoribus litteris (‘minor letters’) in fifteenth-century Champagne.7 How then, was the alphabet presented to a child? Some sketches of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century French and Italian alphabets are included in Danièle Alexandre-Bidon’s article on the material culture of medieval learning. The letters were placed on paddle-shaped tablets, or hornbooks, that were used in the later Middle Ages.8 The alphabet was usually arranged into a horizontal or vertical block, and sometimes had a cross symbol at the beginning or at the end. All the commonly used letters (and sometimes frequently used abbreviations) were thus presented at the first stage of learning. The child would have then been introduced to syllables of two, three and sometimes four letters.9 This allowed the pupil, on completion of these exercises, to recognize and pronounce all the letters and sounds required to begin reading. After this, a selection of prayers would have been read and memorized, including the Pater Noster, the Credo, and some of the psalms.10 While these pieces were in Latin, they functioned as technical exercises in reading.11 Even if the child in question was not to progress to a grammar education and a real knowledge of 6 For Guibert de Nogent, see Bowen, A History of Western Education, II, 106. For Remigius of Auxerre, see Black, Humanism and Education, p. 37 and Riché, Les Écoles et l’enseignement dans l’Occident chrétien, p. 223. 7 Guilbert, ‘Les Écoles rurales’, pp. 132-33. Guilbert suggests that this refers to the teaching of the alphabet. 8 Alexandre-Bidon, ‘La Lettre volée’, pp. 961–71. For some illustrations of medieval and early modern hornbooks, see Willemsen, Back to the Schoolyard, p. 52. 9 Grendler, Schooling in Renaissance Italy, pp. 143–47. 10 In 1354, teaching was halted in Paris, including in the grammar schools ‘in tantum quod puerulos Pater Noster et Symbolum fidei discentes’ (‘in so far as the little children learning the Our Father and Symbols of Faith’): Gabriel, ‘Preparatory Teaching’, p. 99, n. 17. This was also the situation in the Low Countries, where prayers in Latin were a part of elementary instruction, if only so that the children could follow church services: de Ridder-Symoens, ‘Education and Literacy’, pp. 7–8. 11 There is a poem surviving from the fourteenth century that gives a fairly comprehensive list of the books and texts used by a student from his earliest lessons. It charts the journey of a wayward student on his way to university at Paris, during which he sells, loses, or gambles away his books: A Gandelus lez la Ferté At Gandelus-les-la-Ferté La lessai mon ABC, I left my ABC Et ma patenostre a Soisson, And my Our Father at Soissons, Et mon Credo a Monléon, And my Creed at Monléon, Et mes set siaumes a Tornai, And my seven [penitential] psalms at Tournai, Mes quinze siaumes a Cambrai, And my fifteen [gradual] psalms at Cambrai, Et mon sautier a Besençon […] And my Psalter at Besançon […]

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the Latin language, they acquired the skill of sounding out the written word that could be transferred to reading the vernacular.12 Elementary education might very well finish at this point. However, depending on access to documents and books later, a child leaving a little school could feasibly read. In addition to learning the alphabet, syllables and principal prayers, children appear to have engaged in singing in elementary schools. It is important to note here that singing was often linked to elementary instruction. Going back to fifteenth-century Nantes, the pupils of the sub-cantor were ‘cantu et musica prefatis proficere’, and appear to have provided recruits to the cathedral choir there.13 The Hotel Dieu in Evreux, Normandy, was sending children to l’escole de chant, while in 1470 the two masters in Saint-Loup-du-Dorat, Maine, were engaged ‘à instruire régir et gouvener les enfants venans aux dites escolles, tant en gramoyre que en art ed musique et en aultres bonnes moeurs’ (‘to instruct, rule and govern the children coming to the said schools, as much in grammar as in the art of music and in other good customs/morals’).14 While these references, especially that from Saint-Loup-du-Dorat, often point to singing education as preparation for performance in an ecclesiastical setting, others do not suggest that children sang in any particularly formal manner. The psalms, which were a crutial part of late antique and medieval elementary instruction, were usually sung.15 Singing could also The list continues to more advanced works and grammar texts: de Pommerol, ‘Livres d’étudiants, bibliothèques de collèges et d’universités’, pp. 93-94. 12 This was certainly the case in Italian schools where Latin and the vernacular were effectively pronounced in the same way. In French, English, and German schools – where there were far fewer similarities between the pronunciation of the languages in question – the basic Latin curriculum may have been supplemented by exercises in vernacular readings. There is a little evidence to suggest that some books were written and used to help teach the vernacular. In 1419, Nicolas de l’Espoisse of Paris left a copy of the Roman d’Alixandre (a romance written in French) to his nephew ‘pour esbatre et aprendre à lire’ (‘so that he may amuse himself and learn how to read’): Tuetey, ‘Testaments enregistrés au parlement de Paris sous le règne de Charles VI’, p. 608. Jean Gerson wrote his A.B.C. des petites gens in order to teach the central aspects of faith to those who were not in a position to learn Latin. He mentions children as part of his intended audience. The same author’s Livret-proverbes pour écoliers also suggests that it was used for teaching as it begins with the couplet: ‘Puisqu’en pais suis, temps est d’escrire / Liuret pour mes escoliers lire.’ (‘Now that I am at peace, it is time to write / A little book for my pupils to read’): Gerson, ‘Livret-proverbes pour écoliers’, Oeuvres complètes, VII, 367. 13 Statuts et privilèges, III, 80. 14 Delisle, Études sur la classe agricole, p. 184, n. 36. It is clear that, in the case of Saint-Loup-duDorat, the children were expected to perform in an ecclesiastical setting as the quotation continues with ‘et aussi vacquer au divin service ainsi que de coustume’: Bouton, Le Maine, III, 432. 15 For more examples of children learning psalms as part of elementary education see, Ravelet, Le Bienheureux J.B. de La Salle, pp. 20–21. For the importance of psalms in earlier elementary education, see Riché, Education and Culture in the Barbarian West, pp. 463–64.

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act as an aid to memory, which was very important in classrooms that were often lacking in actual texts. Elementary education was, therefore, the process of imparting the technical skills of literacy without necessarily focusing on the practice of literacy.16 Learning to write, normally a part of elementary schooling in the modern era, was not always a feature in the medieval little school. Writing and learning to write were conceived quite differently. Rather than a natural part of acquiring literacy, they were seen as a manual activity and not an academic one.17 The action of writing was a feature of elementary education in the classical and late antique periods where children were taught to hold pens and styluses and form the letters.18 Jacques Verger suggests that writing was not ‘properly’ taught in the elementary classroom because ‘slates and wax tablets were not well suited to the task [of learning good handwriting]’.19 Writing – that is, learning to write in a clear and standardized manner – appears to have been a specialized pursuit. In the later Middle Ages, children were taught to write, but in different schools and by different masters than those from whom they learned their letters.20 It was also seen as a lesser subject. For example, when Jean Barillet was banned from holding a proper school in 1435 in Creil (Senlis), he was permitted to teach writing.21 In the College of Verdale in Toulouse, students who were seen as unable to continue to higher studies were taught writing (and singing) so that they could find employment as scribes, secretaries

16 The phrase ‘practice of literacy’ means that pupils were not always given the opportunity to explore books, which were relatively rare, in a classroom context. Indeed, in Italian sources, children were often taught from charts or carta hung on the classroom wall, rather than having individual hornbooks: Grendler, Schooling in Renaissance Italy, p. 143. 17 Hajnal, L’Enseignement de l’écriture, p. 63. 18 Both Quintilian and Jerome describe teaching children how to hold a pen and how to trace letters. In a Gaulish version of the Hermeneumata from the third century, a f ictional pupil describes his arrival at school: ‘I go to school. I enter and I say, “Good morning, teacher” […] My slave gives me tablets, the case; I take out the stylus and sit down at my place: I erase and copy according to the model. Afterwards, I show my writing to the teacher, who makes every kind of correction’: Cribiore, Gymnastics of the Mind, p. 15. 19 Verger, Men of Learning in Europe at the End of the Middle Ages, p.45. 20 In Maine, the maistres escripvains went from house to house to give tuition in writing and the Hotel Dieu in Evreux was also sending boys to ‘l’escole d’escripture en l’ostel de l’escripvain’ (‘the school of writing at the house of the scribe’). In the case of Evreux, other boys were being sent to other schools described as ‘great schools’ or ‘little schools’: Bouton, Le Maine, III, 430. Delisle, Études sur la classe agricole, p. 184, n. 36. 21 ‘de plus apprendre et enseigner enfans sinon tant seulement à escripre’ (‘from henceforth learning and teaching children except only to write’): Guenée, Tribunaux et gens de justice, p. 187, n. 25.

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and private chaplains.22 Writing was, therefore, more of an optional subject than a requirement. However, it must be remembered that, in many cases, learning to write or going to a writing master might suggest that a particular form of writing was being learned. Many children may have been taught how to form the letters and may have written quite well, but did not ‘learn to write’ and may not have been able towrite in scripts that were deemed appropriate for correspondence or scribal work. There existed, therefore, a differentiation between the ability to write and the ability to write well.23 Grammar education – that is, the acquisition of the Latin language and the study of Latin literature – was the linchpin of all educational endeavours in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century France and beyond.24 It was a course of studies (or perhaps better described as various courses of study) that ranged from learning and memorizing the fundamentals of Latin grammar and vocabulary, to reading classical authors, to composition in Latin. Younger pupils sought to perfect their grasp of Latin as a language, while university students approached grammar as a speculative subject. 25 The teaching of grammar was, surprisingly, a relatively standard experience for pupils, not only across France but also across Latin Christendom. Oftentimes, the same texts and the same words occur in descriptions of Latin education from Italy to France and on to England. This ‘standardization’ was partly the result of the almost universal use of texts based on Donatus’s De partibus orationis ars minor and Priscian’s

22 ‘Salvo quod cum negligente, duro, vel alias ad scientiam inhabili et paupere, ut addiscat scribere vel cantare, aut in aliqua arte proficiat unde possit querre victum suum, per patronos saltim ad annum continuum ut in memorata domo remaneat valeat dispensari’ (‘this should be allowed to be arranged that, save that, with someone negligent, inflexible, or otherwise unsuited for learning and poor, in order for him to write or sing, or to progress in some skill so that he can earn his bread, he should be able to gain dispensation through patrons at least for a continuous year, so that he would remain in the aforesaid house’): Statuts et privilèges, I, p. 546. See also Hajnal, L’Enseignement de l’écriture, pp. 62–63. 23 Hajnal, L’Enseignement de l’écriture, p. 63. 24 The acquisition of grammar (or lack of thereof) was often seen as a symptom of societal advances or problems. In the aftermath of the Black Death in the fourteenth century, the availability of teachers was a particular issue. In the 1360s a Norman chronicler bemoaned the fact that ‘pauci inveniebantur qui scirent aut vellent in domibus, villis et castris informare pueros in grammaticalibus rudimentis’ (‘only a few were found who knew or were willing to teach boys in the rudiments of grammar in the houses, towns and castles’): Guillaume de Nangis, Chronique latine de Guillaume de Nangis, II, 246. See also Delisle, Études sur la classe agricole, p. 175. 25 The subject of medieval Latin linguistics and speculative grammar is extensive and cannot be addressed within the parameters of the current work. See Law, History of Linguistics in Europe for an extensive treatment of the subject, especially Chapter 8.

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Institutiones grammaticae.26 It is important to note that the texts themselves were rarely used in the medieval classroom. Instead, they served as the basis and inspiration for grammars written much later. Donatus was a particular influence for such works, to the point where elementary grammar texts were simply known as ‘Donato’ across later medieval Europe, especially Italy.27 Priscian was also influential, but his works and the texts based on his works were more likely used at the very end of grammar education and into universities.28 Nevertheless, Priscian’s approach to explaining the complexities of Latin grammar through a ‘question-and-answer format’ gave birth to the concept of ‘parsing grammars’, and these proved enormously popular from the eighth century onwards.29 Parsing grammars known as Ianua dominated grammar instruction in Renaissance Italy.30 Meanwhile, Latin grammar textbooks written in English from the fifteenth century are overwhelmingly ‘parsing grammars’ too.31 Other books on grammar and Latin etymology were also used extensively in the grammar classroom. Firstly, there were the additional grammars that were popular, such as Alexander of Villedieu’s Doctrinale.32 It was one of the earlier examples of metrical grammar (supposedly completed in 1199), where versification of the rules of the language provided an easier means to memorization and retention. Books that combined etymological approaches to Latin with grammatical information, and glossaries, also featured in later medieval grammar instruction. Evrard de Béthune’s Graecismus, 26 In Italy, the Ars minor (fourth century ad) and its variations were replaced by parsing grammars more influenced by Priscian’s Institutiones grammaticae (sixth century ad). These have been subsequently referred to as the Ianua. See Black, Humanism and Education, p. 61 and Grendler, Schooling in Renaissance Italy, p. 164. Such variations were developed in order to serve pupils whose first language was not Latin. Donatus and, to a lesser extent, Priscian were both writing for a Latin-speaking audience. See Grendler, Schooling in Renaissance Italy, pp. 178–79. 27 The word ‘Donatus’ became synonymous with grammatical textbooks to the extent where grammars in vernacular languages were referred to as ‘Donatus’. The first grammar in Provençal was called Donatz proensals, while the first the grammar textbook for learning French – written by John Barton around 1409 – was entitled Donait francois: Brian Merrilees, ‘Teaching Latin in French: Adaptations of Donatus’ Ars minor’, p. 87. 28 See Geoffrey Bursill-Hall for a survey of surviving grammatical texts in the main Parisian libraries: Bursill-Hall, A Census of Medieval Latin Grammatical Manuscripts, pp. 187–208. 29 Law, History of Linguistics in Europe, pp. 87 and 145. 30 Black, Humanism and Education, p. 61. Grendler, Schooling in Renaissance Italy, p. 164. 31 For a full treatment of English parsing grammars, see Thomson, A Descriptive Catalogue of Middle English Grammatical Texts and An Edition of Middle English Grammatical Texts. 32 According to Alexander’s own introduction, his work was intended as an intermediate textbook to be used after the completion of an introductory textbook based on Donatus. Law, History of Linguistics in Europe, p. 181.

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Johannes Balbus’s Catholicon, and works by Hugutio and Papias were all employed in teaching Latin throughout the later Middle Ages.33 The statutes of the University of Toulouse in 1328 list Doctrinale, Ebrardus, Alexander and Priscianus as the preserve of the magistros in grammatica.34 Both the Doctrinale and the Graecismus, however, were used in more advanced courses. It is important to remember that relatively advanced texts were studied in the lower schools of grammar as well as in universities. This was because the same book could yield more information and more nuance with every examination. While a ten-year-old boy would study selected passages of Donatus’s Ars minor in order to understand what Latin was saying, a student at a faculty of Arts might study it again in order to understand how the language functioned on a theoretical level. The same was the case for almost all the works used in grammar instruction. Many of the extant examples of late medieval school grammars were written entirely in Latin, even in the case of the most elementary texts. It can be supposed that the master explained the grammar in the vernacular when such texts were being used. However, some Latin/vernacular grammars have survived that use the vernacular to explain Latin grammar.35 They seem to have been particularly popular in England – or at least more thoroughly studied.36 Similar textbooks also appear to have been used, at least in certain geographical regions, in medieval France. Brian Merrilees discussed several of these examples which appear to originate from around the city of Metz.37 The earliest in this group (Bern, Bürgerbibliothek 439, fol. 76–76 v.), dated to the end of the thirteenth century, is written 33 Papias, or Elementarium doctrinae rudimentum, was written around 1050. Hugutio of Pisa’s Derivationes or Magna derivations is probably a late twelfth-century work. The Catholicon, a glossary, was written by a Genoese Dominican, Giovanni Balbi, around 1286. Grendler, Schooling in Renaissance Italy, pp. 113–14. 34 ‘Nullus pedagogus, seu alius eius nomine audeat legere in civitate Tholosana seu in suburbio civitatis eiusdem librum aliquem seu aliquos ordinarie vel extraordinarie, qui leguntur vel legi consueverunt per magistros in grammatica, qui libri sunt Doctrinale, Ebrardus, Alexander et Priscianus.’ (‘No teacher, or any of this name shall dare to lecture in the city of Toulouse or in the suburb of the same city any ordinary or extraordinary book or books, which are lectured or will be lectured on by the masters in grammar, which books are the Doctrinale, Graecismus, Alexander and Priscian’): Statuts et privilèges, I, 509. 35 Law, History of Linguistics in Europe, pp. 190–93. 36 See Thomson’s Descriptive Catalogue and Edition of Middle English Grammatical Texts. Some of the explanations used in these Middle English grammars are quite striking, including this definition of a noun written by one Walter Pollard between 1444 and 1483: ‘all thyng that I may se or fele or vnderstond that bereth the name of a thyng the name thereof ys a nowne.’ Thomson, Descriptive Catalogue, p. 63. 37 Merrilees, ‘Teaching Latin in French’, pp. 88, 90, 95–96.

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in a ‘severely abbreviated form’ and may have served as a reminder for a grammar master.38 Others in the selection are more complete adaptations of Donatus’s Ars minor into a new type of grammar, the Ars mineur. This minuscule sample is difficult to interpret, especially in the light of more extensive survivors from England. Were vernacular grammars of Latin less common in France; or, as textbooks used year after year by masters and pupils, did they simply not survive? Analysis is further complicated by the fact that most of the manuscripts also contain a fully Latin version of the Ars minor.39 Nevertheless, such specimens illustrate the existence of such books, and demonstrate an increase in the need for them in the later Middle Ages. Knowing Donatus was synonymous with having grammar. However, the appearance of references to Donatus, and even Priscian, in literature and documentary sources is more complicated: they were not the sole preserve of ‘pre-university’ grammar education, and occasionally ‘knowing’ these books did not necessarily mean that a child or other person was able to understand Latin. For example, some colleges made knowledge of the ‘parts’ of Latin grammar a prerequisite of entrance. The statutes of the College of Pelegry in Cahors, drawn up in 1368, state the following: ‘nullus scolarium ponatur nec recipiatur in dicto collegio, nisi adminus addiscat partes et bene competenter legat psalterium’ (‘no scholar may be placed or received in the said college, unless he should at least know his parts [of speech] and read the Psalter suitably well’). 40 This is a problematic reference. The candidate may have been able to recite the parts of speech, but it is not clear whether they had to wholly understand what they were saying. 41 The emphasis, especially in the earlier period of Latin schooling, was on rote, repetition and drilling. The object was to ensure that a pupil knew the basic principles of the language: understanding could come a little later. In the case of the college of Pelegry, the idea that knowing the parts of speech was not considered particularly advanced was emphasized by the instruction that the candidate be able to ‘read the Psalter suitably well’. This was a relatively elementary text, and there is no insistence that the candidate be able to understand what he was able to read. This was a clause 38 Merrilees, ‘Teaching Latin in French’, pp. 88, 91. 39 Merrilees, ‘Teaching Latin in French’, p. 89. 40 Pelegry would eventually have to change its statutes in 1420 as it was inundated with boys who were not suitable students. This rule was therefore not enough to ensure that the entrants were of a certain standard and able to undertake university-level studies: Statuts et privilèges, II, 554, 568. 41 This was a general problem in the Middle Ages. Peter Damian, in his treatise Contra inscitiam et incuriam clericorum, wrote about those who ‘babble the text, syllable by syllable’: Reynolds, Medieval Reading, p. 10.

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that also appeared in the statutes of other colleges. 42 On the other hand, the parts of grammar and these ‘introductory’ Latin texts were a subject of great importance in the faculties of Arts of the medieval universities. 43 While these examples complicated what we understand from a phrase that indicates that someone ‘knew’ or ‘had’ Latin, it also stresses the importance Latin grammar education held in the Middle Ages. As mentioned above, the central texts of Latin grammar education were those by Donatus and Priscian – or, more likely, those based on their work. These were also the ‘beginner’ texts of this stage of education. While these were being committed to memory, pupils may have also been introduced to their first readings in Latin. 44 These were approached in a different manner from pieces of Latin learned in an elementary school in that the children were supposed to understand the entirety of what they had read, rather than only knowing the general meaning.45 Vocabulary and a real comprehension of the language were slowly developed as the pupil was introduced to more and more challenging works, one after the other. Each book was thoroughly analysed, not merely in terms of linguistics and philology but also in the information that was being provided. History, the rudiments of geography and other aspects of general knowledge were imparted by means of the stories that pupils read. Most importantly, patterns of lives well lived were held up as examples in order to teach children good customs and morals. 46 42 The College of Cambrai in Paris (statutes, 1348) demanded that ‘nullus scholaris recipiatur ad bursas dicti collegii, nisi sit tantae aetatis et discretionis, quod possit et sciat intelligere statuta’ (‘No pupil will be accepted for the purpose of the said college’s scholarships, unless he should be of such an age and discretion, that he should be able and know how to understand the statutes’): Gabriel, ‘Preparatory Teaching’, p. 99, nn. 13–14. 43 C.U.P., I, 78–80. 44 In the manuscripts described by Brian Merrilees, four include in different combinations Latin and French versions of Ars minor, various grammatical treatises, Cato’s Distichs, the Ecloga of Theodolus, Ovid’s Remedia amoris, and Matthew of Vendôme’s Vita Tobias. They thus served as almost fully contained grammar courses. Merrilees, ‘Teaching Latin in French’, p. 89. 45 In the Prioress’s Tale, the young protagonist overhears the Alma redemptoris being sung by older pupils. He asks one of these pupils what the hymn means, but the older boy does not understand the actual meaning of the words. ‘His friend, who was older than he, / answered, “I have heard tell / that this song was made to honour our blessed Lady / and ask her to be our help and aid when we die. / I cannot explain more of it. / I learn singing; I know only a little grammar”’: Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, p. 161. 46 The teachers at Saint-Loup-du-Dorat were to teach their pupils grammar, music and ‘aultres bonnes moeurs’: Bouton, Le Maine, III, 432. Earlier, the grammarian in charge of the small boys in the College of Navarre was supposed ‘instruire et enseigner de gramaire et de moeurs les enfants gramairiens’ (‘to instruct and teach grammar and morals to the child-grammarians’): Hajnal, L’Enseignement de l’écriture, pp. 86–87.

