Released with Early Modern England Encyclopedia 1.0a
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Early Modern England Encyclopedia
By Jesse Crossett and Kate McPherson, inspired by
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This document uses Canadian English spelling
Prior to the rule of Queen Elizabeth I, reading and writing in England was a skill reserved for only the upper classes and ecclesiastical officials. During and following her reign, this privilege increasingly extended to more members of the middle classes and eventually even to small numbers of the poor. Many factors played a part in the spread of literacy in the period, including:
The invention and use of a moveable type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in Germany in the 1490s played a dynamic role in the spread of information in the early modern period. Though the press itself was instrumental, the technology that mattered was the implementation of movable typeface. By improving and combining many current technologies, Gutenberg was able to print books more quickly and print more copies of them. These breakthroughs allowed for more information to be created and spread in much less time and at a lower cost. These accomplishments were pivotal for the development of literacy all over Europe.
The use of moveable type became widespread just a few decades before the German priest Martin Luther sparked the most visible protests against the Catholic Church by objecting to many of its non-Biblical policies and practices. This movement became known as Protestantism and resulted in the fracturing of Western Christianity into two main branches, The Church of Rome (Catholicism) and Protestantism, which came to include the Lutheran Church, the Church of England, and other branches. Protestantism stressed the priesthood of all believers
and so encouraged Christians to read the Bible in their own language, whereas Catholicism continued to use a Latin Bible. Desire to read the Bible increased instruction in literacy across the social spectrum.
Humanism was a form of education that blossomed in Italy around the year 1200. This movement soon spread into elite circles all across Europe and was a key factor in Queen Elizabeth’s own education in the early 16th century. The humanist movement emphasized the teachings of ancient philosophers, modern and ancient languages, literature, and ideas. The movement valued human achievementwas and was meant to inspire individual freedom of thought, although it worked to harmonize these ideas with Christianity. This contrasted with the medieval belief that individual thought was a sign of jealousy and even heresy. The humanist mode of thinking inspired a desire to spread education and literacy to more people.
Prior to the implementation of
The curriculum taught in early modern English grammar schools was not universally accepted. Some argued that the emphasis on humanist teachings, including curriculum drawn from Greek and Latin literature, discredited the importance of mathematics and English. They contended that this type of schooling left many students inept in skills they needed for occupations, such as reading and writing in English. This debate about the prupose of education persists today, with some advocating for broadening of students’ minds with the liberal arts and others advocating for career preparation.