English Boys in the Olden Time [pp. 407-411]

THE LADIElS REPOSITORr.
which draweth them from their books into an other trade. And for excuse, when they are
charged with breach of all good order, thinke it
sufficient to saie that they be gentlemen which
grievethl manie not a little."
The monastic schools must not be confounded
with the system of instruction of wealthy men's
sons of the governors of the monasteries. The
monastic school of early times was a simple ex pansion of choir practice. Every church, ab bey, priory, or monastery had its public worship
and its need of lads to assist in the service as
singers, etc. From time immemorial these lads
were taught to sing by some member of the fra ternity, and very naturally other things-at first
grammar-were added to the music. The mon asteries recruited their members from poor peo ple's sons of their neighborhoods, and with
these lads destined for the Church were asso ciated their young companions in a sort of day
school. This school was an excellent recruiting
ground, and was fostered with interested care.
ThIe famous cathedral schools of the Middle
Ages, some of them presided over by the most
learned ecclesiastics of the times, taught only
those things which qualified men for the priest hood.
The monastic schools expanded into two dis tinct branches-the common school for the poor
of the parish, and the divinity school. It may
be doubted whether the college grew out of that
system; it is historically related to the "board ing-out" system mentioned in the first part of
this article. The parish school retains to this
day its connection with the Church. Indeed, it
may be said that all our magnificent system of
common schools took its rise in the singing les sons of the old English Churches.
The monastic schools educated in the rudi ments many who afterward distinguished them selves, usually, if not always, the sons of poor
persons. The poet Lydgate may be mentioned.
He gives in his "Testament" an account of his
school life, which makes him out a good-for nothing pupil. He came to school late, chat tered, lied, made faces at his masters, stole ap ples and grapes, shlammed illness, played tricks
on honest people, and got about as much flog ging as he deserved for all these ill-behavings.
The school must have been a common school,
attended by the poor boys of the parish; the
rich boys probably being in the houses of pre lates or noblemen under a much stricter dis cipline.
Unfriendly legislation helped to keep the
farmers' boys in their places. In 1388 it was
enacted that "he or she which used to labor at
the plow and cart, or other labor or service of
hugbandry, till they be of the age of twelveyears,
that from thenceforth they shall abide at the
same labor, without being put to any mystery or
handicraft." Any bond of apprenticeship in
violation of this statute was declared void. Another statute made in I405 repeats the above
and.adds some reasons, chief of which is that
the practice of binding out farmers' children to
trades has created a great scarcity of laborers,
"so that the gentlemen and other peopile of tlhe
realz be greatly iminioverished." Therefore it
was enacted further that no farm laborer should
put his son or daughter out to learn any craft
unless he have "home or rent of the value of
twenty shillings by the year at least."
Mr. Furnivall unearthed this precious legislation in his search for matter to preface his
"Babies Book," etc., and comments in a characteristic way:
"They [these statutes] made me wonder less
at the energy with which some people are now
striving to erect'barriers against democracy,'
to prevent the return match for the old game
coming off. However improving, and however
justly retributive, future legislation for the rich
by the poor in the spirit of past legislation for
the poor by the rich might be, it could hardly be
considered pleasant and is surely worth putting
utp the true barrier against, one of education in
each poor man's mind. He who Americanizes
us thus far will be the greatest benefactor England has had for some ages. These statutes
also made me think how the old spirit still lingers in England, how a fiiend of my own was
curate in a Surrqy village where the kind-hearted
squire would allow none of the R's but Reading
to be taught in his school; how another clergyman lately reported his Farmers' meeting on
the school question: Reading and writing might
be taughllt, but arithmetic not; the boys would
be getting to know too much about wages, and
that would be troublesome; how, lastly, our
gangs of children working on our eastern counties farms, and our bird-keeping boys of the
whole South can almost match the children of
the agricultural laborer of I1388."
The amount of time daily spent over schoolwork in early England would astonish our moderm school boys. Brinsley's account of matters
in I612 sets forth that school began at 6, A. M.,
with exercises prepared over night, and continue
till half-past 5, P. M.-ten hours and a half-with
three intermissions of "'a quarter of an hour or
more." Not much more we infer from the rest
of the statement. This, together with "the
present correction used for terror," must have
made a stiff day of it. But it is hard to satisfy
every body, and there were croakers in those
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