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All of this was achieved through the careful reading and study of select texts. There was no absolutely standard list of texts during the later Middle Ages, but certain works do appear to have been regularly used as ‘textbooks’. One of the most widely studied of these was the Disticha Catonis or Distichs of Cato, a miscellany of proverbs falsely attributed to Marcus Porcius Cato (234–149 bc) but more likely composed during the third or fourth centuries ad. 47 Its short verses or proverbs and moral tone made it perfect for those beginning to read Latin in earnest. Other works were used in the grammar schools and were sometimes called the auctores or, in some cases (especially in Italy), the auctores octo. Some of the most popular are shown in Table 1. Table 1 Works Commonly Included in the Auctores Octo Title

Author/Date

Origin

Subject Matter

Disticha Catonis

Third/fourth century

Possibly Spain

Proverbs

Eclogue of Theodulus

Tenth century, anonymous

Tobias

Attributed to Matthew of Vendôme (c. 1185)

France

Verse book on morality

Doctrinale altum parabolarum

Attributed to Alan of Lille (d. 1204)

France

Proverbs

De contemptu mundi/ Once attributed to Chartula Bernard of Clairvaux but probably by a Cluniac monk, Bernard of Morlaix (c. 1140)

France

Verse treatise on morality

Facetus

attributed to John of Garland, first half of thirteenth century

England

Verse manual on manners

Liber Aesopi

Edited by Gualterus Anglicus (chaplain to Henry II of England), second half of twelveth century

England

Aesop’s fables

Floretus

Anonymous

A poetry competition between Alithia (Truth) and Pseustis (Liar)

Religious poem

47 The Disticha Catonis was a collection of proverbs, easy to memorize and solidly moralistic. While not overtly Christian, its moralizing made it exceptionally apt for use in the generally religious (or rather moralistic) environment of the typical medieval classroom. Its classical credentials, thought spurious, helped it retain its popularity in the Renaissance. See Grendler, Schooling in Renaissance Italy, p. 111.

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Many more featured in medieval lists of recommended texts and pedagogical treatises. 48 Certain classical authors were also read in grammar schools, especially by the more advanced students. Virgil, Ovid, Statius, Lucan and the late antique philosopher Boethius were particularly admired and employed. 49 Examples of possible ‘grammar curricula’ can be found in two fourteenth-century French manuscripts: Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 14095 and Vatican Library, lat. 1479.50 These included Latin and French versions of Ars minor, various grammatical treatises, Cato’s Distichs, the Eclogus of Theodolus, Ovid’s Remedia amoris and Matthew of Vendôme’s Tobias, in a typical melange of classical and high medieval texts. Another possible curriculum was proposed by the Renaissance teacher and printer Jose Badius Ascensius, who in 1492 published Sylvae morales, a collection of texts that could be used in grammar education in Lyon.51 The Sylvae morales is made up of twelve parts, most which are devoted to extracts from classical authors such as Horace, Persius and surviving fragments from Ennius. However, Part 11 is an edition of the moralia Disticha Catonis and Part 12 is the Parabolas Alani.52 In a letter to the tutor of the Dauphin in the 1410s, Jean Gerson, then chancellor of the University of Paris, mentions Cato, Theodulus and Aesop as part of the reading curriculum of the young Prince.53 Archival sources also sometimes refer to the books that grammar boys were expected to study. The statutes of the College of Boissicum in Paris expected that boys coming from grammar schools would already know both Donatus and Cato.54 The library at the College of Ave Maria in Paris had several of these texts, including two copies of the 48 See Grendler, Schooling in Renaissance Italy, pp. 111–14, for more examples of works regularly used in grammar education. Smaller works such as those listed in the main text were frequently bound together to form one book that could take pupils through much of their grammar education. 49 For an extensive treatment of the use of classical authors in grammar education in Renaissance Italy, see Black, Humanism and Education. 50 See Merrilees, ‘Teaching Latin in French’, pp. 88–89 for a description. 51 Badius lived in Lyon for much of the 1490s and appears to have worked as a teacher there. See Chapter Two pp. 101–06 for a case study of his career. 52 Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, II, 67. See also Chapter Three, pp. 103–05. 53 Gerson’s reading list for the Dauphin is quite daunting, filled as it is with advanced philosophical works such as Aristotle and Saint Augustine. However, much of these are recommended to be read in French. Indeed, Gerson even suggests that the octo auctores, the basic Latin texts, should also be read in translation – ‘Item vulgati auctores: Cato, Theodulus, Esopus cum similibus translate’: Gerson, ‘Au précepteur du Dauphin’, Oeuvres complètes, II, 212–13. 54 ‘Nullus vero grammaticorum recipiatur […] nisi Donatum et Catonem didicerit’ (‘However no one shall be accepted by the grammarians […] unless he has learned Donatus and Cato’): Hajnal, L’Enseignement de l’écriture, p. 86.

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Disticha Catonis.55 In other words, intensive reading of a variety of texts was the mark of a medieval grammar education. Occasionally, other subjects such as rhetoric and logic featured in late medieval grammar instruction. This was a natural progression from an intensive study of literature. Logic may have been the preserve of the faculties of arts in the universities, but there is evidence that, at least, the basics were being made available to older pupils who stood at the indistinct boundary between the grammar school and the university.56 Jean Gerson, in his discussion of the education of choirboys at Notre-Dame in Paris, recommended that a master should have ‘sufficient space to teach grammar and logic’.57 The College of Seez did not accept candidates unless they were fully instructed in grammar, initiated in logic and able to attended lectures in the faculty of Arts.58 This indicates that courses in logic were regularly and acceptably held beyond the universities, and that some colleges were able, in practical terms, to insist on such knowledge in their candidates. This level of instruction appears to have been offered at schools like those mentioned in a set of wills from in and around Lyon. In these, certain heirs were given money and materials in order to attend the ‘scolis grammaticalibus et logicalibus’ and ‘sculis grammaticalibus et lugicalibus’.59 It should be noted, however, that this instruction, if offered in a grammar school, was likely of an introductory nature. ***

55 Gabriel, ‘Preparatory Teaching’, p. 106. Occasionally, there are references to these texts that are not necessarily linked to ‘pre-university’ grammar acquisition. The universities of Toulouse and Perpignan made Cato, Theodulus, and Tobias required reading in 1328 and 1380–1390 respectively. It is known that more introductory Latin teaching for younger boys was taking place in these institutions from other sources, but the appearance of these texts as required reading underlines their importance in overall intellectual formation: Gabriel, ‘Preparatory Teaching’, p. 106. 56 For instance, pupils could have been easily introduced to the basics of logic, such as the catagories, during the course of their grammatical studies. 57 ‘sufficiens spatium pro docendo grammaticam et logicam’: Gerson, ‘Pro pueris’, Oeuvres complètes, IX, 687. 58 ‘Item statuimus quod in collegio praedicto nullus recipiatur, nisi suff icientur fuerit in grammaticalibus eruditus et in summulis et parvis logicalibus initiatus, adeo quod ad vicum Straminis eundem ad audiendum libros sufficienter sit doctus.’ (‘Likewise, we establish that none may be received in the said college, unless they should be sufficiently learned in grammar and initiated in [Paul of Venice’s] Logica parva (Summulae), to such a degree that he be sufficiently experienced for hearing the same books on the Street of Straw [where the faculty of Arts held its lectures]’): Gabriel, ‘Preparatory Teaching’, p. 111, n. 130. 59 Gonon, La Vie quotidienne, pp. 249 and 277.

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The physical locale of elementary and grammar education during the late Middle Ages was determined by two factors: who the teachers were and who had ultimate organizational authority over a given school and teacher. Keeping these dynamics in mind, there were, in general, three places where instruction occurred. These were the home, the premises of a teacher and the premises of an institution, usually religious in nature. While the focus of the discussion in the current work will be on the last two locations – as these were where formal teaching by an experienced and/or qualified master or mistress took place – the importance of the home as the setting for instruction and education cannot be ignored. The reason why the discussion concentrates more on public schools and institutions rather than the home is that they were considered less exclusive than tuition within a household, and there is more information regarding their operation and administration. The most important thing to keep in mind is that the school or scola was a collection of participants, teachers and pupils, and was not necessarily a dedicated physical place. The home was one of the principal locations where education, especially elementary education, occurred in the Middle Ages, and the parent was the principal teacher. However, this statement must be immediately qualified. Two things were necessary in order to create the circumstances in which home instruction was possible. Firstly, the parents had to be literate themselves or have access to someone who was – namely a tutor. Guibert de Nogent, the Benedictine historian, was taught his letters by his mother before he went to school in eleventh-century Picardy, but he came from an (albeit minor) noble background and his mother was sufficiently educated herself to teach him his letters.60 If an illiterate labourer wished to have his children taught to read, he could not do so himself and would have had to send them to a specialist – that is, a teacher. Instances of precisely this situation were recorded in the Champagne region in the fifteenth century. In the hamlet of Pontfaverger, one Jean Naguet was recorded as not being able to read, but his two sons could. In the same village at the same time, Jean Leclerc was illiterate but his three sons were listed as literate.61 In order to achieve this, these boys were almost certainly not educated at home. Secondly, even if the parents were literate, they had to have the spare time in which to instruct their children. In the countryside, where both parents worked in the fields during the hours of daylight, time was at a premium. Likewise, in the towns, wives often assisted their husbands in their respective businesses and employment, or were themselves employed. 60 Bowen, History of Western Education, II, 106. Guibert of Nogent, Self and Society, pp. 44–45. 61 Guilbert, ‘Les Écoles rurales’, p. 135.

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Of course, some households were able to hire tutors for their children, but this was the preserve of those wealthy enough to do so. Such pedagogical activities did not lend themselves to the foundation of schools. For example, before 1253, a group of merchants in Ypres engaged a clerk to teach their children privately rather than establish a school that could be frequented by others.62 However, there were cases where less affluent families engaged the services of a teacher on a private basis. In Senlis in 1490, the son of a wool-worker was given over to a priest as a servant on condition that he was educated privately in preparation for the priesthood.63 Though this was not tutoring at home in the strict sense of the term, it was an arrangement for private teaching. Sometimes, tutoring at home did not necessarily mean access to professional teachers. In the mid-fifteenth century, Barthélemy Bellièvre, son of a prominent Lyonnais legal family, was taught how to read on his father’s estate at Saint-Genis-Laval.64 His tutor, however, was not a cleric or graduate but ‘a good labourer named Ragot, who knew how to read’.65 Bellièvre, however, does not suggest that the instruction he received was poor. His family’s socio-economic standing, as well as his personal success later on, implies that Ragot was a good teacher who lacked formal qualifications rather than ability. Returning to Guibert of Nogent, the tutor that this mother engaged for him was relatively uneducated, and Guibert described the six years under his tutelage as ‘this fruitless struggle’.66 The results of education at home were mixed and, even then, this type of learning was still limited to those who were at leisure to teach their own children or had the means to hire a tutor. The next place where education occurred in the Middle Ages was in a room or building rented or owned by a teacher for the purpose of instruction, 62 Pirenne, ‘L’instruction des marchands’, 21. 63 The boy was to serve ‘en toutes ses choses et services licites et honnestes’ and in exchange ‘luy faire apprendre à l’escole de clergie ce qu’il en pourra comprendre’ with the intention of becoming a clerk himself – ‘in all things and services licit and honest […] for him to learn at the school of the clergy that which he can understand’: Guenée, Tribunaux et gens de justice, pp. 186–87. 64 Fédou, Les Hommes de loi, p. 17. 65 ‘Un bon homme laboreur, nommé Ragot, qui sçavoir lire’: Fédou, Les Hommes de loi, p. 17. 66 ‘He worked me hard, and anyone observing us might have thought that my little mind was being exceedingly sharpened by such perseverance, but the hopes of all were disappointed. He was, in fact, utterly unskilled in prose and verse composition. Meanwhile I was pelted almost every day with a hail of blows and harsh words while he was forcing me to learn what he could not teach. In this fruitless struggle I passed nearly six years with him, but got no reward worth the time it took’: Guibert of Nogent, Self and Society, pp. 46–47.

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but which often contained the living quarters of the master or mistress. This definition is, by its very nature, overly general. There were rarely any ‘schoolhouses’ in existence; and, as seen above, archival references were usually made to named teachers rather than a description of the school buildings or rooms. Teachers, both independent operators and those licensed and privileged by secular and ecclesiastical authorities, tended to use whatever space was available. Guibert of Nogent, in discussing the situation of his tutor before he was employed by Guibert’s mother, mentioned that the man instructed his charges in the same chamber that he slept in.67 There is little evidence to suggest that the situation had changed greatly by the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, except that larger and more prof itable schools were separated from the abodes of their principal teachers.68 Numerous masters, especially itinerant masters, were recorded as teaching in fifteenth-century Champagne, but there is no mention of what kind of building the teaching took place in. In Paris, there are lists of schoolmasters and mistresses who were licensed by the chapter of NotreDame but, apart from indicating an area or occasionally a street, there is no other information.69 In Lyon, in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the municipal council subsidized the rent on various houses used by the schoolmasters that they patronized.70 Some of these properties appear to have been substantial, based on the amount of money being provided by the town councillors, but there was still no continuity in one building. It could be concluded that the medieval schoolroom was an ad hoc space, created wherever it was necessary and possible. However, some medieval writers did conceive of the classroom as a special space with particular facilities. In the fifteenth century, the anonymous author of the Commendation of the Clerk discussed which direction the classroom should face and whether it should be built into a hillside to provide insulation during the winter months. Nevertheless, the same author accepted that the teacher had to use what space was available, and such arrangements were usually not possible.71 In areas where the wealth and power of the local governments was more pronounced, such as the Netherlands, permanent school buildings were constructed or designated. The remains of municipal schools have been excavated at Groningen, Leiden, 67 Guibert of Nogent, Self and Society, p. 45. 68 Guilbert, ‘Les Ecoles rurales’, pp. 127–47. 69 Guyotjeannin, ‘Les Petites écoles’, pp. 112–26. 70 A.M.L., BB 7, fol. 134 and 134 v. (1459) and A.M.L., BB 352 (July 1481). 71 In University Records and Life in the Middle Ages, ed. by Thorndike, pp. 201–35.

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and Lübeck, and are confirmed by the documentary sources.72 The physical permanence of a school was entirely dependent on local factors. The third physical space where elementary and grammar teaching took place in the Middle Ages was in facilities provided by specific institutions. These included churches, cathedrals and university colleges. Most of the information that survives concerns these schools, though often hidden in the proceedings of chapters and cathedral and college statutes. There are multiple references to a place called the domus puerorum in cathedral cloisters such as those at Paris, Chartres and Cambrai. Of course, these were for the boys attending the choir schools attached to these cathedrals; but it must be remembered that these schools were centres of elementary and grammar education as well as music education. Paris renovated a house for the exclusive use of its choirboys in March 1455, while the cathedral of Saint-Lambert in Liège established a school space for its choirboys and pupils at some time shortly after 1370.73 In 1395, the cathedral of Saint-Jean at Lyon established not only a house for the choirboys but also a separate cloister for their use.74 The façade of the song school or manécanterie is still standing. It is likely that these boys were instructed in these buildings. These arrangements represent the highest level of specialization of space when it came to late medieval education. This separation of children from the rest of the community, quite natural in modern schooling patterns, was also common in medieval monasteries.75 This policy was pursued in response to the institutions’ responsibility for protecting the boys in their charge, ensuring their innocence and their suitability for future clerical office.76 Smaller ecclesiastical foundations were unable to provide this type of spatial separation, but did often have a set place within their church where 72 Willemsen, Back to the Schoolyard, pp. 89–105. 73 Wright, Music and Ceremony, p. 169 and Willemsen, Back to the Schoolyard, p. 100. It is interesting to note that the free school provided by the cathedral of Saint-Lambert continued to use the same schoolrooms into the eighteenth century. 74 A.D.R., 10 G 79 fol. 96 v. (November 1395). See also Forest, L’École cathédrale de Lyon, pp.198–99 and Pourrat, L’Antique école de Leidrade, pp. 39–42. 75 The idealized plan of a monastery from Saint Gallen (ninth century) has separate buildings for novices and for child oblates: Horn and Born, The Plan of St. Gall: A Study of the Architecture and Economy of and Life in a Paradigmatic Carolingian Monastery, trans. by Jones, I, pp. 337–39. Even when there was no space for such separation, the boys were kept separate in other ways. The commentary of magister Hildemar, a Carolingian monk and master of oblates, emphasizes the portable space created by constant supervision. For example, after Compline the boys were to be led around the various altars of the abbey church, with one master leading, another master in the middle of the group, and a third bringing up the rear (‘unus magister in ante, alter magister vadet in medio, et tertius magister retro’): de Jong, In Samuel’s Image, pp. 146–48. 76 Lynch, ‘The Children’s Cloister’, 41–57.

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instruction was given. The best information regarding this kind of teaching space comes from medieval England, where priests attached to chantries gave instruction, either in the chantry chapel itself or in a space attached to, or associated with, the church.77 It has been difficult to find evidence to support this practice in late medieval France, but some parish churches undoubtedly provided instruction. In the church of Saint-Paul in Lyon, traditionally its medieval school was held in a room above the church of Saint-Catherine.78 Colleges that provided grammar education seem to have resembled the organization pattern of the larger cathedrals. The colleges of Navarre and Harcourt in Paris, for example, had separate buildings for their grammar students.79 The College of Ave Maria, specifically founded for boys between eight and sixteen years old, carried out instruction within its walls (though the older boys certainly would have left the confines of the college for university lectures).80 However, we cannot know exactly where the education was taking place within these buildings. It is likely that it occurred in the boys’ refectory as no classrooms are mentioned. The location of educational activities, therefore, varied greatly. Outside certain institutions, such as cathedrals and certain university colleges – with their statutes and more rigid approach to spatial divisions – school was held wherever the teacher could find enough room to fit even a few pupils. In many ways, it can be said that elementary and grammar instruction in the Middle Ages was, in terms of space, very much a part of everyday life. There was little or no division between pupils, teachers and the world around them. This must have had implications for how education was viewed by contemporaries in the towns and villages of medieval France, not as an elite or exclusive pursuit but as something usual, visible, and attainable. *** As stated at the beginning of this chapter, it is difficult to effectively identify pupils in documentary records. While a teacher could be listed as such in tax 77 See Orme, English Schools, pp. 66, 156, 195–97, 189–90, 276–89. 78 Unfortunately, this claim cannot be proven as the proceedings of the chapter of Saint-Paul are silent about where its school was taking place. However, Saint-Paul certainly had choirboys and possibly external pupils from the neighbourhood and must, therefore, have had some sort of schoolroom. Traditional also holds that Jean Gerson taught local children at Saint-Paul. While there is some circumstantial evidence to suggest this, the archives are again silent. 79 Gabriel, ‘Preparatory Teaching’, p. 97, n. 7. The College of Harcourt made provision for the separate building for grammar students as early as 1310: Hajnal, L’enseignement de l’écriture, p. 86. 80 Gabriel, Student Life in Ave Maria College, p. 100.

