Monastic school
Encyclopedia
Monastic schools were, along with cathedral school
s, the most important institutions of higher learning in the Latin West from the early Middle Ages
until the 12th century. Since Cassiodorus
's educational program, the standard curriculum incorporated religious studies, the Trivium, and the Quadrivium
. In some places monastic schools evolved into medieval universities which eventually largely superseded both institutions as centers of higher learning.
rule of Pachomius
(d. 348 AD) and the sixth-century Rule of the Master
and the Rule of St. Benedict, monks and nuns were required to engage actively in reading. This reading took on the characteristics of a school that dealt with both religious and secular subjects. Beginning in the 5th century a variety of abbot
s took upon themselves the responsibility of educating those who entered the monastery at a young age. The earliest of these monastic schools had more of a spiritual and ascetic focus than a scriptural or theological one, but it has been suggested that these were the qualities that led many monks trained at the monastic school at Lerins to be selected as bishops.
The Roman statesman Cassiodorus
had abandoned politics in 537 and later in the century established a monastery on his own lands at Vivarium in southern Italy. Cassiodorus stipulated that his monastery would be a place of study, providing a guide for that study in his Introduction to the Divine and Human Readings (Institutiones), which encompassed both religious texts and works on the liberal arts
. Cassidorus set out this program of study as a substitute for the Christian school he and Pope Agapetus
had hoped to establish in Rome. In any event, the curriculum that Cassiodorus set out involved the literary study of well-established texts that he had listed in his Institutiones, following the rules that he laid out in his De orthographia.
Centers of learning were also found in seventh-century Spain, both at major monasteries and at episcopal centers. Students at the monastery of Saints Cosmas and Damian
, at Agali near Toledo
, learned such scientific subjects as medicine and the rudiments of astronomy.
In the heyday of the monastic schools in the 9th and 10th centuries, the teachings of important scholars such as Alcuin
, Hrabanus Maurus, Heiric of Auxerre
and Notker Balbulus raised the prestige of their abbey
s and attracted pupils from afar to attend their courses.
Although some monastic schools contributed to the emerging medieval universities, the rise of the universities did not go unchallenged. Some monastic figures such as Bernard of Clairvaux
considered the search for knowledge using the techniques of scholasticism
to be a challenge to the monastic ideal of simplicity. The rise of medieval universities and scholasticism
in the Renaissance of the 12th century
offered alternative venues and new learning opportunities to the students and thus led to a gradual decline of the monastic schools.
Cathedral school
Cathedral schools began in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education, some of them ultimately evolving into medieval universities. Throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, they were complemented by the monastic schools...
s, the most important institutions of higher learning in the Latin West from the early Middle Ages
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
until the 12th century. Since Cassiodorus
Cassiodorus
Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator , commonly known as Cassiodorus, was a Roman statesman and writer, serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Senator was part of his surname, not his rank.- Life :Cassiodorus was born at Scylletium, near Catanzaro in...
's educational program, the standard curriculum incorporated religious studies, the Trivium, and the Quadrivium
Quadrivium
The quadrivium comprised the four subjects, or arts, taught in medieval universities, after teaching the trivium. The word is Latin, meaning "the four ways" , and its use for the 4 subjects has been attributed to Boethius or Cassiodorus in the 6th century...
. In some places monastic schools evolved into medieval universities which eventually largely superseded both institutions as centers of higher learning.
History
Since the cenobiticCenobitic
Cenobitic monasticism is a monastic tradition that stresses community life. Often in the West, the community belongs to a religious order and the life of the cenobitic monk is regulated by a religious rule, a collection of precepts...
rule of Pachomius
Pachomius
Saint Pakhom , also known as Pachome and Pakhomius , is generally recognized as the founder of Christian cenobitic monasticism. In the Coptic churches his feast day is celebrated on May 9...
