Sixteenth Century Humanism in England

In contrast to the purely religious scholasticism that preceded them, the humanists advocated a liberalizing of thought and attitude, as well as an emphasis on classical Greek and Latin scholarship. Most pertinent for our discussion was the humanists' urging that the Scriptures be read in the vernacular rather than solely in Latin, and their strong recommendation that women be given advanced education. Such humanists as Leonardo Bruni of Italy (c. 1370-1444) and Juan Luis Vives (1492-1540) of Spain were especially clear in their advocacy of women's learning.

In England, among the most prominent proponents of humanism in the early 16th century was Sir Thomas More, the man for all seasons (1478-1535), closely allied with Desiderius Erasmus of Holland (1467-1536), and Sir Thomas Elyot (1490-1546). More is held responsible for a decided advance in the 16th century in the education of upper-class English women - in such subjects as classical literature, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, physics, logic, and rhetoric. More himself educated a number of young women, including his three daughters, in his own home, and their classical education was a model for other noble families of the time.

Adding to the effects of More's leadership was the fact that Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536), daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain and first wife of Henry VIII of England, was very much in favour of humanism and had close contact with outstanding humanists. She inspired Erasmus to write his On Christian Matrimony. one of the works strongly supportive of education for women, and brought Vives to the English court to be in charge of her daughter Mary Tudor's education. Vives' treatise, The Instruction of a Christian Woman (1523), dedicated to Catherine, was perhaps the foremost work on women's education in 16th century Europe, with great influence in England (Stock, p. 51). Another eminent humanist, Roger Ascham (1515-1568) was tutor to Princess Elizabeth and then Latin secretary to her cousin, Mary of Scotland.

Thus, by the year 1540, the idea of a broad classical education, moving beyond the religious focus of the past, had become accepted for the upperclass women, and through most of the century many such women did indeed become learned. By 1540, however, a new major force entered the picture - the Protestant Reformation - and set the stage for subsequent changes in the education of women.

The Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation may be traced to the year 1517, when Martin Luther cast off the authority of Rome and inspired the establishment of a host of Protestant denominations and sects. The new Protestant groups had doctrines that differed from each other in many respects, but all shared the ideals of using the everyday vernacular language instead of Latin in the religious services and of calling upon all members to study the Scriptures in that vernacular. This meant that direct contact with the Scriptures was not to be limited to the clergy and to upper-class scholars who could read and understand Latin, but was to be available to anyone who mastered the rudiments of reading.

The Protestant groups and their leaders varied, however, on the question of women's education. John Knox (?1505- 1572), for example, the founder of Scottish Presbyterianism, took a vehemently anti-female stance in his treatise, The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women (?1558). Yet, Luther himself was very supportive of women's education, insisting on compulsory schooling for all boys and all girls on primary and secondary levels and advanced education for qualified girls as well as boys. Luther also noted the need for female teachers (Green, p. 97). Those ideals regarding women's education took hold in the Germanic regions of continental Europe to an extraordinary degree with the establishment of many schools that girls attended and a solid acceptance of female education.

In England, Protestantism started in ,1534, when Henry VIII established the Church of England after Pope Clement VII excommunicated him for marrying Anne Boleyn without receiving a papal divorce from Catherine of Aragon. Henry declared himself the head of the new church, and dissolved the convents and monasteries, and confiscated for the king and state all of the former church's properties. As a result, the convent and other church and monastic schools were closed and most of them never reopened.

To take their place, a great number of privately endowed schools arose throughout England, well-subsidized by the members of newly-rich mercantile classes. The new schools were staffed by a class of scholarly schoolmasters, generally male, many of whom replaced less well-educated local clergy and other teachers left over from the generation before.

The Elizabethan Influence

Henry VIII was succeeded by his daughter, Elizabeth I (1533-1603), whose learning both reflected and fostered the scholarly values of the humanists as well as of the early Protestant re-formers. By the latter part of the 16th century, the impacts of humanism, Protestantism, and Elizabeth's reign had coalesced. The view of the time on women's education includes those expressed by Richard Mulcaster.