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records or records of ownership, in wills and in court cases, this is not the same for their pupils. If children appeared in these types of documents (especially in legal proceedings concerned with guardianship), it was not usual to point out whether they were attending school or not. Even when children are named in documents, it is simply a name – and no knowledge of where they came from or their future careers can be deduced from the reference. It is best in these circumstances, where there may be many references to children without details of their education, to attempt to answer the above question in the broadest of terms. Firstly, we must consider the social backgrounds of those who were educated in the elementary and grammar schools discussed in this book. At the highest levels of medieval society, children were educated within noble or royal households and would not have attended external schools. These children, however, are the best attested. Their tutors corresponded with university chancellors, educational treatises were dedicated to them and fine primers and books of hours with alphabets were commissioned for them.81 Below these pupils were those from burgeoning urban classes and from the countryside, who made up the vast majority of those who attended school in the late Middle Ages. Secondly, the geographic location of pupils and schools must be considered. In the towns and cities of fourteenth- and fifteenth-century France, especially those which had a university, children were increasingly exposed to the written word. Literacy and other knowledge, like the ability to count or to write, were valuable tools for the artisan or shopkeeper. In rural areas, the ability to read acted as an escape from poverty and work on the land.82 Even when children could not utilize such skills for material gain, such knowledge would have allowed them to enhance their standing in their 81 Jean Gerson wrote several letters to the preceptor of the Dauphin of France during the 1410s and even found the time to do so while he was attending the Council of Constance in 1417: Gerson, ‘Au précepteur du Dauphin’, in Oeuvres complètes, II, 203–15. In this letter, a whole course of reading was laid out for the young Prince. This tradition of writing educational treatises to high born boys and youths (as an evolution of the genre of mirrors for princes) was a popular genre for late medieval authors. One of the most well known was De regimine principum by Giles of Rome, dedicated to his former pupil, Philip IV of France: Giles of Rome, ‘De regimine principum’, in Li Livres du gouvernement des rois, ed. by Molenaer, p. 9. There are several references to royal commissions for particularly fine Psalters and primers during the reign of Charles VI of France. For example, Charles’s Queen, Isabeau of Bavaria, ordered several such books for her young daughters, including one in 1398 for Jeanne and another, ‘A.B.C.D. des Psaumes’, in 1403 for Michelle: Groag-Bell, ‘Medieval Woman Book Owners: Arbiters of Lay Piety and Ambassadors of Culture’, p. 163. 82 The Cardinal de Rochetaillée, canon lawyer and prelate, was of a lowly background from Rochetaillée whose rise began after he won a place at the choir school of Saint-Jean in Lyon: Pourrat, L’Antique école de Leidrade, pp. 56–58.

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local communities. It is of interest to note the wide range of backgrounds that pupils in elementary and grammar schools came from. Education, of almost any sort, was seen as valuable at every level of late medieval French society, even if it could not be actually pursued. Children from noble families were usually educated privately at home in the later Middle Ages or were entered into religious institutions, either for schooling in itself or as a precursor to an ecclesiastical career. Instruction usually occurred within the household – as in the case of Guilbert of Nogent.83 Another example of a private tutor was the parish priest of Pleubian in Brittany in the mid-thirteenth century. He left the duchy with his aristocratic charge, Saint-Yves Helori, when the latter went to study at the University of Orléans. The priest appeared to have already acted as the youth’s preceptor, but it is unlikely that this was in the context of an open parish school. It is likely that the priest-preceptor was parish priest in name (and in income) only and his primary activity was instructing Saint-Yves.84 It is likely that many of these children were not educated within their own families, but were instead sent to the homes of others in their social circle in order to train and serve, thus perpetuating the aristocratic networks of friendship and kinship. Nevertheless, there are a few references to such children attending external schools that were more regularly frequented by their social inferiors. The lord of La Chapelle-Rainsouin founded a school at Vaiges in Maine that he deemed fitting enough for his son, Jean de la Chapelle, to attend in order to learn Latin and Greek in 1473.85 Cathedral schools were frequently attended by noble children too. Robert de Garennes, lord of Saugis, placed his two sons under the personal care of Gilles Mureau, master of the chapter school at Chartres, in 1478.86 In this instance, the children were to be 83 Then again, Guilbert commented that there were few schools in existence during his childhood (at the end of the eleventh century) and that the numbers had only risen when he was much older: Guilbert of Nogent, Self and Society, pp. 44–47. 84 Jones, ‘Breton Identity’, p. 156. 85 Bouton, Le Maine, III, 431. By the later Middle Ages, teachers appeared to have preferred to hold schools rather than become private tutors to wealthy pupils. A school that was well run could prove financially lucrative to a teacher, while the careers of tutors were tied to the successes and failures of perhaps only one pupil. Any problems (personal or professional) could have resulted in the loss of a job rather than a single pupil at an open school. 86 Gilles Mureau ‘sera tenu bailler, quérir et administer […] leur nécessités, comme boire, menger, coucher, et lever seulement, et aussi les enseigner et monstrer dechant aux mieulx quil pourra, et les fera aller aux matins à lescolle de grammaire pendant icelui temps’ (‘will promise to direct, look after and administer their necessities, like drink, food, sleep, and rising only, and also to teach and demonstrate to them singing as best he can, and to make them go at matins at the school of grammar during this time’): Clerval, L’Ancienne Maitrise, pp. 66–67.

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given special attention by the master and, in some ways, resembled the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century concept of drawing-room boarders. In other cathedral schools, aristocratic boys were more commonplace and treated more like normal pupils. Many of the choirboys mentioned in the proceedings of the cathedral chapter of Saint-Jean in Lyon bore the names of important local noble families.87 Convents were also locales beyond the household where aristocratic families sent their daughters to be educated. The abbey of Saint-Pierre in Lyon was a popular convent for parents to place their daughters, either with the intention of them becoming nuns or for pedagogical purposes only.88 In the fifteenth century, more noble children were sent to urban grammar schools in particular. The school run by Henri Valluphin in Lyon certainly had pupils from very elevated backgrounds.89 It is clear that when the education offered by town schools outstripped private tutors in quality, aristocrats did not hesitate to send their children to be instructed alongside the sons of merchants and bankers. While elementary education was still provided at home for the most part, grammar education and beyond was increasingly pursued in public schools open to a range of pupils. The majority of children who attended schools in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century France came from urban backgrounds. They did not, however, come from the municipal elites of towns and cities alone, but from the mercantile, the artisan, and even from the labouring classes. Education became increasingly essential to these sections of society during this period and carried with it the idea of social and financial advancement. Businesses could be run more efficiently and profitably if owners possessed the ability to read, write, and count. More skilled, and better paid, employment might be gained. A literate girl could make a better marriage if she was able to help her husband in his business or teach their children. In Paris, the presence of so many schools, functioning under the auspices 87 These included members of both the traditional nobility (such as the de Talaru family who produced several archbishops) and the rising noblesse consulaire. On 27 June 1459, Pierre Bellièvre – from a prominent merchant family in Lyon and a close relative of the same Claude who was taught how to read by the labourer Ragot – was added to the number of choirboys: A.D.R., 10 G 94, fol. 7 v. Likewise, Jean de Villars, from another consular family, became a choirboy on 24th January 1406: A.D.R., 10 G 81, fol. 68. 88 Placement in a monastery from a young age may have enhanced these girls eligibility as wives: Picot, L’Abbaye de Saint-Pierre de Lyon, p. 83. Saint-Pierre appeared to have employed an external master in order to instruct its charges to a higher level. One Jean Tostain, master of the school of Saint-Pierre, was mentioned in relation to ownership of a vineyard in Lyon in 1515: A.M.L., CC 21, fol. 334. See also Scheepsma, Medieval Religious Women in the Low Countries, pp. 41–47. 89 Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, II, 68–69. See also Chapter Two, pp. 103–05.

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of the chapter of Notre-Dame, demonstrates the demand for education for both boys and girls.90 Not all of these pupils were intended for careers in the Church. (The attendance of girls certainly suggests this, as well as indicating that not all the pupils were expected to progress to university.) The nature of the elementary reading course, the focus on learning the techniques of how to read as quickly as possible, meant that such elementary schooling was seen as useful in its own right by a large section of society. Such instruction could continue into the grammar schools and beyond; but it could also be used as a springboard towards literacy in the vernacular in their spare time. Even if there was no formal or informal education after elementary reading instruction, children could still say their prayers, and thus be seen as members of the Christian community. The short duration of such schooling was ideal in a period when children were expected to contribute to the financial well-being of their family; they could receive instruction without spending too much time on such endeavours. The case of Nicolas de l’Espoisse of Paris and his grand-nephews and godson has to be mentioned again as it clearly indicates that some level of instruction was considered highly desirable. Of the three youths or boys named, all received bequests that included a book or a sum of money destined to be used for schooling or education. One of the boys, Thévenin, was already apprenticed as a shoemaker and draper but nevertheless received a book in order to improve his reading.91 Since Thévenin was not going to school, it is likely that he had already completed elementary education of a sort and was being encouraged to continue to learn in his own time. Even quite poor children were sent to school in the hope of advancement. The five-year-old boy from Senlis who was sent to learn from a priest and, in effect, become an apprentice priest, would have had ample opportunity to utilize his literacy, had he ultimately failed to become a cleric.92 His father was a wool-worker and the family probably made certain sacrifices in order to advance him through education. While education in the towns and cities of France was a natural habit for its wealthier inhabitants, it was also an immensely effective tool for social advancement for individual children lower down the social scale. 90 C.U.P., III, 51–53. 91 The two brothers, Thévenin and Jean, and Colin, a godson, received grants of this type. Jean’s pedagogical inheritance may well be described as the most substantial, as he received a selection of books and papers as well as 20 francs ‘pour le faire encore apprendre’ (‘in order to continue to learn’): Tuetey, ‘Testaments de Paris’, p. 608. 92 The boy was to serve with the intention of becoming a clerk himself: Guenée, Tribunaux et gens de justice, pp. 186–87.

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Parents were willing both to pay for their children to go to school and to do without their labour in the short term in order to reap greater benefits later on. Rural areas were not bereft of schools or of masters in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. While this work is mainly concerned with pedagogical activity within a particular city, it must be remembered that instruction, especially elementary instruction, was in no way limited to urban communities. In addition, many of the boys found in cathedral and chapter schools almost certainly came from the countryside. Access to education was, of course, more limited but it certainly existed. One of the best examinations of rural education in the later Middle Ages is Sylvette Guilbert’s ‘Les Écoles rurales en Champagne au XVe siècle: Enseignement et promotion sociale’. Basing her research on the proceedings of ecclesiastical courts – under whose jurisdiction the misdemeanours of schoolteachers usually fell – she found a great deal of evidence to suggest that literacy and the provision of education were relatively common in provincial France.93 As shown in the maps she provided at the end of her article, schools – that is, attested schools – were common, with individual deaneries containing between one and six.94 Of course, some of these schools did not exist at the same time, and some only functioned for the period of time that a travelling master had lived in a particular village. However, it demonstrates that there was a demand for education in rural areas of France. As Guilbert herself writes: ‘Those peasants who had the means had the same social aspirations for their sons as artisans in the towns.’95 These aspirations led directly to demand for teachers and schools, and independent teachers and ecclesiastical authorities were happy to comply. Elsewhere, there were more examples of ecclesiastical institutions making provision for education in the countryside itself. The cathedral of Chartres oversaw two schools described by Abbé Clerval as ‘country schools’, one at Fontenay-sur-Eure and the other at Gallardon.96 The priory of SainteCatherine near Laval in Maine operated a school attended by the children from the house’s fiefdom in 1480.97 One of Saint-Jean in Lyon’s most noted alumni, Cardinal de La Rochetaillée (d. 1437), was a country boy, probably the illegitimate son of a lowly cleric who was a tenant of one of the canons.98 Likewise, several vicemagistri (assistant masters) of the choir school of 93 Guilbert. ‘Les Écoles rurales’, pp. 127–47. 94 Guilbert, ‘Les Écoles rurales’, pp. 144 and 147. 95 Guilbert, ‘Les Écoles rurales’, p. 141. 96 Clerval, Les Écoles de Chartres, p. 358. 97 Bouton, La Maine, III, 425. 98 Pourrat, L’Antique école de Leidrade, pp. 56–58. See also Lynch, ‘Pupils and sources in Late Medieval Lyon’.

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Cambrai made trips into the countryside to recruit likely singers for the cathedral.99 Many of the places they visited must have been rural schools taught by either the local priest or even by a dedicated schoolmaster. For those who had both money to spare and motivation – and for those boys who exhibited musical ability to a scout from the nearest large ecclesiastical foundation – living in the countryside was no deterrent to acquiring some level of education. Boys from less affluent backgrounds, indeed even those from very poor families, could access education, especially through ecclesiastic institutions.100 The provision of instruction to such children directly benefited the churches that provided it. Such pupils went into making up the rank-and-file of the Church; choirboys, clerks, sacristans. They also represented a large well of talent that could not always be provided by those from more noble backgrounds. Jean Gerson, eventual chancellor of the University of Paris, came from relatively humble origins, and he and many of his brothers rose to prominence through careers in the Church.101 Indeed, there was a contemporary belief that any boy of intelligence, no matter his socioeconomic status, could achieve this. Philippe de Navarre, in his treatise Les Quatre âges de l’homme, wrote that an ecclesiastical career allowed ‘the son of a poor man to become a great prelate’.102 Poor boys, therefore, frequently sought free education in cathedral schools and chapters, and were sought out by such institutions in return. While many of the boys in the choir school at Chartres were private pupils of the master, with their board and lodging paid by their relatives and parents, the core group of choristers were financed by the chapter.103 They won their place in the school and the canons paid for their upkeep.104 The 99 At Cambrai, the song master would depart on various trips into the country in order to ‘scout’ talent. Between 1458 and 1459, Jean du Sart, magister coralium at Cambrai, was reimbursed for several journeys in ‘search of boys favourable and propitious for the service of the church’: Wright, ‘Dufay at Cambrai’, p. 206. 100 Legally speaking, cathedral churches were required to provide at least some level of free instruction. Both the Third and Fourth Lateran Councils, in 1179 and 1215 respectively, legislated on this issue in order to ensure that a certain level of learning was maintained in the Church: Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, ed. by Tanner, I, pp. 200 and249. 101 McGuire, Jean Gerson, pp. 1–6. 102 ‘Par clergie est avenu sovant et avenir puet que li filz d’un povre home devient uns granz prelaz’: Philippe de Navarre, Les Quatre âges de l’homme,p. 10. 103 For example, the chapter paid 10 livres tournois to the master ‘pro pensione debita pro alimentis ipsorum puerorum’: Clerval, Les Écoles de Chartres, p. 362. 104 To give one example, the chapter paid the grammar master, Thibaut, ‘10 livres tournois […] pro pensione debita pro alimentis ipsorum puerorum’ in 1345: Clerval, Les Écoles de Chartres, p. 362.

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backgrounds of these boys are not known; but, given the tendency of suitable boys to move from the little schools in the area controlled by the cathedral chapter to the main choir school, many may have came from relatively lowly circumstances. In 1407, 20 out of the 24 canons donated their income from a funeral to enable a boy, Person de la Chapelle, to enter the choir and school of Laon cathedral.105 The acceptance and support of poorer children in the school at Laon may have been an old custom as Guy de Laon, canon and founder of the College of Laon at Paris, began the career that he forged for himself as a lowly chorister in the late thirteenth century.106 At the cathedral of Saint-Jean in Lyon, there is no evidence that choirboys, or their parents, paid to enter the choir school there.107 While some boys came from important families, others certainly did not. One of the most important alumni of the school was Cardinal de La Rochetaillée (d. 1437), titular Patriarch of Constantinople and vice-chancellor of the Holy Roman Church. He was a choirboy at Saint-Jean and, according to historians of the cathedral, was the son of a fisherman.108 One of the more touching occurrences in the proceedings of the chapter of Saint-Jean was the case of a choirboy called Ogier, whose mother wrote to the cathedral telling them of her financial straits.109 It is important in this discussion not to discount the importance of the idea of charity in motivating institutions to provide education to poor boys, especially in the context of training future clerics. In the Hotel Dieu in Evreux, the accounts book of the 1390s states that ‘Jehannin et Guillaumin furent envoiez à la grant escole le xj jour d’avril […] sol. xx sous le premier jour de mars par Guillaumin’ – ‘Jehannin and Guillaume were sent to the great school on 11 April […] 20 shillings on 1 March for Guillaume’.110 While we know nothing of Jehannin and Guillaumin’s social status, the fact that the directors of the Hotel Dieu were sending the boys to the great school (probably the grammar school) and paying for them suggests that these children were benefiting from such an act of charity. This is underlined by an entry in the account book for the same establishment in 1378. They bought 105 Millet, Les Chanoines de Laon, p. 104, n. 73. 106 Millet, Les Chanoines de Laon, p. 105. 107 Much of the information that survives about the choir school at Saint-Jean in Lyon relates to the provision of money by both individual canons and the chapter as a whole for the upkeep of the choirboys and their education. 108 Pourrat, L’Antique école de Leidrade, pp. 56–58. 109 Forest, L’École cathédrale de Lyon, pp. 47–48. For the full account of Ogier’s position, see Chapter Three, pp. 147–48. 110 Delisle, Études sur la classe agricole, p. 184, n. 36.

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one small boy, Robin, a little book – almost certainly a collection of some sort of elementary reading material.111 These boys were orphans or abandoned children whom the clergy of the Hotel Dieu at Evreux were bringing up, perhaps with the intention of initiating them into clerical orders. There is some evidence to suggest that some institutions that were not churches and thus had no immediate need for the services of boys, as choristers or servers also provided some level of access to education for children. For example, the statutes at the University of Angers stated that grammar masters were not permitted to reduce their fee of 20 sols tournois (a sizable sum) ‘nisi plures sint de eadem domo, vel paupertas eminens fuerit’ (‘unless there are many from the same household, or there is real poverty’).112 This reflected some practices in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Italy, where communal governments sometimes included clauses on granting discounts or exemptions for poorer pupils when drawing up contracts with their schoolmasters.113 Poverty, therefore, was not necessarily as insurmountable a barrier to acquiring an education as might first be assumed, especially for those who lived near ecclesiastical and educational institutions that provided for such eventualities. Beyond the categories of nobles, townsmen and peasants, there existed another sub-section of prospective pupils: illegitimate children. Their participation in education at any level was not necessarily welcome. In schools directly attached to ecclesiastical institutions, illegitimate children caused certain difficulties. Sometimes they were permitted to attend. A good example of an illegitimate child attending a cathedral school is Guillaume Dufay, the noted fifteenth-century composer. He appears to have been born out of wedlock to a relative of one of the canons of Cambrai.114 Not only was 111 Delisle, Études sur la classe agricole, p. 184, n. 37. 112 ‘Item, statuit quod nullus magister vel pedagogus recipiat aliquem ad studendum in grammaticalibus forisando vel paciscendo pro pretio minori communi, quod est viginti solidorum turonensium, nisi plures sint de eadem domo, vel paupertas eminens fuerit.’ (‘Likewise, it is established that no master or teacher should receive anyone in order to study grammar, by agreeing or striking a deal for less than the common price, which is 20 sols tournois, unless there are many from the same household, or there is real poverty’): Statutes et privilèges, I, 432. 113 Grendler, Schooling in Renaissance Italy, pp. 16, 22. Occasionally, communes did not charge anything for very basic instruction. In the 1420s in Volterra, children attending the municipally employed schoolmaster did not pay anything to learn the letters of the alphabet: Grendler, Schooling in Renaissance Italy, p. 18. This became commonplace in towns throughout northern and central Italy during the fifteenth century. Turin, Lucca, Modena, Siena, San Gimignano, Arrezo, Colle Valdelsa, Prato, and Pistoia all offered free education to the children of communal tax-payers: Black, ‘Education and the Emergence of a Literate Society’, p. 23. 114 A cousin of Dufay’s mother, Jean Hubert, became a canon at Cambrai in 1403. He only settled at Cambrai in 1408 and this seems to have neatly coincided with the young Guillaume’s arrival and acceptance into the choir school in 1409: Planchart, ‘Early Career of Guillaume Du Fay’, pp. 347–50.

