3) Literacy and Education

There are 2 principles to understanding education. The first is often linked to basic religious teaching, particularly in the early stages of the life course. The second is vocational learning which was highly dependent on status, gender and occupation. People were educated in what would be deemed useful for them in later life.

In 1538, it was deemed that all children, apprentices and servants should have skills in basic literacy. It was the responsibility of parents, guardians, masters and mistresses to raise children in godly ways. Every child had to know the Lord's Prayer in English, the alphabet and the Catechism. They were required to be confirmed in Church. The venue where this would take place included churches and schools, but was usually just in the home.

Education was believed to enrich people's minds, but people were to be educated according to their calling, so they received different educations. Queens and princesses were exempted from this though. There was a strong belief, though, that people shouldn't be educated beyond their station. So, reading was much more encouraged and widely taught than writing.

Education was enforced from above. It only became compulsory in 1870. Between 1530 and 1550, there was a marked increase in the creation of schools, with a threefold increase in some places, although this only continued a previous trend that continued until c.1630. Many schools in Devon, Dorset, Cornwall, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire have their origins in the middle ages.

Different types of schools included ephemoral schools and 'dame schools' that lasted as long as the headmistress wanted and took place in cottages or next to churches. There were also grammar schools. St Paul's, built in 1509, became the model for many 16th and 17th century grammar schools and endowed schools. They were typically created in market towns to serve the urban population and surrounding countryside. Edward VI expanded grammar schools (Edward VI's schools), like Southampton, Lichfield and Norwich.

Grammar school curriculum became increasingly vocational. Knowledge of Latin remained a mark of education. After the Restoration, there was a decline in classical education and a growing adaptation towards a vernacular curriculum including maths, geography and French. Payment for grammar schools varied according to estate (boys paid according to who he was and he was treated according to who he was). Many grammar schools lost their poorer clientele during the 17th century. The aristocracy soon colonised the schools.

Public schools became increasingly popular among the elite, as opposed to home tutoring. After the Restoration, there was an increased use in a small number of schools (especially Eton, Harrow and Marlborough) that led to a consolidation of a coherent elite. The students created important connections, and it was the students of these schools that were more likely to become MPs.

More female academies appeared from the latter 17th century to the early 18th century. They were taught reading, writing, French, geography, dance and needlework etc. This education was equally as expensive as that given to boys and still required a large investment by families. More women from the middling sort and upwards were attending academies and being taught these skills that were deemed important to them.

The 2 universities were Oxford and Cambridge. They educated the clergy, but the entries suggest there was a growing interest among the elite. The proportion of MPs with university degrees rose from 26% in 1563 to 50% in 1642. Poorer people were able to attend universities in large numbers in the 16th and 17th centuries often while undertaking servile positions in colleges. Those who attended university tended to get master's degrees and it was usually in religion. But, soon, they were educating lawyers. Although medicine students had to go to Scotland or the Netherlands to get their degrees.

Between the 1570s and 1580s, 50% of the student body were plebeian (from a family of arms), and most new recruits to the clergy were also plebeian. There was a six-fold rise in the number of plebeians granted BAs between 1520-1620. But, by the early 17th century, such mobility declined. More clergymen's sons and fewer plebeians attended the universities.

There was uneven progress in education though. In 1640, England was ahead of Scotland and France in terms of male literacy, but by 1780, they were behind Scotland and probably behind France too. It was in 1780 that education started to take off again.

There were massive developments in print and the technology spread very fast. Manuscript circulation still continued though which used traditional formats and literary materials as people still liked some texts to be handwritten. The development of printing allowed integration though as it allowed more people to have access to the Bible, news and ballads. But, it also created polarisation as it led to elite education, elite literature and an uneven development of literacy over the period.

Print was organised in a guild centred on London and controlled by royal charter; the stationer's company. It was a monopoly. Print was censored and the world of print was fairly conservative as books were printed to look like manuscripts.

The number of books in people's inventories when they died show the increase in print. For example, in Canterbury in 1560, one person out of ten owned books; in 1580, 1 out of 4; in 1590, one out of three; and in 1620, nearly one out of two owned books. Books became ubiquitous so they weren't as highly sought after for a while. But, it was required that the family read the Holy Scriptures, and many novels were also created for women.

But tax receipts and other general materials for official purposes spread more than any type of print.