(d. 348 AD) and the sixth-century Rule of the Master
Rule of the Master
The Regula Magistri or Rule of the Master is an anonymous sixth-century collection of monastic precepts. It was probably used by Benedict of Nursia as source material for his own Rule of Saint Benedict. It is no longer in active use by any monastic community.-See Also:*Rule of Saint Benedict*Rule...
and the Rule of St. Benedict, monks and nuns were required to engage actively in reading. This reading took on the characteristics of a school that dealt with both religious and secular subjects. Beginning in the 5th century a variety of abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
s took upon themselves the responsibility of educating those who entered the monastery at a young age. The earliest of these monastic schools had more of a spiritual and ascetic focus than a scriptural or theological one, but it has been suggested that these were the qualities that led many monks trained at the monastic school at Lerins to be selected as bishops.
The Roman statesman Cassiodorus
Cassiodorus
Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator , commonly known as Cassiodorus, was a Roman statesman and writer, serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Senator was part of his surname, not his rank.- Life :Cassiodorus was born at Scylletium, near Catanzaro in...
had abandoned politics in 537 and later in the century established a monastery on his own lands at Vivarium in southern Italy. Cassiodorus stipulated that his monastery would be a place of study, providing a guide for that study in his Introduction to the Divine and Human Readings (Institutiones), which encompassed both religious texts and works on the liberal arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
. Cassidorus set out this program of study as a substitute for the Christian school he and Pope Agapetus
Pope Agapetus I
Pope Saint Agapetus I reigned as pope from May 13, 535, to April 22, 536. He is not to be confused with another Saint Agapetus, an Early Christian martyr with the feast day of August 6th.-Family:...
had hoped to establish in Rome. In any event, the curriculum that Cassiodorus set out involved the literary study of well-established texts that he had listed in his Institutiones, following the rules that he laid out in his De orthographia.
Centers of learning were also found in seventh-century Spain, both at major monasteries and at episcopal centers. Students at the monastery of Saints Cosmas and Damian
Saints Cosmas and Damian
Saints Cosmas and Damian were twin brothers, physicians, and early Christian martyrs born in Cilicia, part of today's Turkey. They practiced their profession in the seaport of Ayas, Adana, then in the Roman province of Syria...
, at Agali near Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
, learned such scientific subjects as medicine and the rudiments of astronomy.
In the heyday of the monastic schools in the 9th and 10th centuries, the teachings of important scholars such as Alcuin
Alcuin
Alcuin of York or Ealhwine, nicknamed Albinus or Flaccus was an English scholar, ecclesiastic, poet and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student of Archbishop Ecgbert at York...
, Hrabanus Maurus, Heiric of Auxerre
Heiric of Auxerre
Heiric of Auxerre was a French Benedictine theologian and writer.He was an oblate of the monastery of St. Germanus of Auxerre, from a young age. He studied with Servatus Lupus and Haymo of Auxerre. His own students included Remigius of Auxerre and Hucbald.His Miracula sancti Germani was a verse...
and Notker Balbulus raised the prestige of their abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
s and attracted pupils from afar to attend their courses.
Although some monastic schools contributed to the emerging medieval universities, the rise of the universities did not go unchallenged. Some monastic figures such as Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux, O.Cist was a French abbot and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian order.After the death of his mother, Bernard sought admission into the Cistercian order. Three years later, he was sent to found a new abbey at an isolated clearing in a glen known as the Val...
considered the search for knowledge using the techniques of scholasticism
Scholasticism
Scholasticism is a method of critical thought which dominated teaching by the academics of medieval universities in Europe from about 1100–1500, and a program of employing that method in articulating and defending orthodoxy in an increasingly pluralistic context...
to be a challenge to the monastic ideal of simplicity. The rise of medieval universities and scholasticism
Scholasticism
Scholasticism is a method of critical thought which dominated teaching by the academics of medieval universities in Europe from about 1100–1500, and a program of employing that method in articulating and defending orthodoxy in an increasingly pluralistic context...
in the Renaissance of the 12th century
Renaissance of the 12th century
The Renaissance of the 12th century was a period of many changes at the outset of the High Middle Ages. It included social, political and economic transformations, and an intellectual revitalization of Western Europe with strong philosophical and scientific roots...
offered alternative venues and new learning opportunities to the students and thus led to a gradual decline of the monastic schools.