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Dufay allowed to enter the choir school, but he also appears to have been a favoured pupil, receiving his own copy of the Doctrinale from the chapter in 1411.115 This was an unusual and costly gift for a choirboy. Elsewhere, schools were far stricter when it came to prospective pupils and the nature of their birth. Clerval recounts that, from 1485, parents of boys who were to enter the choir and chapter school swore ‘ad caput beatae Annae’ (‘on the head of St. Anne’) that their offspring was born in wedlock.116 This concern with legitimacy was generally not present in the Middle Ages, and Dufay’s case may be more representative than the situation in Chartres. In Lyon and Forez, several fourteenth-century wills not only provided for illegitimate issue but also specifically made provision for their education. These children were differentiated from legitimate issue by the physical structure of the will (the clauses relating to them usually appeared at the end of the will) and they were signalled by the word donatus or donata, depending on their gender. A good example comes from the will of Johannes de Poyeto, bachelor in decretals and deacon of Montbrison (appointed in 1369), who made a generous bequest to his natural son: Likewise to J. de Poyeto, my natural son, I give all my garments and utensils and bedding which I have at Montbrison, except my silver vessels and books; likewise in order for him to be kept and taught in the schools of grammar and logic, and also in law, I give what I have rendered […] and […] the Corpus iuris civilis, the least valuable that I have, and also the Sext [of Boniface VIII], the Clementines [of Clement V] and the Summa Azzonis [Azzo’s Summa on the Codex].117

Johannes de Poyeto senior was a cleric, and yet he recognized his son despite the delicate nature of their relationship. It is clear from the will that he not only sought to provide financially for Johannes junior but also hoped that he would follow directly in his own footsteps into a clerical career, and specifically into the study of canon law. Etienne de Montbrisone also 115 Wright, ‘Dufay at Cambrai’, p. 177. It is clear that Dufay’s birth did not hamper his career. From a relatively young age, he received benefices close to Cambrai and later became a singer and composer attached to the court of Rimini and the Papal court. 116 Clerval, L’Ancienne maitrise, pp. 45–46. 117 ‘Item J. de Poyeto, filio meo et donato, do omnia garnimenta et utencilia et superlectilia que habeo apud Montembrisonem, exceptis vaycellamenta argenti et libris; it(em) ut in scolis grammaticalibus et logicalibus, ac facultate legali tenendo et docendo (sic) do redditus quo [sic] habeo […] et […] corpus jur. civilis, minor. valor quod habeo, ac sextum Clement. et summam Assonis’: Gonon, La Vie quotidienne, p. 249. See also A.D.R., 4 G 50, fol. 97 v.

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remembered his natural child Michele’s education when he made his will in 1347; and Jeanette, daughter of Humbert Boy, wife of Michelet Logerii, made similar provisions for her brother’s illegitimate son, Lionnardus de Boy.118 Education was seen as a means to allow illegitimate children to support themselves and, in the case of Johannes de Poyeto senior and junior, there was an expectation that such boys could have ecclesiastic careers. Medieval elementary and grammar education was not as restricted as might be first assumed. For example, poor and illegitimate boys had opportunities to attend school, and their chances of receiving a good education were equal to, if not greater than, that of many noble girls during that period.119 The evidence from France strongly suggests that, where schooling was available, children from a wide variety of backgrounds were able to access it. Parents, even those who were indigent and illiterate themselves, saw the acquisition of learning, no matter how basic, as an opening towards better financial and social prospects. At the same time, educational providers, namely some institutions of the Church, could emphasize the tenets of the faith through the schools that they ran and the teachers that they controlled. While these motivations differed considerably and may be seen as being in opposition to one another, the result was relatively simple: parents and children who wished to access education for little or no money could do so if circumstances such as location and connections were favourable. *** The archival sources of Lyon are almost silent regarding the daily schedules followed by the pupils within its walls. There is no information whatsoever concerning the children who attended independent masters or mistresses, or even those who were taught by the masters favoured by the municipal government. We can assume that most of these pupils lived at home with their parents and guardians and went to and returned from school in the 118 Gonon, La Vie quotidienne, pp. 186, 249, 256–57. There is another possible reference to an illegitimate son in the will of G. de Musella of Amplepuis, Rhône (made in 1390) where the abbreviated text runs as follows: ‘It. P., filio suo, d., x fr. Auri, unam jumentam seu geniciam, una cum hiis que sequntur, scilicet quod heres suus ipsum P. tenere in sculis grammaticalibus et lugicalibus.’ (‘Likewise, to P., his natural son[?], 10 gold francs, one mare or heifer, along with these things following, namely that his heirs [will] keep the said P. in the schools of grammar and logic.’) The ‘d.’ after the name of the child may be a contraction of the word donato, meaning illegitimate: Gonon, La Vie quotidienne, p. 277. 119 One of the better-known accounts of an elite female education comes from Christine de Pizan’s, The Book of the City of the Ladies, where the author’s struggle to receive a proper education is detailed. See also my article, ‘Christine de Pizan and Education in the Middle Ages’.

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mornings and afternoons. It is likely that many also returned home for a midday meal of some sort.120 Some pupils from further away may have lodged with their masters.121 There are no explicit references to the time classes may have begun and ended. Much of the information on the daily schedule for children comes from the school attached to the cathedral of Saint-Jean, where a level of regulation of activities was set down by the cathedral chapter and so was recorded in documents preserved in the archives. This section will discuss what is revealed about the choirboys’ routine at Saint-Jean and augment this information with documentary evidence from elsewhere in Lyon where possible. Some of the best information for the daily routine for the choirboys of Saint-Jean comes from an agreement made in 1394 between the chapter and Jean Chalendat, magister scolarum.122 The contract concentrated on outlining the expected level of care that Chalendat was to provide to the choirboys, including instructions on when they should eat: Likewise the said master Jean must furnish provisions to the said twelve choirboys of the said church, namely whatever sufficiently and suitably good broth and food by day, and bread abundantly, and of course wine moderately with water three times at lunch and three times at dinner. But regarding early in the morning he must give them bread suitably, and likewise in the summer after sleep, and this of wheat.123

The boys were to be given three meals each day, meaning that they would have had to break from classes and musical practice in order to partake. It also indicates that, in the summer, the boys would also have been allowed a nap or siesta, probably in the early to mid-afternoon. Just as meals would have interrupted lessons, so too would attendance and performance at masses and other services.124 The only explicit reference to a particular daily activity in 120 For England, see Orme, Medieval Schools, p. 132. 121 This was the case from the sixteenth century onwards in the nascent lycées in France: Huppert, Public Schools, pp. 13–15. 122 Forest, L’École cathédrale, pp. 343–44. See also A.D.R., 10 G 79 fol. 80 v. 123 See Appendix I. 124 As early as 1175, cathedral statutes at Lyon described how choirboys should enter services and their place in the precedence of exiting the same services (at the head of the procession): Forest, L’École cathédrale, pp. 109–10. It is known that the boys participated in the office of matins. It appears that only on high feast days did the entire complement of choirboys attend and sing at this early office, while a rota was established for ordinary days. Unfortunately, it is unclear if the boys returned to bed after matins, and there is no statement as to when boys were supposed to begin their morning classes: Pourrat, L’Antique École de Leidrade, p. 47 and

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the archives pertaining to the choirboys of Saint-Jean was the recordation, which took place at terce or nine o’clock in the morning.125 This was a daily examination where the boys recited and sang what they had learned in front of the vicemagister who, in turn, corrected or praised each boy. This was also when the vicemagister doled out punishment for recent transgressions. The recordation closely resembles both the evening declination held by Bernard of Chartres and the evening tests and punishments carried out by the magister puerorum in Gerson’s Pro pueris ecclesiae Parisiensis.126 It is logical to conclude that the choirboys did have a set timetable of classes and practices in between meals, attendance at services, and occasional nap times. As stated above, there is even less information regarding the school day of children outside the cloister of Saint-Jean. The documentary sources related to the municipal government of Lyon are more concerned with the appointment of teachers and the taxes they received from schoolmasters and mistresses than in detailing the daily routine of the city’s pupils, some of whom were the children of members of the municipal council. The only reference to a body of pupils being engaged in a specific activity at a specific time comes from the document founding the Collège de la Trinité in 1527.127 It states that every evening the children, clerks, and masters of the college should sing a Salve Regina and a De profundis in memory of the members of the confraternity of La Trinité, living and dead.128 This suggests that the day at this new school, sanctioned and funded by the city council, extended into the evening. It also underlines the continuity of practice between a sixteenth-century lycée and the evening declinations of Bernard of Chartres as described by John of Salisbury in the twelfth century.129 It is plausible to suggest, therefore, that while there is little information regarding the school Forest, L’École cathédrale, p. 109. Furthermore, the choirboys also participated in processions and services relating to funerals and memorials. For example, Henri de Villars, Archbishop of Lyon (d. 1355), set aside money for the clerks and choirboys who participated in his memorial vespers: O.L.E., pp. 159–62. 125 From statutes written in 1352 for Saint-Jean: Forest, L’École cathédrale, pp. 102-03. When Petrus de Buenc was appointed vicemagister on 18 January 1410, he swore to continue the recordationes as his predecessors had: A.D.R., 10 G 82, fol. 15. 126 John of Salisbury, Metalogicon, 1:24 (p. 70) and Gerson, ‘Pro pueris’, IX, 688. 127 Charvet, ‘Le Collège de la Trinité’, p. 213. See Chapter One, pp. 43–44 for more details on the school. 128 ‘Item les enfants et clercs dud. collège seront tenus chacuns soirs chanter avec les maîtres régens un Salve Regina perpétuellement et De profondis à l’intention desd. courriers et confraires de lad. confrairie vivants et trespasses’: Charvet, ‘Le Collège de la Trinité’, p. 213 129 ‘This [evening] “declination”, or philosophical collation, closed with the pious commendation of the souls of the departed to their Redeemer by the devout recitation of the Sixth Penitential Psalm and the Lord’s Prayer’: John of Salisbury, Metalogicon, p. 68.

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day in the documentary sources of Lyon, the routine followed a similar pattern to descriptions in pedagogical literature of the period. *** It is likely that most of the works used within the classrooms of Lyon were like those used in the wider European context, such as the octo auctores, prayers, and Psalms. Unfortunately, none of the archives mention books that were commonly used as being in the possession of either teachers or their pupils in Lyon.130 However, there are some references to pieces that some of the schoolchildren were reading. There are also some indications that, by the 1490s, books were being printed in Lyon with wealthier pupils of grammar in mind. There were many books circulating in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Lyon. According to contemporary wills, books often featured in bequests, and some of these may well have been used for instructional purposes.131 The types of book mentioned in Lyonnais wills range from Psalters to advanced texts on canon law. For example, ‘Garnier de Tremblino’, chaplain at Lyon, asked that his books on decretals be sold (probably because they were worth a relatively large sum) and that his other books – breviary, divine office, responsorial, and ‘book on theology’ – be divided between his brother clerics.132 This last selection is more typical of the works being left by residents of Lyon and its hinterlands. Psalters appear in certain wills.133 In August 1361, the one-time curate of Feurs in Forez left 10 florins to his old church so that 130 For example, there is no reference like that in Cambrai when, between June 1411 and June 1412, the chapter gave a copy of the Doctrinale to a choirboy named Guillaume Dufay, the future composer: Planchart, ‘Early Career of Guillaume Du Fay’, p. 341. 131 Marguerite Gonon did a lot of work on the medieval wills in the Archives départementales du Rhône and published three editions of these in the 1950s and 1960s. Primarily her interest is in etymology (the usage of Latin in these will) and the social and economic trends displayed in the wills. See Gonon, Testaments foréziens; Table des testateurs foréziens (1314–1469); and La Vie quotidienne en Lyonnais. The wills themselves are recorded in registers and number in the hundreds across the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. 132 Gonon, La Vie quotidienne, pp. 128–29. See also A.D.R., 4 G 39, fol. 94. In August 1348, Barthelmy de Montbrison, doctor of law, willed that his books of decretals be sold to ‘the heir of lord Chanere’ for 70 florins. This was a substantial sum: Gonon, La Vie quotidienne, pp. 300–301. See also A.D.R., 4 G 56, fol. 7 v. 133 In the wills edited by Gonon, Psalters were mentioned by name five times – in 1342, 1361, 1400, 1411, and 1424: Gonon, La Vie quotidienne, pp. 141, 257, 331, 336–37, and 367. However, there are various references to other books that do not record a title and other references that include a description but cannot be identified. For example, in 1360, Pierre Raynaud, priest of the choir of the church of Montbrison, left Jean Pagan ‘librum suum parvum copertum de rubeo, vocatum pater noster’. This could refer to a Psalter with a prefix of prayers: Gonon, La Vie quotidienne, p. 214.

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a ‘complete Psalter’ could be purchased.134 While the Psalter would have served an important role in the liturgy of the Church, it could also have been used to teach children how to read.135 Psalters were also left in wills dating to 1400 and 1424.136 Breviaries commonly occurred in wills in and around Lyon. Most books were bequeathed to clerics, as in the 1427 will of Andre Gallioni, curate: ‘Likewise, to Jean Fabri, illegitimate son of Lord Andre Fabri, curate of Ardon(?), nephew of the said testator, all his books besides his breviary.’137 It is unsurprising that books with such a liturgical focus were left to curates and other clerics. It indicates a good level of book ownership and use amongst the lower clergy, as well as suggesting that many churches, both within the city of Lyon and in more rural areas, had the correct liturgical texts that could have been used to teach.138 Some of the books had been copied by the testators themselves. Jean de Brolio, one-time curate of Cerdon, both copied a ‘small book of benedictions’ and rebound a responsorial that he had acquired. He left both to his old church at Cerdon in December 1352.139 However, not all books were left to people who were named as clerics.140 Only one of the texts usually included in the octo auctores appears in a Lyonnais will. In July 1360, Pierre de Saint-Julien, notary of Lyon, left the church of Saint-Julien-de-Cusset (just outside Lyon) a selection of books described in detail, including a copy of pseudo-Bernard of Clairvaux’s De contemptu mundi.141 The books that could be used to teach children how to read were plentiful, therefore, in the Lyon region. 134 The Psalter (salterium) was to be considered complete if it contained the following: ‘videlicet calenderio et agenda mortuorum et hunius (sic) ferialibus et quoddam uffis, bonos et notatos’ (‘namely a calendar and agenda of the dead and feast days and certain offices, of a good standard with notations’): Gonon, La Vie quotidienne, p. 257. See also A.D.R., 4 G 51, fol. 51 v. 135 Smaller extracts from the psalms were usually used, such as the seven penitential psalms, and bound separately. However, it is quite feasible, in certain circumstances, that any such text could be used for instruction. 136 Gonon, La Vie quotidienne, pp. 336-37 (A.D.R., 4 G 58, fol. 114 v.). In the 1424 will, two Psalters and a breviary were left to the curate of Anse. One of the Psalters contained ‘many offices and the sufferings of the saints’: Gonon, La Vie quotidienne, p. 367 (A.D.R., 4 G 62, fol.98). 137 ‘Item J. Fabri, donato dni And. Fabri, curat. Ardonis, nepot. dicti test., omnes suos libros necnon suum breviarium’: Gonon, La Vie quotidienne, p. 366 (A.D.R., 4 G 62, fol. 80). 138 Guy de Franchelins, provost of Fourvière, left certain of his responsorial books to the church of Saint-Thomas on the Fourvière in Lyon: Gonon, La Vie quotidienne, p. 134 (A.D.R., 4 G 40, fol. 67). 139 ‘Item quedam responsoria que emi et refeci propriis manibus meis, ecclesie parrochiali de Cerdone do. It. quendam quaternum de Corpore Xpi notatum cum parvo libro aque benedicte quos feci manu mea propria scripsi et notavi […] dicte ecclesie do’: Gonon, La Vie quotidienne, p. 206 (A.D.R., 4 G 48, fol. 12). 140 In 1309, for example, Pierre ‘de Kadrellis’, cleric and lord of Marigny, left a book to his grandson, Perrello. It does not say if Perrello was a cleric: Gonon, La Vie quotidienne, p. 127. 141 Gonon, La Vie quotidienne, pp. 211–12 (A.D.R., 4 G 48, fol. 51).

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The archives pertaining to the churches of Lyon contain some references to what the children under their care were studying. Since the focus of their studies was preparation for singing the liturgy, however, the texts were invariably of a liturgical type. On 12 July 1370, the chapter of Saint-Jean ordered that the choirboys were to prepare ‘the mass of the Cross and Blessed Mary, and they should say the epistles in order to learn [them]’.142 In other words, the boys were to concentrate on memorizing specific services and then learn the epistles by heart. It is not clear if they first read the epistles out of a codex or if they listened to them being recited and repeated them in turn. The proceedings of the chapter of Saint-Paul indicate that actual copies of the texts being learned were accessible to the choirboys there, and so it is likely that the boys of Saint-Jean also read their lessons before they were committed to memory. In May 1461, the chapter of Saint-Paul ordered the magister clericulorum, Leonard Charmeta, to record the books that were being used ‘for the learning of the choirboys’.143 A list of six books followed, all liturgical in nature: [A] new book of the Offices in two volumes, […] a new responsorial in two volumes, […] a new white quarto […] finishing with the Agnus Dei, a new red quarto, […] an old responsorial, […] a Psalter […] with the vigil for the dead.144

This inventory of books serves to emphasis the type of reading that choirboys were exposed to. Since they were to participate in services, and since perfection was expected, much of their class time was limited to such texts. There is no mention of grammar books of any kind. Jean Gerson’s objection to this level of concentration on musical studies – much to the detriment of grammatical studies – is not surprising, and appropriate in this context.145 Outside the choir schools of Lyon, the municipal and independent teachers did not leave much information on the books they were using with their pupils. The city fathers, when they involved themselves in the 142 ‘preparent missam crucis et beate Marie et dicant epistolas ut addiscant’: A.D.R., 10 G 76, fol. 115. See also Forest, L’École cathédrale, p. 111. 143 A.D.R., 13 G 7 fol. 24 v.–25. 144 A.D.R., 13 G 7 fol. 24 v.–25. The details that have been left out are descriptions of the individual codices including number of folios and colours of ink used. 145 ‘Habeat ergo magister alius sufficiens spatium pro docendo grammaticam et logicam et versus’ (‘Therefore the other master should have sufficient time for the teaching of grammar and logic and verse’): Gerson, ‘Pro pueris’, IX, 687.

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education of Lyon’s children, did not deem it important to record what books their candidates might have used. It must be assumed yet again that the prayers, the Psalter, versions of Donatus, and the octo auctores were employed by the majority of Lyonnais teachers in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. However, there is some evidence to suggest that some early printing establishments produced books that could be used by pupils of grammar. Of particular interest is a collection published by Jean Trechsel in November 1492, the Sylvae morales, with commentaries and prefaces by Jose Badius Ascensius.146 The volume was divided into twelve little books: 1) a little work of Virgil; fragments of Horace147 2–3) Horace, including poems from Books Two and Four of his Odes 4) Horace, including the ode, Quid dedicatum; Persius’s Quid offerendum deo; Juvenal’s Quid optandum148 5) Fragments of Cicero’s De amicitia, and Ennius149 6–7) Further excerpts from Horace’s Odes and his Epistles 8) Juvenal on the duty of parents to their children and on serving humanity 9) Mantuan on the vice of immoral writings150 10) Giovanni Sulpizio da Veroli’s treatise on table manners151 11) Disticha Catonis 12) Liber parabolarum by Alan of Lille152 146 Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, II, p. 67. See Chapter Two, pp. 101–06, for Badius’ activities as a teacher in Lyon. 147 Though the exact title of the Virgilian work was not given, his works were being used in grammar curricula in Italy in the fifteenth century: Black, Humanism and Education, pp. 256–58. Badius does state that he read Virgil’s Eclogues while at Henri Valluphin’s school at Lyon: Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, II, 536. Trechsel and Badius liked Horace, who was also a feature of Renaissance curricula: Black, Humanism and Education, pp. 200, 244–46. 148 For the use of Juvenal and Persius in the grammar curricula of fifteenth-century Florence, see Black, Humanism and Education, pp. 252–54. 149 Cicero was a growing presence in the grammar curricula of fifteenth-century Italy: Black, Humanism and Education, p. 262. Despite the fact that his work survives in fragmentary form only, Ennius appears to have been a personal favourite of Badius as he quotes him extensively in his 1498 preface dedicated to Henri Valluphin: Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, II, 536–37. 150 This is almost certainly an excerpt from Battista Mantovano’s popular work, Adulescentia, which sought to combine the language of Virgil’s Eclogues with Christian ideas. 151 Giovanni Sulpizio da Veroli’s treatise on table manners was an ideal work for pupils of grammar, combining Latin reading with social and moral lessons. The treatise was used later by the first principal of the Collège de la Trinité, Guillaume Durand, in his classes: Gerig, ‘Le Collège de la Trinité’, p. 81. 152 Both the Disticha Catonis and Alain de Lille’s book of proverbs were numbered among the octo auctores. See Chapter One, pp. 45–46 (Table 1).

