How could one possibly get through life without learning something new about one thing or another? That is what is considered getting an education. Learning about life, about the world and about how to be an individual. Dating from ancient Rome through the central Middle Ages, education has taken on many different forms, but one thing always stayed the same. Education has always been a vital part of society and the general way of life. In the early centuries of existence, education was in the form of religious awakening. Missionaries traveled from village to village to spread their beliefs.
In the Christian religion, Jesus traveled around with his disciples and spread Gods message; that Gods blessings went to the poor, meek, pure, peacemakers and those who seek justice. The Quran and the Bible are two examples of religious books written with the intent to educate. Scriptures were also written about different religions. These were some of the very first books used to educate the masses. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, for example, wrote numerous books including Confessions and City of God. He also wrote commentaries on scripture, treatises on dogma, sermons and letters on Christian belief.
These are some of the early ways that people used in order to educate others on their beliefs and ways of life. Within early Christian society, the communities had a variety of teachings. They taught how to share possessions, care for the poor, the outcasts, the orphans, and to have a strong sense of community. In this way, the people of these communities were taught a way of life. They were educated in the proper ways to live their lives. The value of religion influenced the many ways that people were educated early on. If no one had wished to spread his religion, then education wouldnt have had such a strong hold as it did.
Religious teachings also help spread education in another way. Even though the missionaries were traveling to spread their beliefs, they also couldnt help but bring some of their culture with them. The way they lived, what they ate, and how they acted towards one another all began to assimilate itself into everyday life. In a way, this educated the people of the community about the vast array of people throughout the world. John Cassian, a Gallic Roman, founded two houses in Marseille in the early 5th century. He write instituted monastic instruction and learned in numerous places such as Egypt, Syria, and Cappadocia.
This just gives more evidence to the numerous scholars traveling the continent, spreading their ways, while still educating themselves. Monasteries, though linked to religious reasons, also had their own way of educating. The library was an important part of a monastery. They often had vast libraries filled with numerous things ranging from books to scriptures to other like things. Learning and schooling became central to the Irish monks life. They wrote, copied texts, and then preserved them in libraries as treasures. These works included texts of the Greek and Roman philosophers, historians and poets.
The monks also had their own way of educating each other within the monastery. A rule was set in place for each monastery by which the monks were to follow. In some, The Rule of St. Benedict was used as the rule. This taught the monks how to live, when to pray, how to pray, what to eat, where to sleep, among many other things. Various monasteries all over the countryside lived by these rules. Thus, if a monk were to travel from one monastery to another, he could be assured that he knew the rules in which to follow. In this way one author could spread his knowledge all over.
Education was very important to the monks. When they werent praying, much of their time was spent learning. As previously stated, their time was spent copying scriptures and reading. This had a major impact on the forward momentum of education. Within communities, many different classes of people existed. The most important and the most elite of these classes were the royalty. The royalty were highly educated in certain fields such as philosophy, religion, and politics and had ample opportunity to learn more about the world through traveling, without the worry of cost.
The royalty always had the upper hand when it came to education. They were the ones with the money and the influence to get what they needed in order to learn more. They were also the ones with the ability to write these books to learn from, because they were literate, whereas many lower classes werent even literate. Within the urban communities, a high level of education was necessary in order to have a good job. Skills in accounting, bookkeeping, and other skills helped when it came to getting a job. In the 12th century, Roman law was rediscovered which brought about many more scholars studying it.
The 12th century was what began the intellectual revolution. It was a study of rhetoric, logic, biblical study, philosophy, and the law. A Bolognese scholar named Irnerius used rediscovered text of Justinians Digest in order to teach. Scholars began to reinterpret law, generating new ideas based on combination of laws newly available. Schools were developed devoted exclusively to study of Roman law. The schools were especially large in Bologna. After the 6th century, scholars used almost exclusively Greek, thus preserving classical Greek literature.
Byzantine scholars were some of these scholars. It was very influential to many different groups of people. They had a rigorous program of study throughout life, and a philosophical approach to relations between the invisible world and the pure spiritual being and material world. Also the teachings of Aristotle influenced many scholars, including Thomas Aquinas. These teachings led to many developments in education. On the manors, it was a whole different form of education. Everyone had their own job to do and in order to do this job they had to learn how to do it first.
New advancements were improving the way of life on the manor. There were improved methods of agriculture and improved uses of power. Though in order for these methods to be discovered, someone had to stop and think of a way to go about improving them. Someone had to sit down and understand the way everything worked and then how he or she could go about making it better. This was its own form of education on the manor. However, there really wasnt that much formal education. Only the Lords of the manor and his immediate family were formally educated in schools.
In order to grow as a society, education must be an important inclusive factor. Education is all around us in the world both today, and in centuries past. It has always been a continuing factor of striving for a better tomorrow. These past few areas are only a few of the many areas that education has been an instrumental part of progress. In order to discover all the areas where education is a part of life, one would have to look at everything they ever encounter in the world and question how it progressed, and then realize that education is all around us.
