Richard Mulcaster
Encyclopedia
Richard Mulcaster is known best for his headmasterships and pedagogic
writings. He is often regarded as the founder of English language lexicography
.
in London
, where he wrote his two treatises on education, Positions (1581) and Elementarie (1582). Merchant Taylors' School was at that time the largest school in the country, and Mulcaster worked to establish a rigorous curriculum
which was to set the standard for education in Latin, Greek
and Hebrew. In 1596 he became High Master of St Paul's School.
Mulcaster was born into the gentry
in Carlisle, and began his formal education at Eton College
, from where he progressed to King's College, Cambridge
. Throughout his time at Cambridge and later at Oxford, he met important scholars who were to influence his later thinking, including Sir John Cheke and John Caius
.
By the time he left Oxford, Mulcaster was known for his intellectual prowess in Latin, Greek and Hebrew, which he took to Merchant Taylors' School
.
Richard Mulcaster's writings remain important in the study of humanist
education and the sixteenth century.
in vowel length in such pairs as bad and bade), the list represents a call for English to have its first dictionary, to gather "all the words which we use in our English tung … out of all professions, as well learned as not, into one dictionarie, and besides the right writing, which is incident to the Alphabete, [the lexicographer] wold open vnto us therein, both their naturall force, and their proper use." Over the following decades, the first dictionaries of English appeared.
Mulcaster was one of the first advocates of the introduction of referees: “For if one stand by, which can judge of the play, and is judge over the parties, & hath authoritie to commande in the place, all those inconveniences have bene, I know, & wilbe I am sure very lightly redressed, nay they will never entermedle in the matter, neither shall there be complaint, where there is no cause.” Mulcaster's discussion on football was the first to refer to teams ("sides" and "parties"), positions ("standings"), the benefits of a referee ("judge over the parties") and a coach "(trayning maister)". Mulcaster describes a game for small teams that is organised under the auspices of a referee (and is therefore the first evidence that his game had evolved from disordered and violent "mob" football): "Some smaller number with such overlooking, sorted into sides and standings, not meeting with their bodies so boisterously to trie their strength: nor shouldring or shuffing one another so barbarously ... may use footeball for as much good to the body, by the chiefe use of the legges".
Pedagogy
Pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
writings. He is often regarded as the founder of English language lexicography
Lexicography
Lexicography is divided into two related disciplines:*Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries....
.
Educational achievements
In 1561 he became the first headmaster of Merchant Taylors' SchoolMerchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Merchant Taylors' School is a British independent day school for boys, originally located in the City of London. Since 1933 it has been located at Sandy Lodge in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire ....
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he wrote his two treatises on education, Positions (1581) and Elementarie (1582). Merchant Taylors' School was at that time the largest school in the country, and Mulcaster worked to establish a rigorous curriculum
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
which was to set the standard for education in Latin, Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
and Hebrew. In 1596 he became High Master of St Paul's School.
Mulcaster was born into the gentry
Gentry
Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....
in Carlisle, and began his formal education at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, from where he progressed to King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
. Throughout his time at Cambridge and later at Oxford, he met important scholars who were to influence his later thinking, including Sir John Cheke and John Caius
John Caius
John Caius , also known as Johannes Caius, was an English physician, and second founder of the present Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.-Early years:...
.
By the time he left Oxford, Mulcaster was known for his intellectual prowess in Latin, Greek and Hebrew, which he took to Merchant Taylors' School
Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Merchant Taylors' School is a British independent day school for boys, originally located in the City of London. Since 1933 it has been located at Sandy Lodge in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire ....
.
Richard Mulcaster's writings remain important in the study of humanist
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
education and the sixteenth century.
Writings
Mulcaster’s most enduring work, Elementarie, was published in 1582. For the most part, it is a guide to good practice in teaching, particularly in the teaching of English. At a time when Latin still held the all of the prestige in education, Mulcaster made a convincing case for the huge potential of English to serve all of the functions that were at that time reserved for Latin, calling for it to be more widely used and, crucially, respected. Elementarie is, in this respect, a call to national pride: "forenners and strangers do wonder at vs, both for the vncertaintie in our writing, and the inconstancie in our letters." Provoking a movement that was to lead, ultimately, to English being the language of learning in the English-speaking world, the Elementarie argues "I do not think that anie language, … is better able to utter all arguments, either with more pith, or greater planesse, than our English tung is." However, Mulcaster goes on to remind us of the need for the language to be codified and learnt, as Latin had thus far been: only "if the English utterer be as skillfull in the matter, which he is to utter" can English rival Latin.Lexicography
To the end of establishing an English that could serve the complex needs of education, the Elementarie ends with a list of 8000 "hard words". Mulcaster does not define any of them, but attempts to lay down a standard spelling for them at a time when English lacked universal standardized spellings. Besides making movements toward spelling rules for English (such as the role of the silent eSilent E
Silent e is a writing convention in English spelling. A silent letter e at the end of a word often signals a specific pronunciation of the preceding vowel letter, as in the difference between "rid" and "ride" . This orthographic pattern followed the phonological changes of the Great Vowel Shift...
in vowel length in such pairs as bad and bade), the list represents a call for English to have its first dictionary, to gather "all the words which we use in our English tung … out of all professions, as well learned as not, into one dictionarie, and besides the right writing, which is incident to the Alphabete, [the lexicographer] wold open vnto us therein, both their naturall force, and their proper use." Over the following decades, the first dictionaries of English appeared.
Football
Richard Mulcaster has been described as “the greatest sixteenth Century advocate of football”. His unique contribution is not only naming "footeball" by its correct English name but also providing the earliest evidence of organised team football. Mulcaster confirms that his was a game closer to modern football by differentiating it from games involving other parts of the body, namely "the hand ball" and "the armeball". He referred to the many benefits of "footeball" in his personal publication of 1581 in English entitled ‘Positions Wherein Those Primitive Circumstances Be Examined, Which Are Necessarie for the Training up of Children’. He states that football had positive educational value and it promoted health and strength.Mulcaster was one of the first advocates of the introduction of referees: “For if one stand by, which can judge of the play, and is judge over the parties, & hath authoritie to commande in the place, all those inconveniences have bene, I know, & wilbe I am sure very lightly redressed, nay they will never entermedle in the matter, neither shall there be complaint, where there is no cause.” Mulcaster's discussion on football was the first to refer to teams ("sides" and "parties"), positions ("standings"), the benefits of a referee ("judge over the parties") and a coach "(trayning maister)". Mulcaster describes a game for small teams that is organised under the auspices of a referee (and is therefore the first evidence that his game had evolved from disordered and violent "mob" football): "Some smaller number with such overlooking, sorted into sides and standings, not meeting with their bodies so boisterously to trie their strength: nor shouldring or shuffing one another so barbarously ... may use footeball for as much good to the body, by the chiefe use of the legges".