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The Sylvae morales was almost certainly intended for use in classes at a grammar school or by a private tutor. It may even have been aimed at Lyonnais pupils themselves – but it was more likely that the intended audience was schoolmasters. The entire work was dedicated to Jacques and Pierre de Samur, who were part of the community at the cathedral of Saint-Jean.153 Jacques is named as cantor of Saint-Jean, meaning that he held one of the dignities of the church and was one of the senior canons.154 It is likely that Pierre was also a canon. Furthermore, the last three ‘books’ of the Sylvae morales were dedicated to adolescents who were disciples or students of Badius. This is significant, not only because Badius had established teacher– pupil relationships in Lyon but also because the contents of these books were very much the preserve of the early part of the grammar curriculum.155 Badius prepared several editions of works that could have been used as schoolbooks, both while he was living in Lyon and when he had moved to Paris, where he concentrated on editing and publishing. In 1498, his edition of an ‘annotated Juvenal with an explanation by the most learned of men, Antonio Mancinelli’, could well have been used as a textbook, given Juvenal’s popularity as such.156 After his relocation to Paris, Badius continued to print books of interest to teachers of grammar and their pupils.157 While a volume like the Sylvae morales contained many texts that could have been used in the context of the classroom, and were frequently used as such, it is 153 Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, II, 68. 154 Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, II, 68. 155 It is easily established that morality played a large role in medieval education. From Jerome to Vincent of Beauvais, pedagogical writers emphasized the moral impetus behind formal instruction within a Christian context. Morality, or rather, right action, was also an aspect of classical education, as seen in the writings of Quintilian. However, there has been some dispute between historians such as Robert Black on the one hand, and Paul Gehl on the other, over the prevalence of a consciously moral approach to education in the Renaissance. Black argues that morality played no role in Renaissance educational practices while Gehl entitled his monograph on the same subject A Moral Art. Perhaps it is better to suggest that morality was an implicit aspect of education, both Renaissance and otherwise; an aspect so inherent to the action of learning and teaching that it was unnecessary to explicitly discuss. Nevertheless, some noted humanists did promote moral education, including Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, when he wrote: ‘Hoc enim non sacri solum codices sed ipse quoque gentiles ostendunt litterae’ (‘Not only the Bible but also pagan literature shows [salvation]’): Piccolomini, ‘The Education of Boys’, p. 163. 156 This edition by Badius contains the panegyric dedicated to Henri Valluphin, one of the masters favoured by the municipal government of Lyon: Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, II, 536–37. For the use of Juvenal in Italian grammar schools, see Black Humanism and Education, pp. 253–54. 157 In May 1500, he published an edition of Horace, including his Ars poetica, and dedicated it to his former students in Lyon: Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, II, 496–97.

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unclear if schoolboys themselves would have possessed such a book. Even when we take into account the fact that the students mentioned in the prefaces were sons of patrician and aristocratic families and the municipal elite of Lyon, who technically had the resources to buy books, we cannot be certain that the boys in question were the primary owners and users. It is possible – given the dedication of the general preface to the cantor of Saint-Jean – that Badius wished to promote the work to teachers and rectors of schools who could decide to invest in such a book as an institutional, rather than a personal, investment. Children who attended elementary and grammar schools, both in medieval Lyon and in much of France, probably did not possess personal textbooks as part of their instructional experience. Instead, the majority of pupils would have interacted with the books and texts owned by their teachers or by the institution of the school, in the case of those attached to the chapter of Saint-Jean and Saint-Paul. Before printing, only the most affluent of pupils would have owned a book or two of their own. Lyon did have sufficient wealth to allow for some pupil ownership of books, but it was probably relatively rare, even at the end of the fifteenth century. *** The actual location of schools is difficult to pinpoint in a medieval city. As seen in Chapter Two, many teachers owned or rented large houses in which they held their schools and in which they and their families lived. The concept of a dedicated teaching space was unusual. In Lyon, most schools mentioned in the municipal archives were houses in a street, no different necessarily from other surrounding buildings.158 In most of the churches, the location of their schoolrooms has been passed down by tradition.159 Happily, however, the archives are not completely bereft of the details of some of the schools in Lyon. The proceedings of the chapter of Saint-Jean contain the specifics of the layout of the manécanterie or choir school, as well as how the space was perceived. In addition, the proceedings of the city council between 1527 and 1530 include information on the buildings of the Collège de la Trinité. 158 For example, in 1481, the municipal government rented a house ‘known as La Coronne’ for 100 sols a year for the use of the schoolmaster: A.M.L., BB 352, 1 July 1481. 159 At Saint-Paul, the school was supposedly held in a room above the chapel of Saint-Catherine, but I have been unable to find any evidence in the surviving proceedings of the chapter there to confirm this.

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Before the 1390s, the choirboys of Saint-Jean led an itinerant existence.160 As in many cathedrals, including Notre-Dame in Paris, the boys lodged in the houses of canons and other clerics of the chapter and their residence was rotated on a yearly basis.161 For instance, in November 1361, Guillaume Foreis (most probably the vicemagister at this time) was given 10 florins for the rent of a house for the choirboys.162 In November 1373, however, Guillaume Bardoti – who does not appear to have had a role in the school – was given money and grain so that he could care for the choirboys in his own house.163 This state of affairs would have been deemed unacceptable for the cathedral authorities. They had two principal concerns. Firstly, the cloister of Saint-Jean was, in effect, an open cloister during the day, and was full of strangers who presented a danger to the boys. The chapter, being in loco parentis, had to protect the children in its charge.164 Secondly, the boys were being trained for the rigours of ecclesiastical life, and a public space like the main cloister was full of distractions and freely available bad habits.165 In order to ensure the safety and privacy of the boys, the chapter of Saint-Jean renovated a twelfth-century building adjoining the cathedral in the early 1390s (Figure 4).166 This allowed for dedicated living and teaching spaces to be created, with ready access to the cathedral and its auxiliary churches as well as a private cloister for the exclusive use of the choirboys. This reconfiguration 160 For a full discussion of choirboys and space at Saint-Jean and other French cathedrals, see Lynch, ‘The Children’s Cloister’. 161 The domus puerorum at Paris was only established in 1455: Wright, Music and Ceremony, p. 169. 162 A.D.R., 10 G 76, fol. 2 v. 163 A.D.R., 10 G 76, fol. 154. This happened again in November 1381 when Guillaume de Becy was to care for the boys and their masters: A.D.R., 10 G 78, fol. 82. 164 Beyond Saint-Jean, there was a real concern that choirboys might be abused, and steps were taken to limit their unsupervised contact with people not of the choir school’s direct ‘household’. Jean Gerson advised against unlimited access to strangers, or even to clerics not immediately concerned with the school. He even objected to external pupils, ‘lest our boys get bad habits from intimacy with others, for a single bad sheep corrupts every sheep’: Gerson, ‘Pro pueris’, IX, 688. It should be noted that, at Paris, statutes issued in 1435 banned the choirboys from receiving any gifts whatsoever from anyone, including parents and canons ‘or worse, from someone from the outside’. This would suggest that there was a fear of the boys being groomed for nefarious reasons: Wright, Music and Ceremony, pp. 168–69. 165 According to Gerson, ‘the society of boys surrendered to divine service is the most beautiful and most flourishing portion of the Church’ and they ‘should maintain internally the angelic service that they exhibit externally’: Gerson, ‘Pro pueris’, IX, 686. 166 This renovation resulted in a general reorganization of the choir school, as shown in Appendix II. Information on the internal layout of the building at this time has not been preserved. The building was renovated in the eighteenth century and the current building serves as a treasury-cum-museum for the cathedral.

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Figure 4 The Manecanterie of the Cathedral of Saint-Jean, Lyon

The manécanterie or song school of the cathedral of Saint-Jean, Lyon. The west front of the cathedral is located just to the left. Photo: author’s own

of the cathedral buildings created a cloister within a cloister, and access to the manécanterie and its cloister was strictly limited to the pupils of the school and those involved with its management. In November 1445, the chapter mandated that the song master would be fined the sum of ten solidi if anyone but the choirboys entered the little cloister or, as it is described in the proceedings, ‘into the cloister provided for play’. Any interloper would also be fined 10 solidi.167 The school of Saint-Jean was therefore meant as a self-contained unit within the precinct of the cathedral and it was envisioned that its pupils, namely the choirboys, would pass their lives between it and the cathedral.

167 ‘Eadem die prenominati domini perunt [sic] manecantanti sub pena decem solidorum ne aliquos cuius cumque status permittant intrare in claustro proviso pro ludendo vel alia faciendo peteo [sic] clericulos et si a casu in dicto claustro aliqui ultra eius voluntatem ineunt comiserunt dicto manecantanti quod illos pignorare possit et valeat usque ad consimilem summam decem solidi’: A.D.R., 10 G 90, fol. 200.

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This idealized teaching, practice, and living space of the manécanterie did not endure, however. By the 1460s, the choirboys (along with their song master) were being farmed out again to the residences of individual cathedral clerics.168 It is not clear why the boys were being lodged away from the school (which had a dormitory), but there appears to have been some financial strain and the chapter had to impose the choirboys on the charity of particular individuals. It is also possible that the cathedral school was accepting more external pupils from the city and that more space was required for these new pupils.169 By the beginning of the fifteenth century, boys whose voices had broken were attending grammar schools beyond the cloister walls in the city of Lyon proper. The proceedings of the chapter of Saint-Jean attest to boys leaving the cathedral for further instruction as early as January 1406, but they seem to have departed entirely from the cathedral and were no longer under the authority of the scolasticus. However, by the sixteenth century, some adolescents who were attending schools outside the cathedral were still resident within the cathedral precincts and were still subject to the authority of their old masters. For example, in November 1526 and again in June 1530, the scolasticus and vicemagister were told to examine the boys who were attending the city schools to ensure that they were indeed benefiting from these classes.170 The trend for boys to go to school ‘outside’ resulted in the final degradation of the concept of keeping choirboys entirely separate from society. The schools of Lyon, both those run independently and those supported by the municipal council, were distributed across the city. Several teachers who did not appear to have ties to either ecclesiastical or civic authority operated on the west bank of the Saône, the traditional focus of the influence of the Archbishop of Lyon.171 In contrast, the east bank of the Saône – that is, the Presqu’île, the strip of land between the Saône and the Rhône – was more under the direct influence of the civic government (see Figure 1). The Presqu’île was where the councillors had their meetings, where the 168 In March 1469, Jean de Protiers gave up keeping the boys of the choir midway through the term: A.D.R., 10 G 97, fol. 46 v. In July 1472, Mathieu Robert took over the care of the boys and their song master: A.D.R., 10 G 97, fol. 277. 169 Forest and Pourrat both suggest that external, non-singing pupils were a feature of the school of Saint-Jean: Forest, L’École cathèdrale, pp. 46–47 and Pourrat, L’Antique école de Leidrade, p. 32. A reference to such pupils has yet to be found, however. External pupils did attend other cathedral schools, such as Notre-Dame in Paris: Wright, Music and Ceremony, p. 171. 170 A.D.R., 10 G 81, fol. 68 (1406), 10 G 111, fol. 193 and 193 v. (1526) and 10 G 113, fol. 142 (1530). 171 Pierre Andre was one of those teachers. He lived between the church of Saint-Paul and the hermitage of the Madeleine, and is listed as a practising schoolmaster in the municipal archives from 1478 to at least 1493: A.M.L., CC 97, fol. 24 v. and CC 12, fol. 64.

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favoured church (Saint-Nizier) of the municipality was, and where many of the teachers favoured by the city fathers were active.172 This was where the municipal government, along with the confraternity of the Trinity, founded the Collège de la Trinité in 1527. According to the document that recorded the foundation of this school, it was to be located ‘in barns belonging to the confraternity situated on the Rhône, on the rue Neuve, those which were and are occupied by the artillery of the King’.173 There were initial problems with the school buildings. In August 1528, the rector of the school, Jean Canape, noted that the roof was leaking in several places.174 In November 1529, Canape complained that the noise from the adjacent factories, namely the factory producing artillery for the King, had driven all the pupils away from the college.175 The locale and state of the buildings set aside for the new school were not, therefore, suitable for the task. The municipal government was forced to invest substantial sums of money in the fabric of the college.176 The issues that arose with the Collège de la Trinité at its inception in the early sixteenth century merely serve to underline the movable nature of elementary and grammar education in late medieval Lyon. Teaching was conducted wherever sufficient space could be acquired, preferably without serious material discomfort such as the leaks and the noise experienced by the early pupils of Jean Canape. While there were efforts to create dedicated spaces for learning, these places were the exception rather than the rule in Lyon. *** There are scattered references to specific pupils in Lyon in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In the majority of cases, these comprise of names alone and it is difficult to construct biographies for the individual children in question. As shown above, the state of the sources regarding the identity of pupils can be divided in two. On the one hand, the proceedings of the chapter of Saint-Jean contain long lists of boys who were added to the 172 Henri Valluphin’s school was located ‘en couste devers l’empire’ (‘on the side towards the Empire’), meaning the eastern part of the city: A.M.L., CC 538 fol. 45 v.–46. 173 Charvet, ‘Le Collège de la Trinité’, p. 212. 174 ‘Il pleust en plusieurs lieux en ladicte grange’: Charvet, ‘Le Collège de la Trinité’, p. 215. 175 Charvet, ‘Le Collège de la Trinité’, p. 215. 176 A.M.L., CC 776, pieces 27 and 29 and CC 788, pieces 12 and 13. The Collège de la Trinité continued in different guises. It came under the authority of the Society of Jesus in 1565 and was controlled by the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri from 1762 to 1792. It eventually became the Lycée Ampère, and still operates as a school in the French public education system.

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number of the choir and who were, therefore, pupils in the school there. Most mention the boys’ names only, but some of those names indicate aristocratic connections. Occasionally, the professions of the fathers of non-noble choirboys are recorded. On the other hand, there are no records of attendees in the independent and municipal elementary and grammar schools. Only incidental references in contemporary literature preserve the names of some of these pupils. The choir school of Saint-Jean was made up of a remarkable cross-section of pupils from diverse backgrounds. Most easily identifiable are the boys who came from local aristocratic families. The de Talaru family, who produced several canons and archbishops, sent their sons to the manécanterie. For example, when Amédée de Talaru was elected Archbishop of Lyon in 1415, it was noted that he had grown up in the cathedral.177 Many of the boys came from less elevated origins, however. A good case in point is the reference in the proceedings of the chapter of Saint-Jean in November 1381.178 On that day, the canons ordered that Alberton du Bois Franchet, nephew of the magister chori, be added to the number of choirboys. Alberton was to fill the place left by the death of Nicolas, son of Étienne the coppersmith. It is likely that Alberton was noble, since the office of magister chori was reserved for a canon, and the canons of SaintJean were required to be of a noble line. Nicolas was not, but his father was likely a successful craftsman. Some of the choirboys were the children of cathedral servants. In March 1400, the secretary of the chapter included a note at the end of his minutes stating that his son, Pierre Humbert, had been added to the number of choirboys.179 In December 1414, the chapter was ordered to give the next place in the choir to the son of Hugonin, the Archbishop’s barber.180 Poorer (though never destitute), less well-connected boys also made it into the choir school, and two of these provide the best miniature sketches of the choirboys of Saint-Jean. Ogier, the son of a mason, entered the choir in 1378 but was almost immediately removed owing to the lack of interest that he displayed in his lessons and duties.181 His case was made all the more unusual since his mother, the widow of the aforementioned 177 ‘A puero in dictam ecclesiam nutritus’: Forest, L’École cathèdrale, p. 58. 178 A.D.R., 10 G 78, fol. 78 v. 179 Forest, L’École cathèdrale, p. 45. See also A.D.R., 10 G 80. 180 Forest, L’École cathèdrale, p. 45. See also A.D.R., 10 G 83. The chapter objected to this order and instead stated that the next vacancy would go to the nephew of Pierre de Cuyssel, a member of the chapter. 181 Forest, L’École cathèdrale, pp. 47-49.

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mason, had sent with him – in the nature of a ‘dowry’ – a bowl apparently of some value. On Ogier’s departure from the cathedral, she wrote (or had written on her behalf) a letter stating that she wished the cathedral to keep the bowl, apparently in the hope that her son would return to the choir school. He did not return. The chapter instead had found a place for him as an apprentice to a goldsmith in Vienne, just south of Lyon.182 During Lent in 1379, Ogier’s mother was forced to request that the bowl be returned to her owing to her poverty – and the chapter readily complied.183 While Ogier was not a success, another boy of relatively humble origins was able to use the opportunities provided by a clerical education to become a cardinal.184 Jean de Pont, a native of the village of Rochetaillée, began his career as a choirboy at Saint-Jean.185 At some point he attended university, as he is recorded as being one of the bachelors in decretals present in the cathedral in November 1397.186 He later became a cardinal-legate under the name Cardinal de Rochetaillée and was buried at Saint-Jean in 1437.187 It can be assumed, then, that the boys who entered the cathedral school were in a good position to capitalize on the experience. Ogier found his 182 Forest, L’École cathèdrale, pp. 47-49. 183 ‘Supplie humblement votre petite creature poure vesve femme Johanne jadis mullier de maistre Jehan de Vaucouleurs, masson.’ She stated that he had nothing to live on except the income ‘de sa filloure et des aumosnes des bonnes dames de la ville qui la cognoissent et qui scavent quelle est femme de bonne vie et de bonne conversation, si a este tout le temps de sa vie. Qu’il vous plaise de vostre benigne grace faire render a ladite suppliante son dit bacin garni, afin quelle peust aider […] vous saures la verite de cest chose par messier Matthieu de Villenove’: Forest, L’École cathèdrale, pp. 48–49. 184 This reflects Philippe de Navarre’s advice that poor people should educate their boys in the hope that they would become great prelates ‘[…] car par clergie est avenu sovant et avenir puet que li filz d’un povre home devient uns granz prelaz […]’: Philippe de Navarre, Les Quatres âges de l’homme, p. 10. 185 In a meeting of the chapter of Saint-Jean on 7 July 1413, Rochetaillée attested that he had been a ‘child in the cathedral’: Forest, L’École cathèdrale, p. 191. See also A.D.R., 10 G 82. For a full discussion of Rochetaillée’s background, see Beyssac, Jean de Rochetaillée, pp. 7–8. 186 ‘Johannis de Ponto aliter Rochitallia bacillarii [sic] in decretis’: A.D.R., 10 G 79, fol. 143 v. It should be noted that Jean de Pont was not a canon at this time; nor does he ever appear to have become a canon at Saint-Jean. Since a ‘canon-count’ of Lyon had to be a noble, this lack of office confirms, at the very least, that the future cardinal was not a noble. See Forest, L’École cathèdrale, p. 28 regarding the stipulation of nobility for canons. 187 Forest relates that a note on the anniversaries celebrated in Saint-Jean, written around 1520, also states that Rochetaillée received his first lessons there. Forest also records that the Cardinal’s tomb was decorated with the figures of twelve kneeling choirboys in reference to his time spent at Saint-Jean. Unfortunately, no proper references or images are used to back up these claims: Forest, L’École cathèdrale, pp. 192–93.

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apprenticeship thanks to the efforts of the chapter, while Rochetaillée became a great prelate. Some may have continued in the service of SaintJean or even in the service of the school itself, like Pierre Sorel, who held the posts of both manicantant and vicemagister.188 Furthermore, the boys whose voices broke and who left the cloister in order to attend lessons in the city of Lyon received the blessing and the financial backing of the chapter.189 Thus, while the school of Saint-Jean focused on training singers for its ceremonies, and demanded rigorous service in return, the boys came through the process with a certain level of education that opened up careers for them in the cathedral and beyond. References to schoolchildren outside the cathedral school are less common, but some names of pupils have been recorded, mainly in memoires and similar literature. It is from his own memoires that we know that Claude Bellièvre was given his first lessons by a labourer called Ragot.190 According to a biography of the sixteenth-century Lyonnais counsellor Pierre Sala, his brother, Jean, attended ‘the schools attached to Saint-Nizier’ and acted as the abbé des enfans, a type of leading adolescent who organized entertainments for the entry of Charles VIII in 1490.191 In François Garin’s Complainte, written in 1460, he expects that his son will attend school and learn the skills considered necessary for a merchant of Lyon.192 These were all boys associated with merchants and councillors and were numbered among the urban elite of Lyon.

188 A.D.R., 10 G 83, fol. 212 v. and 10 G 86, fol. 15 v. In the last reference, when Sorel was named vicemagister in 1428, it was noted that he had been a choirboy himself. 189 For example, on 5 November 1495, one of the choirboys, named ‘Pollides’, was given permission to go to a grammar school (‘ad scolas gramaticales [sic]’). He was also given a grant of 10 florins: A.D.R., 10 G 102, fol. 297 v.–298. 190 ‘Un bon homme laboreur, nommé Ragot, qui sçavoir lire’: Fédou, Les Hommes de loi, p. 17. See also n. 65 above and accompanying text. Other children of the Bellièvre family attended the school of Saint-Jean: A.D.R., 10 G 94, fol. 7 v. 191 A.M.L. BB 19, fol. 176. See also Philippe Fabia, Pierre Sala: Sa vie et son oeuvre avec la legend et l’histoire de l’Antiquaille, p. 14. 192 Garin, La Complainte, pp. 94–95: Quant tu auras a l’escole aprins choisir te couvient part y [sic] prendre alors ne soyes entreprins: avec marchans te vueilles render, combine premier tu dois aprendre a bien nombrer, car c’est la voye pour plus tost savoir et ententre le compte d’or et de monnoy.

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This picture of municipal education being associated with the children – specifically the sons – of the influential and the wealthy appears to be confirmed by the prefaces of Jose Badius. The boys and adolescents that he dedicates books to in his Sylvae morales all appear to come from aristocratic and ‘bourgeois’ backgrounds. Giovanni Sulpizio da Veroli’s treatise on table manners was dedicated to Clement d’Aurillac, probably a member of a noble family originally from the Auvergne.193 The Disticha Catonis was dedicated to Humbert Fournier and François ‘Pascheto’.194 While Pascheto cannot be identified, Fournier was likely the same Humbert Fournier who was a contemporary of Symphorien Champier and active in intellectual circles in Lyon in the early sixteenth century.195 It is unclear who the Pierre Guillaume de Calmont (or Calmon) referred to in the preface to the Liber parabolarum was, but his father, Claude, and his brother, François, are noted as being noble.196 The paucity of less prominent boys mentioned in relation to schools and teachers in Lyon in general does not absolutely mean that poorer children were excluded from elementary and grammar instruction. It is apparent that there were many independent schoolteachers operating in Lyon who, given their own more meagre economic status, may have taught such children for a fee that their families could pay.197 It is also possible that these children were in the catchment for the church schools in Lyon. Their identities are not recorded as they were not the kind of pupils who would have been presented to royalty or who had prefaces addressed to them, praising them and their relations. The sole reference to poorer children being educated in the schools associated with the municipal government was in November 1529, when Symphorien Champier and Jean Sala (most probably the same Jean who was abbé des enfans in 1490) argued that the 193 ‘Clementi de Auriliaco discipulo suo dilectissimo’: Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, II, 67, 70–71. See also Aubert de la Chesnave-Desbois, Dictionnaire de la noblesse, XI, 656. 194 ‘Humberto Fornerio et Francisco Pascheto studiosis adolescentibus discipulis suis.’ Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, II, 67, 71–72. Humbert Fournier was the brother of Hughues Fournier – lord of Grinats, professor of law at Orléans, and eventually president of the parliament of Burgundy. Humbert corresponded with Symphorien Champier and was probably a member of the exclusive circle of humanists who gathered in a house and garden on the slopes of Notre-Dame de Fourvièr in Lyon: Jean de Pins, Letters and Letter Fragments, p. 350, n. 16. 195 See Brian Copenhaver, Symphorien Champier and the Reception of the Occultist Tradition in Renaissance France, p. 88. 196 ‘Petro Guilhelmo Calomontensi adolescent studiosissimo’: Bibliographie de Josse Badius Ascensius, II, 68, 72–73. It is unclear whether Badius’s use of the term noble was descriptive or rhetorical. 197 See Chapter Two, p. 99.

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council should cover the cost of renting buildings for the Collège de la Trinité. They felt that this would reduce fees and allow for the increased attendance of less affluent pupils.198 *** It is unfortunate that we do not have more information regarding individual children who frequented the elementary and grammar schools of Lyon. The difficulty of tracing the progression of even the most prominent pupils is hampered by many factors, including insufficient records and the variations in the spelling of personal names.199 Much of our knowledge of the lives of pupils in the Middle Ages comes instead from diaries and literature and treatises concerning their instruction. The fragmented appearances of such children in the documentary sources indicates that they existed, and not much more. What we do know is that there was a demand for teachers and schools, and that a certain proportion of children – rich and poor, boys and girls – had the opportunity to experience formal education, even if only at a basic level, in medieval Lyon.

198 A.M.L., BB 49, fols. 78–79. 199 It would not have been clear that the choirboy Jehan de Pont and the Cardinal Rochetaillée were the same person if it had not been explicitly stated in one reference in the proceedings of the chapter of Saint-Jean: A.D.R., 10 G 79, fol. 143 v.

Conclusion The goal of the current work has been to construct a more rounded picture of the education process beneath university level in later medieval France. As has been shown, there was an abiding concern with elementary and grammar instruction, both as a theoretical study and as something worthy of the attention of authorities such as Church and Commune. Medieval concerns with education are reflected in the documentary evidence. While charters and receipts do not communicate the opinions of specific persons, they do demonstrate that bodies of individuals, making up chapters and councils, sought to control educational activities that lay within the spheres of influence that they had or wished to have.1 Archival sources also allow for a reconstruction of the socio-economic realities of elementary and grammar education where a given authority invested substantial sums of money in the fabric of schools, the welfare of pupils, and the rewards given to teachers. They indicate the relative wealth and poverty of schoolmasters and, occasionally, the economic and social standing of pupils. The picture of medieval education reconstructed here has been fragmented by the nature of the sources. Nevertheless, the picture is one where elementary and grammar instruction was valued in and of itself and as a means to progress to university. It was something approved of by a diverse cross-section of medieval society, rich and poor, educated and illiterate. Furthermore, the details that have been recorded – such as discussions of timetables and curricula, debates over which master took precedence and which authority had the right to name teachers, and the memoires of past pupils – all overwhelmingly underline the important and frequent role that education played in medieval lives. Lyon in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries serves as an intriguing example of a city and its schools. As discussed in Chapter One, Lyon spent much of the period between the Burgundian incursions of the sixth century and its formal annexation by France in 1312 in a borderland area.2 Not only was it in a political borderland between West and East Francia – later France and Germany – but it also lay at a confluence of cultural influences between northern Europe and the Mediterranean. As such, it displayed pedagogical tendancies similar to these different areas. The periods of cooperation 1 It is quite possible that, in the case of Lyon, the municipality saw its efforts to gain some sort of official authority over teaching activity in the city as a means of counteracting the cathedral’s traditional temporal influence. 2 See Chapter One, pp. 45–49.

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between the Church and communal authorities can be compared to the municipally approved education provided by the schools of Regensberg and Nuremberg.3 The tension between these authorities that occurred in the 1460s and 1520s was similar to tensions in some cities in the Low Countries.4 Furthermore, as an early centre of printing, Lyon produced early ‘school’ texts. What has made Lyon in the late Middle Ages particularly ideal for the present study of elementary and grammar education is that, unlike most other large cities of the period in France, it did not have a university. While there were attempts to establish a studium generale in Lyon, they did not bear fruit. This created a situation where all the educational efforts of those who took an interest in such things – the cathedral officers, the consuls – were concentrated on the provision and control of elementary and grammar schools in the city. While there are almost no surviving records about the state of education in twelfth- and thirteenth-century Lyon – apart from the names of a handful of masters associated with the cathedral of Saint-Jean and the statute of privilege of 1285 – what remains from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries demonstrates the activity of a range of schools and individual teachers.5 We should consider once again the principal aims of this work as expressed in the introduction, which may serve as conclusions to the arguments made throughout this book. Firstly, it sought to discover something of the motivations that lay behind the promotion and provision of elementary and grammar education in the Middle Ages, especially in Lyon. The proliferation of teachers and pupils in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and the conflicts over the control of schools, suggest that the goal of elementary and grammar education was to improve a child’s socio-economic status, and with it the economic (and cultural) profile of the community as a whole.6 3 Sheffler, Schools and Schooling in Late Medieval Germany, pp. 9–11. 4 Pirenne, ‘L’Instruction des marchands’, pp. 13–28. Not all city councils sought to control the ‘great schools’ of Dutch cities, however: Willemsen, Back to the Schoolyard, p. 24. 5 See Appendix II. 6 Even when some theorists emphasized the moral and religious formation of children, more earthly reward for academic effort was rarely ignored. Philippe de Navarre’s treatise was deeply concerned with the moral fibre of children and yet, he was also able to see specifically religious education as an avenue towards financial progress for a family. He specifically argues that the poor should try to educate their sons since the son of a poor man could become a great prelate: Philippe de Navarre, Les Quatres âges de l’homme, pp. 10–11. Furthermore, by linking the promotion of religious orthodoxy and the salvation of the soul with elementary and grammar instruction, ecclesiastical institutions were encouraged to provide schooling to a large number of children, no matter their position in society or their gender. These children were then able to make use of whatever learning they received in both this world and the next.

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Such motivations came together in order to create both the supply of and demand for elementary and grammar schooling in the later Middle Ages. In Lyon, this situation is played out in several ways. Firstly, the choir schools of Saint-Jean, Saint-Paul, and Saint-Nizier all required boys to sing in their churches and to become future clerics in their establishments that were, obstensibly, in the business of saving souls. Children were sent to these schools to advance their own careers in the Church; but, for poorer families, this also meant that their sons would receive payment for some of their service, and that there was one less mouth to feed.7 Secondly, the cathedral authorities and the municipal authorities both wished to provide and control the schools in the city. Saint-Jean sought to preserve its traditional authority over the schools and teachers of Lyon, which also represented one of the last vestiges of its temporal powers over the city. Meanwhile, the council of Lyon – filled with merchants and legal and medical professionals – wanted to provide instruction for its sons on a par with that available in other cities.8 These men wanted education to reinforce their economic successes and to promote the city itself as a centre of culture and commerce. These diverse motivations – the salvation of souls and the financial and social advancement of families and whole communities – were what drove the expansion of elementary and grammar education in late medieval Lyon and beyond. The second aim of this work was to examine the organization of a ‘system’ of schools in Lyon. The city certainly had a selection of elementary and grammar schools during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries that were, to a greater or lesser extent, under the authority of the scolasticus of Saint-Jean. He was the one who granted licences to teach, and he supposedly supervised the daily activities of the schools. This was not the case in reality, however. The city council intervened in the provision of education for its own reasons, while independent schoolmasters and mistresses proliferated, especially 7 Ogier’s mother – the mason’s widow who subsisted on the income from her spinning and alms – would at least not have had to feed and clothe her son while he was at the cathedral school of Lyon: Forest, L’École cathèdrale, pp. 48-49. The obituary of Saint-Jean shows that there was some income to be had from participating in the funerals and memorials of prominent people: O.L.E., pp. 90–91, 101, 157, and 159–62. 8 They did so by hiring (or attempting to hire) masters with higher degrees, and men already known and respected for their erudition. For example, both the teachers that the municipal council hired or attempted to hire in 1401 were masters in Arts. Meanwhile, only one of the officials mentioned in connection with the choir school of Saint-Jean had such a qualification. That was in the 1390s when Jean Chalendat, magister scolarum, was described as a magister in artibus. A.D.R., 10 G 79, fol. 112 v.

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in the fifteenth century.9 The educational ‘system’ of Lyon was, therefore, in disarray. It instead resembled more of a patchwork of authorities across the city, with foci of activity. One of these was the cathedral of Saint-Jean. It was supposed to dominate all of the schools. Instead, it saw its power disappear and, in the fifteenth century, its pupils begin to leave the cloister for ‘proper’ instruction in Lyon.10 Another focus was the Presqu’île towards the end of the fifteenth century. This area was where council authority was dominant and where the teachers who were both directly and indirectly patronized by the municipality held their schools. Other independent schools whose masters do not appear to have any ties to cathedral or council were spread across the city. While this state of affairs does not lend itself to neatly defined chains of command, it was probably of great benefit to the citizens of Lyon. Those who could afford it could send their children to the ‘communal’ masters who were often university educated and scholars in their own right. Those who were less affluent could meet the cost of sending their children to the poorer, independent teachers who taught more elementary subjects. In addition to these options, any boy who exhibited musical talent could gain a place at one of the cathedral chapter schools and be cared for at the expense of these institutions. Finally, this book presented evidence for the real experiences of teachers and pupils in late medieval Lyon. We know from the documentary evidence that there were different sorts of schools and teachers, some more respected than others. Tax records and surveys of property in Lyon indicate that teachers occupied a range of economic levels, from the affluent to the indigent. Pupils also came from a wide variety of backgrounds. Some came from households and social circles that had traditionally attended schools, while for others their entrance into any kind of classroom was a step none of their family had taken before. Sometimes, the same institution had aristocratic children learning with the children of artisans and poor widows, as was very much the case at the cathedral school of Saint-Jean. The same sources describe the school day, the books that were used, and the punishments that were meted out. We know something of the cycle of elementary and grammar education, and the nature of the physical schoolroom. This knowledge of what actually occurred during elementary and grammar education allows the researcher to locate Lyon in the wider 9 Even as early as 1381, the cathedral and the council had to negotiate over who was to hold school. A.M.L., CC 376, fol. 22 v. 10 See Chapter Three, p. 145.

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intellectual and cultural trends that were current in the French hegemony and in Western Europe as a whole. It establishes what the very foundations of academic activity were and what kind of people were involved in it. The ultimate conclusion is a simple one – elementary and grammar education was important to medieval urban society. Such a conclusion, however, should not be seen as facile. The long shadow of the work of Philippe Ariès, and the frequent and lengthy periods of neglect suffered by the topic of medieval education, reminds scholars that an iteration of the role played by formal education outside the university during the Middle Ages is necessary. In cities, towns, and regions across Europe schools were being founded, teachers were holding classes, and pupils were making their way to their lessons. In Lyon, with its strong mercantile outlook and no university, the question regarding the provision of education was significant enough that it resulted in discord and dispute between two would-be authorities. Those who engaged in schooling, as teachers and as pupils, could be seen every day in Lyon: at church or at recess from classrooms scattered throughout the neighbourhoods of the city. Education was seen as a necessity for some, but it was desired by many. It was valued as a means of advancement towards intellectual and material prosperity, both for the individual pupil and the community as a whole. Elementary and grammar education mattered a great deal in Lyon and beyond, and indeed flourished in the later Middle Ages.



Appendix I

Agreements on the Nourishment and Instruction of the Choirboys (Capitulary Act of Saint-Jean de Lyon, 5 November 1394)1 Dicti domini ex una parte et magister Johannes Chanlendati 2 magister scolarum ex altera parte, ipse siquidem partes scientes, fecerunt inter se pacta et conventiones de et pro clericulis3 dicte ecclesie tenendis per dictum Johannem alimentandisque et adiscendis, hinc ad unum annum et ultimo quandiu eisdem dominis placuerit voluntati, ut sequitur: videlicet quod dictus magister Johannes habeat secum et teneat duos magistros ad instruendum dictos clericulos, videlicet unum in grammatica et alium in cantus quibus dictus magister Johannes ministrabit victualia satis honorifica secundum eorum statum. Item debet dictus magister Johannes ministrare XII clericulis dicte ecclesie victualia, videlicet qualibet die bonum potagium et pitanciam 4 sufficienter et competenter, et panum habundanter, et vinum moderatum cum aqua scilicet per ter in prandio et ter in coena. De mane autem debet eis dare de pane competenter, et in aestate post dormicionem eciam competenter, et hoc de pane frumenti. Item debet eis ministrare omnia utensilia domus videlicet coquine et mapparum, alia vero necessaria utpote lectorum linteamina, camisias et alia pro personis dictorum clericulorum necessaria debent providere dicti clericuli quilibet per se. Item dictus magister Johannes debet providere et habere unum sufficientem bacallarium5 qui semper sit tam de die quam de nocte cum dictis clericulis. Et pro pactis faciendis et sustinendis, dictus 1 Forest, L’École cathédrale, pp. 343-44. 2 Jean Chalendat was active during the 1390s. As well as being the scolastic of the cathedral school, he was also named as the rector of the schools of the city of Lyon, which he clearly supervised. A document from 1397 has Chalendat taking action against teachers who had not sought his permission to operate schools in Lyon (A.D.R., 10 G 79, fol. 112 v.). 3 In this document (as in the rest of the current work), I have translated clericulus as ‘choirboy’, rather than ‘little cleric’. From my readings, their main function was as choirboys, and not all of them remained in the cathedral to become clerics or priests. 4 From the French pitance meaning the portion of food allotted to monks and nuns. 5 I have translated this as ‘senior pupil’ using the Revised Medieval Latin Word-List, ed. by Latham. Etymologically, it is possible that this may have signified a Bachelor of Arts, but it is unlikely. In 1397 Jean de Pont (ex-choirboy of Lyon and future cardinal) was a bachelor and was retained in the cloister in order to give instruction in canon law. Another possibility is that this passage refers to a beadle. However, this officer is mentioned elsewhere (A.D.R., 10 G 79, fol. 112 v.) and is called badellus.

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magister Johannes habebit et habere debet sexaginta florinos per dictos dominos solvendos et quinquaginta-quatuor asinatas siliginis de blado magne eleemosine ad mensuram dicte eleemosine, et magis quinque ulnas panni pro veste sua de panno clericulorum, dictus bacallarius qui cum dictis clericulis morabitur eciam habebit et habere debet pro veste sua quatuor ulnas de consimili panno. Que pacta et conventiones dicte partes hinc et inde tenere et observare promiserunt, et his mediantibus dicti domini voluerunt et dicto magistro Johanni concesserunt quod ipse portet et portare valeat habitum dicte ecclesie, facta prius informacione quod sit de legitimo matrimonio procreatus, juxta morum dicte ecclesie. Presentibus dominus Claudio Maneti et Aymone Franqueti capellanis perpetuis in dicta ecclesia, testibus. The said lords on the one hand and master Jean Chalendat, master of the schools, on the other, in the full knowledge of both parties, mutually make pacts and agreements concerning and on behalf of the choirboys of the said church to be fed and taught by the said master Jean, henceforth [for a period of] up to one year and subject to continuation at the will of the same lords, as follows: namely that the said master Jean shall hold and keep mutually two masters for the instruction of the said choirboys, namely one in grammar and the other in song to whom the said master Jean will furnish sufficient honourable provisions according to their status. Likewise the said master Jean must furnish provisions to the said twelve choirboys of the said church, namely sufficiently and suitably good broth and food by day, and bread abundantly, and wine mixed with water three times at lunch and three times at dinner. But in the morning he must give them bread suitably, and likewise in the summer after sleep,6 and this of wheat. Likewise he must furnish them [with] all household utensils, namely pertaining to cooking and to napkins; however other necessities such as bed linen, shirts, and other things for the persons of the said choirboys, the said choirboys each must provide whatever necessities themselves. Likewise the said master Jean must provide and have one senior pupil who shall always be with the said choirboys both by day and by night. And in order to make and sustain the agreement, the said master Jean will and must have 60 florins paid by the said lords and 54 ass-loads of wheat from the grain of the great alms-giving according to the measure of the said alms-giving, and moreover, 6 This may mean that the boys rose earlier in the summer and were given something to tide them over until breakfast, or that the boys were given a siesta during the summer and were fed afterwards.

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five lengths of cloth for his robe from the cloth of the choirboys, the said senior pupil who will stay with the said choirboys likewise will and must have for his robe four lengths of similar cloth. And the said parties have promised to keep and observe the agreement and compact henceforth and thenceforth, and according to these agreements the said lords resolved and conceded to the said master Jean that he himself wears and is allowed to wear the habit of the said church, first producing information that he is born from legitimate marriage, according to the custom of the said church. Present as witnesses Lords Claude Manet and Aymon Franquet, perpetual chaplains in the said church.



Appendix II

Schoolmasters, Schoolmistresses, and Vicemagistri Listed in the Archives of Lyon, 1285–1530 Saint-Jean Arnaldus: magister puerorum (twelfth or thirteenth century) [O.L.E., p. 40] Borno de Pluveis: magister puerorum (twelfth or thirteenth century) [O.L.E., p. 68] Petrus Rufus (Pierre Roux): magister puerorum (d. 1170) [O.L.E., p. 149] Petrus Atenulfi: magister puerorum (d. 1174) [O.L.E., pp. 110, 175] Johannes: grammaticus (witness, 1201) [O.L.E., p. 185] Poncius de Petra Lata: magister scolarum (d. 1197 or 1208) [O.L.E., pp. 18, 165] Girinus de Sancto Projecto (Girin de Saint-Priest): magister puerorum (d. 1209) [O.L.E., pp. 141] Willelmus de Sancta Columba (Guillaume de Saint-Columbe): magister chori (witness, 1209), magister scolarum (d. 1239) [O.L.E., pp. 170, 191, 214–15] Pierre de Gravelles: vicemagister chori (d. 1348, executor to two wills immediately before his death) [O.L.E., pp. 90–91 Girodus de Bella Villa (Giraud de Belleville): vicemagister (witness, 1355; proceedings of the chapter, 1367) [O.L.E., pp. 159–62; A.D.R., 10 G 76, fol. 76] Etienne de la Balme: manicantant (appointed November 1372) [A.D.R., 10 G 76, fol. 145] Petrus (Pierre Drevôt): magister clericulorum in grammaticalis (appointed June 1374) [A.D.R., 10 G 76, fol. 162 v.] Pierre Girod: magister in grammatica (appointed June 1383) [A.D.R., 10 G 78, fol. 128] Jean Chalendat: magister scolarum (proceedings of the chapter, November 1394, June 1397) [A.D.R., 10 G 79, fol. 80 v.; 10 G 79, fol. 112 v.] Janin Cottier: manicantant (February 1409; promoted to perpetual chaplain, March 1409) [A.D.R., 10 G 81, fol. 252; 10 G 81, fol. 258 v.] Pierre Sorel: manicantant (appointed, November 1414; promoted to perpetual chaplain, May 1418; presented his successor, July 1418; appointed vicemagister, November 1428) [A.D.R., 10 G 83, fol. 15 v.; 10 G 83, fol. 206 and fol. 207; 10 G 83, fol. 212 v.; 10 G 86, fol. 15 v.] Jean au Gentilhomme: manicantant (presented as manicantant, July 1418) [A.D.R., 10 G 83, fol. 212 v.] André Serrat: manicantant (appointed, November 1418) [A.D.R., 10 G 83, fol. 226 v.] Cornelius Conti: manicantant (appointed, April 1423; promoted to a chaplaincy, October 1432) [A.D.R., 10 G 85, fol. 47 v.; 10 G 87, fol. 55] Jean Defosses: manicantant (appointed, October 1432; left to attend a studium generale, July 1435) [A.D.R., 10 G 87, fol. 55; 10 G 87, fol. 178] Philippe Goujard: manicantant (appointed, July 1435; replaced? October/ November 1444) [A.D.R., 10 G 87, fol. 178; 10 G 89, fol. 332 v.; 10 G 90, fol. 9 v.] Humbert Coffardon/ de Chaffardon: manicantant (appointed? October/ November 1444; promoted to chaplaincy, July 1453) [A.D.R., 10 G 89, fol. 332 v.; 10 G 90, fol. 9 v.; 10 G 92, fol. 160 v.] Symondus: (appointed to teach the choirboys and clerics in grammar, November 1445) [A.D.R., 10 G 90, fol. 122 v.] Jean Dapon: manicantant (appointed, July 1453) [A.D.R., 10 G 92, fol. 161] Georges Bechier/ Bechon: (presented and rejected as master of the schools of the city, June 1460) [A.D.R., 10 G 94, fol. 46]; also appears in the municipal documents in the same year

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Pierre de Chaffardon: manicantant (appointed, February 1462; probably the manicantant promoted in August 1477) [A.D.R., 10 G 94, fol. 211; 10 G 99, fol. 36 v.] Pierre de Jura: manicantant (promoted to chaplaincy, May 1504) [A.D.R., 10 G 104, fol. 405] Jean Martin: manicantant (appointed, May 1504) [A.D.R., 10 G 104, fol. 405] Gilles de Saint-Martin: manicantant (promoted, June 1522) [A.D.R., 10 G 109, fol. 244 v. and 245] Pierre Marion: manicantant (appointed, June 1522; died in off ice, November 1528) [A.D.R., 10 G 109, fol. 244 v. and 245; 10 G 112, fol. 194] Bernard Morrieu: manicantant (appointed, November 1528) [A.D.R., 10 G 112, fol. 194]

Saint-Paul Gregory Peselli: vicemagister chori, magister chori (mentioned in the proceedings of the chapter, July 1478; appears as magister chori, December 1480) [A.D.R., 13 G 8, fol. 96 v.; 13 G 8, fol. 134 v.] Petrus Magrum: vicemagister chori (appointed, November 1482; mentioned in the proceedings in December 1482, September 1483, February 1485, and November 1485; promoted, February 1487) [A.D.R., 13 G 8, fol. 172 v.; 13 G 8, fol. 176; 13 G 8, 199 v.; 13 G 9, fol. 23; 13 G 9, fol. 35; 13 G 9, fol. 60 v.] Anthonius de Fontanus/ Peyaud: magister clericulorum (appointed, May 1491) [A.D.R., 13 G 9, fol. 168]

Saint-Nizier Petrus de la Liste: vicemagister, submagister chori, magister chori (September 1496; considered for perpetual office, January 1497; appears as a witness, September 1497; as submagister chori, June 1498; referred to as magister chori, January 1499) [A.D.R., 15 G 14, fol. 7 v.–8; 15 G 14, ref. 12; 15 G 14, fol. 54; 15 G 14, fol. 141 v.]

Municipal Archives Reynaut: mestre de l’escola (tax list, April 1377) [A.M.L., CC 60, fol. 58] Johanet de Genas: listed as one who could hold schools (1381) [A.M.L., CC 376, fol. 22 v.] Johan Gilet: recteur des escoles (expenses of the city, April 1402) [A.M.L., CC 385, book 10, fol. 13] Guillaume Lagier: recteur des escoles (expenses of the city, August 1402; November 1402) [A.M.L., CC 385, book 10, fol. 24; CC 385, book 11, fol. 14 v.] Germaine: maistresse de l’ecole (tax list, c. 1409) [A.M.L., CC 0003, fol. 53] Henry: l’escripvant, maistre d’escoles (tax lists, 1426; 1429) [A.M.L., CC 67, fol. 70; CC 67 fol.87] Drogo: maistre d’escoles (tax lists, 1426; 1429) [A.M.L., CC 67, fol. 91; CC 67 fol.73] Simon Bravart: magister scolare [sic], mestre d’escola (records regarding repairs to the bridge on the Rhône, 1432–1435; c. 1437) [A.M.L., CC 193, fol. 65 v.; CC 396, piece 63] Jehan de la Font: mestre en ars et recteur des escolles (contract, expenses of the city, 1446) [A.M.L., CC 402, piece 1, 1 v.] Jehan de la Balme: maistre en ars (claimed and received the right to hold schools, 1455; receipt of payment, 1455) [A.M.L., BB 6, fol. 121 v.; CC 402, pieces 3 and 4] Georges Bechon/ Bechier: recteur des escolles (appointed, 1460; receipt of payment, 1460) [A.M.L., BB 007, fol. 134 and fol. 134 v.; CC 421, piece 2] Jehan: maistre d’yscolles [sic] (attended a council meeting, 1476) [A.M.L., BB 13, fol. 25 v.]

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Jehan Hanpenille: escripvain (was only able to teach children how to write, 1477) [A.M.L., BB 16 fol. 14] Pierre Andre: magister scolarum, maistre d’escole (tax lists, 1478; owned a two-storey house with garden, 1493; heirs listed in tax records, 1503) [A.M.L., CC 97, fol. 24 v.; CC 4, fol. 75; CC 12, fol. 64; CC 111, fol. 47 v.] Jehan: recter de l’escolle, maistre d’escolle de la ville (expenses of the city, proceedings of the council meetings, 1481) [A.M.L., BB 352, 1 July 1481; CC 486, piece 6] – possibly the same master Jehan mentioned in 1476 Leonard Baronat: magister scriptor [sic] (tax list, 1481–1482) [A.M.L., CC 103, fol. 15] Nicolas Chuquet: algoriste (his heirs are listed in a tax list, 1488) [A.M.L., CC 105, fol. 132] Maistresse d’escolle de files (recorded as renting part of a house, 1493) [A.M.L., CC 4, fol. 31 v.–32] Jehan de Lanoe: maistre d’escripture, maistre d’escole (rented part of a house, 1493) [A.M.L., CC 5, fol. 86] Pierre Fidit: maistre d’yscolle (rented part of a house, 1493) [A.M.L., CC 5, fol. 59 v.] Jean d’Ulmo/ de l’Orme: maistre d’escolle (mentioned in connection with Pierre Andre, 1493; tax list, 1503, 1513, 1515, 1515–1516, 1523) [A.M.L, CC 12, fol. 64; CC 111, fol. 47 v.; CC 114, fol. 41 v.; CC 114, fol. 71; CC 114, fol. 96; CC 120, fol. 24 v.; CC 250, fol. 82; CC 126, fol. 56 v.; CC 131, fol. 56; CC 259, fol. 48 v.] Etienne Villefranche: maistre d’algorisme, maistre d’escripture (tax list, 1499, 1512; owns a three-storey building, 1516) [A.M.L., CC 107, fol. 124; CC 116, fol. 46; CC 24 fol. 26 v.] Henri Valluphin (Ballufin): maistre d’escolle (tax list, payments received from the city, 1499; tax list, 1514) [A.M.L., CC 107 fol. 135; CC 538 fol. 45 v.–46; CC 254, fol. 111] Jean Tostain: recteur des escolle Saint Pierre (owns a vineyard, 1515; tax list, 1523) [A.M.L., CC 21, fol. 334; CC 260, fol. 97 v.] Pierre des Chasteaux: maistre d’escolle (value of property held, 1515; renting rooms, 1515–1516) [A.M.L., CC 23, fol. 153; CC 32, fol. 39 v.] Claude Granet: maistre d’escripture (tax list, 1515; property valued, 1515–1516) [A.M.L., CC 126, fol. 80; CC 20, fol. 256 v.] Jean Canape: regent de la Collège de la Trinité (complaint about state of the school buildings, 1528; council proceedings, 1529) [A.M.L., CC 776, pieces 27 and 29; CC 0788, pieces 12 and 13]

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Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 10 G 97, Saint-Jean, Actes capitulaires, registres au net 1469–1473 Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 10 G 99, Saint-Jean, Actes capitulaires, registres au net 1477–1481 Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 10 G 100, Saint-Jean, Actes capitulaires, registres au net 1481–1485 Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 10 G 101, Saint-Jean, Actes capitulaires, registres au net 1485–1490 Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 10 G 102, Saint-Jean, Actes capitulaires, registres au net 1491–1495 Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 10 G 111, Saint-Jean, Actes capitulaires, registres au net 1526–1527 Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 10 G 113, Saint-Jean, Actes capitulaires, registres au net 1529–1533 Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 10 G 450, Saint-Jean, Copies de statuts XIIe–XIVe siècle Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 10 G 1666, Saint-Jean, Contrôle du chapitre sur les écoles de la ville Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 13 G 6, Saint-Paul, Actes capitulaires 1418–1432 Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 13 G 7, Saint-Paul, Actes capitulaires 1459–1470 Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 13 G 8, Saint-Paul, Actes capitulaires 1470–1483 Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 13 G 9, Saint-Paul, Actes capitulaires 1483–1498 Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 13 G 74, Saint-Paul, Privilège du chapitre au sujet de l’instruction des enfants de la paroisse Saint-Paul 1389–1665 Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 13 G 99, Saint-Paul, Obituaire, 1352–milieu XVe siècle Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 15 G 10, Saint-Nizier, Actes capitulaires 1338–1365 Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 15 G 11, Saint-Nizier, Actes capitulaires 1450–1452 Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 15 G 12, Saint-Nizier, Actes capitulaires 1462–1470 Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 15 G 13, Saint-Nizier, Actes capitulaires 1485–1490 Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 15 G 14, Saint-Nizier, Actes capitulaires 1496–1501 Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 15 G 15, Saint-Nizier, Actes capitulaires 1497–1498 Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 15 G 16, Saint-Nizier, Actes capitulaires 1501–1508 Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 15 G 17, Saint-Nizier, Actes capitulaires 1519–1543 Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 15 G 18, Saint-Nizier, Actes capitulaires 1519–1522 Lyon, Archives départementales du Rhône, 15 G 19, Saint-Nizier, Actes capitulaires 1525–1528 Lyon, Archives municipales, BB 6, Registre des actes consulaires 1452–1455 Lyon, Archives municipales, BB 7, Registre des actes consulaires 1455–1464 Lyon, Archives municipales, BB 13, Registre des actes consulaires 1475–1476 Lyon, Archives municipales, BB 16, Registre des actes consulaires 1477–1480 Lyon, Archives municipales, BB 19, Registre des actes consulaires 1485–1490 Lyon, Archives municipales, BB 35, Registre des actes consulaires 1516 Lyon, Archives municipales, BB 49, Registre des actes consulaires 1529–1531 Lyon, Archives municipales, BB 352, Registre des actes consulaires 1479–1482 Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 1, Nommées ou dénombrement des biens meubles et immeubles possédés par les habitants de Lyon (1388) Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 4, Nommées ou dénombrement des biens meubles et immeubles possédés par les habitants de Lyon (1493) Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 5, Nommées ou dénombrement des biens meubles et immeubles possédés par les habitants de Lyon (1493)

Bibliogr aphy

169

Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 12, Nommées ou dénombrement des biens meubles et immeubles possédés par les habitants de Lyon (1493) Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 13, Nommées ou dénombrement des biens meubles et immeubles possédés par les habitants de Lyon (1380–1423) Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 20, Nommées ou dénombrement des biens meubles et immeubles possédés par les habitants de Lyon (1515) Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 21, Nommées ou dénombrement des biens meubles et immeubles possédés par les habitants de Lyon (1515) Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 22, Nommées ou dénombrement des biens meubles et immeubles possédés par les habitants de Lyon (1515–1516) Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 23, Nommées ou dénombrement des biens meubles et immeubles possédés par les habitants de Lyon (1515) Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 24, Nommées ou dénombrement des biens meubles et immeubles possédés par les habitants de Lyon (1515–1538) Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 32, Nommées ou dénombrement des bien meubles et immeubles possédés par les habitants de Lyon (1515–1516) Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 60, Taxes perçues au nom du Roi (1377), Aides Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 67, Taxes perçues au nom du Roi (1415–1434), Tailles imposées à la Ville Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 71, Taxes perçues au nom du Roi (1449–1459), Tailles imposées à la Ville Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 82, Taxes perçues au nom du Roi (1458–1459), Tailles imposées à la Ville Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 97, Taxes perçues au nom du Roi (1478), Lettres patentes de Louis XI: Tailles imposées à la Ville Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 103, Taxes perçues au nom du Roi (1481–1482) Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 105, Taxes perçues au nom du Roi (1489–1492) Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 107, Taxes perçues au nom du Roi (1499), Tailles imposées à la Ville Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 111, Taxes perçues au nom du Roi (1503) Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 114, Taxes perçues au nom du Roi (1503), Tailles imposées à la Ville Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 116, Taxes perçues au nom du Roi (1512), Tailles imposées à la Ville Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 120, Taxes perçues au nom du Roi (1513), Tailles imposées à la Ville Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 126, Taxes perçues au nom du Roi (1516), Tailles imposées à la Ville Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 131, Taxes perçues au nom du Roi (1515–1516), Tailles imposées à la Ville Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 142, Taxes perçues au nom du Roi (1538) Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 189, Taxes communales (1358–1369), Garde de la Ville et Fortifications Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 193, Taxes communales (1432–1435), Réparations aux ponts du Rhône et la Saône, Indulgences Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 250, Taxes communales (1512–1513) Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 254, Taxes communales (1514) Garde de la Ville et Fortifications Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 259, Taxes communales (1523) Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 260, Taxes communales (1523) Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 376, Comptabilité communale (1377–1388), Compte rendu de recettes et dépenses par Jacquemet de Saint-Barthélemy et Guillaume de Cuysel Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 385, Comptabilité communale (1397–1408), Compte rendu de recettes et dépenses par Jacquemet et Poncet de Saint-Barthélemy

170 

Elementary and Gr ammar Education in L ate Medieval Fr ance

Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 396, Comptabilité communale (1432–1442), Pièces justificatives de la comptabilité de Nicolas Fournier, Réparations au Pont du Rhône Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 402, Comptabilité communale (1445–1457), Pièces justificatives des dépenses par Rolin Guérin Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 420, Comptabilité communale (1458–1466), Pièces justificatives de dépenses par Gilet de Chaveyriat Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 421, Comptabilité communale (1458–1466), Pièces justificatives de dépenses par Gilet de Chaveyriat Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 486, Comptabilité communale (1481–1483), Pièces justificatives des dépenses par Alandin Varinier Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 538, Comptabilité communale (1499), Pièces justificatives des dépenses par Jacques de Baileux. Dépenses pour l’entrée du Roi Louis XII Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 776, Comptabilité communale (1528–1529), Pièces justificatives des dépenses Lyon, Archives municipales, CC 788, Comptabilité communale (1529–1530), Pièces justificatives des dépenses

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—, University Records and Life in the Middle Ages (New York: Columbia University Press, 1949) Thurot, Charles, De l’organisation de l’enseignement de l’Université de Paris au Moyen Âge, 2nd edn. (Frankfurt am Main: Minerva, 1967) Tilley, Arthur, Studies in the French Renaissance (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1922; repr. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1968) Tuetey, Alexandre, ‘Testaments enregistrés au parlement de Paris sous le règne de Charles VI’, Collections de documents inédits sur l’histoire de France: Mélanges historiques, 5 vols. (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1880) Ulivi, Elisabetta, Benedetto da Firenze (1429–1479): un maestro d’abaco del XV secolo (Pisa: Istituti Editoriali e Poligrafici Internazionali, 2002) Ullman, B.L., ‘Tibullus in the Mediaeval Florilegia’, Speculum 23 (1928), 128–74 Vagnon, Agnès, ‘Etre consul à Lyon au XVe siècle: privilège ou travail d’Hercule?’, Cahiers d’histoire 39:2 (1994), 95–117 Vallet de Viriville, Histoire de l’instruction publique en Europe et principalement en France (Paris: Administration du Moyen Âge et la Renaissance, 1849) de Valous, Guy, Le Patriciat lyonnais aux XIIIe et XIVe siècles (Paris: Picard, 1973) Van Egmond, Warren, ‘The Commercial Revolution and the Beginning of Western Mathematics in Renaissance Florence, 1300–1500’ (unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Indiana, 1976) —, Practical Mathematics in the Italian Renaissance: A Catalogue of Italian Abbacus Manuscripts and Printed books to 1600 (Florence: Instituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza di Firenze, 1980) Van Engen, John, Sisters and Brothers of the Common Life: The Devotio Moderna and the World of the Later Middle Ages (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 2008) Vaughan, Sally and Rubenstein, Jay, eds., Teaching and Learning in Northern Europe, 1000–1200 (Turnhout: Brepols, 2006) Verger, Jacques, ‘Le Recrutement géographique des universités françaises au début du XVe siècle d’après les suppliques de 1403’, in Les Universités françaises au Moyen Âge, ed. by Jacques Verger (Leiden: Brill, 1995), pp. 122–67 —, Men of Learning in Europe at the End of the Middle Ages, trans. by Lisa Neal and Steven Randall (Notre Dame, in: Notre Dame University Press, 1997) Wadsworth, James, Lyons 1473–1503: The Beginnings of Cosmopolitanism (Cambridge, ma: Mediaeval Academy of America, 1962) Warnar, Geert, ‘Men of Letters: Medieval Dutch Literature and Learning’ in University, Council, City: Intellectual Culture on the Rhine, 1300–1550. Acts of the XIIth International Colloquium of the Société Internationale pour l’Étude de la Philosophie Médiévale, Freiburg im Breisgau, 27–29 October 2004 (Turnhout: Brepols, 2007), pp. 221–46 Watt, Donald E.R., ‘University Clerks and Rolls of Petitions for Benefices’, Speculum 34 (1959), 213–29 Willemsen, Annemarieke, Back to the Schoolyard: The Daily Practice of Medieval and Renaissance Education. Studies in European Urban History 1100–1800, 15 (Turnhout: Brepols, 2008) Williams, Peter, The Organ in Western Culture, 750–1250 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993) Wriedt, Klaus, ‘Gelehrte in Gesellschaft, Kirche und Verwaltung norddeutscher Städte,’ in Gelehrte im Reich: Zur Sozial- und Wirkungsgegeschichte akademischer Eliten des 14. bis 16. Jahrhunderts, ed. by Rainer Christoph Schwinges (Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 1996), pp. 437–52

Bibliogr aphy

183

—, ‘University Scholars in German Cities during the Late Middle Ages: Employment, Recruitment, and Support’, in Universities and Schooling in Medieval Society, ed. by William J. Courtenay and Jürgen Miethke (Leiden: Brill, 2000), pp. 49–64 Wright, Craig, ‘Dufay at Cambrai: Discoveries and Revisions’, Journal of the American Musicology Society 28:2 (1975), 175–229 —, Music and Ceremony at Notre Dame of Paris, 500–1550 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989) Young Choristers, 650–1700, ed. by Susan Boynton and Eric Rice (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2008)

Index Abaco 16-17; see also Education, Arithmetic Abbé des enfants 149-50 Aetius (Flavius Aetius) 45 Agnus Dei 139 Aix-en-Othe (diocese of Troyes) 75 Alan of Lille (Doctrinale altum prarbolarum) 103-04, 113, 117-18, 140, 150 Albi 38-39 de Albone, Guillaume, magister chori 82 Alexander of Villedieu (Doctrinale) 113-14 Alexandre-Bidon, Danièle 17, 19, 21-22, 109 Alphabet (letters) 11, 16-17, 20, 67, 69, 92, 100, 106, 108-09, 111, 120, 125 Andre, Pierre, schoolmaster 59n107, 60-61, 98-99 Angers 44 Anonymous schoolmistress 100 Appeville (Normandy) 39 Archives départmentales du Rhône 22-26 Archives municipales de Lyon 23, 25-26 Arianism 46 Ariès, Philippe 20, 157 Arithmetic 16-17, 94 Arles, kingdom of 47-48; see also Provence, kingdom of Artaud III, Count of Forez 48 Augustine of Hippo 28n63, 76n40, 118n53 de Aurilac, Clement 104, 150 Auvergne 150 Auxerre 33 Bacallarius 76, 81, 84, 159-60 Badius Ascensius, Jocodus (Jose Bade), schoolmaster, editor, publisher 62-63, 67, 101-06, 118, 140-42, 150 Sylvae morales 103, 105, 118, 140-41, 150 Balbus, Johannes (Catholicon) 114 Ballée (Maine) Priory of Saint-Léonard 33 de la Balme, Jehan (Johannes de Balma), master in arts, rector of schools (?) 57, 61, 77 Bardoti, Guillaume 143 Barillet, Jean, schoolmaster 75, 111 Bechon, Etienne (Georges), rector of schools 57-58 de Bella Villa, Girodus, vicemagister 83-84; see also Girodus, vicemagister Bellièvre, Barthélemy 121 Bellièvre, Claude 149 Bercenay-en-Othe (diocese of Troyes) 70 Bernard of Chartres 26, 136 Bernard of Clairvaux 117; see also Bernard of Morlaix Bernard of Morlaix (De contemptu mundi/ Chartula) 117

Beroaldo, Filippo 102 Bertier, Michel, merchant cobbler 100 de Béthune, Evrard (Graecismus) 113-14 Black, Robert D. 12-14, 16 Boethius 118 du Bois Franchet, Alberton 147 Bola, Johannes, manicantant (candidate) 82 Books and textbooks see Curricula Bordeaux 44 Boso of Arles, Margrave of Tuscany 47 Bouère (Maine) 74 de Boy, Jeanette, wife of Michelet Logeri 134 Boynton, Susan 16 de Boytoux, Clunier, tailor 99 Bravart, Simon, schoolmaster 61 de Bray, Hugues, teacher 39 Brebier, Pierre 37 Breviary 137-38 Brevis, Tanguidus, schoolmaster 71 Brittany 73-74, 126 de Brolio, Jean, curate 138 Bruyères (diocese of Laon) 39 Burgundy 38 Burgundy, kingdom of 46-48 de Calmont, Pierre Guillaume 150 Cambrai, cathedral and chapter 16, 123, 129-30, 132-33 de Camps, Thomas 40 Canape, Jean, rector of schools 146 Cantor 54-55, 58-59, 71, 75, 80 Cato, Marcus Porcius 117; see also Disticha Catonis Cerdon (Lyon) 138 Chalendati, Johannes, schoolmaster 83-84, 89, 96-97, 135-36, 159-61 Châlons 75 Chalons-sur-Saône 46 Champagne 21-22, 72, 74-75, 109, 120, 122, 129 Champagne, fairs of 48 Champier, Symphorien 150 Chanu, Guillaume, teacher 39 de Chaource, Pierre, rector of schools 72 de la Chapelle-Rainsouin, Jean 126 de la Chapelle, Person 131 Chaponnay (family) 49 Ponce de Chaponnay 48 Charlemagne, King of the Franks, Holy Roman Emperor 46 Charles V, King of France 38, 40, 56 Charles VI, King of France 56 Charles VIII, King of France 149 Charmenta, Leonard, master of the boys 139

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Chartres 19, 35-37 Notre-Dame, cathedral and chapter 35, 40, 71-72, 74, 123, 126, 129, 133, 136 Saint-Martin-au-Val 37 de Chaumont, Pierre Guillaume 104 Chavret, Léon 63 Childebert I, Merovingian king 46 Cicero 140 Clerval, Alexandre 19, 129 Commendation of the Clerk 76n39, 122 Common Life, Brothers and Sisters (schools) 102 Conrad I (the Peaceful), King of Burgundy 48 Consulat see Lyon, municipal council Councils, church Lateran, Third (1179) 34 Lateran, Fourth (1215) 34 Orléans (538) 46 Crécy, Battle of (1346) 25 Credo 109 Creil (Senlis) 75, 111 Curricula 13, 15-16, 29, 70, 102, 106, 108-19, 140-41, 153 Decize (diocese of Nevers) 39 Delaport, Ambrose, schoolmaster 75, 109 Delisle, Leopold 19, 40 De profundis 64, 136 Destables, Johannes, rector of schools 108 Dijon 38, 40, 55 Disticha Catonis 103-04, 117-19, 140, 150 Dominicans (Order of Preachers) 33 Domus puerorum 123; see also manécanterie Donatus (De partibus orationis ars minor) 112-16, 118, 140 Donmartin-Lettrée (diocese of Troyes) 75 Drogo, schoolmaster 61, 91, 98-99 Droupt-Sainte-Marie (diocese of Troyes) 75 Dubois, Pierre (De recuperatione Terrae Sanctae) 26 Dufay, Guillaume 19, 132-33 Eclogue of Theodulus 117-18 Elementary education see Elementary and grammar education Elementary and grammar education 11, 108-19 Church (provision by) 32-39 Colleges and universities (provision by) Curriculum, see Curricula 41-44 Girls (education of) 22, 28-29, 32, 69-70, 100, 127-28, 134 Lord (provision by) 39-41 School day 134-37 Schoolroom & school building 120-24, 142-46 Town (provision by) 38-39 Embrun 55, 77 England (education in) 12-14, 114-15, 117, 124 London 15, 107 Ennius 118

de l’Espoisse, Nicolas, royal secretary 128 Thévenin, grand-nephew 128 d’Étampes, Robert, schoolmaster 74 Evreux (Normandy) 110, 131-32 Fabri, Andre, curate 138 Fabri, Jean, his illegitimate son 138 Fargeix, Caroline 20 Ferry, Jules 18 Feurs (Forez) 136 Fidit, Pierre, schoolmaster 93, 100 Flanders (education in) see Netherlands and Flanders, education in Floretus 117 de la Font, Jehan, schoolmaster 61-62, 77, 91, 106 Fontenay-sur-Eure (diocese of Chartres) 129 Foreis, Guillaume, receiver general 83, 85-86, 143 Forest, J.M.H. 18 Forez, county of 48-49, 133, 137 de Fosses, Johannes (Defossess), manicantant 87, 89 Fournier, Humbert 104, 150 France, kingdom of 9, 49-50 France (education in) 15, 17-22, 32-44, 109, 114, 117, 125, 128-29 Franciscans (Order of Friars Minor) 33 Frederick I (Barbarossa), Holy Roman Emperor 48 Fremin, Jean, rector of schools 70 Gabriel, Astrik 21 Gallardon (diocese of Chartres) 129 Gallioni, Andre, curate 138 de Garennes, Robert, lord of Saugis 126 Garin, François (Complainte) 149 Gehl, Paul F. 12-13 de Genas, Johanet 54-55 au Gentilhomme, Jean, manicantant 77, 82 Gerbe, Jean, priest & teacher 37 Germaine, schoolmistress 61 Germany (education in) 15 Freiberg im Breisgau 70 Lübeck 123 Nuremberg 154 Regensburg 15, 154 Schwäbisch Hall 70 Schweinfurt 70 Gerson, Jean (A.B.C. des simples gens, Au précepteur du Dauphin, Pro pueris ecclesiae Parisiensis) 29n64, 35n16, 37n24, 76n40, 78n52, 85n80, 87n91, 88n95, 101-02, 110n12, 118, 118n53, 119, 124n78, 125n81, 130, 136, 139, 139n145, 143nn164-65 Giles of Rome (De regimine principum) 125n81 Gilet, Johan, rector of schools 55 Girodus, vicemagister 83; see also de Bella Villa, Girodus, vicemagister Godomar, King of the Burgundians 45

187

Index

Golden Bull (1157) 48 Gonon, Marguerite 24 Grammar education see Elementary and grammar education Grammaticus (master of grammar) 69-70, 72, 76, 78, 81-82, 85-86, 88-90, 96, 115, 132; see also Teachers Grandes-Chapelles (diocese of Troyes) 70 de Grandreville, Jacques, auxiliary teacher 71-72 le Gras, Jean, squire 41 Gregory of Tours 46, 80 Grendler, Paul F. 12-14 Gualterus Anglicus (Liber Aesopi) 117-18 Guarino, Battista 102-03 Guicarde de Mont d’Or, nun & teacher 32 Guidomarus, rector of schools 73 His wife, Margareta, daughter of Francisco Pergamenarius 73 Guigue, Marie-Claude 23 Guilbert, Sylvette 21-22, 129 Gundobad, King of the Burgundians 45 Guy de Laon, canon 131 Guyotjeannin, Olivier 21-22 de la Haie, Guillaume 40 Hajnal, Istvan 16-17 Hanawalt, Barbara 107 Hanpenille, Jehan, master of writing 93 Haskins, Charles Homer 15 Helori, Saint-Yves 126 Henri, schoolmaster, scribe 61, 93, 99 Holy Roman Empire 9, 48 Horace 103, 118, 140 Hugh of Arles, King of Italy 48 Hugh III, Duke of Burgundy 40 Hugonin, son of the barber 147 Hugutio of Pisa 114 Hullin, Jean, schoolmaster 74 Humbert II, Archbishop of Lyon 48 Humbert, Pierre 147 Hunt, R.W. 14 Ianua 113 Italy (education in) 12-13, 73, 91, 102-03, 105, 109, 113, 117 Bologna 102 Ferrara 102-03 Florence 13 Tuscany 13 Jehan, rector of schools 60, 62 Jerome (Epistola ad Laetam, Epistola ad Pacatulam) 27, 111n18, 141n155 Jean, Lord of Ferrières 41 Jean, Prior of Saint-Léonard, Ballée 33 Joan I, Queen of Navarre 40, 71 John of Garland (Facetus) 117 John of Hubant 42

John of Salisbury (Metalogicon) 26-27, 136, 136n129 Jones, Michael 74 Juvenal 103, 140-41 La Ferté-Bernard (Maine) 39 Lagier, Guillaume, rector of schools 55-56, 61, 77 de Lanoe, Jean, master of writing 75, 93, 100, 106 Laon, cathedral and chapter 39, 131 Laval Sainte-Catharine, priory 129 Leach, Arthur F. 13-14 Leclerc, Jean 120 Leidrade, Archbishop of Lyon 46, 80 Le Mans 34, 36-37 Saint-Nicolas 36-37 Saint-Pierre-de-la-Court, chapter 36-37 Liège, cathedral and chapter of Saint-Lambert 123 Loppin, Jean, rector of schools 74 Lorcin, Marie-Thérèse 22 Lothair I, Holy Roman Emperor 47 Lotharingia 47 Louis XI, King of France 40, 43 Louis the Blind, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Provence 48 Louis the Pious, King of the Franks, Holy Roman Emperor 46-47 Lucan 118 Lupus, Archbishop of Lyon 46 Lyon 45-50, 64-65, 153-54 Authority over schools 56-64 Académie de Lyon 63 Collège de la Trinité 63-64, 136, 142, 146, 151 Confrérie de la Trinité 63-64, 146 Forum 46 Île Barbe 46 Independent masters & schools 51, 54, 59-60, 73, 90-101, 122, 129, 134-35, 145, 147, 150, 155 Jewish quarter 60 Les Jacobins (Saint-Jacquême) 50, 60 Lycée Ampère 64 Municipal council 9-10, 20, 25-26, 31, 48-50, 53-65, 78, 155 Municipal schools 54-64, 90-91, 94, 155 Presqu’île 50, 60, 62, 145, 156 Rue Neuve 146 Saint-Jean, cathedral and chapter of 9-10, 23-24, 31, 46, 49-52, 54-60, 63-64, 104, 127, 139, 141-43, 146 Saint-Jean, school 18, 50-54, 76-90, 95-98, 122-24, 127, 131, 142-45, 155-56 Saint-Paul, church and chapter of 23-24, 53-54, 60, 77, 124 Saint-Paul, school 37, 53, 101, 124, 139, 142, 155 Saint-Pierre, abbey of 32, 127 Saint-Nizier, church and chapter of 23-24, 53-54, 60, 77, 146, 155 Saint-Nizier, school 37, 53, 78, 103, 149

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Magister chori 73, 81-83, 85, 95, 147 Magister puerorum 52, 72, 95, 136; see also Scolasticus Magister scolarum 37, 52-54, 68, 71, 75-76, 83-84, 94, 96, 98, 135, 159; see also Scolasticus; Teachers Maine 33, 74, 110, 126, 129 Mancinelli, Antonio 141 Manécanterie 47, 123, 142-45, 147 Manicantant (manecantant) 72, 76-77, 81-82, 84-90, 96-97, 149; see also Teachers, Song Manosque 38 Mantuanus, Baptista (Adulescentia) 103-04, 140 Matthew of Vendôme (Tobias) 117-18 Ménard, Philippe, curate of Rohaire 37 Merrilees, Brian 114-15 Metz 114 Mileti, Petrus (de Buxo), schoolmaster 71 Montbrison (Forez) 133 de Montbrisone, Etienne, cleric 133-34 Moran Cruz, Jo Ann Hoeppner 14-15 Morant, Guy, teacher 39 Mureau, Gilles, schoolmaster 126 Music and song 16, 19, 32-34, 36, 44, 72, 80, 87-88, 108, 110, 123, 130, 135-36, 139, 156 Muzillac (Brittany) 74 de Myners, Juneta, tailor 99 Nantes 44, 110 Narbonne 46 Nauguet, Jean 120 Néhou (Normandy) 40 Netherlands and Flanders (education in) 15, 38-39, 102-03, 154 Ghent 40, 102 Groningen 122 Leiden 122 Sint-Truiden 33 Nicetius (Nizier), Archbishop of Lyon 46, 53, 79 Nicolas, son of Etienne, coppersmith 147 de Nogent, Guibert 108-09, 120-22, 126 Normandy 19, 39-41, 110 Octo auctores 29, 104, 117-19, 137-38, 140 Ogier 131, 147-48 Orme, Nicholas 14, 107 Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor 48 Ovid 118 Palluau, wife of Dionysius, schoolmistress 69-70, 73 Papias 114 Paris 21-22, 35-36, 42-44, 70-71, 73-75, 105, 122-23, 127-28, 141 Notre-Dame, cathedral of 21-22, 35, 59, 69, 71, 74, 119, 122-23, 127-28, 136, 143 Saint-Andrés-des-Arts 71 Saint-Eustache 69 See also University, Paris, university of

Paschet, François 104, 150 Pater noster 109 Patiens, Bishop of Lyon 46 Pedagogical literature 26-27 Persius 103, 118, 140 Petrus, master of grammar 88 Petrus Girodi, master of grammar 88 Petrus Rufus, magister puerorum 52, 95 Philip III (the Good), Duke of Burgundy 40 Philip I, Count of Flanders & Vermandois 40 Philip IV (the Fair), King of France 49 Philippe of Navarre (Navaro) (Les Quatres âges de l’homme) 28n63, 130, 148n184, 154n6 Picardy 120 Piccolomini, Aeneas Silvius (Pius II) (De liberorum educatione) 73n23, 141n155 Pierre of Savoy, Archbishop of Lyon 49 Pirenne, Henri 19 Planchart, Alejandro Enrique 16, 19 Pleubian (Brittany) 126 Poitiers 49 Poitiers, battle of (1356) 25 Poncius de Petra Lata, magister scolarum 53-54 Pontfaverger (Champagne) 120 Pontoise (Senlis) 70 Pourrat, Jean 18 de Poyeto, Johannes, deacon 133-34 Printing, early 64n127, 102, 106, 140, 142, 154 Priscian (Institutiones grammaticae) 14, 112-16 Provence, kingdom of 47-48; see also Arles, kingdom of Provins 41 Psalms 20, 24, 28, 37, 42, 87, 101, 109-10, 137; see also Psalter Psalter 108, 115, 137-40; see also Psalms Pupils 107-08, 124-34, 146-51 Choirboys 23-24, 34-36, 40, 72-73, 77-78, 81, 83-87, 89, 96-97, 119, 123, 127, 130-33, 135-37, 139, 143-49 Girls 22, 28-29, 32, 69, 70, 100, 127-28, 134 Illegitimate 129, 132-34, 138 Socio-economic position 124-32, 146-51 Quimper 73 Quintilian (Marcus Fabius Quintilianus) (Institutio oratoria) 27, 28n63, 63n121, 111n18, 141n154 Ragot 149 Raulina, schoolmistress 69-70, 73 Recordations 85, 136 Rector scolarum 55, 57-58, 68, 70-73, 77, 108, 142, 146; see also Teachers Religious education 28-29, 128 Remigius of Auxerre 109 Renaud II, Archbishop of Lyon 48 Renouard, Philippe 102 Responsorial 137-39 Reynaud, schoolmaster 54, 61

189

Index

Rhône 45, 49, 60, 64, 145-46 Rice, Eric 16 Rochetaillée 148 de la Rochetaillée, Cardinal (Jean de la Pont) 129, 131, 148-49 La Rouaudière, priory (Maine) 33 Rudolph III, King of Burgundy 48 Sacerdos, Archbishop of Lyon 53 Sala, Jean 149-50 Sala, Pierre 149 Salve Regina 64, 136 de Sancta Columba, Guillelmus, master of the boys, magister chori 95 Saint-Gall, monastery of 27 Saint-Genis-Laval (Lyon) 121 de Saint-Julien, Pierre, notary 138 Saint-Julien-de-Cusset 138 Saint-Loup-du-Dorat (Maine) 110 Saône 46, 49, 60, 145 Savoy 49 Schools Collège de la Trinité, Lyon 47, 62n116, 63, 64n127, 136, 140n151, 142, 146, 151 Independent 93-94, 145, 147, 156 Municipal or associated with municipal government 54-64, 90-91, 94, 155 Saint-Jean 18, 50-54, 76-90, 95-98, 122-24, 127, 131, 142-45, 155-56 Saint-Nizier 37, 53, 78, 103, 149 Saint-Paul 37, 53, 101, 124, 139, 142, 155 Saint-Pierre 32, 127 Song 72, 76-77, 81-82, 84-90, 96-97, 101, 144-45, 149, 160 Scolasticus 36, 51-59, 71, 73, 78, 80-82, 96, 145, 155; see also magister scolarum Seneca 11 Senlis 121, 128 Serrati, Andreas, manicantant 83 de Serrótiers, Jean, scolasticus 57-59 Shahar, Shulamith 107 Sheffler, David 15 Sigismund, King of the Burgundians 45 de Sine Muro, Jacobus (Jacques de Samur), cantor 104, 141 de Sine Muro, Petrus (Pierre de Samur), canon 104, 141 Sorel, Pierre, manicantant 77, 82, 85 Spain 117 Statius 118 Subcantor 44, 108, 110, 141-42 Symondus, master of grammar 89, 97 de Talaru, Amédée, Archbishop of Lyon 147 Teachers 68-76 Arithmetic 61, 92 Education of 68-78 Female 32, 61, 68, 70, 100-01

Grammar 69-70, 72, 76, 78, 81-82, 85-86, 88-90, 96, 115, 132 Hierarchies 51, 68-90 (cathedral schools of Saint-Jean), 81, 90-94 (municipal & independent teachers in Lyon) Independent 51, 54, 59-61, 70, 73, 91-92, 95, 98-101, 122, 129, 134, 139, 150, 155-56 Licensing 36, 50, 69, 75, 122 Municipal 38-39, 98-101 Scandal 39, 72-75 Economic position 95-101 Song 72, 76-77, 81-82, 84-90, 96-97, 101, 144-45, 149, 160 Submonitor 68, 71 Writing 61, 70, 75, 92-94, 99-100 Terence 11 Thorndike, Lynn 15 Toulouse 39 Trechsel, Jean, printer 103-04, 140 de Tremblino, Garnier, chaplain 137 Troyes (diocese of) 37, 70, 73 University 12, 41-44 Angers, university of 44, 132 Bordeaux, university of 44 Cahors, university of Pelegry, college 115-16 Leuven, university of 102 Nantes, university of 44, 108 Orléans, university of 126 Paris, University of 21, 42-44, 101, 118, 130 XVIII Clercs, college 71 Ave Maria, college 42-43, 118-19, 124 Boissicum, college 118 Dormans-Beauvais, college 70 Harcourt, college 124 Laon, college 131 Navarre, college 43-44, 124 Seez, college 119 Studium generale 41, 68, 87, 154 Toulouse, university of 69 Verdale, college 111 Vaiges (Maine) 126 Vallet de Viriville, Auguste 18 Valluphin, Pierre (also Vallufin or Ballufin), schoolmaster 60n109, 62-63, 103, 105-06, 127 Vannes 74 de Varras, Humbertus, magister chori 82 Varrey family 49 Verdun, treaty of (843) 47 Verger, Jacques 111 Verulano, Giovanni Sulpizio (De moribus mensarum, Carmen iuuenile Sulpitii) 103-04, 140, 150 Vicemagister (chori) 55, 72, 77, 81-85, 87, 89, 96, 129-30, 136, 143, 145, 149 Vienne 148 Villefranche, Etienne 61, 92

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Elementary and Gr ammar Education in L ate Medieval Fr ance

Vincent of Beauvais (De eruditione filiorum nobilium) 27, 141n155 Virgil 103, 118, 140 le Vito, Johan 54-55 Wadsworth, James 62, 103 Waldensians 53

Willemsen, Annemarieke 15, 17 Wright, Craig 16 Writing 16-17, 111-12 d’Ymeray, Thibault, schoolmaster 71 Ypres 121 Ystace, Marion 75